Hunt Club Chat with Gary Burger, NWTF Forester

Last week, we asked NWTF members to submit their questions about hunt clubs, and had a great response. Read on to learn everything you need to know about starting a hunt club, working with landowners and more.

Last week, we asked NWTF members to submit their questions about hunt clubs, and had a great response. Read on to learn everything you need to know about starting a hunt club, working with landowners and more.

Q: Some of the questions we've confronted in our club over the last 40 years are: Should guests be allowed? Should they have the same privileges as members? Should the number of guests be limited? Should there be a guest fee? Should they be charged whether they hunt or not? Can guests stay overnight?
We recently had a problem with a guest and his son who would ask any member to invite them to deer hunt and then they would shoot the biggest bucks and go home, while the members paid thousands of dollars to maintain the club! They have not been invited back and now we don't allow any guests during the deer season. We still allow guests during the waterfowl season, but they have to hunt with a member so that limits the number of guests per member.
— David Edelen, Reston, Va.
A: The topic of guests is one that has to be decided on by the individual club and then incorporated into the club rules. Allowing members to have guests is a privilege to the member only, and does not extend all privileges to the guest. The member is responsible for the guest and their conduct, and club members should not abuse the guest privilege. Generally, clubs will allow a limited number of guests per member at once - say one or maybe two guests at the most. They may even put a cap on the total number of guest hunts per season for each member (e.g. five total guest hunts per turkey season).

Guests also may not be allowed during certain times such as opening week, peak of rut or closing week. Limiting the number of guests is important so that the club members don't feel like they're paying the way for non-club members, or being overrun by "outsiders."

A fee for guests is common, and can be set in such a way as to limit the number of guests who will really want to utilize it (e.g. $50 per day, or $25 per morning or afternoon hunt). The club may need to adjust this fee over a few years to get the right balance. Generally, the fee would be related to whether or not the guest hunts.

Other expenses such as food can be "chipped in on," and you don't have to let a bunch of moochers keep hanging around!

Overnight stay is related to the size of the club and available accommodations. Obviously, members should have first rights to the bunks, but if there's plenty of room, the added fellowship is often welcome. Some of these guests may end up becoming members down the road if they are welcomed and fit in with the group.

Guest privileges are going to be viewed differently in various states due to lengths of seasons, quantity of game and traditions. The size of the lease, number of paying members, and relative age structure of the members also may have some effect.

All in all, the club members must come to a consensus as to what their policies will be, incorporate them into the club rules and then enforce them. It sounds like David's club dealt well with their "guest" problem simply by realizing that abuse of the privilege is not acceptable, regardless of your situation.

Q: Acreage wise, what is the largest hunt club in South Carolina?
— Howard Frye, Hartsville, S.C.
A: Our friends at MeadWestvaco indicate that the Booth Parker Hunt Club in Williamsburg County is 9,630 acres. Two of their other largest leases include the Slater Hunt Club in Jasper County at 7,484 acres and the Camp Hall Hunt Club in Berkeley County at 6,678 acres.

My own search on the Internet yielded the Piedmont Hunt Club, which leases 9,389 total acres between Fairfield County (5,303 acres) and Kershaw County (4,086 acres).

Some of the short-term-fee hunting plantations advertise as "hunting clubs," but are not really hunt lease clubs. Two larger examples of these include Bostick Plantation (more than 10,000 acres) and Roblyn's Neck (more than 14,000 acres). The overall size of these leases may vary a little from year to year, and many of the lease lands held by timber companies, and now by Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are actively marketed for sale as hunting properties and for general development.

Hunting leases have become a major component of the portfolio for these large landholders, and continued competition for hunt leases and other land uses will continue to drive lease prices up in the future.

Q: We have been planting clover and liming food plots for 14 years on land we have leased from a timber industry company for 27 years. The company just recently sent letters to all clubs saying they are going to plant these 1/4- to 1-acre plots back in pine trees.

My question is this: How can we as a club talk with the company to let us continue having one acre per 100 acres to continue our plot and management program? Do y'all have any suggestions concerning this new policy?
— Bobby Stockstill, Poplarville, Miss.
A: One company in the timber industry, Weyerhaeuser, has been a great supporter of the NWTF for many years, and they were happy to respond to us about your concerns. The biologists I spoke with were not aware of this particular letter, but did offer some comments and suggestions, which generally hinge on the relative permanence of food plots on their lands.

