4 on 3400 been thinking about adding 1 more.

We've got 7 on 1000 in Marengo co. I've been trying to get us to go down to 5-6 but nobody wants to spend the extra $$$$.

How much are the dues

It's not the acres per member, it really comes down to the amount of hunting that the 14 do.

My last club was 1800 acres and 22 members. Public land was less pressured. That's why I'm buying land.

Sad but true. I talked to a guy today I know through ball and my wife at work. I asked him to keep a ear open for a good club opening. He said they only have 14 serious deer members and 6-7 serious turkey hunters on 1600 acres and asked if I would be interested in a turkey only membership. I told him no that was already too crowded. He said he didn’t think he had a full membership open they tried to keep membership down and they were more expensive then normal clubs. He was still $1500 a year and it’s sad I won’t join a club at that price anymore cause it’s not any better then the $1000 clubs. I can’t even find a good club in the $2500-3500 range anymore. It’s getting so bad we may quit bama clubs go back to hunting public and go out of state a couple times a year. I’d end up spending way less for damn sure.

We have 125 acres per hunter. That is a lot for 750 acres.

With 14 members you can almost double that number once the whole family and guest thing gets started.

Like others have said thats more than double what a membership should be. They may say “well only 4 or 5 seriously hunt”. I don’t buy that mess. To keep safety in mind, you have to assume that on any given day ALL members could show up to hunt. Then what? I’d pass on that with no regrets.

9 on 2500 acres. I have folks asking all time to join. Not gonna happen unless someone leaves

I’m saying 3 max but would prefer 2. That said, I hunted a place that was one hunter to every 325 acres for one season. It had more pressure on it than my buddy’s place that was 1:125 just because of the rules and what was acceptable. More land to hunter doesn’t necessarily always mean better hunting but it’s a start in the right direction. Especially if the folks are in the right mindset and agreement.

Agreed

I dropped 2 so far!

It is way to many. I have 1050 acres, and now 17 members, but it may drop a little, we shall see.

Issue is not all the lease is huntable. I can't hunt in the pine thickets, and the areas that need to be cut have no food for the deer. So the majority of the hunting takes place in a concentrated area.

Hopefully they cut timber this year that will help.

"Too many" or "acres per member" depends on how many deer and turkeys there are.......The lower the density, the higher acres per member needed

Lockjaw you really have 17 members on 1050 acres? Can members bring kids too, or guests?

There is a family group next to us that has 140 acres. They have close to 20 people on it opening morning. We joke that they just all hold hands and look in one direction. When a deer comes on their place the war gets underway.

Luckily for them we surround that property and give them a buffer for all that pressure.

I will say that It depends on how the land is laid out. 100 acres per person is an estimate for one big block of land.
Most of my property is cut up to where I could have two guys hunting most 80’s without much pressure. It is unique though I suppose. I could have 7-8 hunters on 400 acres and you wouldn’t feel crowded. The deer harvest would be the limiting factor on my place imo.

Yes. This is my 4th year in the club, and membership has increased each year. I had 19. I am losing 2 that I know of so far. I was made the Pres last summer, and I assumed the lease effective June 1 of this year.

Our guest rule is pretty tight. They must be approved in advance by a board member, can't come until after the 2nd week of gun season, any deer they kill comes off the members allotment, they can only come 3 times a year, and we reserve the right to refuse depending on things like the rut. Kids can come to, although most sit with their parent. We don't have a situation where a husband and wife come, and bring kids and they take up 4 stands. And no kid can be there unless the parent is.

What we changed this year was pulled back the doe limit per member. We also lowered the kid limit to a buck and doe. There is no alotment for a spouse. So a member can kill 3 bucks, and 2 doe's. Kids 1 of each. And we said you can't kill a doe on a greenfield. So we, as a board, sent a clear message we are going to focus on improving the deer herd. And the real loser in this was me. I kill more deer than anyone. And we raised dues. I only had 1 member that brought his spouse, and he left last season, thank goodness.

I have a great looking property. I have 24 fields. The majority now have a year round food source on them (WTI clover, chicory, and Durana clover). I spent the last 4 years doing mineral sites, and got mine done this year ahead of the Westervelt ban. We limed a couple years ago. I have soil sampled and have the right fertilizer blend now to effectively fertilize the fields. We are moving away from tilling. Since my focus has been on the greenfield side all along, most of my members love the way the fields look, and the deer use them.

So I basically took over a high member club. I know its not ideal. Several have told me so, and I have heard them. I have a direction I want to go, which is lower membership, and better quality. I have talked to 2 of the 3 other clubs around me. One has low members, one is similar to mine, but they were feeding year round, and they kill some big deer. I have 1 more to go. One of the members in another club wants to come look at my lease and make suggestions on setting it up better. So I welcome that.

I would ask to join but I only hunt a couple times a year 😜