The guide guide
Now’s the time to start planning for a guided hunt. Here’s how to ensure a dream adventure—and avoid disappointment
Advertisement
Ken Bailey#2 Consider your own capabilities
Be honest with yourself—and your potential outfitter—about your fitness level. Some hunts, particularly in mountainous terrain, are physically rigorous. Guides will tell you that one of the most common reasons for an unsuccessful hunt is a client who couldn’t handle the physical demands. There’s little sense in booking a sheep or goat hunt, for example, if you can’t make it up and down the mountain. Be sure you’re capable of undertaking any hunt before you book.
Another common reason for an unsuccessful hunt? The client shoots and misses. Whether you’re a bowhunter, rifle hunter or shotgunner, practise, practise, practise before you go. A lack of proficiency is on you—missing is not the guide’s fault. Once again, honesty is the best policy. If your maximum comfortable range with a bow is 30 metres, or 200 metres with a rifle, discuss this with the outfitter before you book. If a mountain canyon mule deer hunt, where shots are typically at 300-plus metres, isn’t for you, for example, you’ll be much better off selecting a farmland hunt with shorter shooting distances.
Advertisement