Burnt out and Bummed out

[Renfru]

Ive been hunting hard for most of the Long Island season with nothing to show for it! My biggest mistake is that I'm a member at Pheasant Run Sportmens club. My hunting partner and I spent every available minute hunting " the club" only to have any deer we had on trail cameras disappear. We were regularly getting nice deer on film then the season opened and everything went to hell, members riding quads past your treestands (through the woods) people from Queens roaming the woods picking mushrooms! Kids riding Quads and dirt bikes through the property not to mention Members constantly ruining your spots! The club is between 18-2600 acres depending on which day you talk to Bob he runs pheasant Run, actually collects money from members no one actually Runs the club its a free for all.You Pays your money and take your chances And God forbid you Break the unwritten rule of telling Bob nothing that you've actually seen (deer Wise that is) or where your stand is, Nexf time you go out you've got some new member set up 60 yds from your stand, hey why should they do any work scouting or patterning deer they can just ruin your spots! Thats it 'm done had less problems hunting DEC lands then as a member of club!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bellmorekennels]

Renfru, yes the club can seem like a free for all,but all clubs seem that way,  I am not sure which days you are hunting, but generally weekdays are best. Also I guess you hunt behind the clubhouse mostly, as towards the back there is property that I have seen mushroom pickers, and they will wonder anyplace I am sure. There are other Long Island properties that the club has, that do not have people on quads, maybe you can ask Bob about them.

The truth behind it is that at least you are on private property and do not have to worry about having the police called on you. I do not hunt deer that much, I mostly hunt rabbit , so I hunt the properties basically around the schedules of the deer hunters, so sometimes I do not get to hunt on the property at all, but with the amount of huntable properties left on long island is always less and less, at least I have some more options. Also did you inquire about their properties upstate, they are real nice, I was there couple times last year, and they seem like would be good spots for deer hunting.

Good luck, although you may seem aggrivated a bit, keep in mind that the club is actuallly a business, and Bob is a basically in charge in running of it, so he has alot on his mind. It is not cheap to join, but that is upto you to decide if you want to rejoin or not.

Bellmorekennels

[Gthphtm]

belmorekennels is right about hunting during the week,as a former member I would rather do it then,sorry to hear they still have the ATV and trail bike problem.When I belonged to the club Bob and others really tried to stop them.Have you tried hunting the area to the left of the clubhouse when you walk out the Back door.I have had good luck there.I now live Upstate and it would be a 4 -5 hour ride for me to get there.

[Renfru]

Unfortunately I hunt as far from the crowd as possible and still encounter the BS as for other properties I used to hunt Paul Mathews Until Last year when on opening day bow season you had 8 people hunting the front  It was a zoo I tried it once this year 5 guys in at first light and more kept pouring in. And your right it is a business Bob has to support himself and 2 sons off the club one lives at the clubhouse on our dime but you cant get access unless Bob is there,Then theres the case of certain people only allowed to hunt certain properties like the one in bridgehampton this could be why they have very few return members. the internet is a double edged sword it can make or break you good product good reveiews bad product bad reviews posting a deer taken on County land as taken at club shameon him the county tag plain as day on antler hope most people aren't sharp enough to pick up on it or they'll know how full of crap they are1

[Geno C]

clubs should be organised and if they are NOT you usually DO NOT pay much to be aprt of such UN ORGANIZATION. when something is claimed to be TOP NOTCH and organization to be near perfect i as a hunter and member would expect nothing less... and i do mean nothing less then oraganized. If we have mushroom pickers, kids on qtv's and dirt bikes and un organized stand placements and so on, "I" expect the club leader to play the roll put forth is siging up and be the "Organized" club leader that one was potrayed from the begining.

