Can we overstate the importance of acres / hunter ratio?

[Jim Boyd]

What is optimum?

I know money always comes into play whether you are paying $5 per acre or $20 per acre.

Where is the line that offers great hunting but does not make you go broke in the process?

I am basically stuck at 150 acres per hunter.

So, when human pressure and value are balanced against each other - can we overstate the importance of the acres to hunter ratio?

Hope this is a good off season topic to start us toward the fall of 2018.

Best of luck....

 

[ilbcnu]

Count your blessings. The future of hunting as I see it is alot of good folks will be priced out of hunting all together

 

[transfixer]

I know the more acres per hunter the better, but at the current prices, that makes individual memberships quite high if you figure 150acres per, our lease in northeast ga is over $11.00 an acre currently , and is supposed to go up. that would make our memberships at $1650 per member, that's outside of what most people can afford, or are willing to pay. We currently have about 60 acres per member, and at least 3 members only hunt a couple times all year, one only turkey hunts, so actually our ratio works out better than 60 per, its just getting way too blankty blank expensive lease land in recent years.

 

[XIronheadX]

I've always hunted at least 100 acres or more per person. Peace is most important.

 

[Danuwoa]

Some of the things I read about please prices etc. make me even more thankful to have family land to hunt.

 

[shdw633]

I'm currently on a lease that is 200 acres per man, but my limit on the low side is 100 acres. I just think, for me anyway, anything lower then that and you put to much pressure on the herd with all the deer that have to be taken to satisfy the number of members you have on that particular lease....again, that is just me.

 

[kevincox]

Depends on the tract but I'd say 100 acres is a good starting point if the property is mostly wooded.

 

[Milkman]

Ok what about the guy who hunts a 10 acre tract ?

 

[Lilly001]

Type of terrain, numbers of hours/days per hunter, deer density, harvest goals (any legal or just trophy?), pressure on surrounding properties......
It is more than just acres/hunter.
I hunt 160 that I own that is Buck only. 65 that we lease that is any legal. And another 200 if I want to hunt for trophys only.
I hunt with two others except occasional guest.
So we are at about 70 per. But we don't hunt every day and sometimes we take a week or two off. We usually see deer most every hunt so I think we are ok.

 

[Buckstop]

I would prefer 150 ac or more with 100 being an absolute minimum. But lots of variables like woods/crop ratio, distance of members from property and how many are actively hunting. We have about 200 wooded ac per member. It hurts us bad at dues time for sure but virtually eliminates any other problems the rest of the year.

Have hunted much less acres per membed for lots of years when I was funding other interests and family responsibilities. Killed a few and had fun but much of it was just trying to deal with or work around others. Hunted more for spots to hunt than hunted the deer.

 

[georgia_home]

It's always a fight between the amount of land and cost.

The more land / Hunter, the better. If cost was no object, we all 200/hunter acres. Or more.

 

[glynr329]

I would love to have land that was close to 100 that would be a dream club. I bet most clubs are lucky to have 25 per member plus half think that they can kill 12 does. Not trying to start an argument over bubba killing 12 deer.

 

[BeerThirty]

Let’s be honest...you can get ‘er done on 10-acres per person. And even on that, it’s too easy for deer to slip between two hunters unnoticed. You boys with you 100-acre minimums are just getting greedy...

 

[Down4Count]

4500 acres, 15 members.

 

[swamp hunter]

450 Members , 93 Thousand acres.
Not sure how that works out acres per Member..but it works real nice for me...

 

[livinoutdoors]

I hunt my 9 acres at the house and usually get a deer there. I also hunt wmas and the national forest with some success. I think acres per hunter is not as important as what the land has to offer. On most small tracts you dont have everybody in the hood hunting every ten acre track, so small tracks can hunt bigger than they really are.

 

[blueeyes1]

Most folks on here complaining about paying to much money for a membership but most people would not think twice about spending a few thousand for a week at the beach.Are fifty thousand for a new truck.But when it comes to paying for hunting rights for a whole year everybody acts like their going broke.

 

[sea trout]

Depends too on relationships between club members.
We have 18 hunters on 1600 acres.
Half of those hunters are my family and best friends. The other half are only friends through the club and we get along and have mutual respect.
So I can have a 80 acre spot to myself...or I can hunt one ridge while my best friend hunts the creek bed below me and my brother and his kids hunts the food plot above me. We may all be on 30 acres. We know where eachother are, SAFETY FIRST! If a rifle goes off the others cant wait to go see, help and congradulate the shooter!

Now hunting amoungst strangers, or people that you know but don't get along with or people that you'r competetive against, I don't know, but I imagine you'd want more land to yourself.

 

[elfiii]

Some of the things I read about please prices etc. make me even more thankful to have family land to hunt.

Amen. 3 of us on 200 acres. It works fine for us.

 

[Mexican Squealer]

All depends on the lay of the land. One of my places is 110 acres. I am usually the only one hunting it. Its all wooded with three separate creek funnels and hunts like a much bigger tract. I can easily hunt three people comfortably and without interference with each other. My other tract is ag land (200 acres) and works well with 4 people.