Need ideas on helping manage deer club
 

What are some rules and repercussions that your club or clubs you have hunted at had?

For instance:
My club is in Mississippi. The clubs requirements are minimum 12" spread or one 15" beam. No penalties for shooting yearlings or spikes. We used to have a penalty of $100 for killing a spike or buck under our requirements, but we got away from that for one reason or the other and have moved to an honor system. The honor system has went down the tube with the same 2-3 guys killing 2-3 spikes or small bucks every year on accident. I have fought to bring back the fines but people are saying that if there is a fine then when people "accidentaly" shoot small deer they will just dump them and not bring them back to the camp. I voted to kick the guys out the club and that went over like a turd in the punch bowl.
This club was the first club in Ms to participate in DMAP back in the 70s and was fairly managed and abundant with deer until the recent tornados that hit Ms and Al a few years back.

What are some of the rules, requirements, and repercussions that yall use? :help:

somewhere near the top should be a no guest policy. and kicking out deadbeats and repeat violators is a must.

only clubs with rules that have teeth last. usually large sums of money and taking away hunting privliges is the only thing hardheads under stand.

this ain't t-ball. not everybody wins and when u break a rule, u pay. if u can't pay, u got to leave your gun there till u pay.

that keeps the douchbaggery down.

If they were on the lease I was on in Texas they would be kicked off. Not sure how many members y'all have. But we had 10. And if someone stepped out of line land owner would get with president and they would be warned and if it happened again kicked off. That's really the only way to deal with repeat rule breakers. There's always an excuse the only way to eliminate it is to get them out.

We have 5000 acres and 33 members. Only about 15 of us hunt regularly, the others come up to drink wine and whiskey, smoke cigars, and sit by the fire. We aren't hurting for members by any means. I'm all for kicking them out but that probably wont happen until they break the rules but we gotta make some rules first!

1. Size restrictions followed
2. Guests shoot off members quota
3. Hunt only from designated stands


These are a few we had we had a few more but different land has a few different rules.

1st thing you do once you get your rules set. Draw them up in contract form and when each member pays his dues , he signs the contract. make sure that each member READS the rules before signing. Club i used to belong to allowed 1 guest per paying member , BUT if your guest broke any rules, It fell on you. So we had VERY few guest. WSe were 6 points or better and did allow one button buck shot as a doe. Other than that .1st time you or your guest broke a rule it was $500 fine , (no hunting by that member till fine paid) . 2nd time you were escorted to the gate.

Geez. Glad I don't hunt with you guys


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thats the whole idea!!! lol

L M A O!!!!!!!

Come on guys, quit drooling and reading the split totals thread and give some input.hahaa

I know/hope some of yall have hunted at deer clubs with rules and penalties!

We have a set of bylaws that were drawn up by a lawyer. 1st offense is a warning, second a certified letter, and 3rd ejection. We do one buck of choice and the rest 6 points or better.

Isn't it illegal to shoot spikes in MS? It is where I hunt.

Point rules are not effective. Don't shoot that 5 year old 4 point or giant cow horn spike. Deer heards need to managed by age and potential of deer.


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Suggested Rules if I was starting a club:

Members allowed 1 trophy buck and 2 cull bucks PER YEAR!
Trophy - Defined as 9 Point or more MUST BE 4 1/2 years old
Culls - Defined as 8 point or less MUST BE 2 1/2 years old
Does harvested in accordance with state limits or DMAP limits

Penalties would be if you break an age requirement on your bucks you LOSE YOUR TROPHY for the following year but are allowed your 2 cull bucks... 2nd offense - Removed from Club.

The reasoning for this is simple - Keep the buck population high and don't shoot really young bucks... if you see a 2 1/2 year old 10 point you let him walk... in 2 years he will probably be an awesome 10 point. If you see a 4 1/2 year old 6 point you get it off the property.

You break a rule and the following year one of those 5 1/2 year old 150" 10 point walks out... you'll think twice about breaking the rules again.

GUEST POLICY - Either NO GUESTS ALLOWED or Set a guest limit like 1 weekend guest pass per month but not on opening weekend and not for more than 3 consecutive days... You don't want 2 guys sharing a lease on 1 nickel.

We could bring guests on our lease. But guests had to shoot off members quota. Which was and still is 3 deer. Even had a couple guys split a membership before. But they were only allowed the 3 deer for that membership.

