Important Guide School Information

Entrance Requirements:

The school does not discriminate based on race, sex, religion, ethnic origin, or disability. To the extent possible, our school will make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities to access our training. The nature of a guide and packer school requires specific physical demands on individuals and as such, decisions regarding the ability of an individual to participate will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Each student must be at least 17 years of age and in good physical and mental health. Students under the age of 18 must have written parental consent. (A guide license requires a minimum age of 18). Students must be physically able to ride a horse, hike and live in high elevations and lift at least 80 pounds of weight chest high.

Tuition and Fees:

Each student must enclose payment for tuition deposit at the time the enrollment application is submitted. Tuition includes room and board and all training materials. Deposit with all guide and packer applications is 50% of class tuition and balance due 45 days prior to class start date and is non-refundable and non-transferable.

Enrollment:

Prospective students may enroll at any time, however the number of students accepted is limited and students are admitted on a first come first serve basis. The enrollment is limited to eight students per class.

Personal Risk and Liability:

Students are required to sign an “Acknowledgement of Risk and Assumption of Personal Responsibility” form for accident and/or illness. The form will be distributed on course start date. Students are urged to carry personal medical insurance coverage in case of illness or injury.

Transportation:

It is recommended that students have their own transportation, so that they may drive to prospective jobs and interviews after the school. However, if you plan to fly, arrange flights to Missoula, MT (MSO) arriving the day before class starts and schedule flights out the day after class ends. We would be happy to recommend a quality motel. Transportation to and from the airport can be provided for a $100 pickup fee.
Philipsburg (pop: about 900) is a twenty-minute drive from base camp. There is a Laundromat and pay phones in Philipsburg. Once at camp, there will be no vehicle use except for days off – – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Student Conduct:

Safety is first and foremost in all our activities. Any student who willfully or irresponsibly causes another student, instructor or livestockto be placed in jeopardy may be immediately dismissed at the discretion of the head instructor or school administrator. Students are expected to cooperate, act maturely and respect other students, instructors and other staff members at all times. Dismissal may also occur when a student displays an uncooperative attitude towards the schools faculty or fellow students. The school reserves the right to be the sole judge of such conduct, which may be detrimental to the school. Other grounds for dismissal or termination include but are not limited to:

• Cheating, dishonesty, stealing, falsifying records.
• Excessive absenteeism or tardiness.
• Immoral, unprofessional, or unlawful conduct.
• Use of intoxicating liquors and/or drugs.
• Misuse or abuse of equipment, animals or school property.
• Fighting.
• Intentional disruption of school activities.
• Physical abuse or sexual harassment of any person on school premises.
• Threatening or endangering the health or safety of any person on school premises.
• Theft or damage to school property or equipment.
• Unauthorized use or entry into school facilities.

Students dismissed from the course will not be allowed to re-enter.

Attendance Policy:

Students are expected to attend classes daily for the full time allotted. Two unexcused absences will result in dismissal from the school. Students are expected to be punctual and actively take part in all classes and training sessions. Students will be expected to stay within the school perimeter unless student has verbal authorization from an instructor.

Class Schedule:

Due to our small enrollment and the nature of our subject matter, the class schedule is flexible and is adjusted daily to meet the needs of students and other circumstances, such as the weather conditions or unexpected learning opportunities. Students will receive 60 hours of instruction per week. The 4-week course offers 240 hours of instruction and the 5-week course offers 300. The schedule is based on an average of 6 days per week and 12 hours per day of class work, instruction and self-study. Mondays will be days off.

Representative daily schedule:
6 am wake-up, campjack and wrangling
7:30 am breakfast
8:00 am – 12:00 pm morning instruction
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm lunch
1:00 pm – 6:00 pm afternoon instruction
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm dinner
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm practice and self study
8:30 pm – 9:00 pm daily quiz

Personal Supplies and Equipment:

The school is not responsible for lost, damaged or stolen articles. Students are responsible to secure all personal items to prevent any losses. All personal items should be marked with the students name or initials.

Standards of Progress:

The course is divided into four major areas:

– Horsemanship including horse shoeing
– Packing
– Guide/hunting skills
– Outdoor skills

The school holds all student records. Students may review their records at any time and may request to go over them with the director of education. The school may authorize release of students records to employing outfitters.

Grading System:

Students will be graded on practical tests, a hands on mid term exam, and daily quizzes. Grades are based on the following:

5 – excellent (A)
4 – above average (B)
3 – average (C)
2 – below average (D)
1 – unsatisfactory (F)
0 – incomplete

Graduation Requirements:

A final grade in each major study area of 3.0 or better is required to pass the course and qualify for a diploma certificate. A final overall grade of 3.6 or better is required for graduates to be eligible for job placement assistance.

Job Placement Assistance:

Job placement assistance is offered in the form of job lead referrals. This is a service provided to you, that was included in the tuition. We have placed 100% of qualified graduates, however, we make no guarantees, express or implied, of future employment. Current law prohibits any school from guaranteeing job placement as an inducement to enroll students.