Without knowing your specific details, most food plots generally begin as a clearing (log landing) or gap made in an existing stand of trees during a harvesting operation. Once this opening has been created, the club is allowed to further clear it and plant it as a wildlife opening. While you have been working on some of these openings for many years, the timber industry company probably never considered these openings to be permanent. Their primary goal all along was to eventually reforest these acres as part of their overall business of growing trees for profit. That said, they also derive income from your hunting lease, and would most likely be willing to work with your club to "offset" the revenue they might gain by growing trees on those acres.

If they are dead set on replanting those particular openings (usually as part of a large overall stand reforestation), you may have to adapt a little. One possible solution is for the club to locate new landings or non-forested areas, communicate with your hunt club contact about these locations and seek permission to plant food plots there with the realization that these plots will not be permanent in many cases.

Another good option is utilizing open, linear habitat conditions as was suggested to you with planting between the new rows of trees. Other linear openings might include wide roadsides, old firelanes, major skid trails, and even in between rows of mature stands that have been thinned to a more open condition.

Don't forget about the management of native browse either. Disking, bushhogging and fertilizing native vegetation can be just as effective as managing an open food plot. An old, wary buck also may be less leary of a nice honeysuckle patch than an open plot.

Giving up all of these spots that you've been working on for years might not be a foregone conclusion.

Q: Do I have to have a written lease agreement with the landowner and how do I go about doing one?
A: While many small hunting leases are done with just a handshake, it really is best to have a written agreement when money and/or hunting rights are exchanged. Protecting the interests of both the landowner and the hunters is very important and can only be done by clearly spelling out what is expected of both parties. Many landowners who have leased land in the past have experienced problems with unethical hunters, liability exposure, or loss of control over their property, and now will not lease their land without a written agreement.

A simple lease agreement can help to prevent many of these conflicts that may arise between hunters and landowners. Some of the obvious considerations for any lease agreement would include the terms of payment, what game species can be hunted and with what methods, care for the property, and the number of hunters.

Other, less obvious considerations might include liability insurance coverage provided by the hunters, written rules for the hunt club, policies for guests, and signatures of all the hunters. Written lease agreements can vary from simple one-page, fill-in-the blank style all the way up to customized documents prepared by an attorney. Check the Internet for examples. A written lease shows your concern for safety, ethics, and responsibility and may be just what a landowner requires to grant you a lease.

To read an excellent paper about hunting leases with sample agreements by Greg Yarrow from Clemson University, click here.

Q: Can I get liability insurance for my hunting club that is not very expensive?
A: You can. With hunting leases becoming more and more common, the market for hunting lease liability insurance also has developed. What was once only available to large leases and landowners at significant cost is now available to small hunt clubs and even individuals who lease small tracts of land for hunting. The power of group coverage makes this possible and affordable.

The NWTF recently partnered with Outdoor Underwriters, Inc., to provide coverage for all sizes of hunt leases at affordable rates. For less than the price of a new shotgun, you can protect your hunt club, all of its members and guests, and even the landowner with a $1 million policy. Many landowners now require liability coverage as part of a lease, and it's just the safe thing to do.

Click here for more information — including a brochure and application — on the NWTF group hunting lease liability insurance program.

Q: How can I form a hunt club?
A: A hunting club can be as simple as a few hunters pooling their money to lease a piece of land or as formal as a small corporation with by-laws and officers. Generally, somewhere in between will suit most clubs, with a few major components being vital to a successful club.

First, the club is only as good as the hunters in it. You should only form a club with hunters you can be friends with and who share common goals, ethics and expectations. Do not just pick up members in order to make the lease payment.

Second, the club should have a set of written rules that spell out payment terms, harvesting guidelines (e.g. number of gobblers, size of bucks), guest policies, etc. Having an agreed upon set of rules in the beginning will prevent friendship-damaging conflicts in the future. These rules should be signed by each club member and can be incorporated as part of the lease agreement with the landowner.

Finally, the club must have land to hunt on! A hunt club is not much fun in a downtown apartment, and building a good relationship with a landowner is key to securing hunting land. Club rules, written lease agreements, respectful conduct and care for the property all go a long way in building what will hopefully be a long-term relationship between your club and the landowner.

And don't forget that a good club name is also important. Many of our unique NWTF Chapter names show that you're good at this already!

Check out Rob Somerville's article, "Forming a Successful Hunting Club: A Blueprint for Success" for more on this topic.

Online Chats Archive

July 23, 2009 - Poult and Brood Habitat Chat with Mark Hatfield, NWTF Senior Wildlife Biologist

July 9, 2009 - Turkey Gold Chufa Chat with Tom Hughes, NWTF Director of Research and Outreach