Max 3 studs, 309 yd limit around. No one hunts your std or be within 300 yds unless you say so. Only officers settle complaints. Report all deer within 10 days, no reporting loose your membership. No drinking while hunting, or loose membership. 1 guest, hunts same time you do, in one of your stds, they kill, it's part of your limit. Your kids hunt as family member as long as they live with you and your supporting them. Also counts toward your limit. When a guest hunts, only max of 2 of you at same time. Dues, if not paid on time, fine or loose spot. If you have work day, member doesn't come(unless emergency officers determine) hefty fine. Rules are gone over on work day with over 50% there to able to change/add new rules.

That's max 3 stands, stupid spell chk!

There is no point regulation for bucks in Ms. There is a spread minimum/main beam minimum.

In the Hill Region where our club is located the requirement is at least a 10" spread OR one 13" main beam. Theoretically you could kill a spike if it fell in this criteria but 99.999% of them will not.

I am drafting up a letter to the club and will post it in a couple days. Thanks for the input so far.

What's the point of controlling the bucks killed on your lease of as soon as they cross your property line they get mowed down? You can't control the guys next to you


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Need ideas on helping manage deer club
 

When I was in a club as a kid in St Francisville, we had 8 point minimum and 16" inside spread minimum. I saw people get fined for nice 15" bucks. Now I have my own private property that just my Dad and I really hunt. Our rules are simple. You shoot a buck. You gotta mount it. We try not to shoot button bucks but some dummy usually does every year. I'll let a kid shoot a spike or someone that never killed before. We don't have any fines but you break a rule you just probably won't ever be invited back.

That's the usual 4 point shooters mindset. ;)

We have 5000 acres and are lucky enough to be bordered by areas with strict management principles or are not hunted at all(farm land). Right now we are "the club mowing them down":redface:

You ever tried to make a gravy with them horns?


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That's the louisiana hunter mindset lol

Guess you don't have to hunt in Louisiana then. Because it's true, those horns never do get tender


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Need ideas on helping manage deer club
 

Lol I hear ya. To each his own. Trust me when I was a kid, if it was brown it was down. But now I have killed so many deer that seeing anything other than a big buck doesn't even get me that excited. May come off as spoiled but it is what it is. I was fortunate enough to hunt some prime areas in St. Francisville, LA all my life. And I understand not everyone has had that opportunity so I don't look down on whoever shoots whatever comes out. I just don't.

The property bordering mine to the south is a guy like us. He has a few 100 acres to himself and only shoots wall hangers. Property to the north is just farm land. To the east is a big club but they still have some minimum requirements. So I feel confident that if I let that buck walk that he will live.

I have no problem with ppl shootin whatever either. I just think its funny when someone establishes a well managed lease and when they kill a nice deer someone says "that ain't huntin" lol

I don't want to come off as being against big deer hunters or growing big deer or anything. lol I appreciate a big buck as much as the next guy. (Maybe not as much as a bowhunter.....yet) I was just raised differently. Dad wasn't a deer hunter so he always wanted meat. lol and the lease I'm in is nowhere near a big deer lease by any means. lol I have learned to watch deer and I feel like I am growing as a hunter though. lol


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I thought the question was.... What are some rules and repercussions that your club or clubs you have hunted at had?

What are some of the rules, requirements, and repercussions that yall use?

Shooting doe's is just as important to herd management as letting young bucks walk too.

Are y'all talking about managing deer size or population?

If your hungry go to the meat market. I would set strict rules of 4+ yrs on your trophy bucks and young bucks is a fine. If it happens again your gone. Any guest shoot off hunters membership total. I'm also a believer in having a least one feeder going at your spot year round and if possible plant food plots.

What club u in? Sounds exactly like my ms lease.


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

U ever try to make a gravy with a doe forehead? Can't
Eat dem horns and can't eat dem foreheads either

We have the deer population management under control for the most part, i think.
We have a designated biologist that does studies on our lease every year and gives us a population estimate as well as a quota of does and bucks to kill regardless of the Ms regulations. We usually have to shoot around 30-40 does and 20-30 bucks. We used to get close to that number every year but haven't since the Tornadoes. I think we need to focus on the slim amount of bucks we have now and letting them grow to a fair size. We are in East Cental Mississippi in the Pine Belt, we don't have the genetics or deer numbers right now to have 100"+ deer consistently. I'm just trying to get us to let the bucks we do have get to at least 3 years old before we shoot them. I'm tired of seeing 1.5 and 2.5 year old deer at the skinning rack. Putting an age minimum is out the question though, some of the guys can't tell a 1.5 year old from a 5 year old. Shame I know.:(

I'm 85 ne of Jackson in French camp


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

Maybe try and see what the rules and restrictions are at your surrounding clubs/ lodges and try and implement those on your club..

this way you wont have to worry about your neighbor shooting something you let walk since yall will but promoting the same regulations.

