# Bust duck hunt



## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

I went on a "guided" duck hunt this morning. I took the wife to try to get her on a few before the season closed. Went with an outfitter 30 minutes south of Dallas. We did not fire a shot and saw less than 15 birds. The calling by the guide was poor at best in my opinion but that's irrelevant. He still charged us full price. In my opinion that's not right when you bring clients on a hunt and don't see ducks or even shoot. Give me your opinion!


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## LA Wader (Oct 22, 2013)

That's fair chase hunting! I've been on both sides in this deal. If you are booking hunts way in advance, your at Mother Natures mercy. I've guided people where we didn't shoot and the customers still had to pay. it sucks but, outfitter still had to pay me and those leases are by no means cheap! 

I have also been on guided hunts where I didn't pick my gun up! It happens. I paid the full price and never questioned it. I have been on plenty of hunts with my buddies or by myself where I didn't kill. I was hunting prime areas, birds didn't move those days.

If the weather was clear and calm for y'all like it was on the coast, not duck weather! We crushed them yesterday and killed very few today! Saw a fraction of birds we saw yesterday. Till next season!


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

Yessir. I see your point 100% and totally understand it. Just wondering what people thought about it.


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## wycwby (May 19, 2012)

It could have very well been the best duck hunt that you have ever been on, and then the price would have seemed more than fair. Just saying that sometimes mother nature doesn't go along with your plans, and sometimes she exceeds them. That's why we call it hunting. If the guide states gaurantee kills that is one thing.


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## SpottedAg (Jun 16, 2010)

I've guided and quit guiding because the outfitter would book hunts always claiming to be on birds and I had to continuously make excuses on why we didn't kill any. 

If he sold you a hunt a day or two before it claiming birds were everywhere and you'd hammer them, I feel you have a right to not pay full price. Birds don't just stop moving overnight. 

I had one of these this year hunting geese with a guide off 2cool. Hunt was sold the day before it as "man, were on em it'll be on". In reality, they had a small field between the roost and feed, but not near either. We shot one bird. It was already a discounted trip so I paid. Truthfully, I felt terrible for inviting my friends who were really planning on a good hunt

Booked in advance? It's a crapshoot and you gotta pay.


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

I booked it two days ago. He said he was going to scout it and call me and let me know for sure. He called yesterday and said there were 3-500 birds in the hole yesterday morning, with 60% mallards. So we went today and it was far from that. I am aware that duck hunting is free chase and blah blah, and they have to pay there bills, but in my opinion seems tough to keep a reputable name. At the end of the hunt he told me that he killed less than 200 birds all year. (Combined total of his clients)


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

Like you said SpottedAg, I felt the worst for bringing someone with me and waste their time as well when we were told yesterday it was good. And I have been on a guided goose hunt before and the outfitter told us it'd be jam up and it wasn't. And they charged us half price and we all still paid in full so they could have a good tip and everything. I don't mind paying, but when u don't kill and the guide still is says full price, he has no incentive to put you on ducks, or whatever you are hunting. Because if you don't kill they still get paid


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

If there were that many mallards in the hole it would NOT be uncommon for them to up and change locations overnight ... IF ... 

We had 1000 in a creek right before Christmas laid up ready to POUND em, and overnight the wind shifted 12 degrees and they were GONE. AND the slew that had zero birds on it the day before - they shot a 7 man limit of green.

The reliability of the guide his reputation and the other whatnots are really an unknown here so it's going to be really hard for ANY of us to chime in with an accurate "what we think". For instance ... if full price is ... say ... $150 bucks. Well you might not be looking at the right guy to kill mallards. If full price was $300 bucks a gun, well ... he should have given you a come back or something.

More details ...


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

225. And if you are asking by more details for me to give you his name. I'm not posting it on this page. Not about to bash the guy because I'm aware birds move and things happen and I have no reason to bash the guy. I was just asking what opinions were on full price or not.


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

And I paid full price and tipped if before someone questions it.


