New Mexico Ranch Manager and Hunting Guide
Sawtooth Shadow Ranch ✓
Pie Town, NM
$60,000 + a year, plus housing, a vehicle and medical insuran
Full-timeHousing
Hunting Guide Jobs
1 open listing · updated Oct 29, 2026
60% include housing · Pay Report
Hunting guide jobs put you in the field with paying hunters for a licensed outfitter: finding game, keeping the client safe, and caring for the meat and trophy after the shot. Most of the work is fall big game hunting out of camps and lodges in the western states. If you are looking for hunting jobs that pay, guiding is the center of them, but it is not an entry-level role.
More About Hunting Guide Jobs
Montana, Wyoming and Idaho tie guide licenses to an outfitter. Montana’s guide license costs $125 to apply and needs a licensed outfitter’s endorsement. Wyoming guides must work for a licensed outfitter, carry a first aid card and, if born after January 1, 1966, a hunter education card, and new applicants take an exam. An Idaho guide license is valid only while you work for an Idaho outfitter, and hunting guides need at least 10 days in the outfitter’s operating area, map and compass or GPS skills, and training in caring for meat and caping. An Alaska assistant guide needs 60 days of Alaska big game hunting over two or more years, 30 of them in a guide camp.
Cash pay is modest and tips add a lot. Royal Tine Guide School in Montana says first-year guides generally earn $1,000 to $1,500 a month plus room and board. A Montana outfitter classified posted September 10, 2026 offered up to $300 a day for a rifle elk guide who could pack elk out on horses and mules. Huntin’ Fool says the industry norm is a tip of 10 to 15 percent of the hunt value, or $500 on a $5,000 hunt. The full breakdown is in what hunting guides make.
Montana’s 2026 elk archery season runs September 5 to October 18 and the general season October 24 to November 29, so outfitters staff up in summer. Read what outfitters look for and outdoor guide jobs, or get onto a string first with packer jobs.
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Questions About Hunting Guide Jobs
How many hunting guide jobs are open right now?
10 listings are live on WildWork as of October 29, 2026. 1 state their pay and 6 include housing.
Do hunting guide jobs come with housing?
60% of current listings say the employer provides housing, free or at a charge, and 50% include meals. Each listing shows whether housing is included and what it costs when the employer says.
Do you need a license to be a hunting guide?
In Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, yes, and it is tied to an outfitter. Montana’s guide license costs $125 to apply and requires a licensed outfitter’s endorsement. Wyoming guides must work for a licensed outfitter and submit a first aid card, plus a hunter education card if born after January 1, 1966. An Idaho guide license is valid only while you work for an Idaho licensed outfitter.
How do you get a hunting guide job with no experience?
Build the experience the license rules ask for. Idaho requires hunting guides to have at least 10 days in the outfitter’s operating area, navigation skills and training in meat and trophy care. Montana accepts either experience or a guide school on a first application. Royal Tine Guide School says outfitters hire people who are responsible, dependable, willing to work and enthusiastic about treating clients right.
How much do hunting guides make a month?
Royal Tine Guide School says first-year guides generally earn $1,000 to $1,500 a month plus room and board, and notes that most camps leave you with almost no living expenses. Skilled hands can earn more: a Montana outfitter offered up to $300 a day in September 2026 for a rifle elk guide who could pack elk out on horses and mules.
How much do hunters tip their guide?
Huntin’ Fool says the most common tip is 10 to 15 percent of the hunt value, so a $5,000 hunt earns a guide about $500. It notes that some outfitters build the tip into the hunt price, but that is not very common, and that a hunter may tip more or less depending on the guide’s effort.
What does an Alaska assistant guide license require?
You must be 18 or older and have legally hunted big game in Alaska for at least 60 days during two or more calendar years, with at least 30 of those days in a guide camp or supervised by a licensed guide. The application fee is $200, and the license costs $310 for residents or $620 for nonresidents.
Sources: Montana Board of Outfitters, Guide License; Wyoming State Board of Outfitters and Professional Guides, FAQ; IDAPA 24.35.01.103, Idaho guide license qualifications; Alaska DCCED, Assistant Guide license application instructions (form 08-4009); Royal Tine Guide School, Guiding FAQs; Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, Rifle elk guide with horse packing experience (posted Sep 10, 2026); Huntin' Fool, Tipping Your Guide; Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Hunting Seasons.