ight boys heres my biggest most excited carrer op yet... my stepmom used to be a guide for san miguel hunting ranches owned by mike and holly gardner....she called me earlier tonite and asked what i thought about bein a guide ?!!! i said hell yea id jump all over that.. now i have guided a few people over the years without pay just to see the smile on their face when the plant and arrow or bullet in the swwet spot of a nice one...and like the rest of you i live for hunting...i think about it at school , work, with my girlfreind(if she only knew)haha.. everywhere!.. and this seems like my big chance.. she told me that she was talkin to one of the guys working for san miguel and he mentioned it to her and invited me to go down durin the summer for their school... its a 3 day course starteing friday ending sunday.. you learn everythinig from feeders blinds and foodplots to spot and stalk and feild dressing animals.. and i have all of this experience .. alot more than most other 18 year olds i know.....so my question is i am about to jump all over the chance.. but how good will that job be?.. i will probably be living in south texas or the southern hill country for this job.. and is it worth it? they also have exotics so it will be year around....and i will get to do what i love!!! hunt! and get paid to do it.. i know some of you are or were guides out there... and what is yalls opinion in particular?
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A young man I work with is going to guide school in a few months. Sounds like a lot of hard work and fun. -
I say do it now and don't look back. There will be lots of little fringe benefits and you will learn alot that can be valuable down the road. Just do it with energy and honesty....word of mouth will make you or break you. Good luck.
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Ain't nothing like getting paid for what you love to do best. I know a guy that guides down in Falfurious(sp), he says it's a whole lot of work, but well worth it. Good luck on your decision.Comment
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do it brother, you won't look back. I have been doing it now for four years and have no regrets at all. it is what i live for, it is hard on relationships if you have one and normally you don't have much free time to go do things. other than that it is a blast.Comment
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i did some guiding for the first time this year and i loved it, BUT i have a cool set up. its only 5 miles from the ranch that i hunt and only 15 miles from my house!! The ranch owners/outfit are awesome people and they really take care of us
and thats a huge plus!!!! The food is to die for and the lodge is really cool. Hell they allowed me to harvest my BIG hog on their ranch. Now thats cool. Also i only have to guide 3 or 4 weekends a year(thurs afternoon till sunday night) that being said i dont know if i could do it full time or a long period of time. its a lot more work than you think. we are up everyday at 4:30 to get the trucks, rangers, ice chest, snack packs, drinks, guns, etc..... ready before our hunters get up. eat breakfast and hunt till noon eat lunch then back at it again around 2 or 3 till dark three days in a row. after lunch we(guides) as our hunters nap are filling out harvest logs, skinning/caping game, etc.... just my .02 i love to hunt a lot more than i like putting clients on the right animal. BUT then again with the $$$ i made this year in 4 weekends of guiding i am able to pay for my honeymoon! but if i was single and 18 like you i would probably jump all over it! Good luck!
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Single and 18?...Ya, I would do it. That's about when I started. I am 33 now and have pretty much retired from the guiding game as of this year. A word of caution...be very careful about who you guide for. You can contact me through email if you want that last statement clairified. I have no idea how many different outfitters/guide services/ranches I have guided for. In the early years I worked for some pretty big outfits (one of which was in fact San Miguel) and then I progressed to just work for private ranches. I very much prefer them over the big outfits. But, I'm sure you will have fun with the gig. I had a lot of fun for many years. If you have to pay for the "guide school" I would think twice about going. If it is free and you just want to kill some time it might be fun. Remember, most guide work is seasonal. You probably won't be guiding enough exotic hunters in the off-season to pay the bills. Something to think about.
I'm not trying to be a downer, but you asked for "particular" opinions. I'd be happy to talk with you in greater detail on the phone...I am a slow typer. The goods usually out-weigh the bads and it is not a bad lifestyle. Give me a call if you want, numbers are on my website.Comment
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Isn't San Miguel base here in Austin? I have seen their truck around town and I thought they use to have an office close to Oakhill on 290.Comment
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Sounds like a great opp if you can afford to do it seasonally. I've heard people talk about hunts on the San Miguel, sounds like a great place.Comment
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Do it, your 18 with no responsibilities. I know you have a girlfriend but thats not the same as a wife. Anyway, you are young enough that you could do this and go to college if you wanted to. You could do this for 5 years and figure out its not what you want to do with your life you will still only be 23 years old. Still young enough to find a new career.
DO IT !!Comment
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