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

And I wasn't looking to "kill mallards." That's just what he was said was there. I would should whatever flew in there. The hunt was for the wife to get to shoot a few birds.


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## 4thbreak (May 20, 2005)

$225 and not firing my gun would be unacceptable to me unless the guide was adamant about there being no birds. You're telling me the guide doesn't have a place good enough to shoot a few teal, shovelers or some jacks worst case? 

But I'd be equally as ****** if I paid close to $200 to goose hunt and everyone only got their specks. But some people are happy with it, so more power to them.


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## JFolm (Apr 22, 2012)

I have an idea of who you are talking about.

I used a guide last year and he took us on public land. My beef with him was he admitted he did not do any scouting, we shot one bird, and he took us to a spot that was within sight of the boat ramp. We asked why we didn't go to a particular spot that is known to be popular ( heard a ton of shooting) and he said he didn't feel like fighting the other public hunters...


That has left a bad taste in my mouth with hiring a guide. I guess I have high expectations because I am somewhat successful hunting on my own. Where as some people have no idea what they are doing and are happy with shooting at a bird or two.


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## Mr. Saltwater (Oct 5, 2012)

4thbreak said:


> $225 and not firing my gun would be unacceptable to me unless the guide was adamant about there being no birds. You're telling me the guide doesn't have a place good enough to shoot a few teal, shovelers or some jacks worst case?


I would not be happy about it to say the least. Sounds like the "guide" doesn't know what he's doing.

I hope that was $225 for the hunt and not $450 for both of you combined.


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## spurgersalty (Jun 29, 2010)

JFolm said:


> I have an idea of who you are talking about.
> 
> I used a guide last year and he took us on public land. My beef with him was he admitted he did not do any scouting, we shot one bird, and he took us to a spot that was within sight of the boat ramp. We asked why we didn't go to a particular spot that is known to be popular ( heard a ton of shooting) and he said he didn't feel like fighting the other public hunters...
> 
> That has left a bad taste in my mouth with hiring a guide. I guess I have high expectations because I am somewhat successful hunting on my own. Where as some people have no idea what they are doing and are happy with shooting at a bird or two.


:rotfl:
Jeremy, I've shot more mallards on steinhagen staring at the boat ramp than I care to disclose. It's awesome! Everyone drives right by and heads up river and to the hardest holes to get to:rotfl: 
More power to'em:bounce:


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

225 each. I wish it was combined as well!


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## JFolm (Apr 22, 2012)

spurgersalty said:


> :rotfl:
> Jeremy, I've shot more mallards on steinhagen staring at the boat ramp than I care to disclose. It's awesome! Everyone drives right by and heads up river and to the hardest holes to get to:rotfl:
> More power to'em:bounce:


There's no birds on Steinhagen, everyone knows that!


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## Garwood57 (Jul 1, 2007)

It happens, weather and mother nature. But the true measure is how the guide treats you and how honest it appears they were with respect to bird counts and would they really cancel a hunt if the birds had moved off their properties? I think there are a few, but not many that I have encountered. I can filter out the BS pretty easy. A guide that feels bad and tries to make it up with another hunt or a discounted hunt is one that I especially respect. Good luck, I may still go on a guided hunt but I am looking at their track record and reputation a lot more.


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## AvianQuest (Feb 7, 2006)

You paid for a "hunt". It's called hunting rather than killing because we don't control nature, let alone what birds are going to do one day to the next.

The time honored method is to go to where the birds have been the day before, but there is no guarantee that they will be there the next day. Maybe they feed the place out and moved, or some one slipped in the evening before and ran them all off and they found another place to roost or feed. 

I have been on hunts where a shot wasn't fired and I tipped the guide well because I knew that he busted his rump doing everything he could on his end. I have also been on limit hunts where the number of birds made the guide look like a genius but I had serious doubts about his abilities. 

Sorry you had a bad hunt. It makes it worse when you are taking someone and have high expectations

I have guided duck and goose hunting as well as fresh and saltwater fishing. I didn't continue doing it because it bothered me more than it probably bothered the clients when the birds or fish didn't cooperate.


