Hunting Camp Rules

[bigbluepirahna]

Our family recently bought a piece of hunting land. We have started putting together a list of land rules to keep things fun, safe, and to help improve the land and hunting. Just wondering what else you guys do in your parties?

1. Hunting by anyone has priority over other recreational activities.

2. All work done to property should be equally shared by everyone.

3. No-one is allowed to hunt on property except those immediate family members paying for property, unless an exception is approved by everyone.

4. No-one can claim an area as their own even if they own the stand and put it up.

5. A drawing system will be created and used to keep stand selection fair, first come first served will not apply.

6. Anyone going to land should notify others and invite them along.

7. No restrictions are placed on taking of game, but deer hunting should come before other game hunting (squirrels/grouse/etc).

8. Anyone finding trespassers should ask their name and respectfully ask them to leave.

9. All decisions, such as moving stand locations, should be discussed and agreed upon by a majority of the group.

10. No-one is allowed to fill tags of others unless given specific permission each season.

11. Fires should not be left unattended.

12. Cutting of live trees should be kept to a minimum.

13. To ensure the property is always a place of good memories and fun, everyone is required to come to and leave camp with a positive, fun filled, energetic attitude.

14. Any equipment purchased, used, rented, borrowed (four-wheelers, brush hogs, discs, feeders, cameras, etc) should be equally shared and paid for, both initial costs and repairs, and must be agreed to by all members prior to purchase.

15. If a deer is obviously shot by two people, it belongs to whoever lethally shot it last.

16. Children should hunt with parents until legal age +1 year.

Recommendations:

A. If you just want to walk around during hunting season, you should try to stay about 100 yards away from hunters and inform hunting party of desired walking area.

B. Everyone should try to shoot at least one doe per year.

C. Practice quality deer management and let young bucks go.

D. Try to shoot does during bow, muzzleloader, or late rifle season. Try to avoid opening rifle weekend.

E. Stand Selection:

-Put all names in a hat each night during every season (bow, rifle, muzzleloader, turkey, etc.)

-Draw a name

-They pick a stand from the map

-Those who've shot bucks get drawn last, in the order they shot

-Anyone not hunting for any reason gets drawn absolutely last (just watching deer, taking pictures, no tag bought or left, scouting, etc.)

[candiru]

We prosecute trespassers. Maybe cut some slack if it was a neighbor.

[eyesorbust]

where is your land and how many involved? how many acres? we have had a camp since 1992 near lake bronson. we had similar rules but not as many. there is only six of us paying members. on guy has two older boys. they can become members after college. 360 acres for 8 people plenty of room for everyone.

[bigbluepirahna]

We are in SE Otter Tail County by Deer Creek. We have 160 acres for my dad, two brothers, and me. 4 small children up and coming to possibly be future deer hunters. We hunted state land for past rifle seasons, and hunted private land with permission for bow seasons, but finally made the move to lease some land last year and purchased it this year on a contract for deed.

We are looking for many many years of great times at the woods, so just wanted to set a few ground rules right away to keep everyone on the same page and ensure there aren't any small disagreements that ruin our time out there. Just thought I'd start a thread to see what others have done, or possbile problems they ran into with their groups, so we could nip it in tha' bud early. Should be alittle easier to manage the group since we're all immediate family.

So far it's been alot of fun starting to put in food plots, getting trails established, and working on camp.

[Tom7227]

One thing you should do is to come to an agreement on a buy out mechanism. You never know when someone will need or want out and if you wait until that time things will get very complicated very fast. Someone could get sick and need the money, or perhaps even die. Do the kids get their parents share automatically? At what point do the shares go to the kids? Have you considered how much of a share each owns?

For example, could someone sell their share to an unrelated party? How is the land registered - joint tennants (all must agree to sell) or tennants in common (one can sell without the other's agreement). Whatever you agree to I strongly suggest that you put it in writing. It probably would be a good idea to talk to a real estate lawyer and get the agreement written correectly and signed properly.

I know this sounds like a PIA but I can guarantee that these issues will come up.

[UdeLakeTom]

Great reply...Mom gave 3 of us brothers 36 acres. We are now getting up there a little in age, and just went through a winter of hassle trying to sub-divide it, as one wants to build on the land, while the rest just use it for recreation. It is small compared to 180 acres, but with other land usable near by, we have made it work for some time, until just lately.

The rule of keeping farther then 100 yards from anothers stand is a good rule, because this is what precipitated a disagreement last year with us, and also cuts down the chances of a fire-arm accident.