There is not one person who put more time into that place then myself and i would love to hear anyone tell me otherwise. i went there 3 times a week since first week in June and i saw deer of great size and placed stands according to my recon and scouting only to find out that the lack of organization either pushed off or forced every buck to go nocternal. which in my eyes a hunter should have NO PROBLEM seeing nice bucks doing what they did ALL summer long. having guys scout, hanging teee stands and holding a "Open House" 5 days prior to the opening of bow season is the WORST thing to do! guys getting in there 5 days before the season to scout a newly joined club shows lazyness and lack of hunting skills, with the hopes of just getting in and killing a deer as promised (which i know that nothing is a guarentee).

With the money i spent i could have been fully setup up with a mathews Z7 and instead all my harvest this year took place off club grounds... Its a shame becasue the club really does have nice bucks on the proprty but with way tomany guys aprt of an organization doing all the wrong things ruins it for the guys who do the right thing...

Geno~

[Bucktooth Earl]

Wow.I have heard of this club and thought of joining.Sounds like a circus-especially the special treatment for some members having their own spots ??? .How much did it cost you guys to join the fiasco?How many properties are there?Are any worthwhile?

[Geno C]

could have bought a full mathews Z7 setup...

with tax...

[Bucktooth Earl]

posting a deer taken on County land as taken at club shameon him the county tag plain as day on antler hope most people aren't sharp enough to pick up on it or they'll know how full of crap they are1

I thought there was something odd about that tag in the pic-thought it may have been a road kill the way it is wrapped up in the tarp :-\ .How many members are in the club?Sounds like the woods are worse than some public land.

[Bucktooth Earl]

could have bought a full mathews Z7 setup...

with tax...

$1200.00-$1500.00?.........................ouch :-X

[bellmorekennels]

Grady, not sure how many members there are, and yes depending on the type of hunting you do, like bow,or rifle, it is not cheap, but nothing in life is. I am not saying to join or not, that is your choice, you should meet with a few members at the clubhouse and talk to them, and maybe take a look at the properties. There are a total of 4 on long island, I believe, and more upstate. I feel terrible for a guy like Geno, who put in so much time,only to have other guys ruin it for him. When I was real serious about deer hunting, I had property in Liberty,with food plots and thick cover with a swamp, we had tons of deer during the summer, soon as fall came ,they were gone. The reason was simple, the locals knew we did not live there and would harvest them before we did. To have my own property to  hunt on cost me more than 15k per year, and in the 7 years we had the property, we harvested 3 decent bucks. You can do the math on what those bucks cost me.

As for the buck with the tag, I would not know what to look for,but the tarp did seem kind of strange, and I personally would have taken some better photos of a trophy like that.

I agree that maybe there should be some limits on the 4 wheelers and such,as that would ruin you hunt for sure. Like I said, I mostly rabbit hunt, and to me these are different spots in my rotation, when the day comes that I can not afford, I too will have to reconsider this and other clubs I belong to, but then again I take care of 7 beagles all year long to go hunting, so the cost of that, with the cost of my truck and fuel,etc., all sucks, but again choices are limited. Good Luck

[Geno C]

funny part anthony was i was actually looking into buying my own land until i came accross this club. i went crazy to the extent of all my pre season scouting consisted of me taking my descenting showers and descenting all my clothes prior to every visit on club grounds. i really dotted my I's and crossed my T's this year going into this years hunting season as a member of this club. i will just say i was VERY disapointed to see the lack of effort in some and most importantly the common sence factor. just about every member i spoke had not seen much deer movement at all. I met one member who i spoke to said he has not seen deer 1 and as he pulled his atv onto his truck i knew why, he had a racing exhaust on his atv that he drives to his stand and he wondered why he hasnt seen a deer? i mean c'mon... it sounded like a monstor truck, no lie. with a 45 minute drive to and from the club i made a decision to stop going all the way out there only to have all these variables woring against me. It just was not fair. I am NO complainer by far and made due this season with the cards i was delt. I do not like to bash anyone or methods some may use as there regament but when it directly effects me personally and i loose, well then i become un happy. who wouldnt???  BUT in the end what are you going to do? i just know what i wont do, next year...

