# North Dakota Guides



## recker (Oct 12, 2003)

I have heard so much talk on here about guides leasing up the fields I decided to to look one up on the internet for kicks. It is near Devils Lake and I have heard the name before so I am sure you will know who I mean. I had watched him years ago on a hunting show. They charge $350 a day to hunt with accomadations or $250 without and a minumum of four hunters. That is just crazy. I was looking into hunting Mazatlan last winter with a 20 duck limit and it was pretty much the same price for a day hunt when it was all said and done. These are prices I would expect going to Arkansas or Louisiana for a big trip but not in North Dakota. He must be one of the guys leasing up all the land. We hunted in Texas last January and paid $75 for a half day hunt in the gulf each day.Sure we had our own hotel but that was damn cheap and the decoys and blinds are all setup. You get dropped off with your buddy and yourself and nobody else. I am not sure who is actually paying these prices with this guy and others but it seems North Dakota is becoming like Arkansas,etc. with the pay to play deal which is sad.


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## 4CurlRedleg (Aug 31, 2003)

recker said:


> I was looking into hunting Mazatlan last winter with a 20 duck limit and it was pretty much the same price for a day hunt when it was all said and done.
> 
> We hunted in Texas last January and paid $75 for a half day hunt in the gulf each day.
> 
> pay to play deal which is sad.


If it is so sad, why do you do it. Solution or problem??


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## Dak (Feb 28, 2005)

I was wondering the same thing.


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## fungalsnowgoose (Sep 11, 2004)

I don't think he's complaining about him guiding or leasing land just the price he's being charged to hunt with this outfitter.


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

fungalsnowgoose said:


> I don't think he's complaining about him guiding or leasing land just the price he's being charged to hunt with this outfitter.


supply and demand If people keep paying why would he lower his prices.


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## shiawassee_kid (Oct 28, 2005)

idunno, that doesn't sound bad actually (price). I would never use a guide but if i didn't have equip or location....thats a pretty good deal for someone to do my legwork, scout, haul decoys and put me on birds.

I find it funny that you make it sound like Arkansas is "THE" destination.......you must not have hunted ND much. If they (guide) puts you in the thick of em during migration....best hunt you will ever see and bargain at that price compared to what you would pay in AK or LA.


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## goosegrinder (Mar 4, 2005)

I'm guessing it's the locals willing to pay for the guided hunt. :stirpot:   I can understand someone from out of state being reluctant to try a freelance hunt when you have no clue on what/where to go the first time. However, NoDak is the one state a guy should be comfortable with freelancing from the get go. Add an extra day or two for scouting and the hunt is easy. You guys have a great state up there to hunt and I hope it stays that way for many years. Thanks for letting us non-residents share the experience.

Alex


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

Get used to it....you guys in the Dakota's are just seeing the beginning. Knocking on doors in Colorado is a thing of the past, and it's getting to be so in parts of Wyoming now too. A lease isn't as attractive to the landowner from a monetary standpoint, but most states require guides to have some form of liability insurance, which is the MOST attractive, because he can be "assured" that his A$$ will be covered, and he will have some form of recourse in todays lawsuit happy society.

If you're unhappy about the guide services snappin' up the land...get some buddies together and assemble a "hunt club" and get some liability insurance pooled, and some lease money pooled. Everyone will be happy because you'll have the cash and the insurance to anchor a good piece of property!!


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## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

Believe it or not, there are some farmers out there that are pulling for the little guy. There is a farmer that I've become pretty good friends with, he told me that each of the last five years he has had more than one g/o approach him and ask to lease his land. He said it happens to everyone in the neighborhood. Pretty much all of them just blow it off and say, "No, I want to have control of who hunts here, I don't know who you're going to bring out here, sorry." Ya know why they say that? Because they have had good experiences with the freelancers. And because they are or have been the same in the past. They hunt, their kids and family hunt, they understand what it would be like to not have anywhere to go. Like this farmer friend of mine said, it's fun to see these folks show up with ridiculous amounts of gear, absolutely ecstatic about the opportunity to hunt this great place. Even if some money is involved, whoreing their land out to a bunch of big shots from the city isn't always as appealing as letting some punk kids from where ever have some fun.

