tight as a ducks ****

[Harry mac]

But I do not believe for one moment, that someone who can afford a paid stalk, a drive several hours north, all their own stalking equipment and no doubt a chippy on the way home, would break the bank by handing over another £15!!!

I don't know how well off the guy(s) in question were, but how can you assume that another £15 wouldn't have broke the bank? Some years ago I went on a hunting holiday to South Africa. I'd saved every spare penny I could during a 6 month Bosnia tour and managed to fund the hunt, the air fares, and had a bit left over for spends. I already had my rifle and associated kit. On the face of it I must have turned up in Africa looking every bit as rich as the guys under discussion at the start of the post. By the time my week was finished there I was absoluely brassic. I tipped the two trackers with my last £15. Things are not always as you think they seem to be.

 

[ajfab]

at the end of the day a tip is a tip i was always told half a loaf is better then no bread, if people expect this amount or that amount then they should do like america dose and have it written in the agreement of 10 or 15% of outing and package fee then there can be know excuse .

 

[jamross65]

I don't know how well off the guy(s) in question were, but how can you assume that another £15 wouldn't have broke the bank? Some years ago I went on a hunting holiday to South Africa. I'd saved every spare penny I could during a 6 month Bosnia tour and managed to fund the hunt, the air fares, and had a bit left over for spends. I already had my rifle and associated kit. On the face of it I must have turned up in Africa looking every bit as rich as the guys under discussion at the start of the post. By the time my week was finished there I was absoluely brassic. I tipped the two trackers with my last £15. Things are not always as you think they seem to be.

I was trying to suggest that if that made the difference to leaving me skint, I (personally) would not be spending the last quid I had on stalking. That would be the time you get home and find the car breaks down, or the central heating boiler packs in...

It's nothing to do with being rich. I am a working bloke. But if I booked a day at the does, and I got to shoot 10, I know fine and well that it deserved a tip beyond a fiver...

Please read what I said earlier about tipping. I completely sit on the fence with it. But there are some extreme circumstances that should really be rewarded appropriately. We are talking a few quid in thanks for an exceptional day. You are more or less suggesting that by handing over another £15 it puts them on the poverty line! No matter how little spare cash I have had left in the bank to survive on until next pay day, if I have committed to a days sport, I have always found enough to tip a keeper or gillie what I think is an appropriate amount for the day I have had. And in my opinion, a fiver for a day at the does, shooting 10 does not cut it...

 

[rudy65]

Jamross don't worry if i shoot 10 sika in a trip with you i will give you more than a fiver but if i don't shoot any will you give me something for my trouble.


Allan

 

[RED-DOT]

My local 'keeper drives a better car than any of the Lairds family. Drinks fine wines and teas and hasn't got a bill to pay. Gone are the days of dothing caps?

 

[jamross65]

Jamross don't worry if i shoot 10 sika in a trip with you i will give you more than a fiver but if i don't shoot any will you give me something for my trouble.


Allan

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!

I...do...not...expect...a...tip!

And if you do not shoot anything with me, you do not pay a shot fee. You will have paid for the outing though because that is my time, fuel and so on. And in some cases the use of my rifle and firing off my homeloads, that I spend a lot of time preparing. And for the record, unlike many stalkers I know, I do not charge a penny for the use of my equipment or firing off my rounds!!!

The last thing I will say on it is this, I fish with many different gillies and one of them is well known for bringing up the subject of tips when out in the boat with him. It seems at times that is all he ever wants to talk about. I cannot stand that. I have already said that a service is provided, you have paid for that service and tips should be a way of expressing gratitude for perhaps something provided beyond that basic service. Now if a gillie starts imparting his knowledge on me then I may think that should be rewarded. If he suggest a particular fly to use and I do not have one, and he brings one out his own box and ties it on, then again I may feel that it justifies a tip. Even if all he does all day is make me laugh when I know some that say nothing beyond 'mornin' and 'bye', then I may want to give him something.

But after all that is said and done, 10 does in one day deserved more than a fiver whether he could afford it or not...

Night, night...

 

[downwind]

But if I booked a day at the does, and I got to shoot 10, I know fine and well that it deserved a tip beyond a fiver...
And in my opinion, a fiver for a day at the does, shooting 10 does not cut it...

Can't disagree with that!!

My local 'keeper drives a better car than any of the Lairds family. Drinks fine wines and teas and hasn't got a bill to pay. Gone are the days of dothing caps?

Surely what someone has in the bank (or garage) doesn't matter. If you've been shown a good day's sport it's not unreasonable to show your gratitude in the form of a "reasonable" tip.
P.S occasionally I receive tips(always gratefully accepted) for my efforts.The most memorable was from a local farmer who "shook my hand"- buy yourself a drink mate. 75p was his offering, bought approximately a 1/2 pint of beer, but as I always say- it was better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!!"
Cheers, Pete.

 

[The Seeker]

OK as a novice can somone explain the "at the shot" cost, why if using my own rifle and ammunition would I be expected to pay £20/30 for pulling the trigger,seems a bit like a stealth tax to me?

 

[jamross65]

OK as a novice can somone explain the "at the shot" cost, why if using my own rifle and ammunition would I be expected to pay £20/30 for pulling the trigger,seems a bit like a stealth tax to me?

Some folk do it different ways.

You could pay a set amount for your day whether you shoot something or not. A total cost may be £150 for a day at the hinds on the hill (hill stalkers will keep me right here). Alternatively, you can pay an outing fee of £75, and pay no more for a blank day. Or if a beast is shot, then the other payment (for the shot) is made. Which may well take it up to £150. I do not charge any more at the hinds whether one or more is shot. Which I would think would be the same as most.

On the subject of tips;

I had a lad out today who will do his own write up, but after getting his first sika hind today, handed me a bottle of 'The Glenlivet' 12 year old. This was Basil's auction winner, on a day that I donated. I told him it was absolutely unnecessary, totally unexpected but very much appreciated. More so than if he had handed me cash. To a Scotsman, that bottle of malt was far more personal.

Dom, thank-you for making the day out for me, easy, good fun and a pleasure to get you your first sika. I promise the hills get easier the more you do it!!!!

 

[bogtrotter]

My local 'keeper drives a better car than any of the Lairds family. Drinks fine wines and teas and hasn't got a bill to pay. Gone are the days of dothing caps?

Aye Ian seems to be a cut above the rest of us

 

[The Seeker]

Thanks for the explanation, so some charge a lower rate and charge extra for the shot, some include this shot charge within the stalking fee, I think I prefer the latter that way you can compare stalking fees like for like and work out value for money with what you can afford.

 

[tikka 3006]

surely what the stalking they got and i assume they had some craic it was worth at least £30 each. i know there is a recession but come on

 

[grizzly adams]

tight as a ducks xxxx

trying to book again would be fun. reasonable tip per gun £50 a head . on the hill.

 

[RED-DOT]

Aye Ian seems to be a cut above the rest of us

Who is Ian BT?

 

[bogtrotter]

Would have thought Ian was closest keeper to you, not exactly sure where your syndicate shoot, but know the approx. location he is on the hill close by.


But maybe modelling for Bushwear pays well [is that enough of a clue]

 

[RED-DOT]

The semi retired grouse 'keeper?...

 

[bogtrotter]

Thats the one.