Question for those in clubs or run clubs

[elfiii]

Thats ^ the key to the whole thing. Your land, your rules, you pick the people (friends).
These days with lease and club fees going up so much it seems like whoever can lay out the money to join gets in.
Then you end up with a club full of folks who arent all on the same page.

20 years ago the hunting on my land was stellar. Fast forward and now it's barely OK because of all the people moving in (likely dang Yankees who got transferred in by the multinational outfits they work for. Kia sucks, I don't care what you say.). That's why it's just me and my friends. Anybody else would want to kill more deer.

 

[WaltL1]

20 years ago the hunting on my land was stellar. Fast forward and now it's barely OK because of all the people moving in (likely dang Yankees who got transferred in by the multinational outfits they work for. Kia sucks, I don't care what you say.). That's why it's just me and my friends. Anybody else would want to kill more deer.

Anybody else would want to kill more deer.

I would be far happier with a fun, stress free "camp" with friends even if seeing deer was a rare treat.
I want to kill a deer as much as the next guy but for me thats secondary to the relaxation at camp etc.

 

[elfiii]

I would be far happier with a fun, stress free "camp" with friends even if seeing deer was a rare treat.
I want to kill a deer as much as the next guy but for me thats secondary to the relaxation at camp etc.

I have to admit I'm lucky in that department.

 

[Duff]

We don't advertise for members and only folks with a history among the members is allowed in.

If multiple members are at camp, we decide who is hunting where while drinking coffee and eating breakfast. Most of the time it takes 2-3 rounds to get someone claim a spot for the day.

About the same with us. We have 23 members, but rarely have more than 10 or 12 there. Usually figure out the night before or morning of, where everyone is planning to hunt. If a member wants to hunt his own stand, they have priority. If not, anyone can hunt it. This has worked for almost 40 years. Most of us really don't care. If someone wants to hunt where I planned, I usually find another spot. Same with most everyone else. I believe the key to this is what Gator said above, we only take folks that have a history among members.

 

[sghoghunter]

I would be far happier with a fun, stress free "camp" with friends even if seeing deer was a rare treat.
I want to kill a deer as much as the next guy but for me thats secondary to the relaxation at camp etc.

I haven’t never really thought about the the camping part to a club until two weekends ago. Me and a south Fl guy in our club was standing around talking one afternoon and he told me that our place was the most perfect hunting lease he’s ever been a part of. He said some of his friends from south Fl is in other leases and they have to worry about members hunting their stands while their not there to members shooting every thing that’s brown. The only thing that I’ve heard of within our small club is one of the members wife asked my brother if us shooting hogs at night during deer season on our feeders really helped or hurt the deer sightings.

 

[DAVE]

My opinion is a club with personal areas maintained and cultivated to promote a good quality hunting experience for all, is likely going to have members with the same mutual community goals and outlook. I also believe that a club with no personal spots is filled mostly with members who care nothing about the others and the only thing members have in common is their own selfish pursuit. Nothing wrong with either type club but a person has to choose the one that fits their personality.

 

[Stingray23]

It’s hard. I don’t like the each person has their own area thing as I am in a club like that now. But luckily we all have enough deer and we all get along. But each person pays the same so should be able to hunt all the land.

Have hunted in club where you could hunt where ever as long as no one had a stand. We all got along also. Found that most people will find one or two places they clam their hunny hole and everyone else just kind of stayed out. I think the thing that made it work was everyone meat at camp and just asked where each other was or want to hunt that morning or evening. We all just wanted to have fun and enjoy ourselves and was glad when the other guy killed something be it doe spike ora big buck.

THIS. This is our mindest, we all pay to hunt X number of acres, there's no such thing as your spot my spot. We do, however, have somewhat of a gentleman's agreement regarding stands and areas, you can hunt another person's stand but must first ask. We are a smaller club so each of us know each others "preferred" areas we like to hunt and it works out pretty well.

Food plots are considered club stands, you hang a stand on it, it's a club stand, no exceptions.

I've heard all the stories about these big clubs telling you where you can and can't hunt...it's ridiculous. Knew a guy hunted in Greenville, some club with big silos, new guy mind you, told where he could hunt. Wound up killing a nice 10 and got accused by another "old" member of shooting "his" deer, absolutely insane. I've never seen a deer with a name tag. It's amazing sometimes watching how grown men can act when it comes to deer.

Life is too short for all that nonsense.

 

[transfixer]

My opinion is a club with personal areas maintained and cultivated to promote a good quality hunting experience for all, is likely going to have members with the same mutual community goals and outlook. I also believe that a club with no personal spots is filled mostly with members who care nothing about the others and the only thing members have in common is their own selfish pursuit. Nothing wrong with either type club but a person has to choose the one that fits their personality.

Every club is always going to have one or two members who don't contribute as much effort as the rest of the members do, if you don't allow members to have at least a primary stand that is "theirs" , then there ends up being resentment in the club towards the members that don't put in the work, or just put in minimal amount of work, but yet they get to hunt the same stands everyone else does , that doesn't seem right to the guys that do put in a lot of work

 

[Waddams]

I'm lucky to be in good clubs the past few years. The current one has more rules to follow but it is well run and it's good group of guys. I see a lot of rules talked about previously in this post that we follow. I see a little familiar grumbling about how some rules work out (long terms guys get the best spots, having been in the club longer and having bounced on them when they came open, or having better familiarity with where to hunt, etc.), but I just see that as part of the game. A long term member that has put in sweat equity over a long time gets to benefit from that work on the property.

