Trophy Club Dues

I am interested in knowing what everyone considers a trophy club and how much people pay for being in one. I know there are a lot out there, but I wonder about other peoples experience.

Most trophy clubs are 250-500 acres or more per member with low memberships. With foodplots, power bills, etc, it will run $2500 on the cheap end up to as high as a group of guys are willing to pay to keep the membership small. The high end, "exclusive" trophy clubs in Alabama will be in the $7,000 to $10,000 range. The average trophy club that people talk about will be around 250-350 acres per member and around $3,200-$4,500 based on my experience. Figure it like this: 300 acres at $8/acre is $2400 to start with just for your portion of the lease. Figure another $600 for seed and fertilizer on 3 fields (1/100 acres) so now your at $3,000 just for your portion of the acreage and foodplots. Camp, power, supplemental feeding etc etc are all on top of this figure. It all adds up and quickly.

That sounds about right.

$450/yr....

Should cover strip club dues.

Here is a discussion thread I posted recently with cost breakdowns. BTW, I avoid the term "trophy" for two reason. First, it is subjective. Second, it turns off non-hunters. Public support for hunting is highest when the animal is taken for food and is lowest when the animal is taken for "trophy." I describe our lease program as intensive quality deer management or upper end QDM.

http://www.aldeer.com/forum/ubbthre...in=192988&Number=2680295#Post2680295

Thank you. That is good information.

Good break down there WB. But your average trophy club(not timber company, privately owned, large fields) 120”+ bucks I’d say $2500. A true trophy club(large private river bottom ag land, with 100’s acres peanuts and winter wheat plus food plots) 140”+ bucks $4500+

Not sure where you came up with $8/acre. You better recalculate that figure based on about $20-$30 per acre. At least that is what things are going for around our neck of the woods.

I said $8 just to make the math work out even. There are very few areas that you can lease in the southwest or south central blackbelt for $8/acre. Most is going for $12 to $15/acre up to as high as $20. Only place I have seen $30/acre was a place that had been trophy managed for about 12 years and it had great duck hunting too, on a couple ponds. Pretty nice camphouse included in that lease too. I've got properties in Marengo, Wilcox and Dallas that I hunt and I'm not paying anywhere close to $30/acre for any of it.

Normal job working folks with kids are going to be S..t out of luck with deer hunting except for over crowded club or Public land

Yep.

There is a saying, "Show me your checkbook and I will show where your priorities are." Every person puts his/her priorities exactly where they are. The issue is not whether we can afford to hunt, but where hunting ranks among our priorities. Examples: Save more vs. spend more. Buy vs. rent. Big vs. small mortgage vs. no mortgage. New vs. older vehicles. Public vs. private school. Dine out vs. cook at home. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse vs. Golden Corral. Lawn service vs. lawn mower. Vacation vs. buy land instead. Hunt club vs. WMA. Premium hunt club vs. lower quality hunt club. And on and on.

Just heard of a 800 acre lease a friend of mine got in on in Fitzpatrick. $30 per acre and they felt lucky to get it for that. The previous leassors (?) had been paying $45.

$8 bucks an acre is a pipe dream anywhere within 100 miles of Mobile, Pensacola, Mtgy, Bham etc or the Black Belt. Sure there are Unicorns and some people lease from some old lady their family has known for 3 generations. Average in those area's I described starts at $10 and goes up for a decent place.

You can definitely get property within 100 miles of those areas for $8/acre but then again, you generally get what you pay for. With regard to good quality land that would be suitable for a trophy club scenario: you can get some bigger pieces down on the extreme southern edge of what is considered the blackbelt for $10-$12, move up north of Camden and it ranges from $12-$20/acre. Pretty sure you can still pick up some decent leases in the $8-$10 range in Sumpter and Greene counties too. There was some stuff just outside of the Blackbelt in west central Clarke that I know you could have gotten for around $9/acre on bigger tracts that is very very good land but for the most part you are correct on your assessment and cost/acre.

Fitzpatrick is very special and a relatively small pocket/area that consistently produces. I could see $30/acre for the right piece there, especially if it has some AG on or around it.

What are the best places or best people to contact about leases?

Robert I had the opportunity to get in on this lease and would have done so if my plate wasn't full with what I already have. I can only handle so much and don't have time to properly hunt what I have. The offer in that area was very tempting and I still do not like the fact I had to decline.

i had a buudy that told me one time, talking about a club with $5000 dues. He said "for 5 grand, I'd be cheaper to just shoot them off the side of the road"

And the majority of them simply are not worth it.

For 5k, I am hunting in the mid-west.

That is 100% fact.