L.M.A.O

Sounds like you just need to find a new lease.

Any tips on managing population?

if you have too many deer, just add coonazzes and you will not have that problem anymore:grinpimp:

Not gonna happen, there are way too many pros compared to cons for this camp. My dad was one of the founders in the late 70s and I've been up there since I was 6weeks old. Not giving up on it, just trying to make improvements and get back to where we were.

There you go! Stay positive Nicky-T!!

This thread could go 100 pages about antler restrictions and whether they work etc but for the most part all your club members have to get on the same page because if not you are spinning your wheels. If some want it to be a 'trophy' club, some want to see deer everytime they go, some just want some meat and will shoot every legal buck they see, then you are not on the same page and will ultimately lose sleep over it and thats not what its all about its supposed to be fun. I have family members that if there were 10,000 does standing in a field they will shoot the one buck (spike, 3 pt, whatever) before they shoot a doe:shaking: That gets old but they ain't changing their mindset and I would imagine with 33 members in a club there are some people that aren't changing as well.

In general, the deer herd (both health and size) are tied directly to the soil. More fertile the soil the more deer you can support and the bigger they get. Typically piney woods are not fertile soils so you have to come to terms with the fact you are not going to consistently kill the amount of big bucks like places along the MS River unless you high fence it and spend a ton of money supplementing them.

As far as mistakes go people do make them because in most instances you only have a second or two to make a decision whether or not you are going to shoot a certain deer (they usually don't come out in broad daylight and stand there under a feeder or food plot and let you look at them from all angles), BUT if the mistakes seem to be not really a mistake then you got to get rid of those folks or you are going to lose more sleep.

If I owned my own place I would do something like Specktator suggested - shoot it if you are going to put it on the wall and let the kids or newbies shoot whatever they want. Its supposed to enjoyable, not stressful:)

We hunt in Franklin county and have great deer numbers. We also have the problem of deer being killed on public lands that surrounds us, the same deer we pass on. It happens - and we can't loose sleep over it.

We have on 300 acre section that we literally call the "killing grounds". Anyone hunting that section is to shoot any doe they see, as well as any legal buck. We bring the kids to that section and guest, because we know that is the best place to have the triggers pulled. We also have a section that is 7 miles away, where each membership is only allowed one doe to harvest (if they want to) as well any buck shot on that section must be sent to the taxidermist. That is the easiest way we try to manage it - no points - no spread - no age, but if you shoot it, it goes on your wall. You will be amazed how fast those 2.5 y/o deer stop getting shot!!!

We have a couple acres just shy of 200 in our family....about 30miles as a crow flies from Fin's place in Jefferson County Ms. We are surrounded by paper company leased by a large club that runs dogs....We shoot does for meat....early....then we don't pull the trigger unless it is worthy of being on the wall....We KNOW we let deer pass that get shot by our neighbors....but....OH WELL....we are not going to do it! There is simply no sense in killing 1.5 to 2.5 yo eight points, just because the neighbor....MIGHT shoot it....A doe taste better anyway....Just my dad and brother hunt with me there, along with my daughters, nieces and any of my friends who have a kid that have never killed a deer. We see a lot of deer, but we see a lot of deer because we feed and don't kill everything that walks....It is frustrating at times, but it does pay off....I understand that I am lucky to have the property and not everyone has that ability, but it is just how we run things. It works....We have roughly 10-15 documented deer a year that are "no shoots" and you would be surprised how many make it to the next year. The surrounding club will get 2-4 of them, but the majority make it....and stay where dogs don't hound them and people don't shoot at them all the time....We walk or golf cart everywhere and we keep the pressure off of them...it CAN be done on a small piece of property, if done right.

Frank mentioned a very important rule! We own a small piece of paradise in Avoyelles parish and when we started walking or using a golf cart, our deer sightings and killings went up through the roof! When the neighbor starts his 4 wheeler and we have deer in the plot, they will take off running. This would be a rule if I was running a club.

Need ideas on helping manage deer club
 

Only time we use a ATV/UTV is to pick up a kill, to fill a feeder, or move a stand. We walk everywhere. It's just 300 acres though.