Question: Guided Hunts: Gratuities
- Thread starter Demonical
- Start date
cash only. not gifts
I have never tipped a outfitter(you pay them for the hunt)
Tip the guide. and that greatly depends on the quality of your hunt, the cost of your hunt, and how well the guide worked for you and listened to you.
USD is the currency to tip in, doesn't matter where in the world you hunt.
Tipped or fly fishing guide $100 per day,
Tipped my PH in Africa $500 each(two of us on the hunt)
I am not a rich guy, so I think it depends on your funds as well.
10% is a good starting point for a tip for a guide.
But don't feel obligated to tip if the service sucks, I have had friends that hunted big bears in Alaska, and the guides were totally useless, and the outfitter pulled them off a real good spot to put one of his "good clients" on and they then shot a huge bear that afternoon.
They did not tip at all.
I have never tipped a outfitter(you pay them for the hunt)
Tip the guide. and that greatly depends on the quality of your hunt, the cost of your hunt, and how well the guide worked for you and listened to you.
USD is the currency to tip in, doesn't matter where in the world you hunt.
Tipped or fly fishing guide $100 per day,
Tipped my PH in Africa $500 each(two of us on the hunt)
I am not a rich guy, so I think it depends on your funds as well.
10% is a good starting point for a tip for a guide.
But don't feel obligated to tip if the service sucks, I have had friends that hunted big bears in Alaska, and the guides were totally useless, and the outfitter pulled them off a real good spot to put one of his "good clients" on and they then shot a huge bear that afternoon.
They did not tip at all.
Ok thanks!
A buddy guided moose hunters from Minnesota, they were just regular guys.
I know they pretty much always brought along stuff like trail cameras, that they would gift him.
No idea about cash tips they might have given him. He didn't volunteer, I didn't ask.
A buddy guided moose hunters from Minnesota, they were just regular guys.
I know they pretty much always brought along stuff like trail cameras, that they would gift him.
No idea about cash tips they might have given him. He didn't volunteer, I didn't ask.
I just asked my guide for my upcoming hunt in England what an appropriate amount is since this is my first time doing this sort of thing. He also has it on his website. You could just ask the outfitter and see what he says.
The outfitters website for my 2027 Greenland caribou hunt also has guidelines for appropriate tips.
The outfitters website for my 2027 Greenland caribou hunt also has guidelines for appropriate tips.
Mind if I asked about the gifts you received? I'm sure there were varying factors, I'm just curious.
Species8472
CGN Regular
- Location
- Nipissing Township + 82a
Generally cash is king and 10% is a good place to start. There are exceptions to this if you are hunting in the developing world where they have trouble getting high quality gear or have to pay stupid prices due to their location. Once gave a guide my brand new boots as we had the same size feet and he was drooling over them. Another time gave a guide a high quality Magnacut hunting knife and he absolutely loved it as he had no way to get anything close to that quality locally.
When I’m the client I sort of default to 1000 for guide or PH, used to be a bit less but times have changed.
As a guide I get asked about 3/4s of the time what is expected for tips and I usually don’t care for that. I say usually because it sort of depends on how its asked. My default answer is they are not required to give me a penny, so any amount they chose must be the right amount. Some will persist, some will ask the owner for advice and quite a few will explain that it is just one more question among the dozens they have asked during their hunt and they want to do it right, just don’t know what right is. The whole thing makes me uncomfortable and I usually mention that too.
I get enough 500 US tips per hunter that it feels like it must be normal almost never less but normal and average are 2 different things. I’m usually guiding 2 at a tme, the odd time 3. Single hunters tend to tip higher. It definitely goes up from there, last hunt this season was 2100, and they rebooked for next year before they left camp. Odd since I had them doing all the work the whole time
Turns out they like it that way, who wants to feel like they have/need a baby sitter?
As a guide I get asked about 3/4s of the time what is expected for tips and I usually don’t care for that. I say usually because it sort of depends on how its asked. My default answer is they are not required to give me a penny, so any amount they chose must be the right amount. Some will persist, some will ask the owner for advice and quite a few will explain that it is just one more question among the dozens they have asked during their hunt and they want to do it right, just don’t know what right is. The whole thing makes me uncomfortable and I usually mention that too.
I get enough 500 US tips per hunter that it feels like it must be normal almost never less but normal and average are 2 different things. I’m usually guiding 2 at a tme, the odd time 3. Single hunters tend to tip higher. It definitely goes up from there, last hunt this season was 2100, and they rebooked for next year before they left camp. Odd since I had them doing all the work the whole time
Turns out they like it that way, who wants to feel like they have/need a baby sitter?
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A Guide friend of mine got $8000 in US Money from a US hunter for a 57 " moose and 5 days of him ! 
In 2024
In 2024
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I gave my PH 500$ in South Africa(my dad gave him $500 too) but I gave his tracker $500 as well. He was probably the most skilled bushman I've ever seen. He was same age as me (28 and had 6 kids) I bought a carton of smokes everyday and gave them out like candy too 
Done plenty of guiding, never been the client.
Spending a week or more with someone should give you a good chance to judge his character, you should want to leave him a tip. If you don’t feel he’s earned one don’t feel obligated, but do tell the Outfitter his short comings.
A couple hundred bucks and a firm handshake from someone you’d now call a friend is worth more to me than a couple grand from an arsehole.
Spending a week or more with someone should give you a good chance to judge his character, you should want to leave him a tip. If you don’t feel he’s earned one don’t feel obligated, but do tell the Outfitter his short comings.
A couple hundred bucks and a firm handshake from someone you’d now call a friend is worth more to me than a couple grand from an arsehole.
- Location
- Whitehorse, YT
ask yourself about tipping: i ve seen european not tippings because it is part of their culture and seems north americans destroyed it and are tipping for everything and nothing ... but in the same token local population workers for african outfitters need everything that you can provide to them, the family and the communauty, ask the outfitter what can you bring to help scool and nursing station as well ...
- Location
- Whitehorse, YT
almost 15 years-20 years ago when i guided in norther quebec i never got less than 1500 by hunters and i guided 1 to 3 at the time with exception and long hunting season i cannot complain but when european came no tips as it was not part of their culture and accepted ... usa hunters were tipping the most and the ones with record animal were crazy tipper too ... those days are long gone and usd was in par with the canadian pesos too lol
