Choosing a Guide School

Curriculum
First, make sure the curriculum will suit your needs as far as what you need to know and what you don't in order to make the best use of your time at the school. For example, learning to drive teams of horses or trapping may certainly be interesting and handy to know, but wouldn't that time be better spent on other skills that are more important to a guide? Is the school being run by an outfitter to simply train guides for himself? Or, does the agenda cover many different aspects, and ways of doing things so that you will have a broad knowledge for your future job. For example, does the school show how to pack both a decker and a sawbuck? Montana and Idaho pack almost exclusively deckers. States to the south are usually sawbuck packers. You should learn both so you have the skills to work anywhere.

hunting guide instruction

Instructors
Make sure the school you choose has quality instructors. Does the school hire out their instruction or have prior students with little experience do the instructing? Are the instructors local? Have they been in the in the business for a significant amount of time? Are they city slickers turned overnight outfitters? What about instructor student ratios? Some schools run twelve students per one instructor. Is this the personal, hands on attention you want?

Location
Make sure the school is in a good location. It is difficult to learn elk hunting skills in a camp that sits on five acres in somebody's back yard, right off of the highway. Will you be staying in a lodge or bunkhouse, or will you be staying in a camp that is much closer to the real thing? Wall tents are what hunting camps are made of. In order to determine if this profession is indeed for you, we feel your choice of accommodations should be as close to the real thing as possible.

Job placement service
It does little good to go to a school that has little or poor jobs available after class is done. If you want to become a guide, packer or wrangler, choose a school that offers the most up to date opportunities for a job.

References
It goes without saying that references can be a huge help in determining a quality school. We highly recommend calling as many as possible. If the school does not have a good list of references, I would be cautious of choosing it. A few dollars in phone calls can be a cost saver in the long run.

Why Royal Tine?
guide school students

Here at Royal Tine, we have the reputation for turning out some of the best guides in the business. Many outfitters hiring hunting guides and packers call us first. Why?

1. We teach the school with hiring outfitters in mind, so while we have an excellent well rounded curriculum, we make sure a student has the skills outfitters are looking for in an employee. Royal Tine graduates are in demand because of this. We limit enrollment to 8, so there is plenty of personal instruction.

2. We have the best location for a guide school with elk, deer, moose, wolves, and bears coming right through camp, sometimes mountain lions. The camp is identical to the type of camp in a backcountry hunting camp. Hunting and guiding skills are taught for all big game, such as; elk, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer and bear.

3. The owners and instructors of Royal Tine are professional hunting guides and packers, but more importantly, we are also experienced at teaching these skills. In order to teach this business with dedication, we have to live it. We have guided and packed in Montana, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming and Alaska. You get the benefits of this broad range of experience and our professionalism. This guide school has been in operation since 1994 and it continues to get better every year.

4. 100% job placement for all qualified graduates. We help students secure jobs with outfitters. It is not a onetime deal for the student just after the school; we always keep our eyes open and pass along pertinent leads when we get them. We take care of our students, and we have a vested interest in your education.

5. Bottom line -- Royal Tine has the skills, information, reputation and outfitter connections you need as a student to succeed in the guiding profession.

hunting guide training