Becoming a PH

[Jason Miller]

I believe that’s correct…

I’m working on something now to put a group of US guys together in 2025 to attend a PH course for the same purpose… none of us want to actually pursue a PH career… we just think it would be fun to attend, gain the knowledge, etc..

I’ve talked to a couple of different schools at this point and have a decent plan together…if anyone else on AH is interested, let me know… I think we’ll have a good time.. and you’d be amazed at how affordable it is by US standards…

If you would consider adding another to the group please let me know... If not, no worries.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Hello all, a little bit of backstory for me. I currently live in the United States and have grown up hunting and fishing all my life. For years I have dreamed of going to Africa and hunting. I’ve read damn near every Selous and Capstick book that’s been published and many more. I’m 25 years old and in college and at a point in my life that I have nothing holding me back from fulfilling my dream of becoming a hunting guide. My question to ya’ll is how the process works for countries such as Botswana or Tanzania for a foreigner to move there and acquire their license. Sorry for the long post. Cheers, Andrew.

Residency or Citizenship is your first obstacle. While your full filling that requirement (dependling on country) you will probably have a few years to investigate
Lon

 

[mdwest]

If you would consider adding another to the group please let me know... If not, no worries.

We're not looking at doing this until 2025... but once we get a better plan in place, a better understanding of what the cost will be, better idea on actual dates, etc.. I will put something out on AH to let folks know.. anyone interested would be welcome to join us.. assuming whatever facility we choose can support however many people we end up committing to come..

 

[Dogone]

I am an outfitter. I have had several people say they want to be a guide. Being a guide is not like going hunting with buddies and getting paid . Hunting is a part of it but service is at least important.
The guide remembers to fuel vehicles , feed horses and clean boats. Give guests a hand with their gear , ask if they have licence, ammo and gun. In my province guides are listed under “hospitality industry “ for insurance purposes.
Client first, your dog next and you last. Part of a guided job description does not include helping the client drink or being first to crack a beer when hunt is over.
Guiding is a real job.

 

[Scott CWO]

Hello all, a little bit of backstory for me. I currently live in the United States and have grown up hunting and fishing all my life. For years I have dreamed of going to Africa and hunting. I’ve read damn near every Selous and Capstick book that’s been published and many more. I’m 25 years old and in college and at a point in my life that I have nothing holding me back from fulfilling my dream of becoming a hunting guide. My question to ya’ll is how the process works for countries such as Botswana or Tanzania for a foreigner to move there and acquire their license. Sorry for the long post. Cheers, Andrew.

Welcome to AH!

You might consider starting off by becoming a guide in North America first to see if the industry is a good fit for you. There are guide/wrangler schools in the USA and you could then work your way up through an outfit to be a guide in the USA. There are lots of things to learn about each species. Then you could decide if you really want to try to get citizenship or legal residency in an African country and get that started.

I have guided in the western states, Alaska and Mexico. Guiding in NA from August through May is possible and the money might be better than starting out in Africa. I used to guide August through January in Colorado, January through March in Mexico for desert sheep, turkeys somewhere in April and Alaska for bears in May. I still do most of this schedule except turkey and desert sheep in Mexico.

Another thought would be to do both NA and Africa so you could guide year-around. September through March in NA and April through August in Africa. You could make a decent living once established.

The big hurdle outside of the USA is dual citizenship or resident work permits. I almost bought a well-known Stone’s sheep, moose, caribou, grizzly and elk outfit in British Columbia back in 2007 but it fell through at the last moment when a tumor was discovered in the sack around my partner’s heart. He lived but his surgery and recovery killed the deal. I was going to keep part of my Colorado operations and live in Canada for six months a year. We had a retired teacher lined up to help us home school our kids and everything. There are lots of legal hurdles to overcome, if you even can, in other countries.

 

[ShaneLyle]

I believe that’s correct…

I’m working on something now to put a group of US guys together in 2025 to attend a PH course for the same purpose… none of us want to actually pursue a PH career… we just think it would be fun to attend, gain the knowledge, etc..

I’ve talked to a couple of different schools at this point and have a decent plan together…if anyone else on AH is interested, let me know… I think we’ll have a good time.. and you’d be amazed at how affordable it is by US standards…

I would be interested in what you put together. Thanks!

 

[Ridge Runner]

Not to discourage you just to give you some insight. Overall I enjoyed my time as a trail guide, horse and cattle rancher, full time student in the fall, winter, and spring, part time army reservist. I reluctantly had to call it quits due to Clinton's NAFTA.

I'll start with the bad because the good side of being a guide far out weighs the bad.

I worked as trail guide for several years. If you're not a people person with a thick skin when it comes to obnoxious, nuisance, pain in the ass clients, can make the best of a bad situation caused by your client. Well you might want to rethink things a bit.

Budgeting between clients is another pitfall that is easily to overcome by having a dependable regular income career or job that can pay the bills with money left over for other things.

Never enough hours in the day, night, week, and month when you're working.

The good side is you get to network yourself and your business as you get to meet a lot of very interesting people that have a variety of careers. You'll definitely meet a lot more good people than bad. And you'll have a lot more good times than bad to reflect back on.

" If enjoy what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."

Good luck and much success in following your dream.

 

[AndrewBrown3499]

I am an outfitter. I have had several people say they want to be a guide. Being a guide is not like going hunting with buddies and getting paid . Hunting is a part of it but service is at least important.
The guide remembers to fuel vehicles , feed horses and clean boats. Give guests a hand with their gear , ask if they have licence, ammo and gun. In my province guides are listed under “hospitality industry “ for insurance purposes.
Client first, your dog next and you last. Part of a guided job description does not include helping the client drink or being first to crack a beer when hunt is over.
Guiding is a real job.

I understand that. I’ve worked many hard labor jobs over the years and part of that is working with horses and using farm equipment. There’s a time and place for enjoying the hunt and working hard.