No Guest Rule

[SADDADDY]

No guests or charge a fee for guests, I have a hard time with that rule, we as hunters always talk of "the future" of our sport and how we should get more younger people involved

but I see this trend as of late that most clubs, leases or hunters either don't want guests, or want to charge a fee for guests

yeah I can see setting limits to amount of Non-family members as guests, but any child under the age of 18 should be allowed to hunt with their dad or mom, anytime no charge

I am not totally against charging guest fees as long as they don't break the bank.

we need as many people we can to bring the little guys and gals along to keep the sport alive

 

[Swamprat]

I agree

At least keep the little ones hunting without it being considered a guest. The same even goes for a person of older age such as a dad or grandad. After all they are the ones who more than likely got you involved in hunting so why shut them out because of some guest rule.

I do see it applying for leases of limited acreage or to prevent a mass of able bodied hunters being there all at the same time. You have to decide what is right for your club. There are some people who abuse it an that is a shame but I have always felt any guest should not be charged. was in one club where we had a 50 dollar weekend guest fee and they might have collected 75 bucks in 6 years. Not because of no guests showing up, because we all had a great time and that is what it is about. Some killed some deer and other not but the experience as a whole was worth them being there paying or not.

 

[SADDADDY]

yeah

I must of racked up about $2000 worth of them fees myself in one season

it was a great time had by all

 

[Swamprat]

just think of the corn we could have bought..........]

nope, a great time was had by everybody. killing a deer is not the whole experience just a part of it but if you can't harvest one without friends or family around what's the point.

the memories made during the season with people with you will outlive everything else

 

[raghorn]

Personally, I have been in the woods three days this season so far , and didn't enjoy a one of them. Simply for the fact that I was hunting alone. I hate it !

 

[Perry Hayes]

We charge $25 per day for guest with a $200 dollar Buck fee.

 

[SouthPaw Draw]

I think the trend of the future is to charge guests fees. Considering the price we pay for leases, I believe many hunters including myself think guests should not be allowed to hunt free when members are paying in some cases 500.00 or more to be in a club. I do think those under 18 years of age should get to be a guest for free though.

 

[Jim Thompson]

our children or wives can sit in the stand with us and I dont think anyone would care if a kid shot a deer, although we do not allow other guests or guests that sit their own stands

 

[Randy]

Those that allow children, do you give a membership fee break for those that have no children.

I think the only way to be fair is for everybody to pay their way! What if a man has 5 children and a wife that hunts and the rest in the club have no children?

 

[BigMassiveDaddy]

One friend has a great rule.

They can bring one guest at a time with them, but, if the guest kills anything, it costs $1000. The reason it's so high is they pay so much themselves. They hunt 2000 acres with only 6 people in the lease. They have to pay around $2500 each and each of them are killing at least one 130+ inch deer every year.

If a guest comes and wants to hunt, that's fine. But if they kill a buck, then they better really want it. The guests know this before they ever come with a member hunting and they do have some doe hunts that they invite a lot of people to kill does at no cost.

They do let some kids come and hunt, but will put stipulations on bucks they can kill (cull bucks).

I think this is a very fair way to do this. We may adapt this on our family land, but not charge so much....maybe $250. Just enough to keep people honest.

On our leased land, we have a 120 inch rule and anything under is a $10 and inch fine....members or guests pay this. It has worked well and a few of our guests have passed up some good deer because of this. If someone slips up and shoots a 110 inch deer, it only costs $100. If someone shoots a 80 incher, then they need to pay and learn what a decent deer is. We do allow some kids to shoot cull bucks too and will quit doing this when a certain number has been killed.

 

[Jody Hawk]

We allow guests in my Morgan County club and we haven't had any problems with it. The only time that you are not allowed to bring a guest is opening weekend of rifle season. We have a great bunch of guys in our club that ain't so scared that a guest is gonna kill "their" deer.

 

[BOWHUNTER!]

I would say family and children hunt free. For those who are regular guests, maybe after a hunt or two, then start charging a fee. You might aquire that guest as a member the following year. Guest fees can help with club functions, food plots or where ever it is needed. Not sure on the $ amount.

 

[Davexx1]

This is a touchy situation. It is admirable of you to consider the future of the sport, trying to encourage younsters to particiapte, etc. but keep in mind you have some obligation to your club members.

