Hunting Guide Job Description Template for Outfitters: Duties, License Requirements, Pay and Camp Details

A good guide ad reads like the first week of camp: the unit, the species, the horses, the pay and where the guide sleeps. The ad that answers those questions gets the call.

Below is a copy-and-edit template, packer and camp cook versions, and the state and federal rules behind each field. For the full hiring process see how to hire hunting guides. Rules change, so confirm legal points with your state board or labor department.

What does a hunting guide job description template look like?

It runs 17 lines in the order a guide asks the questions. Replace every [bracket], delete lines that do not apply, and keep real numbers in the pay line.

Hunting guide template

• Position: Hunting guide, [rifle elk / archery elk / mule deer / black bear / sheep], [2027] fall season. [Employee / independent contractor].
• Outfit: [Outfit name], [state] outfitter license or registration no. [number].
• Where: [Hunting district, GMU or unit], [national forest or wilderness], nearest town [town]. Camp is [X hours by horse / X miles by road] from the trailhead.
• Hunts: [Species]. [Rifle / archery / muzzleloader]. [Horseback / backpack / spot-and-stalk / calling / stand]. [1 or 2] hunters per guide, [X]-day hunts.
• Dates: Arrive [date] for camp setup. Hunts run [date] to [date]. Release [date] after teardown.
• Duties: Glass, stalk and call; put hunters in position for an ethical shot; field dress, quarter, cape and pack out game; care for meat and trophies; navigate by [map and compass / GPS]; keep clients safe in weather and terrain; help with wood, water and camp chores; follow [state] hunting rules and our [Forest Service / BLM] permit.
• License: Must hold or qualify for a [state] [guide / professional guide / assistant guide] license before the first hunt. We [endorse / sign / recommend] your application and [pay / do not pay] the fee.
• First aid: Current first aid card [from a board-approved course]. [CPR / Wilderness First Aid / Wilderness First Responder] [required / preferred / paid for by us].
• Stock skills: [None; we train / ride X hours a day / saddle, pack and lead a string of X mules / shoe].
• Pay: $[X] to $[Y] per [day / week / hunt / month], paid [weekly / every two weeks], [plus overtime as the law requires]. [Season-completion bonus of $X.]
• Tips: Clients tip [in cash at the end of the hunt]. Tips go [100% to the guide / into a pool shared with the cook and packer]. The outfit keeps none.
• Camp: [Private / shared] [wall tent / cabin / bunkhouse], [cot / bed], [wood stove], [shower / none], [cell / satellite messenger only]. [No charge / $X a week].
• Meals: [Three meals a day in camp, no charge / you buy your own food].
• Gear: We provide [horses, saddles, pack gear, tents, radios, satellite communicator]. You bring [binoculars, boots, rain gear, sleeping bag, pack frame, knives, rifle].
• Schedule: Days run about [X] hours. [X] days off between hunts.
• Requirements: [18 or older, as the state license requires]; [X seasons guiding (species) / no guiding experience, we train]; [driver’s license if you drive clients].
• To apply: Send [a resume and the names and phone numbers of past outfitters] to [email] or call [phone] by [date / rolling].

For pay figures, see hunting guide pay.

What should the packer and camp cook versions say?

Keep the same 17 lines and swap the position, duties, license and skills lines. The license line changes most, because states draw the guide line at what the person does in the field.

Packer template (changed lines)

• Position: Packer [and wrangler], [2027] [summer and fall] season, [base camp / spike camps].
• Duties: Feed, water, catch, saddle and doctor [X] head of [horses and mules]; build and balance [manty / pannier / box] loads; lead strings of [X] to and from camp; pack hunters, gear and game; clear trail; [shoe stock].
• License: [No guide license needed for this role in (state) / Must hold or qualify for a (state) guide license, because this job packs hunters or game in the field].
• Skills: [X seasons packing / we train]. [Own saddle and tack / we provide tack].

Camp cook template (changed lines)

• Position: Camp cook, [wall-tent camp / lodge], [X] hunters and [X] crew per hunt, [2027] season.
• Duties: Plan menus and cook three meals a day on a [wood / propane] stove; pack lunches; keep the kitchen clean and water safe; store food under [the forest’s food storage order]; order resupply by [date].
• License: No guide license; [food handler card if your state or permit requires one].
• Getting there: [Ride X hours to camp; we teach you / camp is road accessible].

Wyoming requires a license to provide packing services, meaning hauling hunters, game or equipment in the field for big or trophy game. Its professional guide definition excludes people employed solely to care for livestock, cook, cut wood or transport people and gear.

Idaho exempts people employed by an outfitter solely to care for, groom or saddle livestock, cook, cut wood or haul on public roads. What applicants in these roles expect is in packer jobs and backcountry cook jobs.

What license requirements should the ad name?

The license by name and your part in it. In Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Alaska the guide’s license runs through an outfitter, and in Colorado nobody may act or advertise as an outfitter without a registration.

State	Write in the ad	Rule behind it
Montana	“Must hold or qualify for a Montana guide license; we endorse your application.”	Applicant must be 18, hold a wildlife conservation license and a first aid card from the board’s list, and be endorsed by a licensed Montana outfitter
Wyoming	“Wyoming professional guide license; we sign your license.”	Guides must be employed by or under contract with a licensed outfitter, who signs the back of the license; first aid card required
Idaho	“Idaho guide license; valid while you work for us.”	License valid only while employed by an Idaho licensed outfitter; first aid card required
Colorado	“Colorado outfitter registration no. [X]. Guides must be 18 with a first aid card.”	Guides must be 18 with a Red Cross first aid or instructor card, or approved equivalent
Alaska	“Assistant guide license; we provide the written recommendation.”	Registered guide-outfitter who intends to employ the applicant writes the recommendation; basic first aid card required

Sources: Montana Board of Outfitters guide application (rev. Sept. 2024); Wyoming board FAQ; IDAPA 24.35.01.103; C.R.S. 12-145-105 and 12-145-106; Alaska form 08-4009 (rev. 08/18/2026), accessed Oct 26, 2026.

