I am just curious, this does not effect me because I am a deer and turkey hunter but my question is do you think it is fair for clubs to offer turkey only memberships at half the original membership price?

If a turkey hunter only pays $700 to turkey hunt and no work days and a deer hunter has to pay the full $1400 and do all the work days but don't turkey hunt do you think that is fair?

I understand that deer season is longer but should that be a factor? Also I understand that if the club votes on it and agrees then so be it. Just curious as to what opinions you have.

In our club you cannot have one without the other. It has been this way since 1962 and has worked very well. We don't even allow guests during turkey season as opposed to allowing guests during deer season. We have 3 real "turkey hunters" in the club and they killed 11 birds this spring. That is why we don't allow guests or split memberships. That is a good question you have asked!

I think it is fair. Most work days consist of cleaning out shooting houses, planting food plots, or trimming trails. Turkey hunters dont use the shooting houses, and food plots dont really benefit them either. As for the roads, I cant speak for everyone, but I really dont need the trails either.

Now, do I think it would be fair if turkey only members were required one work day? Sure it would be.

But the short season also comes into play a little in my mind.

But, all in all, I personally have no problem with the way it was stated in the original question.

If there are 0 turkey hunters (which is hard to find these days) I would think it would be very beneficial to the club money wise and everyone would agree that yes, that is fair. As a turkey hunter, if I was in a club, no I do not like the idea, and would not be in the club if that's how it operated.

It's all about what the members want and how the rules are laid out.

Maybe it should be 5/8 of the price of full membership. Especially if clover is being planted and there is habitat management taking place especially during the spring.

It is NOT fair for the president, the landowner or whomever is in charge, to sell turkey memberships and not disclose this to the members who joins the club.

So, make sure to ask this question BEFORE you join a club.

I wouldn't consider 45 days "short" for the season, which is what it is in 90% of the state.

If you have nice food plots, you can bet those "turkey" hunters are using them and should do work on them.

Good idea though for those clubs with no turkey hunters are maybe really low numbers on big acreage.

I am not a turkey hunter so I really dont know but sounds like 11 birds for 3 people is a little over the limit.Am I right on this?

16 would be over the limit

You are allowed 5 turkeys per season.

I would think that the club would offer a deer/turkey membership to its primary deer hunting members for $2,100.00 and establish a maximum number of members. If the existing deer hunters dont want to turkey hunt, then I would have no problem in offering Turkey memberships to help with the cost of planting and upkeep on the club. But you can bet, they would be invited to attend work days just like everyone else or contribute some form of donation to cover them not being there to help.

I learn something just about everyday,I thought the limit was 3.

We just went through this process at my club. Standard practice was everybody paid the same dues and had deer and turkey rights. However, only two of the 8 members turkey hunted. When 3 members left, we decided to restructure the dues so that the two turkey hunters paid 25% more and any new members and old members paid less for deer rights only. They were happy since they only deer hunted and got a reduction in dues. The turkey hunters (one of which is me) were willing to pay more to lock up the turkey hunting rights. Future members will only be offered deer hunting rights but at a reduced price. The work days were not an issue since the two turkey hunters did most of the work anyway. The chufas fields we planted were paid for by the turkey hunters.

price is fair but turkey hunter should help with work days, if the help is needed as additional help. Deer hunters get more out of foodplots than turkey hunters but foodplots do typically help turkey hunters kill birds.

As someone that would only want to lease a place close to the house for turkey hunting I would propose having turkey hunter only memberships that pays the same rate as what the deer hunters pay. That way you would get the money needed to pay the lease but with half the number of turkey hunters. This is a win, win for the deer hunter than doesn't turkey hunt b/c less deer hunters and for the turkey hunter that does't deer hunt there are less turkey hunters. For those that do both it's still a plus b/c you have same money but less hunters all around.

I lease turkey rights from folks that dont turkey hunt,it helps their club make extra money,there is no way I would pay full membership to just turkey hunt,usually $1 per acre is what we will pay and sometimes less,if a club has turkey hunters then the turkey hunters should decide if turkey only memberships should be offered or not.

45 days is short when you consider deer hunters get 108 days. Most clubs in Alabam dont plant any food beneficial to turkeys in their food plots (maybe a little clover). And most guys who turkey hunt will agree, alot of times the plots are too tall to hunt on by the time March 15th comes around.

X2... have done several turkey-only memberships over the past 5 years and offer a couple of additional ideas. First, you're talking about a much smaller season than deer hunting - and you have to factor in the fact that none of turkey season falls around work holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years. On any one of my places, I've not used the property more than 6-8 times in a given season. Second, doing a turkey-only membership is often "boom" or "bust". Three places I've been a turkey-only member on, I've killed no birds there that season. In one case, it was primarily due to neighbors driving through the property (which we didn't know prior to signing up) and in another, it was due to the fact the other turkey hunters decided they would monopolize the hunting land "their way"... designing the rules so that the best areas could all be signed out by two people.

With that type of experience in the past, there's no way I'll pay more than half the price of regular dues to turkey hunt. Experience, though, has taught me the questions I need to ask prior to joining a club for that purpose.

don't you run the same exact risk with a deer lease? I buddy of mine has forked out over $20k over the past 5 years and hasn't killed a buck. Granted he is only going to shoot something around 130 or better but still, no guarantees either way.

I can see your point about less time on the property, etc., but most turkey hunters I know probably put in almost as many morning during the 45 day turkey season as they do in the 100+ days of deer season. Reason being in general, the best time to kill a turkey is with in the first hour and half of light so a lot of us go hunt before work. Can't really successfully pull that off during deer season.

I do agree that a turkey only lease should arguably be less than a deer only lease but only b/c turkey hunters don't rely on green fields and don't use shooting houses, etc. and in many cases arrive in the morning and then leave a few hours later, so if there is a camp house they probably don't use that but a few times either. Also have to consider the cost of the lease. For example a deer lease in an avg. county on avg. land might only be $500 a year. I'd pay that in a heart beat if it has turkeys on it. On the other hand a lease in the black belt or a good piece of property in Jackson Co. might be anywhere from $2k to $10k a year b/c of the quality of the deer. I would not be willing to pay that for a turkey lease cause the "quality" of a turkey doesn't change from county to county. You either have birds or you don't.

Turkeys are a nuisance animal. They eat your newly planted seed, scratch up new green fields, disturb other animals with all their loud gobbling. Clubs should be paying people to come kill them and not the other way around. I work cheap and would be willing to help out.

Anybody who spends that kind of money to hunt whitetails in Alabama is either 1. wealthy and so it doesn't matter or 2. a working man who is a total dumb arse who needs some counseling in good decision making, regardless of the kind of bucks they kill on the place.

Amen brother!!! I got your back if you need some help when you get overrun with places needing the turks thinned.

It should be put up for a club vote although most clubs are not ran this way. Then if you cant live with the outcome find another club. All clubs are different on the members they have. Very few but some dont have any turkey hunters or only one & alot of good land. My club has a turkey only member & since I turkey hunt I dont particularly like it but it hasnt been an issue so I dont ripple the water. But if you think yall can find somebody willing to pay $1400.00 to hunt 45 days good luck.