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## Jamie (Aug 2, 2011)

I guided part-time for 20+ years

Bad hunts occur...occasionally

My policy was ..if we didn't kill at least 10 geese, the hunt was free

I felt I was a professional and a good hunter...if I couldn't kill at least 10, then I didn't do the job you hired me for


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## Stack (Sep 15, 2012)

*Understands who pays the bills*

I only use guides.
I hunt with one in POC & we have always kill birds. Some days better than others.
I also hired a guide in Garwood this year. Even before we left the lodge the talk was of how few the birds were this year. (The Friday after Christmas). We saw the same flock of pintails all morning long. They never did get close enough for a decent shot. I can appreciate that the guide worked to put out the decoys, called & had a dog ready to work, but when nothing hits the water I feel that the price paid is enough. (no tip paid) 
What makes me appreciate the guide service is that since my group was a 1st time client they offered a "hunt on them" for next season.
Now that is a service that is trying to gain clients.
My last guide for the season is in Navasota. I had 2 dates set with him. This one requires a deposit to hold the dates. Before each Saturday he called me to inform me that there were no birds in or around his "honey hole." Both days were cancelled. 
We have already scheduled dates for next season & my deposit will roll over.
In conclusion, you have to sift through the bad guides to find those who respect their clients time & money. It is best if you know of someone who has been with a guide who understands this principal. :headknock


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## duckmania (Jun 3, 2014)

I agree with Stack, if a guide lets me know a day or so in advance that the there are no birds, I respect that and will use him again. If I'm at a lodge or someplace and the weather changes the night before I know the birds may be gone, or there may be more. That's just hunting. If the guide is working to put me on birds, I'll pay him.


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

Here is a question for you , how many day hunts for deer have you been on where you didn't see a thing? Did you complain to your outfitter about that?
Hunting is hunting, there are no guarantees you are going to kill something.
90% of the day hunts I have done resulted in no kills for deer, that is the risk you take.
The duck hunting this year has really been a hit or miss. 
I hunted a duck blind last Saturday, shot 3 ducks, guys hunted the same blind on Sunday and needed 2 ducks to make limits for everyone.
That is just the way it goes, you spin the wheel and take your chances.


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

duckmania said:


> I agree with Stack, if a guide lets me know a day or so in advance that the there are no birds, I respect that and will use him again. If I'm at a lodge or someplace and the weather changes the night before I know the birds may be gone, or there may be more. That's just hunting. If the guide is working to put me on birds, I'll pay him.


I agree totally. It is a lot on the guides actions and how pleased you are with them. Booking a couple days in advance..i feel as though there weren't birds there in the first place and he just booked a spot to make a hunt. Lesson learned not to go with him. Like Stack said find the ones you like and go with them. I only go on a guided hunt about once a year and do the rest of my hunting on private leases or public. The only reason I went with one is because I was out of town on the last weekend of duck season. I know what "hunting" is and how it isn't guaranteed. I never said to anyone I thought we should shoot birds, or even limit. I merely asked what people thought about paying full price for there being no ducks.

And to daddyeax.. I don't see how a day lease, where you are hunting land that is hunted every day by and the deer spend their whole life on that one ranch or in a close by vicinity, can be compared to hunting birds that migrate. Most duck guides rotate blinds and I would think, not for sure, that the success rate on guided duck hunts surpasses true "day hunts." I see where you are coming from but I don't think it really compares.

And to answer your question, no i have never been on a day deer hunt where I didn't kill a deer. I have always had personal and private lands to hunt. I went on 1 "day hunt" and 3 out of 4 people killed deer...since you wanted to know


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## Category6 (Nov 21, 2007)

news flash...guide has openings with a few days notice; guide probably isn't worth paying two squirts of cold @iss for. Or, maybe he's the best ever and the area around Dallas is loaded with greenheads, who knows.