Say “hold or qualify for” rather than “must have,” because a first-season guide cannot apply until you sign. Montana processes routine applications within 10 days, but a non-routine one can take up to 120, so put your hiring deadline early.

Idaho’s hunting guides also need 10 days in your operating area, map and compass or GPS skills, and training in meat and trophy care, including caping. Those make good duty lines. Alaska requires 60 days of legal big game hunting there over two or more years.

The stakes are yours too. Idaho Code 36-2104 makes it a misdemeanor to pay someone for guiding services when you know they are not licensed. Fees and other states are in hunting guide license by state, and your own license rules are in how to become an outfitter.

How should the pay section be written?

As a number, a unit and a tips rule, and for employees the number has to clear $7.25 an hour, the federal minimum wage since July 24, 2009. The Labor Department says some state laws give more protection and employers must comply with both.

A day rate does not switch that off. Under 29 CFR 778.112, an employee paid a flat sum per day has a regular rate equal to the week’s day pay divided by hours actually worked, plus half that rate for each hour over 40.

For example, $200 a day for six 12-hour days is $1,200 for 72 hours, a regular rate of $16.67. The 32 hours past 40 owe another $8.33 each, about $267. Fact Sheet #23 says a workweek is a fixed 168 hours and averaging over two weeks is not allowed.

Some outfits may fall under section 13(a)(3), which exempts amusement or recreational establishments that operate no more than seven months a year or meet a seasonal receipts test. Fact Sheet #18 warns some state laws do not recognize it. Ask your advisor before writing “no overtime.”

• Tips. The Labor Department says an employer cannot keep employees’ tips under any circumstances. If you pay full minimum wage and take no tip credit, cooks and other non-tipped staff may share in a tip pool, so “tips shared with cook and packer” is a fair line.
• Room and board as wages. Under 29 CFR 531.3 and 531.30, you may count only your actual cost, with no profit, and the employee’s acceptance must be voluntary. If you plan to count it, say so in the ad.
• Taxes on camp lodging. IRS Publication 15-B (2026) excludes lodging from wages when it is on your premises, for your convenience and a condition of the job. Its example is a remote Alaska construction site, where meals also qualify.

If you hire in Colorado, C.R.S. 8-5-201 requires every posting to show the pay or a pay range and a general description of benefits. Other states’ posting laws are in how to write an outdoor job listing.

Should the ad say employee or independent contractor?

Yes, and the state wording differs. Montana and Wyoming define a guide as employed by or under independent contract with an outfitter. Idaho defines a guide as employed by a licensed outfitter, and Alaska says assistant guides shall be employed by a registered guide-outfitter.

A state license form does not settle federal status. The IRS weighs three categories: behavioral control over what the worker does and how, financial control such as pay method and who supplies tools, and the type of relationship, such as contracts and benefits.

Set dates, assigned hunters, your horses and your gear are all control facts. The IRS will rule on Form SS-8, but says a determination can take at least six months.

The Labor Department proposed a new test on February 26, 2026, and comments closed April 28, 2026. As of Oct 26, 2026 the Federal Register shows no final rule. The proposal’s two core factors are control over the work and the worker’s chance for profit or loss.

What camp, gear and hours details belong in the ad?

Three: what you supply versus what the guide brings, where the guide sleeps, and how long the days run. Each has a federal wage rule behind it.

• Gear. Under 29 CFR 531.35, if you require workers to provide tools of the trade, it is a violation in any week the cost cuts into minimum or overtime wages owed. List what you provide, and keep the “you bring” list to personal gear. The hunting camp packing list shows what guides expect to bring.
• Sleep time. Under 29 CFR 785.22, for duty of 24 hours or more, you and the employee may agree to exclude up to 8 hours of sleep if you furnish adequate sleeping facilities and the employee can usually sleep through the night. Calls during the night count as work, and under 5 hours of sleep makes the whole period work time.
• On call. Under 29 CFR 785.17, an employee who must stay on or near your premises and cannot use the time for their own purposes is working while on call. Night stock checks and camp watch belong in the schedule line.

What wording should I leave out of a hunting guide ad?

Any word that describes the person instead of the work. The EEOC says it is illegal to publish a job ad that shows a preference for, or discourages, applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age 40 or older, disability or genetic information.

Those federal laws cover private employers with 15 or more employees for at least 20 calendar weeks this year or last, or 20 or more for age. Smaller outfits may still fall under state law, and the rewrite costs nothing.

Instead of	Write
“Young, fit guys”	“Ride [X] hours a day and pack quarters on foot in steep country”
“Recent grads or college kids”	“No guiding experience needed; we train in [skills]”
“Strong men to pack”	“Lift and load [X]-pound panniers onto mules”
“Under 35 only”	Delete it. State an age only where the license sets one, such as 18

Task language also helps later. Under the ADA rule at 29 CFR 1630.2(n), written job descriptions prepared before advertising or interviewing are evidence of a job’s essential functions, so put the real physical tasks in the duties line.

When the ad is filled in, you can list it on WildWork’s post a job page, next to the other hunting guide jobs guides are browsing.