Illinois Traditional bowhuting only Club update.

[jonsimoneau]

Guys, as I mentioned before, I have been looking and looking to try to get a fairly large piece of land in western Illinois to lease on a long term basis, with the idea of forming a club made up of members from this site.    Just so you guys know what the leasing game in that part of the state is.  Anything less than $25 per acre is considered rediculously cheap.  $40 to $45 per acre is the norm, and many pieces of ground lease for much more.  I have come across a landowner with 680 acres in southern Pike County.  That may not sound like alot of land to some of you from the southern states, but in the golden triangle area of Illinois, that is a large piece of ground owned by one person.  The owner of the property is quite interested in the concept I have presented to him.  Anyway, I know for most of us it gets down to money.  I told him that I want to be able to lease the ground for a minimum of 3 to 5 years, to begin with and then go from there.  He told me that the lowest he would consider would be $25/acre to start with.  This would mean $17,000 per year to begin.  I figure if we had 10 members, the price per season would be $1,700 per member.  The area will allow year round access, for both whitetails and turkeys, as well as scouting, hanging stands, etc.
     I don't have to explain to too many people here, about the tremedous potential this part of the country offers for huge whitetail bucks.  The habitat over there is as good as it gets, and management in that area has been great, with fewer young bucks being killed than in other areas of Illinois.  I have not yet seen the property, and it is for sure not a done deal, but I just wanted to give those who were interested and idea as to what it takes to be able to hunt in that area for more than a week with an outfitter.  I'll keep everyone interested up to date as I find out more.

[buckracks7]

I think you might want to go to a few more members, and no guests allowed. Thanks for the leg work, and information.

[luv2bowhunt]

I wish I lived closer. Would you guys ever consider keeping a few spots open for non-residents that would like to hunt down there but might now be able to hunt it every year? I don't think that you would have any problem finding a couple trad hunters that would pay 1700 bucks to be able to have a week or two down there... maybe some sort of waiting list or something?

Just a thought  

[Biggie Hoffman]

No more than 10 guys IMO.
Let's see what it looks like.....

[Herdbull]

Ten guys free to roam when ever they want is a large number if it’s mature bucks you are trying to attract and hold on 600 a. If you are going for fun and just to hunt deer then it’s OK.

[wapiti792]

John keep us in the loop. I am interested even if it is a few hours drive. 680 acres locked up to trad only hunters in that part of Illinois is quite a deal. I own 80 here and usually have a chance at a great buck every year. Multiply that 8x and it could be just awesome!

[jonsimoneau]

Mike, I know what you mean.  But the expense is so great, that....well I'm just looking at the options.  To be honest, I'd rather make it 5 guys, and pay twice as much per year.  We'll see how it goes.  Really wish I had a landowner in my family!  I can't believe how difficult it is to get places to hunt in this state these days!

[jonsimoneau]

Guys I am open to suggestions on this.  First of all, I have not gone to see the ground yet.  I will be getting directions this evening so I can take a look at it on google earth first.  Not trying to get any hopes up for sure, but I'm looking at it. As far as number of members is concerned...I would really rather make the number around 5 guys, for this piece of property.  The cost will be twice as much, but as Mike mentioned, the hunting will probably be better for all.  Again...I'll let you guys know what transpires.

[joevan125]

If you can find the right guys who all share the same interest then you could have a great club. If i pay that kind of money i would not want there to be any guest allowed.

I have been trying to get a club together down here in Alabama and the problem im having is getting guys to actually send money.

If this land you have found holds a good number of deer then i would be very interested and i would have to trust you to know that its some very good land because i wouldnt have the time to go check it out.

Keep me in mind if things look like they might be comming together. Heck im paying that much next year to go on a 1 week hunt in Ohio so it would be nice to be able to go more than one time a year.

[joevan125]

Yea less guys would be better and when it comes time to pay the guys who get the money to you first would be in.

[joevan125]

Me living in Alabama i would only get to come hunt maybe 3 times a year but it would be better than paying a outfitter.

And if you can get the land on a long term lease i would be very interested in doing this with you.

Please keep my name in the loop because i would be very interested.

[jonsimoneau]

Yes, I know some of the members would be from out of state.  This would limit the pressure somewhat.  Also, even though I live in Illinois, Pike County is a long ways from where I live.  I would only be able to get there mostly on weekends here and there due to work and all the stuff that we all have to deal with. If we could get the right guys...and could limit the membership even further, the hunting would probably be better for all involved.

[jonsimoneau]

I too think that no guests will be the only way to make this work, unless I was able to get ahold of much more land.  Only paying members would probably be the best way to go.

[Whip]

I still have some interest Jon.  Please keep me in the loop if this place looks good.

[Biggie Hoffman]

Mike's right about quality hunting but I've found that in any of the clubs I've been on, there are never more than 3 or 4 guys there at any one time. We all have other places to hunt.
ie; if I draw an Iowa tag...I ain't coming that year.

If it gets to be a problem, you could alwyas work out a schedule. November would most likely be the only conflict.

If Joevan can drive danged near from Mississippi, I guess I can drive up from Ga.  Keep me in the loop for now :-)

[bofish-IL]

Jon I PM'd you

[jonsimoneau]

Biggie, that is kind of what I was thinking. Some members would not be from Illinois, and we could limit the pressure.  However, I would be very open to the idea of limiting the number of members even more if we could get enough guys interested to pay a little more money to hunt in one of the best areas this state has to offer.

The past few years, I have been hunting almost exclusively on public ground.  One area I have hunted "limits" 20 hunter per day on just over 400 acres.  Trust me...in November, there are always 20 hunters in this place.  Still, I managed to kill a 140"s on it and passed up many smaller bucks.  But if this land looks good, and things work out well for a long term lease, I think 5 members would be able to enjoy good hunting.

Keep in mind guys, that Pike and Surrounding counties are very heavily dominated by outfitters.  Bad for residents, but maybe good for the deer.  Most areas are managed intensly with fines for taking a deer under 130". There for sure is a spillover effect from this, since everyone knows bucks can travel very far during November.  

Again..none of this is a sure thing as of yet, but I do feel eventually, I am going to do this.  It just boils down to the right land/landowner, and the right group of guys.  If it all works out, it should be a good time!

[jonsimoneau]

Again, all suggestions are welcomed.

[Herdbull]

We are supposed to get a thaw this weekend. You need to walk the entire place and look for sheds, and sign of rutting bucks as well as human sign. Now is the time to do it. I have my own place and am only offering suggestions. We found a matched set of antlers from a buck that eluded me the last three years. He will score 210 gross Non-typical with 46 iches of total mass. Just being in the woods with these type of deer is a real treat.

No friends are needed, because once you establish the club you will all have new friends. Ha!

If you start out with ten guys, you may be able to add more land around you later... and the hunting will improve if you are all on the same page.

[joevan125]

I am very interested in doing this and the less guys you have the more interested i would be.

I hunt a lot down here in the south but we just dont have the kind of bucks you guys have up there.

The last hunt i went on in Illinois i saw more big bucks in one week than i would see in 2 years of hard hunting down south.

The hunting club i started down here just went away because 1 guy bought some land in Iowa and another guy bought a farm in Alabama and the other 2 leased some land in Pike county so im ready to do something different.