Rating a good hunt

[bonehunter85]

Curious to what everyone's thoughts are on here. If you had a fully guided deer hunt what would be most important for your satisfaction with 5 being most important and 1 being not important.

Quality of Bucks
Quantity of Bucks
Good lodging
Price
Food

 

[Soj51hopeful]

Never been guided, but you can’t really hold #1 or #2 against a guide if the area you’re in just doesn’t produce. I would throw in there the effort and knowledge a guide provided.

 

[Founder]

I’ll add one that I think might be most important……like ability of your guide.
I’ve never been on a guided hunt, but I would imagine if I got stuck with a boring, lame dude with no sense of humor, it wouldn’t be all that enjoyable.
Just thought I’d throw that in there.

 

[CFMuley]

Never been guided, but you can’t really hold #1 or #2 against a guide if the area you’re in just doesn’t produce. I would throw in there the effort and knowledge a guide provided.

While I agree, he didn’t ask about rating the guide, just the hunt in general. Quality of animals is the most important for me, but everyone’s different. I’ve guided for an outfit with low animal quality, but 5 star meals and lodging and a certain crowd preferred that. I currently guide for an operation that consistently kills 200” deer, but while decent, the lodging certainly isn’t 5 star, and that caters to a whole different type of clientele.

 

[WVHUNTER]

Quality of bucks 5
Everything else 1
If you want a fancy hotel and a five star restaurant then don’t go hunting. A lot of good hunts are tents, sandwiches, MREs, or spam and cheese.
You pay an outfitter to put you on ground that you wouldn’t be on without him. Private land, bush plane or 20 mile horseback rides.
Quantity, seeing 20 bucks a day and not seeing one you would shoot isn’t my idea of a good hunt.
The amount of money you want to pay is up to you. But there isn’t any cheap hunts anymore.

 

[WVHUNTER]

CFMuley, I agree with you. I’ve met people who go back to the same outfitter every year with only marginal success. They go for a Western hunting experience and social experience of being in a hunting camp and they enjoy it. Other people are different.

 

[The_Coloradoboy]

It comes down to how hard your guide worked for you, the hospitality and the experience of the hunt overall. I’ve done my share of guiding over the past decade and I’ve always prioritized the experience I could provide over what animal is laying on the ground as what is a measure of a good hunt.

 

[woodturner]

Ethical would be very high on my list.
I have never been on a guided hunt.

 

[rmanwill]

Never been on a guided hunt either. To answer your list it would be as followed.

1 - Price
2 - Quality of Bucks
3 - Quantity of Bucks
4 - Good lodging
5 - Food

That said I don't have to tag a buck even on a guided hunt for it to be a successful and enjoyable hunt. if there were some opportunities and most importantly the guide was knowledgeable, down to earth and knew his way around the camp and hunting area and gave it his all I couldn't ask for anything more.

I would rather be in a nice wall tent in the hills then a motel or lodge and for food, I'm not picky. Heck I could be good with a few meals even being freeze dried meals.

 

[yotebuster17]

While I agree, he didn’t ask about rating the guide, just the hunt in general. Quality of animals is the most important for me, but everyone’s different. I’ve guided for an outfit with low animal quality, but 5 star meals and lodging and a certain crowd preferred that. I currently guide for an operation that consistently kills 200” deer, but while decent, the lodging certainly isn’t 5 star, and that caters to a whole different type of clientele.

Where are you guys running hunts that consistently kill 200” deer and how do I sign up?

 

[CFMuley]

Where are you guys running hunts that consistently kill 200” deer and how do I sign up?

Sonora, not all of our hunters kill a 200”, but we’ll kill around a dozen a season.

 

[BrowningRage]

1 - Price
2 - Quality of Bucks
3 - Food
4 - Lodging
5 - Quantity of Bucks

For someone like me, price will always matter. After that, if I'm paying, I'm paying for a huge buck, great food, comfortable lodging... and it only takes one buck ?

 

[joesikora]

Curious to what everyone's thoughts are on here. If you had a fully guided deer hunt what would be most important for your satisfaction with 5 being most important and 1 being not important.

Quality of Bucks
Quantity of Bucks
Good lodging
Price
Food

All of the above. Your spending your hard earned money why wanted you want all of the above? Also don’t forget 5 star reviews
for the outfitters.