Previous Credit Recognition:

No previous credit recognition is needed nor recognized for the successful completion of this course. A diploma certificate will be issued to each student upon satisfactory completion of the course.

Transferability:

The school does not guarantee the transferability of its credits to any other institution unless there is a written agreement with another institution.

Guide License Requirements:

Criminal records or violations of state or federal regulations pertaining to outfitting and guiding, or fish and game laws may have an affect on your eligibility to become a licensed guide. Law requires guide license applicants to be a minimum of 18 years of age. Requirements for guide licensing varies from state to state.

School Facilities, Equipment and Faculty:

Royal Tine Guide and Packer School is located on a private ranch near Philipsburg, MT. The school is conducted on approx. 17,000 acres of private land; in addition, the school has permits for surrounding United States Forest Service Lands.

Students are taught in an outdoor setting just as they will be working as a guide, packer, or cook. The school facilities consist of:

Large cook tent with kitchen facilities for meals and/or classroom studies
Student tents with bunks, foam pads and wood stoves for sleeping
Shower tent
Tack shed
Crew tents
Outhouse
Corral for livestock
Hitching posts

The camp does have a generator to power a television, VCR and other necessary equipment.

The training equipment is varied and extensive. It basically consists of all equipment and stock that is needed and used to operate a professional outfitting business.

The owners of Royal Tine Guide and Packer School, Cody and LeRee’ Hensen, have a lifetime of combined stock, hunting, business and outdoor experience in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Alaska. Cody also holds a degree in business administration from the University of Montana. Cody and LeRee’ are both First Aid certified and are very involved in school instruction.

Refund Policy:

Most program expenses are incurred while preparing for the applicant to attend a course. Our cancellation and refund policy reflect the fact that it is impossible to recover these costs for late cancellations, no-shows, or withdrawals from the course.

A full refund of the deposit will be issued if the applicant is not accepted by the school, the course is full, or the course is cancelled. Note; these are the only circumstances upon which a deposit is refunded.

Refunds for veteran eligible students will be based on the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) regulation 21.4255

Students who leave a course once it has begun, whether it is due to sickness, dismissal, withdrawal, or any other reason, will not be entitled to refunds of any tuition, fees or deposits.

Due to the small nature of our business, our refund policy for monies paid is that all monies paid are non-refundable and non-transferable, and are considered as partial payment for the services of reserving time and space on the schedule and advance preparation of equipment and supplies.

What To Bring:

___ clothes for at least 1 week (include jeans, long & short sleeved shirts), shorts & sleeveless shirts are not allowed during school.
___ long underwear, sweatshirt(s), and warm jacket
___ 1 set of camouflaged clothing (shirt & pants)
___ footwear: cowboy boots for riding, camp shoes, and hiking boots (no steel toed boots)
___ Muck Boots (for spring class)
___ duffel bag(s) for your gear– should be waterproof dry bags and not exceed 36” length…if you are not going on to work, then Rubbermaid totes will be great to store your gear at school.
___ leather belt and belt knife
___ Power bank to charge your phone
___ multi-plier such as a leatherman
___ cowboy hat– Stetson or Resistol! It is important that you look like a western guide, IF you plan on guiding.
___ sleeping bag with stuff sack and pillow (rated to at least 0 degrees, so you can use in hunting season)
___ rain gear (I recommend a lightweight Saddle Slicker Raincoat Duster, available on Amazon) – NO PONCHOS
___ gloves – well fitted leather gloves
___ toiletries (toothbrush, deodorant, & biodegradable soap such as CampSuds™)
___ towel and face cloth
___ insulated travel mug — This is your drinking cup while at school; we don’t provide them.
___ alarm clock
___ day pack (1800 – 2200 cubic inches) with the following:
___ small first aid kit (include: Band-Aids, gauze and tape, aspirin, moleskin, etc.)
___ lighters (2)
___ compass with a base plate … SUUNTO A10 or SILVA type 7 ($25 on Amazon) –NO MILITARY TYPES
___ 2 water bottles like Nalgene (small tops work best)
___ head lamp or flashlight (small)
___ knife sharpener
___ small saw or hatchet
___ 8′ X 10′ foot (approx.) lightweight poly tarp. This will be your sleeping shelter on the pack trip.
___ 50 feet of light nylon cord (PARACORD)
___ 4 lightweight tent stakes
___ Extra batteries for GPS, flashlights, headlamp, alarm clocks
___ elk bugle with grunt tube and cow calls….(see back for specific recommendations)
BUY THE BUGLE AND CALLS PRIOR TO SCHOOL AND START USING THEM
___ binoculars – (I recommend a pair that are waterproof, 8-10 power x 35-50mm obj.)
___ GPS – we suggest the Garmin eTrex or similar
___ Fly Fishing gear (see separate sheet)
___ notebook and pens
___ extra pair of glasses or contacts (if you wear them)

OPTIONAL

*bows
*bug spray – the higher the percentage of DEET, the better.
*guns may be brought but may not be used during school or on the ranch for insurance reasons. You are welcome to go elsewhere and shoot on your days off.

