Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Land, Leases, and Hunting Clubs Looking for club

Unfortunately a series of events have occured that have put me in the miserable position of having to decide to not hunt with my buddy on his lease. We just aren't on the same page that I thought we were on. There are some sportsmanship issues regarding kids as well. So my season is over, no sour grapes, but I want to start looking now for next year.

Southern Blackbelt: N Clarke, S Marengo, N Wilcox, S and W Dallas, W Lowndes, and Butler counties are all options.
Archery-only would be excellent but not required
Selective harvest of mature bucks based on body size
"Smart" pressure focused. No scrubbing and no in-season scouting. Get in and get out.
Buck harvest alloted per membership not per hunters hunting on membership
Camphouse w/ shower

I'd love to discuss becoming a hard working member of your club.
I'd also be interested in a limited membership for the rest of this season.
Thanks, Ben

I understand all the other stuff you mentioned, and I can understand where you're coming from, but I'm lost on this one. Will you please explain?

Hey Cap. Scrubbing is everything from fast still- hunting, pushin the bush, getting bored so you get off stand and go walk the woods out trying to get lucky, to small organized man drives through young clearcuts, CRP, and bedding areas. I love being in the woods and scrubbing is fun, but I think its unfair to the guys not involved who show up next weekend that may sign out that area thinking it's undisturbed. The last few years I've just come to fully believe that pressure is the single biggest limiting factor to seeing good bucks in daylight. I just want to get involved with a group that believes this as well.

Osprey
You have a PM

Thanks, I never really knew a name for that. Seems like we have a lot in common on how we'd like to see hunting property treated.
Another thing I really don't care for is to see the camp roads turned into an ATV motocross track during the season. I understand there are times you need them, but for 4 or 5 teen boys to just ride the property all day isn't a good idea in my opinion.

I'm not a fan of 4 wheelers period. The Tacoma has taken me everywhere I need to go. But I like to walk in from a good distance. I'm one of the atv haters but I understand convienience. We all go to the woods for recreation, so you should have fun while you're there. I don't want to limit anybody, that doesn't work. I want to find a group of guys that limit themselves because we ALL share the same hunting philosophies

I am not a fan of the 4 wheelers either, they are however great for getting your deer out of the thick stuff

Dang Ben, we need to be hunting together. I like what you are looking for. I would love to do a bow hunting only club somewhere in the blackbelt. I also am a fan of limiting kills per membership instead of a guy and his wife and 3 kids getting to kill 15 bucks under one membership and me killing 3 under my one membership. I am also tired of hunting with dumbasses that think, the longer the spike, the older the deer, or it's an 8 point, that means its 4 years old.

How about let's get an over 50 club together with no wives or kids unless brought as a guest? Keep everything as undisturbed as possible and Only shoot mature bucks and the right amount of does to balance everything.

Neither me or ozprey are 50.

Do you have wives and kids that hunt?

Maybe we could lower it to 40.

Lol guys. 39. I'll be 40 by next bowseason. Single, came close twice but thought better of it.
Here's where I am since moving back from Tampa 7 years ago.
I hunted for 5 years just south of Camden. Great guys, "family" club, moderate buck restrictions but too many young bucks getting killed imo. Was time for me to poop or get off the pot about buying the room I was staying in. The rooms in the camphouse were finished by members out of pocket. We had some iffy lease issues concerning the property the camp was on. I decided to move on. Still in touch with those guys, good fellas.
Last year I joined a club on the Tombigbee in N Clarke. The coolest property I've ever been on. Thought I would hunt there a long time. 4.5yr old or 120" buck restrictions. A coup took place and some wealthy members whom I considered friends, took control and doubled the dues and cut me out. This one hurt, not in touch with these guys.
This year got invited to join an old high school buddy at his private lease in W.Dallas Co. We're not on the same page about pressure, baiting, kids (who have already killed bucks in the past) shooting fawns in the field and woodpeckers and songbirds at the camp. My Dad and Grandpa would have whooped my ass something fierce over that. Big buck potential was through the roof, but I just can't be around that. I love kids, especially mentoring the ones about 11 or 12 that get interested in archery and woodsmanship, on the flip side I can't stand to be around undisciplined younguns.
So here I am looking for a club and cooking up schemes with you two and Capt Jab

I'm 28 so I couldn't be in a 40 or over club, I just want a place where I can have some quality bow hunting or gun hunting without having to deal with a bunch of crap like scouting during season, killing young bucks, bad ass kids running around camp like hellions, people wanting to do man drives, people getting jealous of big bucks, people treating the place like a motocross track, people that don't understand that you can't kill every deer you see. I just want to hunt with like minded people on some south Alabama river bottom land, I am also wanting a place where I can let a buck walk without worrying about some other club member dragging it up to camp a week later.

I'm right there with you tfd. Get out there in Feb and early March to scout leafless late season/rut woods. Drink 4gal of water, spray down with some Sawyers and sweat your nads off in the Summer checking for acorns, exploring bedding areas, and put the puzzle together to find that one tree. You ain't gotta drive 2hrs and wear camo to stomp through the woods aimlessly just to see a deer's butthole flying out of the woods away from you in November. It blows my mind when guys sign out an area I know the wind is wrong for and say "I ain't seein' nuttin, the neighbors must be corning" and I'm seeing deer almost every sit, even in "The Lull". Not only do I want to feel secure enough letting good 3.5 yr olds walk, I want to freely share info and big buck sightings rather than trying to keep secrets. If the guys team up and game plan their hunts together it awesome when it works and you go help your buddies load up a stud buck. There's some good points made on the 4 on one side thread. Its really about finding like minded hunters and establishing common goals.

Trail cams are another sore spot for me concerning pressure. I personally don't own any. I want his big butt to surprise me when I see him. Gonna run em? Fine, set em up on Summer plots or feed areas, get your inventory then put em out by your stands and check em when you hunt it. This relentless obsession with trail cams is a pressure problem...