Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Hunting Club Changes ??

Opinions please. Our current list of members are a good group of guys, most have all the same goals and ethics.
I/We feel we are putting too much pressure on what we have. Since inception, as a "club" (about 9 years), in all we've had the land 15+ years just not as a club. We have taken some really good mature bucks. I personally have (2)140". Other members have taken 163" and a 198" among other 4.5+ yr olds. The past 2 years have been kinda slow but we have grown from 10 members to 14 members.
Also, the timber company has thinned 2 years in a row, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. We lost a good bit of thick cover in these thinnings along with the pressure of more members I conclude the pressure is the problem.

We are discussing a few changes:
N.Central Al, 1800 acres, 14 members.
My suggestion is to cut membership and how we supplemental feed to reduce cost of operations. I'm willing to pay double what I pay now to cut the membership in half. I understand 7 people can put just as much pressure on the lease as 14 but there would be more implemented than just lowering the head count.
Others would like to keep membership the same and cut down on the number of days of hunting, say Thursday-Sunday.

What say you ALL?

I'd do both if I really wanted to make a change. I think shutting a property down COMPLETELY for weeks at a time would help more than a few days each week also. Hard to do that to a club, but if you could get everybody on board, that would be a jam up place!!

Cut it back to 4 and rotate days closed. Open 3 closed 4.

I think you are on the right track with your thinking. Cut the members down (at least 200 acres/member). Limiting hunting to certain days certainly wouldn't appeal to me.....I want to hunt when I can get off work/weather is right, etc...

If you could get everybody on board. Don't start hunting it untill the rut kicks in.

If I'm paying good money for a year round lease, I'm going to hunt when I have an opportunity and not limited to"I can only hunt x number of days per week." People will start looking for a work around, I was scouting, or I was checking cams, or I was filling the feeder.... You get the point. IMHO Cutting membership is the only viable option.

Totally agree.

OK, so who goes? if you cut membership

Good Question. I think you raise the dues knowing a portion will not rejoin at the higher amount. Set the number you want, say 7 and if all 14 are willing to pay the higher amount, you go by seniority in the club, factor in attendance to work days and evaluate the overall hunting ethics. (Wind conscience, do they immediately start hunting an area you are hunting because you saw a buck, do they over hunt the property because they can, etc....)
BTW, I waited 4 years to join the club and have been a member for 4 years.

You'd have to cut by seniority i guess.

Just go up on dues as members get out of the club and don't let anyone else in

WHY IN AM'S NAME WOULD YOU WANT TO BE IN A CLUB WHERE YOU CAN ONLY HUNT "X" NUMBER OF DAYS. I WORK EVERY OTHER WEEKEND AND AM OFF DURING THE WEERK A GOOD BIT IF IM PAYING TO HUNT THEN BY GOD I AM. IT AINT MY FAULT THE OTHER MEMBERS CANT HUNT DURING THE WEEK. OH AND IM HUNTING WHERE I WANT TO CAUSE WITH AN ALABAMA WIND YOU WOULD SPEND MORE TIME RUNNING ALL OVER THE PROPERTY TRYING TO "HUNT THE WIND" AND WIND UP "PRESSURING" THE ENTIRE PROPERTY IN ONE DAY

There seems to be a lot of I want, I think, and not a lot of the majority wants, majority thinks. That everybody is going to hunt my way or I'll run them out way of doing business, seems kind of chitty to me.

Like what was said above, weed out thru attrition.

The I's are a collective voice, I use I because I'm the one pushing the ideas. WE 4-6 are on the same page.
I put this out here to get a view from other people. As stated in my original post, there are 2 strategies to lessen the pressure.
If it were just I, I would only have 2 members and pay $7k a year.

so the other 8-10 thats getting the boot, aint on the same page as the 4-6 that get to stay,

PM sent

Why don't you go up on dues a little bit, keep the members that want to stay, and add some more hunting property. It might take a few months or a year to find a good tract, but don't kick them out because of greed.

Greed has nothing to do with it. Read my original post! We have a pressure issue. 2 theories, less members or limited days during the week.
Actually if we went to a limited number of people and went by seniority, I may be out. It's what's best for the club not me. If it were just about greed or me, like I said in another post, I would spend $7k and only have 2 members.

8-10 are not getting the boot. We have 4-6 people that collectively share the same hunting values. We are wind conscience, don't move in on another member if they are hunting a specific area, share information, don't drive our trucks all the way to our stand etc....

I understand where you are coming from, don't let those guys get too you. Finding 6 folks on the same page is better than I have been able to do. We have tried to add a 4th a few times and it just never works out so we are sticking with 3. Start with the 6 like minded folks and try to add a like minded person every year to get you to the amount you want. I am not sure how the property lays or what it is made up of so it is hard to tell how many people would be too many. We hunt 3 on 340 acres and we add very little pressure. We have several areas that are off limits to entry, this is something you really need to look at. You enter it for no reason except to recover an animal if needed. Or split into 2 seperate "clubs", keep the 6 like minded on one property and the others on the other property... just thinking out loud here...