Planning for your first hunt with an outfitter

This article was first published in my email newsletter in October of 2025. I've added it to my website, because I think the information is useful in general, not just for the month it was published. If you'd like to keep up with the latest hunting information, including my open dates and available hunts, you can subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of this page.

Your first hunt with an outfitter will be a completely new experience for you, even if you’ve hunted a lot on your own. I think it’s helpful to know some things about that experience in advance. It will make it more comfortable for you, and it may short-circuit some typical problems.

WHY USE AN OUTFITTER

The first question is why should you use an outfitter at all. In Texas, there are two reasons for that. First, almost all the hunting land is privately owned. If you want to hunt, you pretty much either need to own a ranch or hunt with someone who has a hunting lease on a ranch. That second option is how most outfitters work. It’s how I work. I’ve got hunting leases for about a million acres of ranch land in Texas and Mexico, and I can take you hunting on that land.

The second reason to use an outfitter is the success rate. You’ll do a lot better — pretty much anywhere, but certainly here in Texas — if you’re hunting with an outfitter who has chosen good hunting ranches, who knows where the game is on those ranches, and who has the experience to get you into position for a good shot.

I recently hunted Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep in Alberta, Canada, and I used an outfitter for both those reasons. As a non-resident, that was the only way I could get a tag. But even if I had been a resident, I would have chosen to hunt with an outfitter. The Bighorn statistics speak for themselves: Out of all the tags sold in Alberta last year, only 7% of tag-holders bagged a ram. For hunters using an outfitter, on the other hand, that rate was 50%.

Outfitters know what they’re doing.

HOW TO CHOOSE AN OUTFITTER

Not all outfitters are the same. Here are the basic things you should consider (and how I stack up on each of those criteria):

Is the outfitter established — has he been around for a while and can he give you references? I’ve been doing this for twenty years, and I’ve got a solid list of clients and an excellent success rate for all the animals I hunt.

Does the outfitter have the right ranch for the hunt you want to do? I’ve got ranches in the Hill Country, in West Texas, in South Texas, and in the Sierra del Carmen Mountains of Mexico. I’ve got open range, low fence, and high fence. One way or another, I’ve got a ranch that will accommodate your hunt.

Are your outfitter’s ranches well-managed? Your chances of bagging a top-tier trophy will depend heavily on whether the ranch you hunt is well-managed to produce those trophies. For the most part, that means the ranch isn’t over-hunted. The ranches I hunt are managed for maximum trophy quality, not for the number of hunts we can do in a year.

What kind of hunt will you get? Will you be shooting from a blind? From a truck? I try to give my hunters a ‘real’ hunting experience. For the most part, that means ‘spot and stalk’ and ‘fair chase’. Of course, if you have physical limitations or you’re a beginning hunter, I can set up less challenging hunts, too.

There’s one other thing you can’t ignore: Does the outfitter seem like a straight-shooting, honest businessman, and does he seem to be someone you’d enjoy spending a few days with. To determine that, you need to have a direct conversation.

HAVE A CONVERSATION

I really, really recommend that you speak to your outfitter — either by phone or maybe in person at the Dallas or Houston Safari Club conventions. Ask questions about the hunt, talk about the ranch, discuss your outfitter’s experience. Bring up anything about the hunt or the outfitter’s contract that you want to clarify. But mostly, just have a conversation.

That conversation should feel good. You should walk away from it feeling confident about your outfitter, and you should feel comfortable that you’ll enjoy spending several days with him in the field.

I’ll be blunt about this: Outfitters in Texas are not regulated. I kind of wish they were. There are folks here who have hung out a shingle as an outfitter and are either inexperienced or even downright dishonest. Either way, you probably don’t want to sign up with them.

So make sure you get the right answers to my four questions, and then make sure you feel good about your conversation with your outfitter-to-be.

And this should go without saying: If you reach out to an outfitter and you don’t even get an answer or a callback, that’s not the outfitter for you.

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR PAPERWORK

Any good outfitter is going to ask you to sign some paperwork. That paperwork will cover some really important information, and you need to read it carefully. I think most outfitters cover the same key points, but the specifics for each outfitter might differ. For that reason, it pays to read and understand the paperwork before you choose your outfitter. You may see some differences between contracts in areas that are important to you.

In my case, you can get copies from me in advance. Just ask, and I’ll send you links to download them.

It’s also important to re-read your paperwork as the date of your hunt gets closer, especially when you’ve booked a hunt that’s a ways out in the future. By the time it gets close, you’ll probably have forgotten a lot, and you ought to refresh yourself, so you’re prepared for how things are going to work.

When I’m your outfitter, this is the paperwork you’ll get from me:

Contract: My contract is a simple document — it’s just one page long — but it outlines the fees, the dates, what’s included, and how the hunt will be conducted. It’s a good basic description of exactly what you’re buying.

Release and Indemnity: This is a pretty standard agreement stating that you understand you’re responsible for your own safety and actions while on the property.

As the hunt date gets closer, I’ll send you some supplementary information by email. That email will give you more detail about the hunt and about how we’re going to meet up.

Please hang on to all your paperwork! Keep electronic copies. Keep paper copies. And know where you’ve stored them.

I’m pretty much a one-man shop. I don’t have an office manager or a secretary, and I’m almost always out in the field on a hunt, usually with lousy internet access, so I won’t have access to my copies of your paperwork. If you don’t remember the amount of your remaining balance, you can bet that I won’t know it either. And if you lose your paperwork, well, I may be able to get you fresh copies, but it won’t happen until I’m back home.

