General costs of an accompanied stalk...

[Antonyweeks]

Hi
Relative newbie here. As a very general rule, how much would accompanied stalks cost? I've seen various fees online from £75 through to £400. Also, if a deer is shot is there a 'fair' price to pay for the carcase? So as an example, if I went on an accompanied stalk I would expect to pay £100 or whatever for the stalk and then say a further £100 for the carcase. I'm not interested in trophies at this stage of my career! Deer will be roe mostly to start with. Apologies if this is a bit of a noddy question!
Cheers

 

[sikamalc]

Much depends on species and time of year. At the moment its only Roe bucks (Munties too, but stalking them when the cover is high is a bit of waste of time in my opinion).

Roe Bucks are always as a rule are going to command a higher fee. I charge £100 per outing on Roe bucks, and a kill fee of £50.00 on a young cull buck. Plus the carcase which is usually about £40.
Winter time on Fallow, Roe is £85 per outing and no kill fee.

Prices vary across the industry. Just make sure whoever guides you and takes your money that they are insured to take paying clients. No doubt a number are not insured.

 

[Antonyweeks]

Thanks for this - that's really helpful.

 

[BEAR1]

Also may I add try and get some references before hand. When I first started out I didn't quite get what I paid for. One chap talked all the time we were out so no chance of seeing much apart from the other side of a valley. If they are bona fide they will not mind giving you references. I wish you all the best and just enjoy yourself.

 

[Magnificent 7]

Plenty of roe stalking to be had £100 -£120 including caracss dont be ripped of mate with all this shot fee outing fee carcass fee ect you may as well bend over as well I like the one after you've booked your sralk paid your fee paid your shot then paid the medal fee they then want paying for the carcass they've no shame thats for sure.You could have a week in africa for the price of two stalks with the fees some charge lol oh almost forgot and if you miss theres a charge for that too

 

[sikamalc]

Plenty of roe stalking to be had £100 -£120 including caracss dont be ripped of mate with all this shot fee outing fee carcass fee ect you may as well bend over as well I like the one after you've booked your sralk paid your fee paid your shot then paid the medal fee they then want paying for the carcass they've no shame thats for sure.You could have a week in africa for the price of two stalks with the fees some charge lol oh almost forgot and if you miss theres a charge for that too

Well if you have several large estates to lease and manage and you are a professional stalker there are bills to pay. Roe bucks are always going to command a reasonable price.
If you are lucky to have your own ground and don't pay anything for it, then congratulations. You are amongst the few that don't pay anything. If you are a professional stalker and making a living, then you have overheads, and they all need to be paid for. Every business has them.

I have hunted Africa a few times, and if you can find an African hunt for the cost of a Roe Buck outing, that's not a 200acre fenced area with 5 Impala to kill, sign me up. There will always be a few bad apples in this business, or any business. Not sure if you were referring to me as ripping people off...............I sincerely hope not!

 

[75]

In general, I don't mind a shot fee if the outing fee isn't excessive. It means the guide is confident of showing you deer and isn't hopefully going to take you on a 2hr walk without seeing a deer. That said, I'd not book somewhere with a hefty outing fee AND a hefty shot fee - it's got to balance out...

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I have a second home in Dover for when I am back in UK for various reasons, pigeon shooting being one of them, it gets used usually around six weeks yearly the cost run around 6K annually. Now I have used Malc three times down in Sussex where he has a bothy kept there for the purpose of a stalking base, now I would guess that runs between 4-6K yearly. Now divide that sum by £100 per outing plus his travel/vehicle costs, see what I mean? If you do not have your own stalking grounds you must expect to pay the piper for the 1-2 times a year that you go out.

 

[TundB]

I am not a professional in the sector but i've had fair amount of paid stalkings to throw my 2 pences as suggestions.
If i am not after a trophy animal in lowlands, i wouldn't pay anything higher than £125 for 3 hours on the foot stalk, including shoot of 1 cull animal.

The followings would be my calculation to have this amount.
Guide ~£20 p/hour
Lease ~£40 p/stalk
Overhead expenses like guide's insurance, car lease or PCP, petrol ~£25 p/stalk

 

[Magnificent 7]

Well if you have several large estates to lease and manage and you are a professional stalker there are bills to pay. Roe bucks are always going to command a reasonable price.
If you are lucky to have your own ground and don't pay anything for it, then congratulations. You are amongst the few that don't pay anything. If you are a professional stalker and making a living, then you have overheads, and they all need to be paid for. Every business has them.

I have hunted Africa a few times, and if you can find an African hunt for the cost of a Roe Buck outing, that's not a 200acre fenced area with 5 Impala to kill, sign me up. There will always be a few bad apples in this business, or any business. Not sure if you were referring to me as ripping people off...............I sincerely hope not!

Replied to your pm Malcolm and please read the post two gold medal.heads for Roe with some people are well over 2k I've seen a few Africa cull hunts for not much more pal like I said in my pm it wasnt directed at you and if people are happy to pay it then best of luck to them all ot just takes away the fun for the every day working man in my eyes

 

[sikamalc]

Thanks. Well 2 gold medal Roe would be about £2000 in general terms yes. But you didn't mention the taking of 2 gold medals in your post to be honest. You could scrape a 5 day stay culling on a farm in Africa. But then don't forget the air ticket is going to see you short of about £600 to £800 too.