[Jameson]

Rule: No "discussions" that involves the participating parties screaming and yelling at each other within talking distance. All parties caught yelling or screaming during said "discussion" will be asked to live immediately.

No one want to listen to others arguing, or be screamed at themselves. Hunting camp is for good times!

[Tom7227]

One thing that will add to your enjoyment is a book of some sort that people can write in and tell about their adventure that day. Some will do it, some won't. Pictures will be priceless in a few years. Yah, I know, it sounds like a scrap book party idea, but you'll enjoy it in the future. The camp I was at also had guys put their licenses on a nail at the end of the season. Neat way to recall who was there when.

You may also want to keep track of who spends how much on what. Again at some point in the future Bill will complain that he's got $649 into hardware and wood and Frank will say he's got $354 in toilet paper and there's going to be an argument. You can probably limit it to hard items.

Who gets to write off the property taxes on their income taxes? Stuff will just keep popping up.

[PerchJerker]

Not sure how you feel about permanent stands but I don't like them. You might want to include that in the rules if you feel the same way.

[Bowfin]

Should be alittle easier to manage the group since we're all immediate family.

I think this is a good idea. My relatives started hunting an area up north in the 1930's. The first members were my great-grandfather and his sons (one of which was my grandpa). In the 1950's they started a lease with the state and built a cabin. They laid out some camp rules but over the years we became lax about them. Now our camp consists of uncles, cousins and second-cousins some of whom we don't see but once a year. When the camp consisted of immediate family, differences could be worked out easily but as time went by and the members became more distant relatives, differences and rules are harder to enforce. We are presently talking about redefining our camp rules.

My advice - periodically call camp meetings to review rules, modify them when needed to keep them relevant. Starting this routine now will help keep the camp going smoothly for future generations.

[eyesorbust]

by deer creek you say. i grew up and mom still lives in henning. a big deer was taken in that area by a muzzy a few years ago. as for the leagle end of it, i have to agree with tom. our camp was started with 3 father,s {elders} and three sons {workers}. us 3 son's are all the same age mid 40's. unfortunately we lost my father x-mas day 2005. he is greatly missed but his shares in camp went to the remaining 5. before his death we had sen a need for bringing new blood into camp, and interviewed several people before deciding on one. we each pay $250 a quater for up keep land payments food toilet paper. everything is decided in a group discussion with majority ruling. we have had absolutly no problems at all with attitudes or arguments. the young respect and bend over backward for the elders. it is a great group and i am real lucky to be a part of.

p.s.

the first trip up after dad's passing we planted a big northwoods maple behind the cabin and sprinkled his ashes around it {his wish} that is one fine tree. i miss you dad

[eyesorbust]

if there is anything i could recommend it would be a journal. we started ours on day one. when we get guests they can hardly put the thing down. weather, deer shot locations, who shot them. doe permits. who was in camp. work that was done. really neat stuff down the road. you will cheris it. we are on our third note book. we photocoy when done. this really is a must do.

[skee0025]

If the hunting season is on, the booze is out. Any other time of the year I dont care if your drinking, but when the weapons come out of the safe, there is no drinking on my land period.

[magnum mike]

When I wrote the by-laws for our camp, I looked at the rules of several camps. The most common reason for problems was the rules got relaxed over time and weren’t enforced. Our first rule is "All members share equally in rights and responsibilities". Simple but covers allot. From there you can determine what you want defined.

Money is another big factor in camp problems. We have a bed tax for both guests and members at different rates. This money goes for consumables (paper products, propane, minor improvements, etc). Taxes and any other regular annual costs are split between the members. The reason we think this works is that some people use the camp more than others and they "pay as you go".

The suggestion to lay down the rules as far as membership transfer may seem unnecessary now but don't put it off. I have seen families broken over camps and cabins because this wasn't clear.

[bigbluepirahna]

The legals and transfer stuff is a good point. We were going to try to write something up when we signed the contract, but never did get to it. A concern was brought up about what if someone gets a divorce, or dies, then the wife could remarry and her new husband could want to hunt the land with us. That could be awkward!

We will have to come up with something to sign where only original members can be involved or if they sell we have first option to purchase?

Not fun to think about but it could happen some day I guess. Better to get it in the CYA file!!

[icehousebob]

You might consider some in-camp rules. I ended up as camp cook several years in a row because I got the time off to buy and prep the food. I also got stiffed by a couple people for their share of the costs. One of the guys was never known to lift a finger on camp chores.

