I'll just tip my hat to you for trying to be as straightforward and honest about what you are trying to do before someone plops their money down and ends up not happy. Apparently not everyone does this as evidenced by some pretty entertaining threads in the past.

That is EXACTLY our intent.

We want to avoid any future confusion concerning the Goals that we have, our Plans to reach those Goals or the Rules that we have developed to implement and carry out that Plan.
We definitely do not know everything there is to know!
But, we have a Plan based on what we know what has worked for us in the past.

And, this type of Club is not for everybody.
It is not nearly as strict as some of the more rigid Trophy Clubs that I know of.
But, they are more strict than the average Club with a lot of members that are more Social than focused on growing and providing consistent opportunities on Quality bucks.
Also, I feel that the price per membership is slightly higher than the 'average' Club.
But, again, MUCH lower than most Trophy Clubs.

We do not want anyone to join in with a distorted perception of what we are trying to do or how we plan to do it.
We are building a solid group of guys here with the people who are on board!

I have HIGH hopes for this!!!
I am intimately familiar with the Area and even this specific property.
People are really going to be surprised when this property begins reaching it's true potential.
The genetics are as good as anywhere I know of!

I hope ya'll can find a dozen folks that will actually follow your guidelines, it is very hard to get that many on the same page, even being upfront.

I had a club in Hale Co much like ya'll are working on. Great property, good population, and great genetics. And I vetted my members out pretty hard about where we wanted to be and what we were shooting. All the guys talked the talk. Opening day, two hours before dark, 50 yard shot in a greenfield one of the guys shoots a 1.5 year old eight point buck. WTH did we discuss? He responded by saying he would kill any eight point he saw. I gave him his money back and trespassed him off the club. Just damn.

Good luck Mike, hope you are able to get the right members lined up. If I had the time and money I'd be all over this opportunity!

Fred you are so right about the people. It's going to be hard to do but Danny and I are up for the challenge. I'm sure we will end up with a few members that will need to coached along the way. Hopefully by being totally open and up front about our vision for this property it will minimize those type members.

I have had similar experience with my big Kentucky lease. Some of my members have been the type I could work with and allow them to grow into the type member we are looking for. Some were a lost cause and had to find some where else to hunt. What I do bring to the table is excellent people skills, I can work with folks if they are willing to follow advice and direction. I also know a little about managing a property but don't know it all that's for sure!

Is it private land or a timber company?

It is owned by a small family group but does carry a timber company name.

Wish I was closer!

Mike, I wish you luck and think you're up to the task, only problem is managing members. Kinda like herding cats

Mr. Ron it’s definitely gonna be a challenge for sure. Danny and I have 11 folks vetted so far and on the list to show the property to. They either know me very well or truly have the same vision as we do because they all said a lot of what I wanted to hear. One more spot on the list of 12 remains and then we are taking alternates in case someone has a change of heart.

Update:

Anyone wanting on the alternate list can contact Mike, or myself.
We should have everything in place by this weekend (HOPEFULLY) to have free access to show the property and actually begin work to prepare the property for this upcoming hunting season.

Also, from another thread....
To clarify, a membership does include turkey hunting rights. We just want people to know upfront that there are already 2 pretty serious turkey hunters alreadybsigned up. There are no ‘turkey only’ memberships, either.

There are lots of guys that will talk the talk.

Good luck on your club!

How are you determining who can lay off the property until the rut. In my opinion on a great piece of property with low pressure early season can be good as well. Once again not criticizing just curious.

What they are basically doing is asking people how they will hunt. If the answer is , "if I pay $3500 for a great place with big bucks, I'm gonna definitely hunt every chance I get and every single weekend of the season, or the I'm gonna use all my vacation and try to hunt it at least 3 times a week or I'm planning to stay at the camp for 3 weeks straight and work and answer emails on my laptop between hunts...." Those are not the types they are looking for or considering for membership. If someone wants to hunt early season, or pop in for a hunt here and there, I'm sure they are fine with that, they've got plenty of land. In that particular area, there is a definitive lull in deer sightings that occurs, that I refer to as the "December doldrums". Bucks simply disappear completely for a 3-4 week period before they start walking and laying down scrapes in the early part of the rut. Overall deer sightings including does sightings decrease drastically during this period. Happens everywhere to some extent but for whatever reason, it is really exaggerated IMO in Wilcox, Marengo, Clarke, South Dallas. IMO after hunting that general area for over 25 years, you're pretty much just wasting your time and just putting unnecessary scent in the woods and pressure on the property if you're hunting from Dec1 through around Christmas. Danny and Mike know this too. That's why they are trying to find like minded guys that hunt the way they do. This type hunting strategy is not for everyone. It takes discipline and commitment to stay out of the woods when conditions or the timing is not right.

