Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting A New Guy at Camp

We hunt as hard and as long as anyone and we cover a lot of ground when we need to, there's many nights when we are still bringing in and dressing animals at 10:30 to 11:00 but I sleep in my own bed every night, sometimes the nights are real short but that's part of hunting My idea of camping out is the Holiday Inn Rio7

To me......

A "fair" camp is one where even the new guy is given to same access and courtesy as the "old" guys.

If he pays his dues, so what if he is lucky enough to kill the biggest buck the club has ever taken? If that happened the old guys should congratulate him.

Also, there is nothing worse than a club that has members paying the same dues, but are limited on what stands and locations they can hunt. Every member should be able to rotate and hunt the same fields and stands. There is noting worse than a club with members complaining about someone else cutting off deer or hunting "their" field or stand.

Rotate things to be fair and don't have designated areas. Designated areas only cause jealousy, resentment and destroy clubs. YMMV

I've got to agree with tzone and others. To me, the build up to opening day is far and away more important that killing a deer. Seeing folks I haven't seen in a year, catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, laughing at the 'latest greatest whiz bang deer hunting gimmick' as it us unpacked, and hearing the stories of past hunts is what makes deer camp so exciting. IMO, your plan to bring him in later in the week will deny him that experience. By midweek, that 'first day of camp excitement' is gone.

I can see your point about things being overwhelming but he's a grown man with a decade or more of hunting experience. In my opinion, he would do just fine on opening weekend.

That said, good luck to you and the crew however it works out,

Dale

Honestly surprised you found someone that wants to join ya'll based on your description of the chaos as well as the apparent rigid rules of where/when/how one hunts etc. Doesnt seem at all like anything I would enjoy one bit. To each their own....your camp, your rules. Best of luck to all involved.

This post made me think. Truth is we really don't have anyone coming up behind us. We're all 50+ (through 75). Two sons in their 20's of one guy but neither have hunters ed done yet. We really try and encourage them to get involved, but they're chasing skirts, going to grad school, etc. I was them once, too. (Wish I'd gone hunting instead.......)

As one of the “founders” of our elk camp, I’ve seen things change over the past 16 years. I know that is not a long time compared to some of you, but it is what it is. There’s only two of the originals left and I’m not keen on some of the new hunters that have joined the past couple of years. I’m nearly 71 and the other old timer is 64. The nearest other regular is 58. The average number of years the other 7 have hunted with us is about 4. I’m tired of dealing with who’s going or not going every year and all the drama and bullsheit. I may depart the pattern and hunt with my landowner buddy or with my hunting neighbor near home. They can keep the group alive if they really want to. I think I’m out for now. Happy Trails

You need to get working on that. I invited SuperCore to join us in 2009 after he retired from work. He's now pushing 80. My sons worked on several friends over the years. None of them up until this one made it all the way to an invite until now. The biggest sticking problem seemed to be the cost. We're free. We do not charge dues or fees or anything, but the KY non-resident license and tag fees are steep. There is also the Hunters Ed requirement. MInd you, these are all guys born after 1990. Many of them are or were just starting out. It comes down to lack of hunting experience. Nobody took them out when they were young, and so they can't see why they should pay hundreds to hunt a deer. We also don't have party tags in our state. We can't legally pool deer tags.







As I said previously, we don't really have all that many rules, beyond the ones imposed by the state. There's the mandatory orange thing, and a fairly broad list of chamberings-- anything centerfire 223 and over. If you didn't want to stay put in a stand or blind, I could show you routes where you could still hunt and not bother others, but the problem is that if you kept that up, the deer would clear out and go next door until you gave up. If you go somewhere and sit quietly, the deer often times show up on queue. We frequently have our buck tags filled by 1000 of The Opener. The biggest problem with still hunting in this environment is that 200 acres is relatively small. I walk the distance from the house to my stand at Campground in 18 minutes. Every other farm in the vicinity is that size or smaller. The average hunter density is one hunter per 20 acres or so. Were you to still hunt out to the edges, you'd be getting into the sights of others. This is not a hunting style for everyone, but we have a gas with it.

If your deer camp is that crowded it dont sound like you need any new guys but to downsize some more...our camp started 30 years ago, it is a small camp. we started with 8 members and we are now holding it to 7 guys (3 of which are founding members) this gives everyone plenty of space and makes it more enjoyable, I have stayed in packed deer camps before and it was a miserable experience 👎🏿.....We have had several members drop out over the last 30 years but we are very selective as to who we invite to be our new members. New guys are always welcomed in as a full member which includes opening weekend of gun season with no restrictions.....Good hunting ....Hb

We currently have a max of 4 hunters on 200 acres. This is about 1/4 of what the neighbors are doing. Adding NewGuy is going to raise that number for a while, but we know SuperCore is looking at his last few seasons. The other thing is that #3 son, Angus has a busy work schedule. He comes in on the Opener, fills his tags and then maybe hunts 1 weekend after that. The accommodations are able to fit more folks, but 4 makes for plenty of breathing room. NewGuy's schedule is such that mid-week hunting may be a better option for him. Mid-week is usually just myself and SuperCore at camp. Having a 3rd guy would be a boon.