Cards are allowed, but no high stakes. When someone loses enough to make it hurt, there are bad feelings.

No discussion of religion or politics in camp. One of our camps was broken up by a screaming left winger who started calling us dirty names because we didn't like Hillary. He hunts alone now.

[Roofer]

We have had a hunting camp for the past 15 years at our cabin. One rule I would suggest is that someone at least attempts to go to the property at least once a month. This is our biggest problem. Everyone is busy at home playin daddy, fishing, gardening, screwing off, or just plain working all the time. Then it comes two weeks before hunting and everyone calls and says, "come on, let's get up there and do a years worth of work in one weekend". It gets old year after year all the gung Ho around deer hunting and the rest of the year nothing is done.

[CodyDawg]

all great ideas. the one rule that stuck out at me is your rule about the LAST lethal shot gets the deer? I have seen the FIRST lethal shot gets the deer many times (that is our rule), but never the last. So if a deer comes stumbling over and is about ready to keel over and I pump one in it, it is my deer? I dont like that rule at all. But if it works for you and everyone agrees, then it is a good rule for you.

[Tom7227]

I am only about 95% sure, but the people who's names are on the deed are the only ones who can place restrictions on the property to the point of allowing/blocking an action. It is sort of like a convenant that is put on the title to your home. The agreement wouldn't have to be filed at the courthouse to be controlling but that obviously would tie things up tight - but also make it a bit more difficult to change.

Maybe some folks could use this thread to explain what agreements they have as far as splitting things up. The variations could be educational.

[Coach1310]

On the idea of if someone gets a divorce, death etc. My bro-in-laws and I are looking to buy some land in the future. The agreeement will be it will always be in the same family meaning my wife will represent our share(meaning my wife and I's), her sister will be on the deed for their(her and her husband) and her brothers will represent the rest. This way if anything happened, it would stay within the family.

I think the unfortunate part is that you have to have all of these rules. We currently hunt public land and everyone gets along great and shares all the camp responsibilities so we don't have any problems. Nobody takes it real serious. We are just there for to share some stories and laughs and to enjoy hunting.

[Hotspotter]

Rules at our camp are in place, but there is no enforcement mechanism. Basically, the rules are useless unless all agree to them, and there is some sort of penalty for breaking one or more of them.

I've heard of rulebreakers having to:

-buy food plot seed

-donate extra food for the weekend

-buy other materials/supplies for the cabin/land

-give up stand choice rights

-do extra camp/chores duties year-round

-pay for a winter feeding program

There's all kinds of them, but the rules should have well laid-out consequences if you expect any of them to stick. Better to have a few people on the deed who are the "enforcers," rather than just one person. Right now, I'm the only one who cares enough to speak up (I also do the lion's-share of stand hanging, food plot work, etc). That also means I'm the scapegoat, funwrecker, target, etc. I'm sick of it, but it does lead to a better end result. Best case scenario is a 3 man team. If there's a disagreement, put it to vote.

Joel

[bbqhead]

i am camp cook during gun season, i only bow hunt. i own the

property but during gun, they make the rules. if they go out

drinking the night before and still look drunk or hung over.

they dont hunt, if they dont get up in the morning early.

they dont hunt. if either of these happen they will not be

in camp the next year. if any of them start to fight, they

wont be back the next year. the only rule i have is to pick

up your mess.

randy

[UdeLakeTom]

Sweet and simple. Good rules Randy!!

[tealitup]

The rule for our land is that the land must be only given to heirs of the original purchaser. Meaning, my father, my sister, me, my son or daughter etc...

[Grant Pearson]

our camp rules run like this:

1. you get one buck a year, be it antlered, or button buck. You shoot a button buck, there goes your buck tag. You accidentaly shoot another one in the same year, you go on a 2 year absence.

2. 4 wheelers and any other vehicle is NOT to be driven until after breakfast, and only if there's more than one deer to bring out of the woods.

3. Bring toilet paper with you to your stand. If you have to go, you will not be walking back to the cabin to sit on the porcelin god. if you forgot your toilet paper, there's plenty of leaves on the ground.

4. If you want to make a drive, go ahead. But do it on the 1,000+ acres of public land down the road. The neighbors do enough drives on their land for us.

5. Bring snacks with you. good chance you'll get hungry, so bring food along.

6. you gut your own deer. You gut shoot them, your problem, not mine, and I won't fix it for you.

7. Make your shot count. I f I have to get out of my stand to help you track, I will, but I won't be too happy about it; espesially opening morining.