Pennsylvania Game News - November 2010 - 52

WHEN YOUR guide says, “Take a stand at the opening in the stone wall,” you better do just that. Local hunting hosts know the routine of their wildlife, so it pays to listen.

Bob Steiner

the railroad track, to turn to the left. Look down over the embankment on the creek side, she said, and you’ll see them. Then shoot one. I did, and I did,” he grinned, holding up his turkey. Then he gave me a big hug. “Linda, you can be my guide anytime.” That was quite a compliment. As I learned, guiding can be satisfying, but I’m sure it can also be a burden. I haven’t been on a true guided hunt, such as out West or to Canada or Alaska, like some hunters I know, but I can imagine what it would be like to be a guide there. From what the hunters tell me, a guide does not have it easy. It’s not all fun-in-the-outdoors for the guide. The client is the one who is supposed to have the fun. The guide is the one who is supposed to do the work. That’s what he’s being paid for. Not that clients don’t do some of the work on a guided hunt. Effort must be expended for a hunt to be truly successful, to be worth something. And I would think guides have some enjoyment, or they wouldn’t continue to be guides. But what pressure a guide must be under. Wildlife can show up in the same place, at the same time every day, except the one you want them to. Weather can change quickly and dramatically, and not as predicted. People don’t always do what you tell them to, no matter how exactly they
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are directed. Even if it’s the client’s fault he didn’t get the game you guided him to, he might blame you and worse, complain to would-be clients. No, thank you. It’s great when you can help another hunter and friend, like Joe, to be successful, as a sometimes amateur guide, but I wouldn’t want to produce consistent successful hunts for pay. I suppose professional guides must keep in mind the happy clients, including those who didn’t connect but are grateful to have had a great experience. These must balance the ones who grumble that the massive trophy you guided them to didn’t score as high as they wanted, as if you were personally responsible for the lack of an eighth of an inch. I’ve just been around amateurs, hunting hosts with local knowledge, who point me toward places where I’ll have a highpercentage chance of getting the game I’m after. I’ve always been grateful for their help and I’ve learned from them this truism: “Trust Your Guide.” On-the-spot, up-tothe-minute knowledge of wildlife whereabouts, routes and routines, woods food sources and terrain conditions is worth any price anyone would care to put on it. Although I do most of my hunting in the same close-to-home areas each year, occasionally I find myself on new turf, either across state or out-of-state. I haven’t sought out local advice, mainly because I usually don’t know anyone there who can be my “guide.” I’m on my own or maybe with a friend or two who don’t know this new spot any better than I do. We have to
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Pennsylvania Game News - November 2010

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