Private hunting club

[Rosebud]

I joined a club 35 years ago in ENC. Club had some really good land, and some bad lands, lots of members and way to many "honorary" members who did not pay anything, but took advantage of everything. After one year as a member, I was voted VP. The next year the President fell out of a tree and broke his back and I became president. I called a mandatory club meeting for discussions on rules, dues and safety requirements.

In that meeting, it became very apparent how divided the club was over honorary memberships. As President, I was to get membership without paying dues. I nixed that in front of the group and kept my paid dues in the check book. At the same time I removed all honorary status with no dues. If you want to be a member, you pay. We also removed and adjusted rules, and we went to a zero tolerance for braking some of the safety rules.

Anyway, to make a very long story short, the final answer for a great club with members with same goal and mindset was to raise the dues and lower the membership. We went from a club of 74 members and lots of land, to a club of 8 with only the best 3 tracts of land. All the BS was gone, no fighting, squabbling or back stabbing. It was an absolute joy and those remaining members are still very close friends of mine. The land was sold years ago and we had to close the club, but the people I met in the club are still hunting buddies of mine today.

So, if you want a very good club with good people, I find small clubs with high dues the kind I want to be in as it seems to limit the issues. There are still people with means that are just out for themselves, but they can be asked to leave after one year and replaced with solid group minded hunters. Good Luck. The club you want to be in will not be on public forums. You will have to find it talking to wildlife officers, taxidermists, or trusted people at your local gun shops.

That's what it takes to make a good club.Someone with vision and a big stick that is willing to use it.
We did much the same at one point. Left 80% of the property with the others and five of us took five hundred acres. Best move we ever made.
There were hurt feelings and lost friends over this. But it was that or the club folded.

 

[cajun]

The thing about putting money in a lease you never know when you may lose it. Heirs or timber company decides to sell the land or double the lease amount. I spent 25 years hunting in leases. After hunting private property, even a small tract I will never go back.

 

[Shortmag11]

I'm in 2 clubs in Louisiana. Most are word of mouth and you have to know someone who will recommend you. I would suggest searching Weyerhaeuser's website as they sometimes post openings in clubs that lease their land or also have small tracts of land available for lease. Good luck.

 

[sierrastalker]

The thing about putting money in a lease you never know when you may lose it. Heirs or timber company decides to sell the land or double the lease amount. I spent 25 years hunting in leases. After hunting private property, even a small tract I will never go back.

This is the truth. I grew up hunting about 1200 acres in GA that my dad leased from Georgia Pacific and formed a small 'club'. It was family and a few close friends that kind of came and went through the years until it became family only. The land had been clear cut just before the lease started and by the end was a beautiful tree farm. The paper company maintained the roads and had a few rules, but we had an established camp with campers and a 'cook shed' (no permanent structures rule). It was like a private hunting park full of some very nice deer, turkeys, and a ton of other game. Then Georgia Pacific got bought out or merged or whatever with Plum Creek. Plum Creek doesn't lease land, so one day we had it and the next day it was "come get your stuff off the land". This was while I was in college, and I had sort of lost touch with hunting. I've got huge regrets that I didn't use the land much in those last years.

I now live in CA and am a member at a private club on a massive ranch. It's an amazing piece of property and I love hunting there, but there are 29 other members that I have to work around. And I had to wait about 5 years on a list to get a spot, after getting an introduction from a former member. So far everyone I've met are all really nice guys. But the alternative of buying a piece of property out here just isn't realistic because of the price. There's no money left after paying a mortgage in CA! But if I was looking in GA I'd be looking to buy, even if it meant a smaller piece of dirt. Having a place you can always count on being there is huge. Making your own rules and having full run of the place is even more valuable.

 

[billflangjr813]

While I know many members are from places north and west, I'm hoping that some folks here might know of a very nice private hunting club in the Georgia Florida area which I can look into for membership.
A few weeks ago, I visited the Gilcrist hunting club, about an hour drive west of Gainesville, Florida It was very nice and I applied for a membership, which will likely take several years.
A several year wait got me thinking about whether there are other nice hunting clubs (no high fence) in the southeast. An Internet search did not yield anything particularly positive.
So I am hoping to turn to the experts who know hunting much better than I.
Any ideas?
I appreciate your assistance.
T

We might have an opening this year!! Lake City , Fl.

 

[LouisianaHunter]

Look for something within a couple of hours driving time. I can assure you this will matter in the long run. If time is limited for you to hunt, time between you and your lease will be problematic. You can't control the weather, and many other factors will cut into your hunting time unless you're retired with with the ability to leave on a hunting trip at any time.
Price of the lease membership, plus added cost of lease management, food plots, club house, trailer parking, power supply. The list gets long. Then there's the other members, what is the guest policy?

Until a couple of years ago I was in hunting leases, more than one at a time. For over forty years. I've seen good ones and bad.
Leases can't be run by a vote other than the rules at the beginning. After that it's got to be run by one person with near god like power. Think Democrats and Republicans fight, wait until good bucks and someone setting up in what someone else thinks is (their) spot!
I'm not telling you not to get into a lease/ hunting club, just do you self a favor and find out everything about it first. Also try for a small lease 4 to 5 hundred acres between five people is near perfect.

If you're interested in land around the Auburn Alabama area, Lee, chambers and Tallapossa County areas I know a big time land owner I can get you in touch with.

Good hunting clubs have a benevolent dictator.

 

[100percent]

Good hunting clubs have a benevolent dictator.

That's mostly true!