Anyone who wants to go on paid outings (and many do) need to check it out first. Ask for references, make sure all the prices are in an Email. Pay a deposit if required, never pay the full amount until you have finished stalking. If you dont see any deer or any sign of any deer, well I would'nt re book and I would question about paying. However they are wild animals, and you cant make them appear. I think maybe twice a year I might get an outing where its been a hard outing, and all we have seen is a fleeting glimpse. In this case I always offer a free outing back in a high seat.
You have to try and be fair as much as possible.

 

[User00040]

Hi
Relative newbie here. As a very general rule, how much would accompanied stalks cost?

Factors that influence costs in Scotland:

1. Location & accommodation- You may find that in some instances that accommodation costs more than the stalk. There are estates in Scotland where the stag stalking is comparatively cheap but you have to rent the lodge out at five figures for the week.

2.Deer species- The bigger the deer the greater the cost (generally), in the UK a red stag would be seen as the pinnacle (biggest UK land mammal!)

3. Amount of people employed to carry out the day- Not just about the guide/stalker. Where large deer are concerned, extraction is a big factor. If ponies are used as is tradition in the Highlands, expect to pay more as well (excluding tip).

4. The outfit you have chosen- As with anything, doing vetting beforehand is rarely a waste of time. A quick search of a name on here will usually yield some info.

5. Carcass prices from gamedealers- I'm not in a position to predict market movements (who is?) but many estates in Scotland have a contract with a gamedealer which prevents paying guests from buying the carcass that they have just taken off the hill. However, if carcasses are not being accepted by dealers the ability to sell them 'on the spot' may be attractive to some.

6. Trophy value- Touchy subject, if you pay £XX per point for a good set of antlers, what do pay for a Hummel stag? I would say this is where a tip comes into the equation. Always expect to pay a fee if you want the head prepared for mounting. However, it is not the hardest job in the world as a skinning knife, standard saw, gas boiler and pan, power washer along with a suitable location where you will not receive complaints means you can save about £30 per head.

7.Tips- Another touchy subject. Some estates have a specified policy on this. Discretion is key. Would you rather hand some money in an envelope to a manager/factor who states that the season's total will be distributed evenly among staff ('evenly' meaning their discretion) or make a personal gesture at the end of the day? Doesn't always have to be in the form of money either but bear in mind that very few stalkers get 'overtime pay'.

Hope that helps if you consider stalking up north.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Thanks. Well 2 gold medal Roe would be about £2000 in general terms yes. But you didn't mention the taking of 2 gold medals in your post to be honest. You could scrape a 5 day stay culling on a farm in Africa. But then don't forget the air ticket is going to see you short of about £600 to £800 too.

Anyone who wants to go on paid outings (and many do) need to check it out first. Ask for references, make sure all the prices are in an Email. Pay a deposit if required, never pay the full amount until you have finished stalking. If you dont see any deer or any sign of any deer, well I would'nt re book and I would question about paying. However they are wild animals, and you cant make them appear. I think maybe twice a year I might get an outing where its been a hard outing, and all we have seen is a fleeting glimpse. In this case I always offer a free outing back in a high seat.
You have to try and be fair as much as possible.

Malc did offer me a free stalk as we had not seen any on the first stalk with his outfit I did there.

 

[sikamalc]

I think that was late winter on the fallow if I remember rightly? They can be bloody annoying at that time of year.

 

[bogtrotter]

Plenty of roe stalking to be had £100 -£120 including caracss dont be ripped of mate with all this shot fee outing fee carcass fee ect you may as well bend over as well I like the one after you've booked your sralk paid your fee paid your shot then paid the medal fee they then want paying for the carcass they've no shame thats for sure.You could have a week in africa for the price of two stalks with the fees some charge lol oh almost forgot and if you miss theres a charge for that too

And explain why you should not pay for the carcass ? Expect to pay Gamedealer prices would not expect you to pay
more , no one is forcing you to buy the carcass you are paying for the outing and a chance to shoot not the carcass
but as a rule we will sell it to you for the same price as we would get from the dealer we are not making any extra by selling it to you.

 

[Magnificent 7]

And explain why you should not pay for the carcass ? Expect to pay Gamedealer prices would not expect you to pay
more , no one is forcing you to buy the carcass you are paying for the outing and a chance to shoot not the carcass
but as a rule we will sell it to you for the same price as we would get from the dealer we are not making any extra by selling it to you.

How much is a muntjac carcass ?

 

[Bavarianbrit]

I think that was late winter on the fallow if I remember rightly? They can be bloody annoying at that time of year.

Yes it was. Never did take up the offer as life had me doing other stuff (work ughhh!!) for the rest of that year.

 

[bogtrotter]

I would not know we have no muntjac in Scotland, I only have Red and Roe The price varies for Roe somewhere
between £2 and £3 per kilo Red usually a bit less £1.80 to about £2.20 but as I say it can vary due to supply and demand.

 

[bogtrotter]

They can be bloody annoying at that time of year.

What clients?

 

[bobt]

I am not a professional in the sector but i've had fair amount of paid stalkings to throw my 2 pences as suggestions.
If i am not after a trophy animal in lowlands, i wouldn't pay anything higher than £125 for 3 hours on the foot stalk, including shoot of 1 cull animal.

The followings would be my calculation to have this amount.
Guide ~£20 p/hour
Lease ~£40 p/stalk
Overhead expenses like guide's insurance, car lease or PCP, petrol ~£25 p/stalk

set yourself up as a guide then, at that price you will be busy.