I look at it like this. You're paying $3500, not to be able to hunt all the time, but to have enough land, in the right place, to be able to grow and hold big deer and for the opportunity to hunt those big bucks during the rut when your chances of killing one is 100X better than anytime other than opening weekend. If you've pressured them like crazy since the season opened, your chances of killing one, even during the rut will go down exponentially.

You can be rest assured that if they are successful in getting the right group of guys together and can keep them all together and on the same page, in 3-5 years, they will have a phenomenal "showplace" of a property.

For the record, we hunt our property that exact same way. We are in the same general area. A couple bowhunts early, if conditions are good, and to try to get whatever doe harvest (if we feel any is needed) out of the way with our bows rather than guns. We generally hunt opening weekend and maybe some around the Thanksgiving holidays and then we pretty much completely stay off the property until January. It's the most effective way we've found to have the opportunity to consistently kill mature bucks.

Pretty good synopsis, abolt300.

We are most definitely not going to TELL people when they can hunt and when they cannot!

However, we have gathered a group of guys together who all agree that low-pressure is key and all plan to hunt 'smart' and not be intrusive until the time is right.
That does not mean not to hunt if you have a free weekend!
It simply means to use the wind to your advantage, plan your entry and exit to the area wisely, and don't go tramping through bedding areas and trying to hunt the 'honey holes' when the conditions are wrong for it.

Myself, I did not hunt at all this past year until after Christmas.
But, in 9 days of hunting in Jan, I was able to take the 3 of the mature bucks that I had on camera!!!

It works!

4320 acres provides for a LOT of options to hunt smart and leave plenty of areas undisturbed!

Abolt300 and hog wild you are both right. It works on small property to. I only hunted mid January for about 2 weeks and was able to see all the deer on my cameras and could have killed the 2 best bucks on the property but decided to let them walk.

You are absolutely correct, Barry!

Some of those guys can be coached and will make the necessary changes to their mindsets and become great members......they simply were not 'ready' for that next step.
And, some of them almost try TOO hard....they go to the extremes on everything....and expect everyone else to do the same.
Then, there are the 'do as I say, not as I do' types that just do not realize that THEY are the problem....not all the other things they constantly complain about. And, often, they are GREAT guys that just honestly can not see it!

While we certainly hope to avoid any of these types, it is inevitable that it will happen.
Luckily, between Mike and I, we have had a lot of experience with this and have Rules in place that will minimize any problems. And, we also both enjoy helping other hunters and sharing things that we have learned over the years. Most people don't want to be a problem or cause trouble. They simply have different ideas or ways of doing things that just don't fit in with the majority. Hopefully, if we have one, we will be able to work with them in a manner that will help them and provide cohesion for the Club. Heck, I hope the results speak for themselves and they are able to not only SEE it.....but, reap the rewards of it!

Insurance is in place and Mike and I both have secured keys to the property for showing. I did a lil’ piddling this weekend in there. I set up some trailcams and mineral licks. So, we should begin getting some pics real soon. The roads are in excellent shape and there are numerous nice size food plots established. We plan to begin discing and getting ready to lime this weekend. We plan to put in some cover crops to help amend the soil and make for better Fall Plots.

Guys I agree with what Danny and a few others have said above. If you think like minded and can afford this opportunity I highly suggest you come take a look. Do not let this opportunity pass you by as you will regret that decision. This place will be ran and managed right!

We are showing Thursday and Friday. My schedule is pretty open from mid day through the afternoon for the next week. Shoot me a pm if interested in taking a tour.

Mike