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## Category6 (Nov 21, 2007)

TexasSlam18 said:


> Like you said SpottedAg, I felt the worst for bringing someone with me and waste their time as well when we were told yesterday it was good. And I have been on a guided goose hunt before and the outfitter told us it'd be jam up and it wasn't. And they charged us half price and we all still paid in full so they could have a good tip and everything. I don't mind paying, but when u don't kill and the guide still is says full price, he has no incentive to put you on ducks, or whatever you are hunting. Because if you don't kill they still get paid


How was it wasting your wife's time? Was she doing something more important than spending time with you and cancelled in order to go duck hunting? I would say the following: 1. if you can judge calling so well why not guide yourself? 2. if you expect to kill every single time then you are not a hunter you are a customer, and 3. don't ever book a short notice duck hunt in an area not known for holding ducks and then complain about paying "full price" whatever that is, that guy isn't God and he doesn't tell the ducks to leave or not leave in the middle of the night even if they WERE there yesterday (they weren't)


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

Hope you feel better now behind that keyboard! It'd be tough not to guide duck hunts when I do deer hunts along with a full time job. If there were more than 7 days in the week I might


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

Sounds like if I wanted to kill em cat I needed you to guide me!!


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## Category6 (Nov 21, 2007)

you have no clue about the things you speak...I'm sorry you had a bad experience.


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## Garwood57 (Jul 1, 2007)

I agree with Stack. Guides that will call ahead and tell you the birds are not there or offer some kind of concession or make up are real professionals and understand trying to develop long term relationships.


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## Category6 (Nov 21, 2007)

So......Stack stiffed a guide based on the hunting club (probably around $100 a man or less, great deal!), not the effort put forth by the guide who had no input as to where or why. Then he booked multiple hunts around NAVASOTA, an area renowned for the incredible duck numbers, and then cancelled his hunts based on the shockingly luke warm predictions of the "outfitter." Stack is 100% my hero here. What am I missing? Am I wrong or am I just a dick?


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

TexasSlam18 said:


> 225. And if you are asking by more details for me to give you his name. I'm not posting it on this page. Not about to bash the guy because I'm aware birds move and things happen and I have no reason to bash the guy. I was just asking what opinions were on full price or not.


Naw man. Couldn't care to know his name at all. If I'd wanted it, I'd have asked - or PM'd ... Sounds like a bum deal, but the details I wanted to know about where exactly those I asked about. Don't need to read in between the lines.

If we're asking the PRICE only question. Was it public land ... ? I don't remember you saying if it were or not. If it was public, NO he probably shouldn't have asked full price. If it was private (especially in the event he leased it from someone so you and his other clients could hunt it), YES he should have asked full price.


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

Yessir it was private land. That's all I wanted to know! Thanks for your honest opinion! Paid full price and tipped. I guess that bad hunt goes with some of the jam up hunts I've been on! It is what it is! Not sayin one way was right or wrong.. Just curious what y'all thought


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## ZGM13 (Mar 10, 2013)

I think either way, public or private land you should pay the full price. It's up to the guide to make things right with another hunt or a discounted hunt. If he dosent' try to make things right, then that speaks for itself, in my opinion. As far as his scouting report, I had the same thing from a guide this year who said he saw 1500 plus birds the day before the hunt. We saw 12 that day and shot two. He was south of Dallas also. I always tip on the customer service and how well I was taken care of throughout my hunt not so much on the number of birds killed.


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## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

Stack said:


> I only use guides.
> I hunt with one in POC & we have always kill birds. Some days better than others.
> I also hired a guide in Garwood this year. Even before we left the lodge the talk was of how few the birds were this year. (The Friday after Christmas). We saw the same flock of pintails all morning long. They never did get close enough for a decent shot. I can appreciate that the guide worked to put out the decoys, called & had a dog ready to work, but when nothing hits the water I feel that the price paid is enough. (no tip paid)
> What makes me appreciate the guide service is that since my group was a 1st time client they offered a "hunt on them" for next season.
> ...


.....did you really stiff the guide on a tip cause the birds wouldn't come down? wow. sad3sm if you take them up on that free hunt, I can tell you how many birds you are gonna shoot, 0.


