[waterfowler1994]

Can anybody recommend a good guide up in saskatchewan. I am looking to book a trip for next season. Top gun guide service, living sky outfitters and swiftriver outfitters are a few that i have looked. Any opinion on these or any others is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[BGipson]

Yourself. You are the best option unless you want a good thing to end. The more you support guides, the more access is lost to the freelance hunter.

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[waterfowler1994]

Would much rather do it myself and plan on it soon down the road without a doubt but at the moment I do not have the equipment and i was offered to go somewhere and hunt as a gift so i would be crazy to not turn that down.

 

[BGipson]

Gotcha. I've heard of Top Gun but not the other 2. I can't make recommendations per forum rules.

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[jaysweet3]

Start your search in the Quill lake area. That's where most of the waterfowling goes on.

 

[rem870hntr]

BGipson

Unless you have lots of time to scout and dont want to hunt mornings and afternoons guides are the only way to go.. They do all the leg work and spend their time and money on fuel etc to get you on the birds..

Scouting eats up hunting time and eats into your wallet for gas in very expensive in Canada...

If you shoot limits every day you have to either gift them or clean them and you can only have 3x the legal limit in possession...

Getting permission is somewhat easy but not quite as easy as you might think and yet again you have to haul decoys blinds etc..

All of this takes time and money so if a hunter only has a few days guides are the only way to go..

Also freelance is HARD work and requires guys to pick up tear down etc etc

So freelancing although rewarding is not the easiest or the cheapest way to go

 

[BGipson]

BGipson

Unless you have lots of time to scout and dont want to hunt mornings and afternoons guides are the only way to go.. They do all the leg work and spend their time and money on fuel etc to get you on the birds..

Scouting eats up hunting time and eats into your wallet for gas in very expensive in Canada...

If you shoot limits every day you have to either gift them or clean them and you can only have 3x the legal limit in possession...

Getting permission is somewhat easy but not quite as easy as you might think and yet again you have to haul decoys blinds etc..

All of this takes time and money so if a hunter only has a few days guides are the only way to go..

Also freelance is HARD work and requires guys to pick up tear down etc etc

So freelancing although rewarding is not the easiest or the cheapest way to go

I'm a snow goose hunter so hard work setting and pulling spreads is not an issue to me. I put 12k miles on my truck between October and March for ducks and geese here in the states. Sounds like you're more the weekend warrior type so I get how the task could be daunting. I live for waterfowl hunting so it's worth it to keep land open to the average guy by not supporting guides that lock land up. I'm not about shooting limits, I'm about the time spent with friends. Having lived in states with inaccessible private land and states where farmers were friendly and not greedy, I much prefer the latter.

 

[rem870hntr]

Actually I hunt about 100 days a year and hunting is not a daunting task for me.. Weekend warrior is not what I would call myself and I am a purist only shooting mallards....

The point was about time and money and we all get you don't like guides because they lock up land but the question wasn't about that it was about guide recommendstions. YOU obviously have time to spend so therefore freelancing works for you but most guys don't have the time it takes to freelance plus it is expensive that's the answer.

 

[wildside2014]

BGipson

Unless you have lots of time to scout and dont want to hunt mornings and afternoons guides are the only way to go.. They do all the leg work and spend their time and money on fuel etc to get you on the birds..

Scouting eats up hunting time and eats into your wallet for gas in very expensive in Canada...

If you shoot limits every day you have to either gift them or clean them and you can only have 3x the legal limit in possession...

Getting permission is somewhat easy but not quite as easy as you might think and yet again you have to haul decoys blinds etc..

All of this takes time and money so if a hunter only has a few days guides are the only way to go..

Also freelance is HARD work and requires guys to pick up tear down etc etc

So freelancing although rewarding is not the easiest or the cheapest way to go

I'm a snow goose hunter so hard work setting and pulling spreads is not an issue to me. I put 12k miles on my truck between October and March for ducks and geese here in the states. Sounds like you're more the weekend warrior type so I get how the task could be daunting. I live for waterfowl hunting so it's worth it to keep land open to the average guy by not supporting guides that lock land up. I'm not about shooting limits, I'm about the time spent with friends. Having lived in states with inaccessible private land and states where farmers were friendly and not greedy, I much prefer the latter.

Most of us up here are pushing pretty hard for Americans to be forced to use guides when bird hunting north of the border. Us in Alberta and Saskatchewan anyways. You will see the end of freelancing sooner than later.

 

[AWall3322]

Why?

 

[wildside2014]

Well theres a thread I read through on here where a few guys have stated they shoot their max limits while up here only to give the meat away, which is bush league and frankly shouldn't happen. Residents competing with cross border hunters, and dealing with U.S. trespassers is always a peach. In the end I think a lot of guys up here are just tired of non resident hunters having free reign.

 

[BGipson]

Well theres a thread I read through on here where a few guys have stated they shoot their max limits while up here only to give the meat away, which is bush league and frankly shouldn't happen. Residents competing with cross border hunters, and dealing with U.S. trespassers is always a peach. In the end I think a lot of guys up here are just tired of non resident hunters having free reign.

