Some don't help keep the camp area clean or haul off trash etc., don't feed consistently. One hunter cannot seem to do anything except wound a deer and then not mention it until after dark. No community stands but one who lives close hunts others stands. Might need some new faces.

why does it matter if one dosnt feed but yall have your own stands?

It is pretty much understood. There are times that some new guys don't like the rules, but they either learn or move on. Most folks understand before getting on the lease and are friends with someone else that has been on awhile. As a group, our place has good folks on it that respect others areas for the most part too.

I can see why certain leases are set up other ways and can see issues with all of them. Having a LO that will keep everything running and full would help a lot too. One of our neighbors is set up that way. The LO fills all protein and corn feeders and also runs the cameras.

If you don't have a spot that is "yours", how do yall manage the cameras and decide where or how you will hunt for particular deer?

It doesn't matter in that instance IMO. I think he was referring to community stands and guy/s not putting in work, but still finding the time to hunt.

I like the "my stand" "my spot" set-up because I know my feeders will be maintained and at least half the others won't be. That being said I will fill someone's feeder while I go if they need me to since that what buddies do.

I do not have a "lease" I have land that I let folks hunt with me. The 'drama' I face is.. We share all stands and feeders, but we know which folks prefer what stands etc..we have one guy that works his butt off. He built a stand at the #2 spot. Once it was built, we had a couple that liked to hunt it. So, when we ended up buying the adjacent 100 acres, he put a stand there. There really is not enough room in that area for 2 stands and it watches a whole valley.

The drama comes in "why does he get to hunt the entire valley?".. "Well, A.) he built the stand... all of them.. and B.) another stand will not fit there."

That couple just does not get that aspect, and so drama ensues and people start sneaking in and hunting other people's areas. Now, when the main person is not there.. it is okay if they hunt it, but when the main person has been cultivating that area and feeding the animals and a 12-point walks up and the other couple decides to shoot it.. well, people get angry.

Me, I just figure to start booting the hell out of the people with the drama. If all I end up with is a couple people and myself.. that is fine by me.. heh. All it means is I buy a little more corn to make up for what they were supposed to buy, and protein......which I am doing now.

QUESTION - I pose this to you all. If you have 4 people on your land/lease and you have to maintain the place. Would you get irritated if one of the four showed up for a weekend of hunting...filled a couple feeders, and did not show up again for like 8 months, September, just before deer season?

R

Same here ill even shoot their deer for them too!

Luckily we've never faced that guy that never shows up. We're all a bunch of young guys, 3 out of the 4 work for the fire department, and genuinely like being at the deer lease, much more than we like being at home. It works awesome for us but I can see where it could be a huge problem.

They won't have deer to shoot if you're the only one filling feeders

but why does it matter that someone wouldn't show up? Yall hunt he dosnt get to but he still pays for lease... win win

Reason #1 Running out of Crown Royal before the end of the trip.

#2 bad hangovers.

In that order.

I had a suggestion that I ban drinking from the ranch. I told them that people would just start bringing an IV.. and then it all went downhill...


lol

R

I serve as the lease boss - my assistant lease boss helps me with cameras. The two of us handle all cameras but any member may come with us when we put them out and when we pick them up. We share all pictures with all members. We pull all cameras at the start of the season - the reason for this is to prevent "competition" of a buck being seen during the season on camera and then guys get protective or territorial.

When we know of a trophy deer that is old enough to be taken and know where he has been hanging out from pictures before the season, we draw for stands the night before opening morning. We are not drawing for who gets the deer but rather who gets to pick first for stand location. So if you draw number 1 you get first pick of stands. If you draw number 2 you get second pick of stands, and so on. If that particular deer steps out at any of the stands that were drawn then that hunter can take him. That is for opening weekend only. After that if that particular buck has not been killed opening weekend it becomes first come first serve. That is the fairest way we know of to hunt a known trophy deer we have been watching.

On the other hand if a trophy buck steps out that we do not have on camera or we are unaware of and he is at least six years old then any hunter can take that deer on sight. We only do the drawing when there is a buck we have been following and waiting to reach age 6 or older.

About 60% of our trophies taken are deer we have knowledge of and have seen on camera, etc. The other 40% tend to be trophies we have never seen before either on camera or on the hoof.

It is a small place, a little over 200 acres and most feel if we all feed year round it might pull more deer to the property.

Confusing... For us it was you hunted wherever you wanted and if you saw a deer that matched shooter buck criteria, regardless of where it was, it was all yours.

How do you determine pecking order for picking stands? First come first serve?

The way we had it set up everybody had their own two set ups that they put up and took care of, and they had first dibs to hunt there, if we wanted to hunt else where we just figured it out amongst the group. Usually opening weekend and during the heat of the rut everybody wants to hunt their stands no questions asked, but outside of those two times we very rarely sit in the same stand twice in a weekend. I guess it helps that we've got four guys that have grown up together so we know what each other's thinking. And we've known each other long enoug that if someone does get mad (which ihas happened just a couple times) they're over it and back to being buddies five minutes later.

The only time we do a draw is the opening weekend when there is a trophy we have followed and know about and is old enough to shoot. Rather than hunters having to show up to the lease early to get on the board this is the fairest way to handle that situation. We have only done it twice in 8 years - otherwise it is first come first serve. It has worked well - over the years our hunters have taken 170 inch to over 200 inch deer on a low fence ranch. I am not saying it is for everyone - it has worked for our group - everyone gets along well and we openly share information about deer. We share videos of deer we see when we come back to camp - it boils down to having hunters who don't have to kill a trophy every year and are respectful of other members. I know it sounds different from other leases and that is because it is. I get as excited when one of our hunters kills a trophy as I do if I shoot a trophy.

Exactly - you have a group of guys who don't get jealous when one of their buddies kills a big deer - instead they are happy for that guy. Over time everyone will get their chance at a big deer

I guess this could work in a perfect world with grown men, but something tells me this wouldn't work with a few of my in-laws. I'm sure they'd get tired of me being there Thursday evening every weekend to choose the "good" stand since I'm off work Friday-Sunday.

Is it in the contract

John I would find someone else to hunt with me if you were letting them hunt for free. If someone let me hunt for free I would do my best to fill every feeder that I could possibly afford and any work on the place that needed doing. Beer/whiskey is on me and I'm buying groceries the first weekend.

No sir, there is no contract.

THe ten of us hunt where we want, biggest dilemma is Where you gonna hunt? I don't know, where you gonna hunt...

We've never had that issue, been with the original 6 about 13 years, it's never come up.

Hunt with friends.

This x 10

I personally prefer the private stands because of past experiences. A couple years ago we started a new lease off with all community stands with each member keeping up with "his" two stands. I was seeing quite a bit of game at the two stands I kept up with and by midseason, one in particular, had started receiving much more hunting pressure. 3 does and a 3 1/2 year old 8 point I had passed on all season was taken within one weekend at that one spot. Between that and not all stands/feeders being kept up with equally among members, stands being trashed, and game cam pics checked then deleted for me I just found it easier to hunt my own spots and lock everything. To each his own though.