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## LA Wader (Oct 22, 2013)

I have been in the fishing/duck guiding business (part time) for the last 11 years. There are good days and bad days. A duck guide has 60 days to make his money, that's his sole income. Around my area, outfitters pay many thousands of dollars for their leases. They have multiple blinds so they can be rotated for various reasons. There are no public lands to guide on. If the outfitter were to call and cancel hunts, well he would go broke! 

When someone books a HUNT it is taking a chance to kill something. I don't know any guide that wakes up and doesn't want to kill them! There can be all the birds in the world around you, but if they don't move (seen it happen many times), then you don't kill squat. The birds can move in or out overnight, so you never know what the morning may bring. It sucks when Mother Nature throw a wrench in your spokes, but that's hunting! It's on those slow days when a guide has to do all in his power to make that hunt go well for the customers. Remember they are a guide, not God!

My hats off to the OP for paying the full price and still giving the guide a tip.


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

I work with Garwood Hunting Club, and we have cancelled more hunts this year than we ever have. In our area the birds just seemed to disappear the second split. If you have a hunt booked and you call us ahead of time we will tell you what the outlook is. If it is slow we will tell you that and let you make the call. All we can really do is provide you with a pond full of water, loaded with decoys, a comfortable blind and the opportunity to kill birds. We will work our arse off for you but we can't make the birds come to the pond.


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## duckmania (Jun 3, 2014)

daddyeaux said:


> I work with Garwood Hunting Club, and we have cancelled more hunts this year than we ever have. In our area the birds just seemed to disappear the second split. If you have a hunt booked and you call us ahead of time we will tell you what the outlook is. If it is slow we will tell you that and let you make the call. All we can really do is provide you with a pond full of water, loaded with decoys, a comfortable blind and the opportunity to kill birds. We will work our arse off for you but we can't make the birds come to the pond.


Thats about as a fair of deal anyone who duck hunts can ask for.


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## grman (Jul 2, 2010)

Used to work for both Circle H and Oyster Bayou.

Especially at Oyster Bayou - here is what you pay for:
You will step from a dry boat dock into a 20+ ft center console and have a nice comfy ride down the bayou to another dock. 
At the other dock - you will step on a firm board walk that will take you over the levee into the Joe Lague Marsh - the largest PRIVATE freshwater marsh bordering the Anuahac wildlife refuge. 
At the end of this boardwalk would be a double wide aluminum boat with a jet drive that would take you deep into the marsh.
There you would step on to a fully camo'ed deck with six pits installed. Each pit would have a light and be dry as a bone.
There would be a couple of hundred dekes already set.
So you could hunt Texas coastal marsh in tennis shoes and blue jeans if you desired.


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## MadMike (Mar 21, 2008)

Down south most guides know before hand all the clients are going to shoot 2 redheads. They stay booked all season. Some people must be happy w 2 ducks. We hired a guide in lagoona last yr explaining we only want widgeons. And we understand no one can make that happen. So during the hunt he was frustrated with us because we wouldn't shoot red heads spoonys b bills gaddys. Finally we said we would rather not shoot and leave with less than shooting a bunch of **** we can shoot in our back yard. Ended up with a hand full if widg and few pins since it was obvious the widg we're not going to show. He still got a hefty tip, even though he was trying to put our breasted out meat in w the other 2 groups pile of spoonys and device em up. I grabbed our birds and said nicely we want to pluck our birds.


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

ZGM13 said:


> I think either way, public or private land you should pay the full price ...


Yeah ... I mean maybe 1/2 price or something was the way to go - but it's hard for a guide to pay for land to hunt and then eat it because a migratory bird decided to be migratory ...

EVERYONE has overhead ...

Sucks man ... !

Hit me up and I'll point you to some guys in that area that hold birds next fall.


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## Stack (Sep 15, 2012)

Gilbert said:


> .....did you really stiff the guide on a tip cause the birds wouldn't come down? wow. sad3sm if you take them up on that free hunt, I can tell you how many birds you are gonna shoot, 0.


