Hunt Clubs

[jpsmith270]

Man.......I could go on and on concerning this topic. I have been a part of hunt clubs for most of my hunting "career" and just exited one about two years ago after MUCH frustration and constant headaches. A club can be a good thing every once in a while, but unfortunately it results in wasted money, frustration, and fusses and fights most of the time. There are some great clubs to be involved in, but unfortunately this is not the norm and only comes around once in a lifetime. Even then, it is often short lived.

One particular club that my dad and I were in for years, the very one I killed my first deer and spent most of my early years in, turned into nothing more than a soap opera at best. We did practice quality management on this property and had the opportunity on some really nice deer. We were able to take some very nice deer off this property through the years, but had to put up with grown men fussing and fighting like preschoolers most of the time. Every time we would kill a good buck......get ready.....the competition moved in or as close as they could. Many of them were always upset with me because of how much I moved around (pre-beast). The club eventually got out of hand and out of control. I think they ended up with 4k acres and 63 members!! Imagine that. It was difficult to work all week and go down there to hear all the fussing on the weekends. It was the last thing you wanted to put up with on your day off.

The last club I was in received more hunting pressure than any public land I have ever seen. The guys in this club were really good guys, but the property received way too much hunting pressure. This particular land was also quality managed. However, the rules stated that every member could receive a "mulligan" that would not result in a penalty. Anything after this "mulligan" would then be subject to a $100 penalty. Well, when most of the members are driving $50-70k trucks, expensive ATV's, shooting $2-3k rifles, and only God knows what other pricey gadgets, what is a $100 fine? So, as you can imagine, the mulligan rule was abused.....greatly. These guys were simply out to be able to brag about how many deer they killed in a season. There was no sport to it.....just a numbers game. There was never any delay in taking 1.5 year old bucks at the beginning of every season and these guys would do it year after year after year.

So......there are some good situations out there, but they are few and far between. Me.....I would rather keep my money in my pocket, find me a piece of public land, do what I can to get away from everyone, and enjoy my LIMITED time in the outdoors.

Just my two cents.