Big Game Guide
& Packer Training

Hunting Guide School
Royal Tine Big Game Hunting Guide Training and Packer School

Hunting, Fishing &
Camp Cook School

Outdoor Adventures
Choosing a Guide School

Unfortunately, the story that ran in the Dec. 1998 issue of Petersons Hunting Magazine is true. (You can read a section by clicking on the small picture on the left side of our home page. The author visited several schools of which Royal Tine was rated top.) There are schools that I would not recommend to my worst enemy. This is not to say, that you should necessarily choose Royal Tine, but you should do some homework before sending away a deposit to just any school. Here in Montana, there is no governing agency to police guide schools. When we (my wife LeRee and I) first started Royal Tine back in 1994, the school had to be licensed as a business, insured and bonded to protect you the consumer. As of now, that is not even required. What this means, is that literally anyone can start one, regardless of their knowledge, experience or professional qualifications. This is why a reasonable amount of caution is advised.

Curriculum
First, make sure the curriculum will suit your needs as far as what you need to know and what you don't in order to make the best use of your time at the school. For example, learning to drive teams of horses or trapping may certainly be interesting and handy to know, but wouldn't that time be better spent on other skills that are more important to a guide? Is the school being run by an outfitter to simply train guides for himself? Or, does the agenda cover many different aspects, and ways of doing things so that you will have a broad knowledge for your future job. For example, does the school show how to pack both a decker and a sawbuck? Montana and Idaho pack almost exclusively deckers. States to the south are usually sawbuck packers. You should learn both so you have the skills to work anywhere.

Instructors
Make sure the school you choose has quality instructors. Does the school hire out their instruction or have prior students with little experience do the instructing? Are the instructors local? Have they been in the in the business for a significant amount of time? Are they city slickers turned overnight outfitters? What about instructor student ratios? Some schools run twelve students per one instructor. Is this the personal, hands on attention you want?

Location
Make sure the school is in a good location. It is difficult to learn elk hunting skills in a camp that sits on five acres in somebody's back yard, right off of the highway. Will you be staying in a lodge or bunkhouse, or will you be staying in a camp that is much closer to the real thing? Wall tents are what hunting camps are made of. In order to determine if this profession is indeed for you, we feel your choice of accommodations should be as close to the real thing as possible.

Job placement service
It does little good to go to a school that has little or poor jobs available after class is done. If you want to become a guide, packer or wrangler, choose a school that offers the most up to date opportunities for a job.

References
It goes without saying that references can be a huge help in determining a quality school. We highly recommend calling as many as possible. If the school does not have a good list of references, I would be cautious of choosing it. A few dollars in phone calls can be a cost saver in the long run.

Why Royal Tine?
Here at Royal Tine, I do the instructing myself. I have another instructor that is a resident of Montana and has been guiding since 1994. My wife, LeRee', does the cooking, camp cook student instructing and the daily business transactions. The instructor to student ratio is always at minimum, one instructor per four students.

I was born and raised on a cattle ranch here in Philipsburg, Montana and have been around elk and stock my whole life. I have been guiding hunters since the age of fifteen. Between my wife and I, we have worked in Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska and many different areas of Montana. We don't run this school as a means of something to do during the slow times in the year. This is our main enterprise and this is how we make our living. This is not a school where you will be packing in my hay and chopping wood for my fall hunting camps. This is where you will learn the basic skills needed to become a guide. Anybody can be an outfitter. Many that are, are simply the businessman in the business, doing the paper work and the marketing to book hunters then hiring guides and packers to do all the guiding and packing. I am an outfitter but first and foremost, I am a guide and a packer. This is a school for guides and packers, taught by guides and packers.

Since starting the school, we have made it a point to work in as many places as we can so that we can pass on to you a broad range of experience. One of the reasons Erv asked us to start this school, is because we have an ideal location. The family ranch is 17,000 acres backed by Federal land and wilderness. Here, we have elk, mule deer, whitetail, and bears to practice hunting. We can be in sheep and goat country in a days ride. How many schools can boast that they have had elk, deer and moose in the same pasture where the horses are? How about bears in the kitchen tent? Granted, we would have preferred not to have him in there, as he made quite a mess, but this a great setting if you want to be around the wildlife you are going to hunt.

As far as job placement, this service is included in the price of your school tuition. All qualified graduates will receive job referrals after completion of the course. Royal Tine is a household name amongst western big game outfitters and I can truly say that no school has the quality of job opportunities for graduates as Royal Tine. Since 1994, Royal Tine has placed 100% of it's qualified graduates with jobs. It is easy to sit here and make these claims that I have just made without backing them up. We can! Our references will speak for themselves. Call them, and see for yourself! Here's to happy trails wherever you decide to go.

Sincerely,
Cody and LeRee' Hensen
Royal Tine Guide and Packer School