How much for stalker & gillie tips?

The Stalking Show - 11th to 12th April 2026 - Staffordshire County Showground
S

Sauerkraut

Active Member
I have just had a couple of fantastic days hind stalking in Scotland and I was very happy to leave a tip after each day for the stalker and the gillie. What I would like to know is whether it was about right or not. I gave the stalker £40 and the gillie £20 after each day. I had a different stalker for each day but they were both excellent. What do most people do? (assuming that like me they have had a great time and have been looked after extremely well). Any guidance for the future would be much appreciated...
 
Stalker £60+ Gillie £20+ + would depend on the stalk. + would depend on the drag and assistance given.
 
Sauerkraut said:
I have just had a couple of fantastic days hind stalking in Scotland and I was very happy to leave a tip after each day for the stalker and the gillie. What I would like to know is whether it was about right or not. I gave the stalker £40 and the gillie £20 after each day. I had a different stalker for each day but they were both excellent. What do most people do? (assuming that like me they have had a great time and have been looked after extremely well). Any guidance for the future would be much appreciated...
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palmer_mike said:
How much was the day on the hinds?
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Sauerkraut said:
£300 per day.​
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Your 20% was generous - they should have been pleased.
 
see it shoot it said:
£300 per day on Hinds :cuckoo: that's ridiculous
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WOW! SISI, we agree on something...everyone, mark your diaries.

however, yes, day on hinds should be around £50-£100 with no cull fees, IMHO. Guide tips on top depending on what is deserved, and of course, what you can afford.
 
PKL said:
WOW! SISI, we agree on something...everyone, mark your diaries.

however, yes, day on hinds should be around £50-£100 with no cull fees, IMHO. Guide tips on top depending on what is deserved, and of course, what you can afford.
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it was bound to happen one day :doh: as to tips I will have to agree with you all depends on how your day has been,its not all about shooting the beast if the stalker has pulled his nuts out trying to get you into beasts hes done his job.
 
Does any of you non professional stalkers get a tip for showing up at work and actually carrying out what you are contracted to do? I wish I did...
 
Psyxologos said:
Does any of you non professional stalkers get a tip for showing up at work and actually carrying out what you are contracted to do? I wish I did...
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me neither. imagine this, "here is your pensions policy summary, valuation and retirement projection0 Mr Client, I think you're on track to reaching your retirement goal, and your investments seem in line with your capacity for risk as well as having a well structured asset allocation for the current market and political conditions,,,oh, BTW, would you mind leaving me a tip on the way out of the office?

or...
Train conductor - "welcome on board"
Tim - "ticket to Dunfermline please Sir",
Train conductor - £3.74 please"
Tim - "here you go, should be exact change"
Train Conductor - "Oh, sorry sir, it's expected you leave at least a 20% tip"
Tim - "WHAT!"
Train conductor - "you think I can live off my measly basic salary!"
...


"Beep, Beep, Beep"...thanks for shopping at ASDA, that's £134.63 please, including checkout and bag packing tip, that's £152.37...

WHAT!
 
Psyxologos said:
Does any of you non professional stalkers get a tip for showing up at work and actually carrying out what you are contracted to do? I wish I did...
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Thank you for that! I've thought that for years about many parts of the personal service sector.

What's worse is that once tipping has become a norm, it gives employers an excuse to cut wages, creating the pernicious situation where their salaries are inadequate, so they HAVE to depend on tips, and you feel like an as*hole not coughing up.

There is nothing about tipping that's remotely appealing, and I've worked on both sides of the interaction.

Though I do quite like the idea of my students filing out my lectures and pressing fivers into my hands as they go...
 
Okay, so I am somewhere in the middle then??!

I'm not interested in the views regarding not tipping (unless a tip isn't deserved) because I think that we all know that there are some jobs where tradition and circumstances dictate that tipping is the norm. There are other jobs (perhaps most) where this isn't the case. I don't think that justifying not tipping by making comparisons to your own line of work really stacks up - presumably most people go into their chosen job knowing what the pay and conditions are.

I totally agree that tipping should reflect effort and service but in my experience I have rarely come across many stalkers who put in much less than 100% effort.

With regard to the cost of the day. £300 is certainly top end and I'm very aware of that. However there was 35000 acres at our disposal, a stalker, a gillie and two ponies. There was also an abundance of deer - I was lucky enough to be able to take 8 deer off the hill over my two days. I have had great days for much less but perhaps with less potential and resources. Hopefully a decent proportion of this higher cost will also be passed onto the stalkers and gillie in question but who knows.

I will continue to monitor the posts to determine what I should do another year (in the knowledge that some of the extremes could be stalkers trying to talk the market up!)

Thanks for everyone's input - most are very useful!
 
£300 per day on hinds. That's amazing.

At that money I would reckon his tip was included in the price.
Hopefully you shot around 7 beast for that price ??
 
Rake Aboot said:
£300 per day on hinds. That's amazing.

At that money I would reckon his tip was included in the price.
Hopefully you shot around 7 beast for that price ??
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Yes and took the 7 carcasses home with you as well... I know places where you
can have a day on the stags for significantly less.
Nevertheless if you enjoyed it it was money well spent.
 
We seem to have wondered off the trail a bit! This was supposed to be giving me guidance about tipping levels not creating a discussion about the going rate for a days hind stalking. I have acknowledged that it was top end cost but that I am happy that I got value for money. I have stalked hinds for much less and still had a good time, but none of this is helping answer my original question.

Has anyone else got some guidance relating to the original post?
 
When someone does a good job it is customary to tip. I tip my barber when he cuts my hair. Tipping is not just about the service you have had, its about when you go back!

As for tipping, I think percentage terms are the most helpful. I work on a 10 to 20% range.
 
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