For the right amount of quantity and quality it would be worth 5k to me.

For $5k a year I'm buying a special little tract and make it a jam up property before leasing.

Little is right for 5k a year.

Its not about the size of that little tract, its about the location of that special little tract.

When the subject of trophy clubs or bucks arises the Black Belt region is assumed to be the ideal location. I understand the history of the black belt producing some really nice bucks but from my observation the bucks harvested out of north central to northern Alabama it would be as good or better choice.

ZDub - What are you looking for in terms of a lease or club? How much can you afford or are you willing to spend? Where do you live? Where do you want to hunt? Many of the Trophy Clubs prefer or even require their members to all live a certain distance away so it's not getting constant pressure. There's no point in discussing some of the clubs if you're not willing to pony up the money or you live right there because they probably won't accept you. You need to decide what you want to pay and what you hope to get out of it. As some have mentioned they'd rather take the $4500 and go out to the midwest. I know a guy who'd rather go on a guided elk hunt every year or go to Africa then hunt his home state.

Afoa.com has some information on larger clubs with many being what might be considered a Trophy Club as well. There's a sticky with some of the timber company information at the top.

Personally I can speak to Squeaky's place, as well as WildlifeBiologists'. I looked at a couple of WB's places with him last year. I've and have met/talked to some of the guys on a few of his other leases in both AL and GA. I've checked out a few other clubs and leases in Sumter, Green, Marengo, Lowndes, and Crenshaw Counties.

Yep...$2,500 can get you into the black belt with a few other guys on pretty good land.

Please send me some contact info on this if you have it..

First, what is a "trophy club?" Consistently produced what size deer? How many per acre?

Second, I'd consider a trophy club to be something that consistently produces 130+ deer (properly measured) to the point where you can harvest 5-6 of them per 1000 acres per year. And maybe a camp house to go along with it.

I don't know about where y'all hunt, but down here, that's going to run you close to and probably more than $5,000 per year.

On the other hand, if you want to have fun, shoot some deer for food, have the chance to kill a 130+ deer, do some turkey hunting, and maybe have some fishing, you can do that for $1000 to $3000, depending on how crowded you want the place to be.

WB's post on the other thread has it just about right on in my opinion, except that that is not guaranteed to be "trophy" lease. Most leases I know of that consistently produce great bucks are going to be at least $15 per acre.

$2500 - $3000 should find a really nice club. It may not have 130 - 140 class deer running wild, but there should be the potential. I know men that have hunted for 30 years and have never killed a 130 class deer. So if you find a good club with good potential and good people, I say you're ahead of the curve. You could have the best land in the country but if you have to put up with bone heads, you can't really enjoy it.

If you are holding out for a 130 to 140 inch deer in south Alabama you aren't going to get many shots in your life time, if any.

I think expectations are too high for most. I think anyone in the southeast would be hard pressed to find a place that produces and harvests 5-6 130"+ deer per 1,000 acres. I just don't think that is realistic but could be wrong. If it is realistic, I feel like $5,000 wouldn't even get you close. But again, I could be wrong.

I think somewhere between $2,500 and $4,000 should get you a very nice place. Should have a good population, excellent potential and some opportunities at mature, high-scoring deer.

Trophy Club in Alabama= high fence
A good club will cost you 2500-3000 and you may bet a chance at 120-130 deer , but more often than that a solid 8 point/10 point that looks good and is a good deer but doesn't score much. it is about the people, the work and social aspects of the group- not the deer.
Go West/Midwest young man if you want 130" or better deer with frequency. The get big because the have shorter seasons and restrictive bag limits I suppose... and something to eat besides pine cones.

This! 👍

Well it comes down to investment and return my friends. If you know Alabama very well and have some experience under your belt, you know that you are quite the gambler to start pouring big money into an Alabama club. Not saying there aren't some good trophy clubs. They are rather sparse though. I recently talked with a gentleman who had tallied $8000 in some club and had yet to shoot a 120 class deer. Poor return for the investment. And his story is all to common. And then comes the question as to how much is a deer worth ? It's really not about how much money you have as it is how wisely do you spend it. So if you drop $5000 a year for 2 years and strike out on a 130+ buck ,to me you weren't a wise steward. You could have came up with quite a few options that were better and less costly at putting a 130+ deer in front of you. I fortunately have family in Illinois and 130+ is usually a matter of a few days. But there are reputable outfitters in our area that will get you lined up for under 2K. Don't get me wrong I pay to hunt here in Bama. Just not a whole bunch. And I've shot several 100-125 inch deer. But if you're a gambler there is someone who will let you have a turn at the wheel.

Well said.