Here's what I'm getting at. We piss and moan about guides all the time, but there really isn't much we can do about them. But what I just explained is one thing. Keep those land owners happy, I know that's obvious and we all do our best, but spread the word to the guys who aren't as into it as we are. Because as soon as they stop trusting us, their land will go to the guides.

Ya know, some other things to think about. Next time you drive into a yard and ask a farmer if you can set up on his field, see what he's doing, if he's doing chores, ask if you can give him a hand. Even if it does tie you up for a half an hour, think about it, if he says yes you can hunt, he's giving you something for free that he could be getting paid for. And on Saturday night when you and your hunting party head to the watering hole to get tipsy, maybe try this instead; ask that guy that's letting you hunt if you can take him and his wife to the steak house or super club or the cafe and buy him a meal. You catch my drift. Shooting a bunch of birds is a great feeling, but making a new friend and putting a smile on someone's face is right up there too.


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## hunter9494 (Jan 21, 2007)

absolutely correct. i have a friend who farms in Kansas, from day one i bought him and his dad a small Christmas present as a token of my gratitude to be able to hunt their land. now i get to hunt his neighbor's ground and some special "honey holes" every year.


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## Smoke Em Boys (Jul 25, 2007)

There is no need to have to free lance and buy a whole decoy rig and gear for one week a year for most people. Go with a good guide who knows what he is doing, is on ducks, and has plenty of gear.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

Geez... how much gear do you need? A doz decoys? Maybe two doz if you want to prop them up in a field. Half of the fun is to meet all the nice people and talk to them about their land. I wish we had that caliber of people here in SC. 
Most people I know actually relish going on a ride and doing the "work" that scouting involves. You get to see so much of NoDak that you would never get to see if you went with a guide, and you get to meet so many nice people that you would never have the opportunitty to meet if you had a guide.

Guides are for rubberheads. :beer:


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## Smoke Em Boys (Jul 25, 2007)

My groups have more fun than the law allows and that is just after they kill all their ducks and not just half. Diffrent strokes. What you call rubbaheads I call bread and butter. I will take a father and son who has never seen a duck over a group of roost shootin knowitall free lancers anyday.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

It really depends upon what your definition of hunting is. Some like the total experience of finding the birds, patterning them and setting up on their own as well as calling them and cleaning them on their own. Others just want to shoot the gun, have everything else done for them. Face it, G/O's are not going away, nor should they (at least not all of them :wink: ). Different strokes for different folks. There are times when I am able to get out scouting and there are times I am not. IMO, I enjoy the hunts a lot more that I am able to scout for than when someone else finds the birds. THat is just me.


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## Smoke Em Boys (Jul 25, 2007)

Good post djlye. I agree with you 100%.


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## woodpecker (Mar 2, 2005)

Smoke Em Boys said:


> Good post djlye. I agree with you 100%.


Are you still baiting them guides in Dan??? By the way, where did you bury that last one??? :lol:


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

:gag: :wink:


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## N2Duks (Aug 27, 2006)

that is sad! i've been up there 4 years in a row and had unbelivable luck freelancing...had some "no's" from land owners, but only b/c they hunted...ND is by far the best spot I've ever been...I'll keep going till the "no's" are too much...and so far...not even close 8)


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## Booster (Sep 8, 2003)

N2Duks said:


> that is sad! i've been up there 4 years in a row and had unbelivable luck freelancing...had some "no's" from land owners, but only b/c they hunted...ND is by far the best spot I've ever been...I'll keep going till the "no's" are too much...and so far...not even close 8)


that's funny because I was just about to post the same response you did, only about Indiana insted of Nodak! If you want the best hunting known to man, trust me visit Indiana, they have WAY more ducks and geese then we do in ND. In fact, why are you coming to ND N2Duks, I mean your state is the best? It is just a question, not trying to be smart at all.


