Deer Hunting Clubs

Hunts

Interests

Through out this website the reader will find references that we are not a deer hunting club or a hunting club of any description. We are a business.

As a business and not a hunting club we bring objectivity to our collection of hunters and managers. A hunting club has bias of the club management. The distinction lies within the fact as a business and not a club our motivation is the continuation of the business. That continuation's key is the right habitat within the right region of the state that has a history of production. Once we attain that aspect that gains the confidence of having good hunt potential we then have rules that insure equitable access to that land and rules that control hunter pressure. That is what will bring the membership back to renew their membership and continuation of the business.

Further distinctions between our business approach and that of a deer hunting club is that a club is typically focused on a meeting location and deer hunting within reasonable distance of that club house. An illustration would be to substitute the phrase hunting club with hunting camp and most will agree it defines a small group of hunters that routinely meet at one location for a deer hunt. The distinction a business brings to deer hunting is that we do not limit ourselves to the immediate locality of any one area. We make the entire region around out location avaible and lease land that meets the habitat and regional location of earning the most return for our money.

In short what is gained by the deer hunter in a deer hunting business rather than a deer hunting club is:

Confidence of a good hunt through the right land in the right location.

Rules that insure equitable access to all and control of hunter pressure

Business runs on money not personal relations (club) so all will receive good service of their needs compliant to the rules to insure return membership payments.

Deer hunting is much simpler in a deer hunting business rather than in a deer hunting club.

Report Card

We certainly appreciate those members that take the time to send in their feedback and especially those that allow us to post it to the update page and all the more so when someone takes the effort to hand write their letters. Sending in feedback for our in-house use and not for the update page happens about twice a week. That information is shared by the two Jo(h)ns and is incorporated into our decision making. In the case of Brandon's letter below the value is not limited to "bragging rights" for the staff it will show what hunt quality value points others have found in their membership. It describes how there is a lot more to hunting than the hunt.

From all the feedback we receive by snail mail, email, member to staff telephone calls and the handful of members we call for feedback across all hunting disciplines each year the feedback received is far more positive than negative. However, we do not pretend that all things are perfect at all times. Areas (current to this update) requiring more attention are lease sign posting; first year upland bird member expectations of hunt quality compared to effort and overall first year member jump start.

Have a read of Brandon's letter, we have included text boxes to give further understanding of the topics Brandon has written about.

Jon, John, & Shaun,

Enclosed you will find a check for my membership renewal to MAHA. This completes my first year with the association and it has surpassed any expectations I had. I have to admit I was somewhat hesitant in joining the association when I was told a three person team manages hundreds of hunters over several hundred thousand acres spanning across three states. But you pull it off. Not only do you pull it off, but the association runs as smoothly and efficiently as any I have ever seen or ever heard of. Most of us at one point or another, have been in a hunting lease with the number of members ranging anywhere from 15 - 50. We all know what kind of headaches these hunting leases are capable of producing. I could not possibly imagine 700 - 800 members.

Our efficiency is based on non-negotiable rules.

It is at this point I would like to give all of you my sincerest appreciation and thanks for all of your hard work, perseverance, dedication, and love for the outdoors that makes all of this possible. Y'all are the ones logging thousands of miles scouting properties, negotiating with landowners, securing the best pieces of property for every day people like us to hunt. I don't know how often you are told "thank you" for all that you do, but I'll bet it isn't near enough.

As I stated previously, this was my first year with MAHA. It has been a year of several firsts for me. In the spring, my great friends Jacob and Alex introduced me to turkey hunting. We were all successful and I was even fortunate enough to harvest one with my bow (thanks to some fantastic calling from my more experienced friends).

It is more common to be sponsored into the Association than for hunters to apply for membership not knowing any current member.

Needless to say I am hooked and I am anticipating this coming spring. Then came fall bow season in [location deleted]. Ahh...[location deleted]! [It] was everything I had heard about and the some (again primarily because we had prime properties to hunt on thanks to you and your hard work). I was again fortunate enough to take a very respectable buck. Not a monster. I know they get a lot bigger in [location deleted], but he was plenty big enough for me. My first P&Y whitetail. Would you believe that in 20+ years of hunting in [home state deleted], for the first time ever I actually passed up shots on deer. Opportunities do not present themselves down south like they do up in the midwest. My first midwest hunt will never be forgotten,

Then there are the friendships I have been able to establish once again. Having recently finished school, I have not had much time for hunting. It has been wonderful to catch up on old times and make new memories with my friends Jacob and Alex. They too were successful this fall, each taking beautiful P&Y animals. I will never, ever forget the smile on either of their faces upon recovering their deer.

Just recently you admitted my father to the association. I cannot express how much I am looking forward to making up lost time with him as we continue our hunting travels together once again. His love for the outdoors has continued in me. I can only hope I can now help him achieve success in the midwest, as he has done for me for so many years.

Again, thank you all for all of your hard work, your long hours and countless phone calls are appreciated. This association is successful because of your tireless effort and your dedication to the great outdoors. I look forward to being a part of this association for many years to come and I would like to thank you for allowing me to be part of it. Thank you so much for all that you do please keep up the great work.

With sincerest appreciation, Brandon [last name deleted]

Thank you Brandon for all the reminders of what is as or more important than the harvest.

Scouting

Hey MAHA Staff,

Just thought I would drop a note and some pictures. The summer scouting for me has proven to be awesome. So far I have four 140 class or bigger bucks spotted and hopefully the number grows. I could not count the number of what appeared to be good two and half year olds. As the summer usually goes, I have seen only three turkeys in all of my trips. The foliage is just to thick.

The only old picture in the group is a buck in the corn in late June. He was out to his ears with a couple of months left to grow. All of the other pictures are from August 4th. I used a 35mm camera with a 300mm zoom. I am a bit shaky on a couple and it is dark in a couple of others. I will have to work on quality pictures.

Enjoy, ae