Forming A Hunting Club
Have you found a tract of land to lease, but it’s more than you alone can afford? Do you like the camaraderie of hunting with your buddies? Would you like to run a hunting club YOUR way? Wouldn’t it be nice to share the work responsibilities of maintaining tree stands and food plots? All of these are valid reasons to organize a hunting club.
Organizing a hunting club is not difficult. Questions you will need to answer include:
- Who do you want to be a hunt club member?
Pick your members carefully so that you don’t have to weed people out later on. It is best to start out with people you know who share the same interests and who you have been hunting with over time. Slowly invite others to join you if you find they mesh well with your hunt club members.
- How many members?
4 or 5 members can meet at someone’s home or restaurant, often on short notice. A larger group requires more logistical planning and organizational skill. If you have the hunting leases and land lined up, the price, size and number of leases may dictate how many hunters you have in the club.
- How often should you meet?
Make every attempt to get all members to attend the first meeting. The first hunt club meeting is the most important as this is usually when you determine answers to key questions (See item 4 below). For subsequent meetings, agree upon a date in the future so all the members are aware of it and can schedule around it. Be careful not to set dates too far out from the initial meeting or members may forget their responsibilities or lose interest. Make sure you give members enough time to gather the information and material between meetings.
- How formal should the club be?
You will need to decide on dues, officers, bylaws and whether to have a hunt club name? Expenses for the year could include food plot seed and maintenance, signage, the cost of the hunting lease, utilities, etc. Club officers will need to maintain records, work out the hunting lease details, run the meetings, and even solve member disputes. Avoid overly burdensome bylaws and make sure they are relevant.
- Do you need to purchase hunting lease insurance?
Accidents of all types happen to hunters every season. Every club should have a liability policy to protect the club and its members. Landowners should also be listed as additional insured. Oftentimes, it is the landowner requiring the hunt club to have hunting lease liability insurance as a condition of the lease.
Forming the right hunting club can be a great way to avoid crowds, hunt with friends, share expenses and contribute towards a quality hunting experience.