The answer to every one of your questions depends on your objectives.
The best properties with the best relationships are those who A) Have clearly defined objectives, B) Have members who clearly understand AND support the objectives, C) Limit guests participation, D) Have very low turnover.

If you don’t have clearly defined objectives then it don’t matter what rules you have in place.

But what if the objective is have fun and be safe?

If those are your only objectives then you shouldn’t have rules other than to follow the law.

Yep! And we do. Not really a club, just more of a lease.

It's all relative to what you're trying to do. I've never been in a true trophy club, so keep that in mind.

Base the amount of deer allowed on how many you have/try to kill. If you shoot everything that moves or have few deer then it should be low. If your members are required or are naturally restrictive, then you can open up the amount. One club I was in shot every 6 point and some would shoot every doe that stuck its head out and needed a cap. Another one, we only shot good bucks and the occasional doe and didn't require a cap. If it was your year to get on good bucks, shoot as many as you like (pre 3 buck limit).

Regarding guests, I like them as long as nobody takes advantage. Multiple hunting members of the same family can do more damage than "guests". Me bringing a guest a couple of times a year is a lot less invasive than a husband, wife and 3 kids hunting every week.

Bottom line is, if you're making the decisions base it on realistic objectives. If you're not, find a club that meets your personal criteria.

Rule #1. No selfish behavior.

If everyone abides, it all works out.

Biggest thing is having like minded people when it comes to harvesting deer. We only want 4.5 year olds and bigger harvested. We let 3.5 year old 8’s and 10’s walk all day. Small bone means nothing to any of us.

Here is what I would do:
1) Paid members can shoot __ Bucks (set antler limits - 1 under 4 on one side) & ___ Does (Bag Limit)
2) Kids/Wifes can hunt free, but must hunt with the paid member (same stand) - Any kills are deducted from the "paid members" bag limit.
3) Guests are allowed at __$ per hunt (morning/afternoon) - Any kills are deducted from the "paid members" bag limit.

Maybe you offer discount for wives or kids that want to hunt alone. Maybe that is 1/4 of the full membership, but you increase the family bag limit by 25%.

It isn't fair for Bob to pay for a single membership for himself to hunt 5 weekends per year and Billy to pay the same and his wife and 3 kids hunt for free every week.

>>>>>> I am all about writing down the rules and everyone must follow them. But, the rules can always be changed (FOR EVERYONE) if there is a problem. The rules are set according to what you want to & can do with the property. What the member want the club to be, etc.

Your rules may be different during the season.
- No guests during the rut.
- Archery guests can hunt alone within ~200 yards of member.
- No killing of does in December the month before the rut.

Here is the list of rules for the club we had in college.
1. There is no rule list
2. If you would like to add a new rule, please refer to rule number 1

Worked great for us.

You came to the right spot for opinions

Worry bout ya self 🤣🤣

Actively feeding during season causes problems- we don't
Running cameras during the season causes traffic- we don't run them.
We don't have a doe quota- kill as many as you want to deal with....3 buck limit-guest bucks count against member total.
Try to make sure a buck checks 3 of 4 boxes:
180#+ /8 pts/main beam at or beyond nose/ 4+ years old..We don't have a 3 yr old that would check 3 of 4 boxes. Mistakes happen on a buck and it is not the end of the world. I have made them.
Youth can shoot a ALDCNR game law legal buck, just have to shoot a bigger one the next time.
Guests are normally closely related family and their behavior /harvest is responsibility of the member.
This seems to work for our group.
To each club their own. Goes back to Brocks objectives, these guidelines reflect ours.

One guest at a time.
If a guests kill's a buck
it goes against your 3 you're a loud.
Each member is responsible for x amount of feeders.

Come on Matt he said have fun, aint no fun following the law

5 does per member but can kill more if another member donates one of theirs. Rarely happens. State limit on bucks as long as it meets club standards which is 12” minimum inside spread or 165 live weight. But we have a large club with close to 7K acres and 40 members. We've averaged about 76 deer per year over the last 4 years and averaged almost exactly 50% each sex over that time span. Worked pretty well for us. And we do enforce fines for sub-standard bucks.

Glad I’m not in a lot of y’alls clubs~

😂

What about when Someone starts a (Private) Bait Pile? Is that Area Off Limits to other Members as that seems to be where a lot of issues arise.

No feeders in fields. People will go to 4-5 fields filling feeders and then go hunt another field.