Guided hunts?

Has anyone here ever been on a guided hunt with a good outfitter?  I'm looking to book some sort of trip in the upcoming years and want to start doing some research.  The type of trip completely varies...could be the midwest, Canada, or even Alaska.
 
Anyone have good experiences to share?

Saying what you'd like to hunt might help.

It's not a cheap hunt but if your looking for a remote hunt out of cabins look up Whatshan Guides and Outfitters out of Nakusp British Columbia. They have a large concession and can put you on most any big game---deer,bear,elk,moose,goat,lion. I never saw a Griz until I hunted with them. Now I've seen several and two a lot closer than I ever wanted.

A friend of a friend contacted Jim Shockey for a moose hunt. A retirement gift from his wife. Only a mere $20,000.00 and you probably won't get to hunt with Jim, she was told...WF

thanks for the info guys....I don't have anything specific in mind that I want to hunt.  I merely want to hunt some sort of big game outside of Pennsylvania and want to combine it with a fishing experience.  I know it's not going to be cheap so it's a few years down the road, but a little research early on never hurt anybody.

ORIGINAL: TastyTrout

thanks for the info guys....I don't have anything specific in mind that I want to hunt.  I merely want to hunt some sort of big game outside of Pennsylvania and want to combine it with a fishing experience.  I know it's not going to be cheap so it's a few years down the road, but a little research early on never hurt anybody.

Early research is good.  Since you don't seem to know what you want to hunt, start here -- how much do you want to spend? 
 
Keep in mind that the outfitter/guide is only part of the cost.  There are tips (10% of the fee traditionally), travel (airfare, hotels, rental cars, fuel if you are driving), non-hunting time (travel) meals, and equipment costs. 
 
If you are hunting something that you don't normally hunt that can mean a suitable rifle for the task, practice and hunting ammunition, clothes for a different climate, boots for a different climate, licenses, etc.  All in all, the outfitter/guide portion is about 50-75% of the total cost.
 
As an example, a year or two ago, my wife and I were considering a four animal safari in South Africa.  We had the guns (from other trips to other places for other species), had the clothes, etc.  The only three cost centers were the safari itself, travel, and return of any trophies.  The safari itself was less than a 1 on 2 guided elk hunt here in the US, so that wasn't an issue.  The return of the trophies wasn't a problem either -- it cost the same to ship hide and horns as mounts because it is sea freight and is based on the size of the container, not weight.  Getting all four mounted in Africa would be less than getting one mounted in the US.  But the airfare was the issue.  I saw it for as little as $1,500 per person one day and as much as $4,300 the very next day -- and I was looking 6 months out, not short term.  At $1,500, the trip was doable.  At the other amounts (anything over $2,000 per person, the airfare was as much as the safari) it was not.

By having the amount you want to spend in mind, you can eliminate a lot of trips. And remember -- you get what you pay for.

Actually we did not go.  The constant flucuation in airfare made the price too variable for my liking.  In the end, I did not think it was worth the price.  We were not looking at dangerous game -- just stuff with horns.

I dislike saying this, but you aren't going to get much for a total price of $5,000 -- as hard as that seems to be.  If the guide portion of the trip is 50% of the total cost that means you are only looking at booking a $2,500 outfitter.  If the guide portion is 75% that means that you are looking at booking a $3,750 outfitter.  Do a search and see what you get for that.  You will be very disappointed.

Here is the link for a caribou hunt that I recall looking at in the past -- since you were looking at some type of combo deal.

http://www.clubchambeaux.com/?sport=hunting&langue=en&section_id=4

Keep in mind that the pricing does not include transportation to the pick-up spot, gratuities, or other expenses.

Good luck!

Triple B,
 
I do not disagree with you on the Africa thing.  If it were just me going, the extreme flucuations in airfare would have been a concern, but not a show stopper.  However, because my wife was going to hunt as well, any swings in price were times two.  That meant that at different times while I was checking, the price of the total trip could have gone up by as much as $4000 to $6000.  It became a chicken or the egg thing -- do I book the trip and hope the airfare for those dates didn't raise the price of the total door-to-door by 33% or did I book the airfare (I saw it change as quickly as within an hour or two) and take the chance that the outfitter still had that date availabe.