Specific Recommended Gear

I am often asked which specific brands of gear I prefer to use. Listed below are products Royal Tine Instructors have used in the field and highly recommend. These are products that are high quality yet reasonably priced. By no means, should you take this list as required gear. This is simply a guideline of products that we feel are good and well priced. The two things that you should put your money towards buying the best possible quality you can afford are boots and optics.
Unless otherwise stated, most of the following can be found in Cabelas www.cabelas.com Or
Scheels www.scheels.com

Day Pack – The BADLANDS “super day” pack is a great pack. Lifetime, no questions guarantee. Wait to get an additional pack that is more expensive if you decide to go on to a job. Personally, I have Stone Glacier, Kuiu & EXO packs.

Boots – Kenetrek, Lowa, Meindl, Crispi – Expensive but it is very important to have footwear that fits well.

Flashlight – Fenix E12 (awesome compact light)
Binoculars
Vortex™ …. Viper HD or Razor HD (10×42)
GPS
The basic Garmin eTrex is all you need. Outfitters will expect you to be out before daylight and out after dark. A GPS will give you the confidence to do that. Any Garmin product is good. Available www.amazon.com

Elk Calls
BUY THE BUGLE AND CALLS PRIOR TO SCHOOL AND START USING THEM
IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT TODAY’S ELK GUIDES BE EXCELLENT CALLERS. I EXPECT YOU TO BE ABLE TO SOUND LIKE A BUGLE BEFORE SCHOOL. WE WILL BUILD ON THAT.

A note on elk bugles– I personally prefer a mouth diaphragm with a good grunt tube.

There are a number of good external diaphragm calls as well. These are easier to learn to use.
• Primos Terminator www.primos.com
• E.L.K.’s Power Bugle™ www.elkinc.com

I also recommend SEVERAL good cow calls:
• Rocky Mountain Elk Calls – The elk 101 3 pack is recommended www.buglingbull.com
• The Primos Hyper lip or Imaka Da Bullcrazy www.primos.com
• Carlton’s fight’n cow elk call www.hunterspec.com
• Native by Carlton www.nativebycarlton.com

Fly Fishing Gear Recommendation

The Core Setup
Rod: A 9-foot, 5-weight (5wt) graphite rod. This is the industry-standard, all-around setup for trout in streams and rivers. Most are 2 piece rods but we suggest 3 or 4 piece rods for easier horse packing.
Reel: A large-arbor reel that matches your 5-weight rod.
Line: Weight-Forward Floating (WF5F) fly line. This handles the majority of river and creek situations. Make sure the weight of your line matches the weight of your rod. For example, a 5wt rod requires 5wt line.
Backing: 20-pound Dacron line that spools under your fly line, giving you extra capacity if a large fish runs.

Tackle & Flies
Leaders: 7.5 to 9-foot tapered leaders. Size 4X or 5X are perfect for general trout fishing.
Tippet: Spools of 4X, or 5X. This connects directly to your leader and gets tied to the fly.
Flies: Bring an assortment of each type below
• Dry Flies: Flies that float on top of the water surface. Good choices include Elk Hair Caddis, Adams, Royal Wulff in sizes 12 – 18
• Nymphs: Flies that are sub-surface and sink to the bottom. Good choices include Hares Ear, Prince and Pheasant Tail in sizes 12 – 18
• Streamers: Larger baitfish imitations that are pulled through the water. Good choices are Wooly Buggers and Girdle Bugs in sizes 8 or 10
• San Juan worms are always a good stand by. Sizes 10-12 in red, orange and pink

Tools & Accessories
Nippers: Used to cut excess leader or tippet.
Forceps/Hemostats: Essential for safely and quickly removing the hook from the fish’s mouth.
Floatant: A gel or liquid that you apply to dry flies, so they stay on top of the water.
Zingers/Retractors or neck lanyards are handy for your nippers, hemostats and floatant.
Strike indicators: used for nymph fishing, these are small yarn, foam or plastic bubbles and lay on top of the water to indicate a fish strike on your sub-surface flies.

Apparel & Safety
Wading shoes. Note: Felt soles offer great grip on slick stream rocks. Any pair of “get wet” shoes will be fine also
Polarized Sunglasses: Crucial for spotting fish in the water, reading river structure, and protecting your eyes from stray hooks.
Small Fly Box for fly storage and organization
Rubber landing net to help protect the fishes’ slime during hook removal
Bug dope
Sunscreen
Chest pack, vest or fanny pack to hold your gear.
Fishing License: Required for all fishing. You can purchase that on the internet and have on your phone.

Getting Started: Avoid piecing it all together if you are just starting out. Starter kits (often called “outfits”) come with the rod, reel, line, and backing all perfectly balanced and are available for $250 – $300. Flies can also be purchased in “beginner” assortments. Look into rod and reel options like:
Orvis Encounter Fly Rod Outfit
Redington Wrangler
Echo Lift
Crystal Creek Kit
Wild Water Deluxe Combo