 When I do take them up on that free hunt I may not see any birds (because this is called hunting & not killing), but guess what Gilbert I will have paid $0.
At that point, I may or may not waste my time or $ with that service again. 
The worst part for that club is that I will not be talking about them to my hunting buddies - good or bad. Which in turn will be less advertising for them. Now this club claims to have been in business 25+ years and apparently the owners of this club seem to grasp the concept of business. An unpleasant or unhappy client is a detriment their bottom line. 
They are doing everything in their power to make sure that a first time client might have a better experience & book hunts with them in the future.
Something you seem to not understand.
Now to you other statement. I paid full price to hunt, the guide will get his cut from the lodge for what was agreed upon when he was hired. 
My 2cents on tipping is, if I feel that the service was above & beyond normal a tip is warranted. No, I do not hold it against the guide for the birds not coming closer. I hold the guide for not moving us when the action was and had been dead by 8AM. That would have been above & beyond normal!
During this same hunt, we were just on the outskirts of thousands of geese. It is always something to see them get up off the roost. We were in the flyway but they had other plans for breakfast. By the way Gilbert ,the guide did TRY to call them down.
Maybe you should read the first blog and stick to the original question and keep your ******* statements to yourself.


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## Category6 (Nov 21, 2007)

Stack said:


> When I do take them up on that free hunt I may not see any birds (because this is called hunting & not killing), but guess what Gilbert I will have paid $0.
> At that point, I may or may not waste my time or $ with that service again.
> The worst part for that club is that I will not be talking about them to my hunting buddies - good or bad. Which in turn will be less advertising for them. Now this club claims to have been in business 25+ years and apparently the owners of this club seem to grasp the concept of business. An unpleasant or unhappy client is a detriment their bottom line.
> They are doing everything in their power to make sure that a first time client might have a better experience & book hunts with them in the future.
> ...


So....say the outfitter has 30,000 acres and is running 6-10 hunts per day, and every one of his guides has the authority to just pick up at 7:30 and relocate to what appears to the customer to be the best spot. How long do you think that sort of business plan would persist with 30-50 hunters all running in on the best spot every day? How long do you think the birds would hang around? When you book a guided hunt you are paying for one thing; increased odds of having a great hunt based on the time and money spent beginning way back in June/July when roost ponds are being created, along with the outfitter making his best informed decision about where the birds will decide to feed TOMORROW (good luck getting that right every time!). It is always a **** shoot, and yes there are some very unscrupulous outfitters who take your money without even doing the front end work to give you a chance at a good hunt, but your perspective is ridiculous and your comments towards Gilbert are unwarranted and speak to your lack of understanding about hunting in general and guided hunts in particular. Keep stiffing guides for not moving you to where you can see all those geese on the horizon, and keep taking your free hunts, and always know that you are the worst kind of customer and that every guide and outfitter you hunt with is talking about you in the most unflattering light imaginable as soon as you leave. If you ever want to be on "the X" in your lifetime I strongly encourage you to wholesale change your attitude.


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## Logan (Aug 7, 2009)

Went all the way to Arkansas for timber hunt and shot one GWT.

Paid 3 days in Kansas for one good hunt (and pretty much nothing the other two)


Warm, cloudy, no wind and an overall lack of birds in the areas...still paid the two guides. Just like hunting for yourself...pay your dues and eventually the stars will align.

If you think guides (or even the most successful non-guides) get ducks and fish everyday you are Bat-----Crazy and need to spend more time doing some of this on your own before you try and hire a guide again.

BTW...last I checked ducks have wings and are very apt to use them. If you haven't found birds one day just to get 0 the next day you haven't hunted near enough IMO


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

Thanks logan. Guess I'll try doing some of this on my own. Hahaha.


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## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

I was invited to be included on one guided duck hunt this year on a flooded pond. It was much harder, not as fun, and not as successful as me doing it on my own in the bay. And we had to take much further shots than when i did it on my own. Learned a lot of what not to do. This was my first year to be self guided on the bay. We just scouted around till we found ducks and set up nearby. Wasnt really that hard and was great adventure. Was also invited on two private duck lease hunts. Didnt kill as many birds as our public land do it yourself hunts. The private duck lease hunts were fun with buddies for sure and the blind was more comfy. Shot more and saw more on the bay. Learned a lot this year. Thanks 2ool for the discussions.

