Yep. You don't have to spend a bunch of money to deer hunt, nor do you have to be in a "club," for sure.
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The Future of Georgia Deer Hunting
- Thread starter TriggerHappyJake
- Start date
Yep. You don't have to spend a bunch of money to deer hunt, nor do you have to be in a "club," for sure.
mallardsx2
BANNED
I'm lucky to have family with an affordable lease. If we ever loose it we will be hard pressed to find something better or on par with what we have. I am realizing that sooner than later.
I'll hunt Corp land if things fall apart. There is lots of that that borders high dollar leases.
I'll hunt Corp land if things fall apart. There is lots of that that borders high dollar leases.
j_seph
Senior Member
have 1 club 500 ac $700+ dues
Another that is 800 ac $250 first year 2nd is $200
Then 250 ac in 3 tracts that is free to hunt
Another that is 800 ac $250 first year 2nd is $200
Then 250 ac in 3 tracts that is free to hunt
Havana Dude
Senior Member
That’s pretty much the point the OP is making. Y’all, I think the man just wanted a discussion about it, not be told to sit on the couch and watch tv. The costs we all incur while chasing our passion is slowly weeding out people along income levels. Some say it’s whining, I say it’s being responsible, and having your priorities in check. Nic has a good point. Those who love to hunt, will find a way.
deers2ward
Senior Member
PappyHoel
Senior Member
I don't mean to sound like a muckraker but do you ever stop and look at the prices of hunting dues and just think, man, one day deer hunting is gonna be a rich man's sport? I might be alone when I say this but does it not seem that every year it gets a little more expensive and a tiny bit harder to do? I don't think it will be too terribly long until WMAs will be bursting at the seems with people and the only people hunting private land are the ones with connections. Its a bleak look into the future, that I know but everything looks bleak these days.
I've been a member here since 2004. I said the same thing back then. It's the kings sport.
This topic comes up here with some reguarity.
When I started hunting quail were plentiful and we hunted thousands of acres with permission in three counties. Times changed - things changed - farming changed - the burbs extended. Now quail hunting is a very expensive proposition. If I hear one quail call a year I count myself lucky and attribute it to an escaped tame bird.
The State is much more willing and active in assisting deer hunters now than it was in assisting quail hunters 50 or 60 years ago. I am not sure that this is a job I want the State to do very much of. Anyway, The one thing you can count on is change and deer hunting will change, some for the better and some for the worse.
Grousing about it will not help much. Count your lucky stars; give back what you can to make things better, and enjoy it while you can.
When I started hunting quail were plentiful and we hunted thousands of acres with permission in three counties. Times changed - things changed - farming changed - the burbs extended. Now quail hunting is a very expensive proposition. If I hear one quail call a year I count myself lucky and attribute it to an escaped tame bird.
The State is much more willing and active in assisting deer hunters now than it was in assisting quail hunters 50 or 60 years ago. I am not sure that this is a job I want the State to do very much of. Anyway, The one thing you can count on is change and deer hunting will change, some for the better and some for the worse.
Grousing about it will not help much. Count your lucky stars; give back what you can to make things better, and enjoy it while you can.
slingblade625
Senior Member
Deer hunting will be a thing of the past in a generation or two for the average guy, people will not pay or be willing to pay to get into a club that has 1 member per 30 acres an allow’s you to bring your kid an sit in a pine plantation that has no bait plots because their isn’t a place to put a baitplot, so their are very few deer seen because of lack of food,(they don’t like pine needles they good) an the rules are different for us that are not fourtunate enough to have leased land or own land in the southern part of this state. So what a kid to do I’ll tell ya he or she will find something else to occupy their time an it won’t be sitting in the woods where they are bored as ————well y’all see what I’m saying. Just a matter of time if things are not changed
across the river
Senior Member
This makes no sense. It is simply supply and demand. If lease prices go up to the point that the demand goes down, then prices will come down as a result. It is no different than golf, cars, boats, or any other hobby people participate in. People will spend their money on what they want to regardless, up until the point that the cost them more than they are willing to pay or can possibly afford. You can hardly buy a new truck for under $40,000 now a days, yet you constantly see them on the road. Considering the average salary in GA is ~$48,000, you have people spending an entire year's salary on a vehicle, and constantly trade them in to get e new one. That makes absolutely no sense financially speaking, but I know plenty of people who pay more in car payments than they do in house payments and retirement savings. That is a choice. How many people on here fussing a bout lease prices have a $50,000 truck. I bet a lot. Drive a $20,000 used truck and pay a $1000 lease for 30 years or even $2000 for the next decade and a half. Better yet save money and buy your own place. There will never come a point an time where people can't afford to hunt if they really want too, they just may not like the price they have to pay to do it.
Geez you can hunt hundreds of thousands of acres for nothing more than the cost of a hunting license. If you can’t afford a hunting license and a little gas money you need to get a second job or a better job.