We have a system where you get your spot and at least on the property, if a spot doesn't hold deer, everywhere at least sees some deer movement as they pass through, so you're spot will give chances especially if you put in a little work to scout it and do a bit of set up in the offseason. We also have multiple club stands that overlook food plots that came up real good this season at least and are in places where you will get decent shot opportunities to at least put meat in the freezer with a nice sized meat doe. There's also allowance to hunt other members areas when they aren't there as long as you do them the courtesy of talking about it and don't mess their areas up.

What makes it a good club is the guys in it, though. No matter the rules, guys that respect each other one way or the other and enjoy camp together make all the difference.

 

[antharper]

I’ve never been in a club that has personnel areas and that’s all you could hunt , and never will be . I can’t sit in the same spot more than a few times .
I like to have a private area and the option to hunt anywhere as long as no one is hunting the area .

 

[Jason C]

Sharing stands on a first come first serve deal works great at our club, your not tied to one spot all the time.

 

[transfixer]

I’ve never been in a club that has personnel areas and that’s all you could hunt , and never will be . I can’t sit in the same spot more than a few times .
I like to have a private area and the option to hunt anywhere as long as no one is hunting the area .

that is what I was talking about when I say each member could have one "primary" stand, if they decided they didn't like the spot, they could move the stand to any other open area and call it their "primary', we never blocked off areas, you could have one stand at one end of the property, and decide you didn't like it, find an open area on the other side of the property and simply move your stand, but you had the option of having one stand that was "yours" , any other stands you had were considered open, but members would usually ask if you minded if they hunted it, unless it was agreed upon prior,,

 

[bigchiefchoctaw]

THIS. This is our mindest, we all pay to hunt X number of acres, there's no such thing as your spot my spot. We do, however, have somewhat of a gentleman's agreement regarding stands and areas, you can hunt another person's stand but must first ask. We are a smaller club so each of us know each others "preferred" areas we like to hunt and it works out pretty well.

Food plots are considered club stands, you hang a stand on it, it's a club stand, no exceptions.

I've heard all the stories about these big clubs telling you where you can and can't hunt...it's ridiculous. Knew a guy hunted in Greenville, some club with big silos, new guy mind you, told where he could hunt. Wound up killing a nice 10 and got accused by another "old" member of shooting "his" deer, absolutely insane. I've never seen a deer with a name tag. It's amazing sometimes watching how grown men can act when it comes to deer.

Life is too short for all that nonsense.

I know the club you’re talking about and could see that happening.

 

[BluewaterFever]

We have private areas at our club, we all agreed to it when the idea was presented to us, new members either like it or they don't join, and that hasn't been a problem I am aware of.
It is nice to have your own area to plan on how you want to set up the area with stands, feeders, food plots and such. It can be somewhat of a challenge to maintain "your" area if you don't have a tractor to maintain what is set up in the club rules but it can be done.
The biggest takeaway I see is maintaining the club open areas and not having the members that don't help share in the upkeep of the property. It puts more work / responsibility on the lease holder and the guys that come up. But yet come rut time they can make the time. Grrr

 

[roscoe54]

Thank God I own my own land. It's hardscrabble hunting but there is no drama. And I'm first come first served. Since everybody that hunts with me is a close personal friend It's all about "Where you want to hunt today? OK, I'll take the other spot."

We have box blinds and ladder stands that all of us helped build and erect. Food plots too. We all chip in and everybody shows up on work days. I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Since it's my land I carry the burden for the property taxes etc. but my friends chip in their share for everything else.

ME TOO

 

[deermaster13]

My sister and I lease 167 acres and we have another 95 acres owned so we keep it just family and occasional family friend. I tried the club thing and it doesn't suit me. If sis ever backs out(can't see it) i will do my best to just keep it myself or just hunt owned land. Hope i never have to join a club again.

 

[slow motion]

I was in a club last year for the first time in a long time. All stands were marked on a map. All first come except climbers. No problems that I knew of but it was Illinois farm land and the farmer planted plots so might not be relevant.

 

[HermanMerman]

Idk. I had exclusive access to 200+ acres for ten years. All that was asked of me was to help keep the place in order. It eventually was sold and I joined a club that is first come first serve…no reserved spots. It’s a well oiled operation, everyone involved is willing to bend over backwards to see the other guy kill a deer. I’ve also been in first come first serve clubs that went well until you killed a decent deer at which point others got all bent out of shape. I guess in my experience that it just depends on the company you keep.

 

[Stroker]

Our club is divided in half. One half is open and the other half is divided equally among 10 members private areas of around 35-40 acres each. The private areas are only for 30 days before deer season opens till season ends. We have club stands in the open areas. You can change your area when dues are paid each year if you prefer. Turkey, varmints, or small game you can hunt the whole club. I prefer this to the open clubs I've been in.

 

[Long Cut]

Thousand ways to skin a cat.

If I’m paying for 2,200 acres, I want to hunt 2,200 acres
I’m alright with first come, first serve
The whole private area thing only benefits the President and his buddies that have the best spots- leave the rest for others