Most sportsmen over 35 years old remember when it was easy to find a prime deer hunting area away from the crowds. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case in many locales. Today, more public deer hunting lands are available than ever before, but there also are record numbers of hunters crowding public lands, making it increasingly difficult to find a "get-away-from-it-all" hunting location. For this reason, many hunters are organizing groups of similar-minded hunters to form clubs.
Being a member of a deer club has many benefits. By controlling hunting rights on a piece of property, the club members know their traditional camp will be available every season, and they can control unwanted hunters legally and effectively. Hunting a club also gives the sportsman a focal point. He doesn't have to scout a large piece of real estate, only a small area. That makes clubs especially alluring to the average working man. His time is limited, and he's often unable to do extensive pre-season scouting on his hunting grounds. He may have only two or three days, a week at best, to hunt, and he wants to spend his time hunting deer, not scouting.
As a club member, this hunter knows before he ever gets to camp where the deer are likely to be feeding, the trails they are using, their bedding areas and so forth. He has the upper hand from the start.
Having a club also can assist management goals. For example, in some areas, the buck-to-doe ratio is out of kilter. Hunters see too many does and few older bucks with good racks. Good deer management -- reducing doe numbers, and allowing bucks to age more before being harvested -- can remedy this problem. But for management to be effective, you need a parcel of land larger than most of us can afford to buy or lease on our own. Having a club is one way around that.