So what do they do with their limits when they shoot them with a guide? Is it different when the guide gives the meat away or just buries the birds in a pit? :huh:

I can't speak for everyone stateside, but for my friends and I, it isn't about piles of birds but the experience. None of my friends have shot specks so that's high on the "to-do" list. We also have a less than spectacular snow goose season in Idaho, especially considering the effort we put in, so snows are on the agenda as well. Beyond that it's just a new area to explore and enjoy.

I can tell you for a fact that your small towns will take a HUGE hit in revenue if you force all non-residents to have a guide. 90% of guys simply won't go any more. This is our first trip and it wouldn't be possible if we weren't freelancing. I don't know what the last guy was talking about, saying it's more expensive to freelance, because that is far from the truth (if you already have the gear).

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[wildside2014]

Ya by locals up here its definitely looked down upon even when a non residents guide gives away their days harvest. The general consensus up here is if you aren't going to eat what you shoot you probably shouldn't be shooting. Not saying its the right opinion, but it is the general opinion. Theres a major push going on right now to make all of our mule deer, elk and moose off limits to any non resident as well.

In a lot of ways I don't want to see Americans pushed out, as Ive shot and guided a lot of great guys and gals. BUT, at the same time Ive also had a group of southern boys (just last year) pushing up birds on my own fields to try and push them into a field they had permission on after trying to kick me off my own field where I was planning on shooting on the next morning lol

Just some examples of why some guys up here are pushing for it.

 

[BGipson]

Ya by locals up here its definitely looked down upon even when a non residents guide gives away their days harvest. The general consensus up here is if you aren't going to eat what you shoot you probably shouldn't be shooting. Not saying its the right opinion, but it is the general opinion. Theres a major push going on right now to make all of our mule deer, elk and moose off limits to any non resident as well.

In a lot of ways I don't want to see Americans pushed out, as Ive shot and guided a lot of great guys and gals. BUT, at the same time Ive also had a group of southern boys (just last year) pushing up birds on my own fields to try and push them into a field they had permission on after trying to kick me off my own field where I was planning on shooting on the next morning lol

Just some examples of why some guys up here are pushing for it.

I feel ya there! Always the disrespectful @sshats ruining it for those of us who go out of our way to do everything right and not step on anyone's toes. I'm working on getting RM maps now so we can contact landowners as we find birds. We all eat our birds or process them into jerky/sticks and share with friends and family. I eat very little non-game meat each year between my ducks, geese, cranes, grouse, deer and whatever else I'm lucky enough to harvest.

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[wildside2014]

I hear you on that. Unfortunately it is the bad apples that give everyone a bad name. If you're freelancing alberta let me know and ill put you on some birds this fall. PM me if you want any pointers

 

[BGipson]

I hear you on that. Unfortunately it is the bad apples that give everyone a bad name. If you're freelancing alberta let me know and ill put you on some birds this fall. PM me if you want any pointers

If you ever get the wild hair and want to hunt stateside, hit me up. I'm on the Wyoming/Idaho/Utah border. Probably not anything we can offer that would be better than AB however 3:

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[waterfowler1994]

Well this thread got way off topic lol oh well. I definitely plan on eating what I harvest without a doubt, i love freelancing and thats all i do here stateside but i do not have the gear yet to make venture north but will in there future. I can understand why people hate outfitters, but i also feel like they get grouped into a bad category based on a few bad experiences and what not.

 

[BGipson]

Well this thread got way off topic lol oh well. I definitely plan on eating what I harvest without a doubt, i love freelancing and thats all i do here stateside but i do not have the gear yet to make venture north but will in there future. I can understand why people hate outfitters, but i also feel like they get grouped into a bad category based on a few bad experiences and what not.

I've got nothing against the outfitter trying to make a living. It just sucks what it eventually evolves into. I grew up in the North Valley of California where you can't get on private ground to "freelance" without dropping money. I went to college in eastern South Dakota where 80% of the time, all it took was a 5 minute conversation about corn/beans/wheat prices, weather, or whatever and you could get on almost anywhere. Having seen both sides of the coin, I much prefer land to be open. Sorry I hijacked your thread and good luck to you whoever you choose to go with!

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[whiskyjack]

Fortunately paid access is illegal in Alberta and I believe Sask as well. We need to keep it that way. Not saying it doesn't happen but if caught it is taken seriously.
Lots of great freelance opportunities here but it is expensive just getting started. I doubt there are many on this board just getting started tough. Upgrading gear....well that can be costly too.
A few guys I know of will start their trip with a day or two of being guided then once they get a feel for the ground will go it themselves. Nice combo kind of hunt.

 

[waterfowler1994]

no worries it definitely an interesting topic. i have not had to deal with paying to hunt a whole lot because in the immediate area i hunt all it takes usually is some door knocking and some nice conversation to get permission.