The other issue on the horizon is Granddaughter #1. Mooselette is starting 3rd grade today. She's not big enough to shoulder a deer rifle, but she's coming along. Daddy Moose and I are taking her out with us. Eventually, she will be coming online.

Seems as if the land a camp sits on has a lot to do with how things are run...Have never been to a camp in Pa that didn't sit on the edge of a large Game Lands, National or State Forest..

One and perhaps the best was surrounded by a Pa State Forest of 305,000 acres. The original young Bucks had bought the land in the early 1900's and the State kept buying land around them. Eventually the State tried to buy them out and when that failed tried to force them out. However by then some of the originals had acquired some political influence and out forced them. Place is unique along with the members..Mill guys, successful builders, gas station owners, farmers, etc and they built a special place in the middle of that 300,000 plus acres.

The originals were a rowdy bunch and today the place has tamed down. One guy died of a heart attack the evening before the Deer opener. They had a meeting and decided that would really mess up the opener when the authorities were told...A Doctor was a camp member, so they placed the guy in the back seat and headed for home..Story was he wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home...three hour drive. Doctor signed the death certificate that he had a HA while sleeping in the back seat and they didn't realize it until they arrived home. A funeral director friend handled the other particulars quickly...And the Deer hunt went on as usual.

Used to go up with one of the members and hunt Deer, Grouse, Squirrels, Turkey when no others were there..Pretty much only one rule, which was don't get hurt back in there because it was 10 miles to a small town and another 50 to a little hospital...

When a camp member died, at the funeral all the camp members would go to the front of the church with the casket and sing “When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there.” Don’t know if they still do the same.

Battue, Good story, We tell people if they die here, we tie barb wire around their foot and drag them to the dump and bury them with a backhoe, so far we have been lucky no one has died. Rio7

Good of you to let a new guy in.

Your place, your rules. BUT - I promise you none of it is as complicated as you want it to be (make it). Your camp setup isn't rocket science, guaranteed. If you think he'll get in the way of setting up camp I can't imagine wanting him around in the first place. Not much of a chore getting someone on stand in the morning and saying "Stay here until someone picks you up. If x,y,z happens call/text/smoke signal and sit tight." Either he'll fit in or he won't. Comes off as a little condescending when you act like you need to hold his hog before he can piss.

Again, your place, your rules - just call it what it is.

Am glad so many of you can enjoy the hunts with family and friends. I have always been a loner and even during those years packing and guiding in the backcountry ,I preferred to hunt alone when I was afforded the time. I never liked all the dudes, many of whom could not hunt or navigate worth a lick. After all these years I can count my hunting partners on about 3 fingers!

Excellent story Battue!..Thanks for sharing 👍....Hb

Now THATS a deer camp story!!

Approve!

Good point, but NewGuy is probably going to be welcoming the help. This will be his first gun hunt. He's a shooter, but only hunted deer with a bow previously. Were we to take it the other way, give him a permission slip and let him go for it, I'm pretty sure he'd feel he was being tossed off the end of the dock into deep water. I'm sure by the The Opener, 2021, he'll feel like he's been doing it all his life.

Battue: That's a good story. Hopefully, we won't have to face that eventuality for a while. I'm sure when one of us goes, we'll have a bagpiper playing Caber Feigh (The Deer's Antlers) for us.

Well that oughta teach ya to invite new people. Lol

Fuggin campfire gets more stupid by the damn day...

I will come hunt with ya anytime shaman.

Here it sits on the edge of "God's Country". They trucked a dozer up, across and down mountain to build a lake...."Don't need no stinking permit." Nowdays, Elk come and stand in that lake when it is hot...

One of the originals was my Step Father....You boys are mostly tame in comparison...

In the old days "Squirrel" and his Dog lived there full time in the original camp which is the smaller one. Which has since been torn down and rebuilt.."Squirrel" lived on his small garden, with a spring house back behind the camp and whatever he shot during the year.. From a spring up in the hollow, they ran a larger pipe, with decreasing diameter down to the camps. Had better water pressure than most have in the city....

Very interesting battue. The thread also, as I didn’t grow up in the hunting camp and “big woods” culture. I can easily guess a hunting camp could get ticklish depending on personalities as things never stay the same.

Very cool battue.