I did not mean to disparage fully guided hunts too much. For me I consider all the efforts to be part of the hunt: gearing up, scouting, access, setup, calling, shooting, retrieving (working with the dog). The fewer of those I do, the more it seems to take away from the hunt. I can see where a guy with a tough job or career or family situation might not have the time or would just like to have a phenomenal shoot so they skip more of the up front "work". It's all good.
So the verdict seems to be split on Alberta vs. Saskatchewan. And it sounds like it can be somewhat competitive in Alberta with guides getting access and being able to scout more.