Good luck yall.


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## LA Wader (Oct 22, 2013)

I haven't hunted public land much in the last few years, but some of my most memorable hunts were in Sabine NWR. My buddies and I used to murder the birds in that place! Now I hunt these high dollar places that can't compare to what we killed on public land!


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

Yessir. I do 95% of my hunting on public land.. If I hunted private all the time or just guide trips I probably wouldn't be asking a question about it! But apparently I need to go figure it out on my own. Hahahaha


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

Every year... get back to fishing guys. It's over until September.


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## Logan (Aug 7, 2009)

*....*



TexasSlam18 said:


> Thanks logan. Guess I'll try doing some of this on my own. Hahaha.


that was more for Stack.

but if you do it so much on your own (and act like you are semi-successful at it) why didn't you take your wife?

I'm still trying to talk mine into it


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

Dang Stack ... 25 posts deep and we already know your innermost workings and principles ...you're gonna make a lot of friends here.


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## sotx23 (May 4, 2010)

This!!

It happens...... I guide part time for an outfit out of Garwood, hunt public on the coast with friends, private marsh on the coast with friends, leases around here with friends, and buy quite a few guided hunts for clients of my "real job" around here, out of state, and Canada.

Examples of Birds Just not cooperating:

Myself and 4 buddies flew up to North Central Missouri this past December. The hunt alone was a little north of 10k and killed 26 ducks in 3 days hunting Daylight to Dark. It happens....... We had a blast, and will be going back.

Was in Kansas in early December and we whacked em for 3 days. Had some guys I know come in immediately after me with the same outfitter, and they struggled for 3 days. We paid the same.......

Took Clients on an 81 bird goose shoot early in November in Garwood, hunted 4 days later near the same birds (different field) and shot 2 with the same guys.

Birds definitely move, and like some have said this season wasn't normal for me in any of the places I hunt. In my experience you can generally tell if you are getting hosed or if the birds just aren't cooperating.

Example of Being Hosed: I wont name any names..... Had a client from my "Day Job" that was desperate for a Wood Duck. After seeing FB posts, various ads, and pictures of 1st split harvests, I booked a hunt South of Houston specifically targeting Wood Ducks. Outfitter assured me he would save the Wood Duck hole for the Tuesday following the opener of the 2nd split, IF I paid the full price of a "regular duck hunt" ($50-$75 more per man, cant remember). Anyway, I agreed to this on his word that he would save it. Not only did we not shoot any birds, we didnt, see or hear any birds. When I say birds, I am not only referring to ducks!! It was clear that he didnt live up to his end of the deal, and felt he could get away with hunting the wood duck hole multiple times. Anyway, that is an example of being hosed in my opinion. Feel free to PM for more details, but thats all I will divulge on here.



Logan said:


> Went all the way to Arkansas for timber hunt and shot one GWT.
> 
> Paid 3 days in Kansas for one good hunt (and pretty much nothing the other two)
> 
> ...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## TexasSlam18 (Aug 26, 2010)

Logan said:


> that was more for Stack.
> 
> but if you do it so much on your own (and act like you are semi-successful at it) why didn't you take your wife?
> 
> I'm still trying to talk mine into it


We were in Dallas visiting her folks. She
Likes dry blinds with heaters, and she doesn't get much of that in public marsh. She is a fair weathered hunter haha. The agreement with me going up to Dallas for the last weekend of duck season is to go on a hunt.. So that's the reason we took a guide. And by no means am I successful 100% of the time duck hunting. Sorry if I came across that way.

Logan you say you are trying to get your wife to hunt with you.. Careful what you wish for! She might fall in love with it!


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

TexasSlam18 said:


> ... She is a fair weathered hunter ...


MINE thinks the polo club is roughing it ...


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