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## 280IM (Mar 28, 2005)

djleye said:


> It really depends upon what your definition of hunting is. Some like the total experience of finding the birds, patterning them and setting up on their own as well as calling them and cleaning them on their own. Others just want to shoot the gun, have everything else done for them. Face it, G/O's are not going away, nor should they (at least not all of them :wink: ). Different strokes for different folks. There are times when I am able to get out scouting and there are times I am not. IMO, I enjoy the hunts a lot more that I am able to scout for than when someone else finds the birds. THat is just me.


djleye that is a good post. Here in Mo. I go to Ark and hunt on flooded fields,and have several guys here at the Lake where we hunt out of boats. I use a guide in Ark as I like going different places. I don't have the time and always know where to scout,plus I go by myself a lot. Iam 59 and enjoy watching the ducks come in,I don't care how many I kill,I just like to hear someone who can call well and see them come into the spread. As for the freelance part I did a lot of that when I was a kid in Ne.

There is a place for all types of hunts aslong as it is legall. I just feel freelanceing is asking someone for something for nothing.


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

280IM Let me educate you a little about the freelance hunters in North Dakota. They are comprised of residents and nonresidents alike.I see the nonresident hunters in supper club dinning with the landowners that allow them to hunt. It is usually the whole family dinning with the hunters. I know who picks up the bill, its the visiting hunters. I have often heard from farmers how the non residents send the family gift certificates at Christmas time. They come back year after year and develope friendships that last a lifetime. When I was a dreaded Fargo hunter I would pack beautiful gift boxes starting with a very large turkey or ham at the center and filling the box with every type of fresh fruit I could buy. I would deliver these to all the farmers that let me hunt. This was quite a streatch for me financially but I felt it was worth it for what these people had done for me.I also did a lot of home repairs at no charge. I know of nonresident hunters that are tradesmen that do the same. You seem to think that anyone not hunting with a guide is a freeloader. The fact is that you know nothing about the relationships between the freelancers and the farmers of this state.


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## mach (Aug 29, 2005)

Can't complain about the price average three day hunt with a group of four in Sask is about $1350 US for a good time if you don't have the time or gear to freelance


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## Guest (Aug 2, 2007)

TRY JASON MITCHELL HE WILL TAKE 11 PEOPLE TO ONE SPOT AND YOU WILL SEE 7 DUCKS AND KILL ONE FOR $2500.

THE NEXT DAY HE WILL TAKE 5 PEOPLE AND LEAVE THEM AT A POTHOLE THEN TAKE THE DOG WITH HIM WHEN HE LEAVES THEM BY THEMSELVES TO SCOUT FOR THE NEXT DAY AND YOU CAN WATCH THE DUCKS THAT YOU SHOOT GET LOSTS BECAUSE THE WATER IS TOO DEEP TO WADE AND GET THEM FOR $1000.

HE IS A CLASS ACT. IF YOU HAVE MONEY THAT YOU CAN TAKE OUT OF YOUR BACK POCKET AND SET IT ON FIRE FOR $250 A HEAD GIVE HIM A CALL.


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## Booster (Sep 8, 2003)

$30moneyband said:


> TRY JASON MITCHELL HE WILL TAKE 11 PEOPLE TO ONE SPOT AND YOU WILL SEE 7 DUCKS AND KILL ONE FOR $2500.
> 
> THE NEXT DAY HE WILL TAKE 5 PEOPLE AND LEAVE THEM AT A POTHOLE THEN TAKE THE DOG WITH HIM WHEN HE LEAVES THEM BY THEMSELVES TO SCOUT FOR THE NEXT DAY AND YOU CAN WATCH THE DUCKS THAT YOU SHOOT GET LOSTS BECAUSE THE WATER IS TOO DEEP TO WADE AND GET THEM FOR $1000.
> 
> HE IS A CLASS ACT. IF YOU HAVE MONEY THAT YOU CAN TAKE OUT OF YOUR BACK POCKET AND SET IT ON FIRE FOR $250 A HEAD GIVE HIM A CALL.


 :lol: :lol: :lol: now that is funny! :beer:


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

$30moneyband said:


> TRY JASON MITCHELL HE WILL TAKE 11 PEOPLE TO ONE SPOT AND YOU WILL SEE 7 DUCKS AND KILL ONE FOR $2500.
> 
> THE NEXT DAY HE WILL TAKE 5 PEOPLE AND LEAVE THEM AT A POTHOLE THEN TAKE THE DOG WITH HIM WHEN HE LEAVES THEM BY THEMSELVES TO SCOUT FOR THE NEXT DAY AND YOU CAN WATCH THE DUCKS THAT YOU SHOOT GET LOSTS BECAUSE THE WATER IS TOO DEEP TO WADE AND GET THEM FOR $1000.
> 
> HE IS A CLASS ACT. IF YOU HAVE MONEY THAT YOU CAN TAKE OUT OF YOUR BACK POCKET AND SET IT ON FIRE FOR $250 A HEAD GIVE HIM A CALL.