PACKING

Before you leave home, make sure you’ve got everything you need and that you’re familiar with your equipment. I’ve got packing lists on my website, so be sure to take a look at them. Most importantly, make sure you’ve got the right clothes, sunglasses, a suppressor for your rifle (no muzzle brakes allowed), and any medications you may need. 

GETTING TO YOUR RANCH

If you live in Texas or in a nearby state, driving may be the most efficient way to get from your home to the general hunt location. It’s easier to transport a rifle, it’s easier to transport your trophy, and it’s likely to be almost as fast as checking in at an airport, flying to Midland or San Antonio, renting a car, and driving to the ranch.

Of course, if you live a ways from here, flying may make sense for you. In that case, if you’d prefer not to deal with transporting your rifle by commercial airline, you can borrow mine for your hunt. I’ll just ask you to pay for the ammo.

Either way, for my West Texas hunts, I’m going to ask you to head for Alpine, Texas. I may not be any more precise than that until the day of your hunt, because I may still be choosing the best hunt location, based on where the animals are currently to be found. But if you’re in Alpine, you’ll have plenty of time to get to the right ranch on the day of the hunt.

For my Hill Country hunts, I’d suggest you head for San Antonio. On the day of your hunt, I’ll give you more precise information.

All my hunts start at 1:30 PM on the date that your hunt begins. Here’s how that works:

Normally, a day or two before your hunt, I’ll drop a pin in Google Maps to show you exactly where you need to go. Usually that will be the gate to the ranch. All you need to do is navigate to that pin, and you’ll find me waiting for you.

One note: Please navigate using Google Maps on your phone. If you do that, the navigation will take you within a few yards of the pin. Don’t use a different navigation mechanism — don’t use your vehicle GPS, don’t use Apple Maps, don’t use MapQuest — use Google Maps on your phone.

Unless I make other arrangements with you in advance, I’ll meet you at the gate and let you onto the ranch property. If you get there early (or in the unlikely event that I arrive late) do not enter the ranch on your own. Ranchers are very, very particular about people on their property who aren’t invited and escorted. Break their rules and your hunt could be over before it starts.

GETTING ORIENTED

Once I meet you at the gate, we’ll drive to your accommodations. I’ll show you around and let you get settled, and then we’ll have an orientation and safety meeting. During that meeting, I’ll explain to you how the hunt will be organized. Most importantly, I’ll talk to you about safety.

I take safety very, very seriously. I’m certified in trauma first aid, but I’ve never had to use that training and I don’t want you to be my first experience.

If you’re a serious hunter, you’re probably familiar with rules for hunt safety. But that doesn’t mean you’re familiar with my rules. During our safety meeting, I’ll explain those rules to you, and I’ll expect you to follow them during our hunt.

On this first day, we’ll also go out to the range and make sure everyone’s rifle is zeroed and ready to go.

All of this can be taken care of pretty quickly, so we’ll still get in six to eight hours of hunting on the first day, depending on when the sun sets.

THE HUNT

The hunt itself, with some exceptions, will be spot and stalk. The key exception — besides turkey hunts — is cases where you may have physical limitations that require a different approach. That’s something you need to talk with me about before the hunt. I’m happy to accommodate your limitations, but I can’t do that unless I know about them. And I can tell you: most of my hunters have limitations of one type or another.

If you read my recent newsletter about hunting Rocky Mountain Bighorn, you’ll know that my guides in Alberta made accommodations for the fact that I was double their age. I’m pretty fit for 53 years old, but — like it or not — I’m 53 years old, and that makes a difference. So don’t hesitate to let me know your situation. I want your hunt to be fun and successful.

By the way, this doesn’t just apply to physical limitations. Let me know your skill level, too. If you’re a beginner, there’s a lot we can do to make sure you have a good hunt — everything from spending time on the range to shooting from a blind. I just need to know.

One more tip. Whether it’s me or some other outfitter that leads your hunt, don’t guide your guide. You may be an experienced hunter, but you’re not as experienced as your outfitter, especially not when you’re hunting in your outfitter’s territory. The most important thing you can do is to just embrace your hunt, enjoy it, and don’t worry about the hunt itself. I’ve been in business as long as I have because I lead successful hunts. I know what I’m doing.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR TROPHY

I’ve written about this before, so I won’t spend a lot time rehashing it here, but let me remind you: You should plan ahead of time for what you’re going to do with the trophy you bring down. If you need recommendations for a processor or a taxidermist, talk to me in advance and I can point you in the right direction.

GETTING THE HUNT YOU WANT

One last piece of advice. Don’t try to make your first hunt with an outfitter an elk hunt or a mule deer hunt. Outfitters are booked years in advance on those hunts. Yes, we’re all taking names for a waiting list, but don’t expect an outfitter to treat that list like it’s a phone call to customer support (“Your call will be taken in the order it was received.”). That’s not how it works. An outfitter is going to offer those hunts first to clients with whom he’s got an existing relationship, with whom he’s done previous, fun hunts.

So here’s my advice:

Start establishing a relationship with an outfitter now. Not only does that make it more likely you’ll get that elk hunt, it will also give you a chance to work with the outfitter on something that’s lower stakes. That gives you an opportunity to confirm that you’ve made the right choice of outfitter, and it probably means you’ll enjoy your elk hunt more, because you’ll be hunting with someone you already know and like.

I look forward to hunting with you!