hey 86er,

[pokey]

looking for an opinion, my son's buddy from school wants to
be a hunting guide. he just graduated h.s. and is saving to go to
school for such things.this one especially,

http://bearpawoutfitters.com/guide_school.html

any thoughts from a pro in the field?

[86er]

I'd recommend Bliss Creek Outfitters and Tim Doud as the choice guide school. They include segments including cook, camp, ranch, wrangler, and guide.

[Don McDowell]

looks like your Bearpaw outfitters school is a good one.
Just be sure and remind him before he dives off into this, that what he thinks is alot of fun now, will become his job, and sometimes jobs aren't as much fun as we'ld like....

[Buck Elliott]

Does he really want to guide, or does he just think of it as extended hunting..? As one with over 20 years as a licensed guide in Wyoming, I can flatly state that guiding and hunting are not even close to being the same.. Yes the skills and methods are similar, but the attitude and outcome necessarily change..

Guiding eventually soured me on hunting, for several years..

[pokey]

Just be sure and remind him before he dives off into this,

you're kidding, right? 18/19 years old, he knows way more than
i ever will. just trying to nudge him in the right direction.

Does he really want to guide, or does he just think of it as extended hunting..?

serious enough to spend money on learning how.
some lessons are learned the hard way though.

[Buck Elliott]

Time to time, we'd have some kid in camp who was fresh from some highly-touted guide school.. Some knew their business, and worked out -- some were completely lost, away from familiar people and surroundings..

One kid kinda stamds out though.. He had "graduated" from a well-known school in Colorado.. He needed help and instructions just to saddle a horse.. In the mornings, riding into a hunting area in the dark, he kept up a constant, whining diatribe, mostly to calm his fears of the dark.. One particularly memorable, snowy morning, he came upon some elk tracks, crossing the trail.. He dismounted, and held his bare hand over the impressions in the snow, eventually declaring in all seriousness that they were fresh, because they were still warm...! i hope they were, because the air temp that morning was about 10 below....

The kid came to us with a glowing recommendation and testimonial, from the owner of the "school..."

[Don McDowell]

Pokey, wish him luck and all the best time will tell the rest of the story.

[86er]

Some of these stories posted are exactly why I recommend Bliss Creek. Horsemanship, cooking and setting up a camp are a big part of their program. I think I know the school in CO that was mentioned. They do a good job of teaching how to deal with clients and some hunting skills but that's where their program ends. If you want a good start, any PH school in South Africa will cost under $1000 for 10 days. For 14 hrs a day they teach client relations, safety, shot recognition (impact noise, hair impact, animal reaction, etc), tracking, field prep, etc. They do not teach anything about running a camp, horsemanship, cooking, etc. Then as an apprentice PH you have to hunt 5 different pairs of clients on plains game under semi-supervision of the PH mentor. After that you can get a full PH endorsement for plains game. There is another program for dangerous game. Anyway, that is is good start to becoming a registered or licensed guide in the US and is a plus on a resume. After that, a lot of hard work and a good US guide school that offers a full program are essential to be diverse in exploring opportunities. For instance, in the West and N. West horsemanship a requirement. In the far N. West, a Coast Guard Captains License is practically essential. Also, it is possible to hold licenses or registrations in more than one State as long as non-residents are permitted. This helps keep year-round employment. Also, birds-smallgame-waterfowl-varmint skills can be very useful. There is nothing better than a true one-species guide that in totally in tune with that hunt but it is very rare to start that way and it is tough to stay gainful with that type of specialty. One of the best guides I hunted with worked in Alaska June-Sept doing moose, mt. goats and bear. He would hunt sitka deer but made it clear he was not skilled at hunting them and would spot from the boat and then beach and stalk. Oct-Dec he guided in CO for whitetail and elk. Jan-Feb he went all the way to Massachussets for the waterfowl season. March he took off for the most part but would fish. April he would run 3 1/2 weeks in South Africa. He admitted he was best at the Alaskan species and most comfortable there as he was a native. However, he sure diversified throughout the year and made a good living that way. Best of luck to the young man!

[shooter]

I'm watching the Outdoor Channel show featuring Bliss Creek. "Outfitter Bootcamp" is what it's called, and it's a pretty interesting show. Looks like hard work for sure.

[pokey]

thanks for the replies.
i will pass on the info,thoughts and good wishes.