If public land isn’t your thing there are plenty of good clubs to choose from under $600 a year. Everything goes up in cost! How much was an F150 a couple decades ago? I’m guessing about half what they cost now. Do only rich people buy new trucks? No, people find a way to buy what they want. To say hunting is becoming a rich mans sport makes y’all sound like a bunch of losers.
If public land isn’t your thing there are plenty of good clubs to choose from under $600 a year. Everything goes up in cost! How much was an F150 a couple decades ago? I’m guessing about half what they cost now. Do only rich people buy new trucks? No, people find a way to buy what they want. To say hunting is becoming a rich mans sport makes y’all sound like a bunch of losers.
shdw633
Senior Member
My diesel Ford cost me $34,000 in 2001, that same truck is nearly $70,000 or more and no I cannot and will not pay that much for a truck. A 2001 Triton 21 foot bass boat with a 225 Merc on it could be bought for $22,000, now that boat is $60,000 and no I will not pay that much for a boat. Things do price themselves out of a market and to the point that only rich people can afford them and deer hunting is not different. Yes you can "hunt" on thousands of acres of land but good luck having a lot of success on said land and even those cheap $600 leases are usually so filled with hunters that you are hunting 25 acres per hunter, again, success is limited or as I have heard with many other things in life....you get what you pay for.
grouper throat
Senior Member
Priorities, we all have them. I might skimp on some things but good leases aren't one of them.
Lilly001
Senior Member
What everyone is being short sighted about is how our sport is regulated by politics.
Right now there is a big push to erode our 2nd admendment rights and many on here support it by what Ben Franklin described as giving up liberty for security.
Once the second is eroded the anti hunters will gain confidence to go after the less popular hunting pursuits. They may try to outlaw firearms for hunting because of the toxic lead used. And some on here will allow it because they use a bow and it doesn't affect them.
My point is "they" are after your guns, your hunting, your tax dollars, and anything else that doesn't agree with "their" agenda.
We must stop turning on each other, or we will become "them".
Right now there is a big push to erode our 2nd admendment rights and many on here support it by what Ben Franklin described as giving up liberty for security.
Once the second is eroded the anti hunters will gain confidence to go after the less popular hunting pursuits. They may try to outlaw firearms for hunting because of the toxic lead used. And some on here will allow it because they use a bow and it doesn't affect them.
My point is "they" are after your guns, your hunting, your tax dollars, and anything else that doesn't agree with "their" agenda.
We must stop turning on each other, or we will become "them".
Havana Dude
Senior Member
What everyone is being short sighted about is how our sport is regulated by politics.
Right now there is a big push to erode our 2nd admendment rights and many on here support it by what Ben Franklin described as giving up liberty for security.
Once the second is eroded the anti hunters will gain confidence to go after the less popular hunting pursuits. They may try to outlaw firearms for hunting because of the toxic lead used. And some on here will allow it because they use a bow and it doesn't affect them.
My point is "they" are after your guns, your hunting, your tax dollars, and anything else that doesn't agree with "their" agenda.
We must stop turning on each other, or we will become "them".
My thoughts exactly, you were just able to string the words together to form sentences. We can’t give an inch.
I was in a club in Melbourne FL 30 years ago, the lease was $12000 and we were limited to 6 members.
The Morman church knows how to squeeze a nickle till the buffalo toots.
Yep. But we'll argue baiting to death, bring it back to life and then kill it again. What good is baiting if you can't hunt in the first place?
Except that it's all relative, and many folks are more about their image and keeping up with the Joneses than they are about hunting and fishing. You do not need a $70,000 truck pulling a $60,000 boat to catch plenty of fish. I'd say your average old retired dude pulling a 14' jonboat behind a $5000 truck catches a lot more fish than the redneck glam feller with the Triton and the train engine to pull it with. And doesn't spend $100 a day on gas. He's actually fishing instead of running up and down the lake 100mph looking cool.
I've killed plenty of deer on public land. I would much rather hunt the average WMA than the average club lease as far as the hunting and dealing with obnoxious people goes. It's just not as redneck cool as a lease, I guess, though.
brownhounds
Banned
Agreed 100% on the fishing. But, when it comes to hunting, I love going to our camp. We have 7-8 good guys with no drama, and our dues are $700. We keep the cost down with camp meat and sawmill lunches. We cook pretty good in the evenings, though. Our 4 wheelers barely crank; our camo looks like it did in 1980. And, we don't hold off for a 140 inch buck. We kill what we want to. If clubs like this one ever fades out, I'll take up WMA hunting. But, its all getting out of hand. The money takes the fun out of everything.
Sounds like our "club," except that it's our own land, not a lease.
shdw633
Senior Member
But what you're saying is no different then the peasant that eats a loaf of bread while the king eats a steak. Of course you can hunt WMA's if you don't care that you don't see game way more than you do see game or have to share it with 1000 other people at the same time, many of those times they are ruining your setup by hunting near you or walking through your setup, but if you want a quality experience and a chance at better deer, you're going to have to pay.....just like the king.