Most hunters join leases or clubs to get away from having to hunt near or around a crowd, to hunt in a better quality surrounding, and to hunt on lands that have good huntable populations of quality game animals. They are willing to pay for that priviledge. If the club allows guests to frequently come in and hunt, not only are they effecting the quality of hunting for your paying members, but any game harvested by a guest is one that is not available for your members to see and hunt. Some members will be offended at the the encroachment and view it as a loss of something they are paying for. Others will take it in stride and not complain.

Allowing youngsters to hunt "in the same stand" with a parent or supervising adult should not be a problem for anyone.

With the high costs of leases, lease operating expenses, upgrades, supplemental feeding, food plots, power, etc. all of which is born by the leases holder and his members, it would not be out of line to charge a guest fee. My club charges $40 a day. That is a significant charge but it does make guest hunting possible but also discourages the guest thing from getting out of control.

If guest hunting is to be allowed, I think there should be some strict guidelines that have been published and agreed on by the paying members and lease management.

Just my opinion.

Dave

 

[broadhead]

My club has a small adult guest fee. I think it is ten or fifteen dolllars a day. It has never really been enforced in the past.
We have now changed from a dog hunting club to all still hunting. There are a lot of new members. We have 30 still hunters. We only had 6-8 in the past. We will now enforce the guest fee due to the larger volume of hunters on the same amount of land.

Our club does not charge any member's children under 18 and still in school. I have no problem with that. I don't care how many kids they have.
I'd rather take one of those kids to my stand and put them on a good deer than kill it myself any day of the week. I love to take a kid or "newbie" out and show them the total experience of hunting and fellowship.

It is a person's responsibility to be aware of all rules of a club before joining. If they don't like the rules, then that club isn't for them.

 

[270win]

We only have 2 members for our 140 acre lease. But we still have strict rules because we're trying to rebuild the herd. The folks who had it 2 years ago shot whatever they saw walking.... that had been the case for 3 years so quality was way down. Anyway, we can bring guests at no charge, but each of us is only allowed 1 buck, if your guest shoots a buck, that was your one buck. Also, any buck you kill must be shoulder mounted. We also have a huge number of does so guests can come and get em'. We do have some exceptions on our rules. Both members have children, so the first deer for the child can be whatever they want to take. And cull bucks can be taken out of the herd. A 200 lb. cowhorn spike isn't going to do any good for the genetics of the herd.

We may change the rules if we start to see quality bucks in good numbers in the future.

270

 

[Just 1 More]

Children & Spouse gets to hunt free.. BUT ONLY 1 GUN! Each member gets an allotment of deer (GA game laws) and any child or spouse killed deer goes against that allotment. If your reasoning is to "Get them involved in hunting" then DO IT.. but don't use them as an excuse to shoot more deer or cover more stand areas. If you want to share your time in the woods with your wife and kids,, then share your time WITH them,,, not setting 200 yards away in another stand.
My daughter an I sit together whenever she goes,, it's great bonding time and she is the only one carrying a gun.. When she hunts... IT's ALL ABOUT HER.. as it should be.

 

[Jeff Phillips]

1 club lets children under 16 hunt on the parent's membership, at 16 the kid has to pay for a membership. Guests other than children are limited to 6 guest days per lifetime.

On another I get 2 guest days per year.

On both clubs, my daughter has her own paid membership.

 

[Larry Rooks]

I am all for being able to take a guest hunting. I have a problem with not being able to let my wife or family go with me and having to pay a fee for them. Our club has a guest rule, none on opening weekend except for immediate family, wife and children excluded. And I get tired of hunting by myself all the time and enjoy carrying a guest from time to time without having to pay for him. Now I am against an individual joining a hunting club so he and his friend have a place to hunt and bring the same guest every day (they end up splitting the membership)

 

[scshep2002]

Yaa'll stirrin up the pot again lol ****

 

[captainhook]

No guests can kill any bucks on my QDM club. They can kill does but must sit in the same stand as the member. No guest my come more than twice a season. Our bucks must score at least 125 and be 4 yrs old or older. Our fine for a nonshooter is $500. None of my guys really want a bunch of guests on the place anyway. Direct family members can hunt for free but other guests are $50. I am in other clubs where guests are allowed after Thanksgiving in one and anytime in the other. The fees there are 20-25 per guest.