Chad from Benton, Arkansas. What is this, your 13th username here at Nodak Outdoors now? You have seriously raised the bar.

For those of you who are bored and want to see where this guy came from see:

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/vie ... hp?t=18263

Here's my favorite Chad line:



> W were averaging about 40 ducks a day and decided to hire mitchell guide service for 11 people one day


So you were "killing them" on your own and then you decided to pay $2500 for a hunt and you didn't see much. That's called hunting and it's your dumb fault you paid that much for a day's hunt. If you want guaranteed shooting go to a shooting range, you can buy a lot of rounds for $2500.

Your little anti-Jason campaign has been going on for almost 2 years now?

STAY OFF OF NODAK OUTDOORS.


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

Chris Hustad said:


> $30moneyband said:
> 
> 
> > TRY JASON MITCHELL HE WILL TAKE 11 PEOPLE TO ONE SPOT AND YOU WILL SEE 7 DUCKS AND KILL ONE FOR $2500.
> ...


Chad dude... get a life ..

You don't want MT on your a$$ trying to take his psychotic crown.

Coming back on here to moan about something that happened that long ago is extremely lame... Do you have issues you need to see someone for?

Consider it. Seriously.


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## Booster (Sep 8, 2003)

Chris Hustad said:


> $30moneyband said:
> 
> 
> > TRY JASON MITCHELL HE WILL TAKE 11 PEOPLE TO ONE SPOT AND YOU WILL SEE 7 DUCKS AND KILL ONE FOR $2500.
> ...


yeah....get some Chris....way to let out some aggression! :beer:


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

He's the only user I've ever called to ask to stop causing problems in over 5 years of running forums. Some people really have issues of letting go.


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## 280IM (Mar 28, 2005)

I'am starting to like this Jason Michell, anyone know how to get ahold of him?


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## bangingtimber (Aug 2, 2007)

Chris, i hunted with some guys from Arkansas last year and they were talking about what happened to chad in north dakota. i don't know chad personally but it seems everyone you run into in arkansas knows about what happened in north dakota to him and knows not to get a guide in north dakota. he has let everyone know not to support them up there because they are turning north dakota into arkansas by posting up all the land.


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## bangingtimber (Aug 2, 2007)

i don't understand why you would get so mad at him. it seems to me that he is only reitterating the point that is made on here time and time again about not using guides and freelancing as i have read on here. i have hunted with chad on one occasion and he is a real avid duck hunter and contrary to what you might think a very good sportsman in the field. sorry for stirring up the hornets nest.


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## Booster (Sep 8, 2003)

I'm confused???? First you say that you DON'T know him then you said that you HAVE hunted with him before. Which one is it?


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## jgat (Oct 27, 2006)

This thread gave me the good laugh I needed today!


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

bangingtimber, Reward band .. aka..Chad from arkansas..

You're the dummy who hired a guide....deal with it...


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## justund223 (Aug 28, 2006)

dblkluk said:


> You're the dummy who hired a guide....deal with it...


 :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:


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## bangingtimber (Aug 2, 2007)

i guess was not clear. i don't know him personally. one of our members of our duck club in arkansas brought him as a guest. i am not friends with him or anything, i mean, we don't hang out or anything. that is what i was saying.


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## bangingtimber (Aug 2, 2007)

from what i could gather about the story. the guide was booked months ahead of the trip and they had to pay half down or something like that. i am sure anyone would have more sense than to get a guide if they were killing 40 ducks a day on average.


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

Bangingtimb...Um I mean Chad..Your persistant, I'll give you that ..Just not very intelligent...
:lol:

This ones ran its course....


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

bangingtimber, you're posting from the EXACT SAME IP ADDRESS as $30moneyband. Just because you signed up with another free yahoo email account, doesn't make you sneaky.

Now you have multiple personalities?? GIVE IT A REST.


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