[Geno C]

and not true about club dues NOT being cheap. my buddy pays no lie $50 a year to be aprt of his club and that included bird hunts and 2 properties consisting of 1000 acres to hunt gun or bow. there are alot of member he said but they are all mostly bird hunters. i would think you get what you pay for and for the 50 bux he spends a year he has a blast! with the money we spend for our club it should be guided hunts lol.

[Karpteach]

HOLY SHIITE, I spoke to Bob last week and was going to see the place this weekend. THANK YOU SO MUCH for saving me the MONEY. Bob is supposed to call me on Thursday and we where to meet up this weekend. THAT AINT happening. Thank you very much everybody.  Money is tight this year you fellas saved me big time.

[bellmorekennels]

Karpteach, I would still meet up with and take a look at the properties, and then decide if you want to join or not. Unfortunately, we can not all be happy all the time, but i am sure there are guys who have done well on deer out there, again I rarely deer hunt, so I really do not speak to any of the guys when i am out there, and truthfully would wish the guys would get all the deer, so i do not have to worry about my dogs chasing them, LOL.  This is my second year, if your schedule allows you to be flexible with days to hunt,it might be worth it for you, and also you can hunt with shotgun in january, if you opt to do so, and give advance notice for permit.

Geno, did you ever get a chance to go to the properties upstate?  I know the 2 properties I went to were loaded with deer sign, and I do not think many guys bow hunt there, and you can not use 4 wheelers there, it is about a 2 hour ride from Bellmore. Just a thought ,I know you are pretty upset, but you can hunt for a week up there after rifle season with the bow. Since you paid already might be worth the trip, I will be goin up there after deer season closes to rabbit hunt, if you want to take a ride to look at properties let me know.

[Geno C]

No i have not... Honestly Anthony i would be even more un pleased if it took a 2 hour drive up, only to encounter similar problems that i do out here. From what i have been noticing the Bird hunters of the club usually remain happy due to the fact the club from what i hear is more based around bird hunting. (Hence the name: Pheasant Run)

It is what it is... Thanks for trying to help. goodluck with your season

[Renfru]

the property upstate costs another several hundred dollars, and shotgun season is several hundred on top of that, aint nothing for free. don't  go for shotgun season behind the club its a madhouse riding , members riding quads thru the woods while you try to hunt from your stand, 2 small does and one buck taken. Pitifull waste of money.hopefully this post doesn't get deleted! post the truth and get it deleted what do they have to hide!

[bellmorekennels]

Geno, you mentioned your buddy belongs to a hunt club, do they allow rabbit hunting?

[Geno C]

im sure they do... they have pheasant and qual also. he told me to join, i wouldhave if the club was not in elmira. to far for me to enjoy lol. but for 50 bux you cant go wrong.

[bellmorekennels]

that is a good price, but elmira is like 4 hours away, so that would explain the reason cost is so low.If you live near there you can't go wrong but from long island that is a hike, there is tons of state land in adirondacks at the same distance that I hunt on.

[Cappy]

O-boy, I joined that club and scouted a lot before bow started, I was planning on hunting there during the january season and have already paid. There are other properties that the "club" owns in Mattituck and Bridgehampton, are these any better than the Quoge property as far as the shotgun season goes? Dont think I can get my money back but want to make the most of it. Any thoughts?

[steve863]

I find this thread quite interesting actually.  I don't hunt Long Island and never would no matter how big the bucks are out there, nor would I ever join a hunting club because I can only imagine the types of shenanigans that one would see especially with todays typical hunting mentality.  I think if someone wants more peaceful hunting, then they shouldn't join a club and probably shouldn't hunt Long Island either.  Long Island after all is FAR from rural terrain where one would ever get very far from having humans interfere with your hunting in one way or another.  The commute will be longer, but hunting in the more rural parts of upstate NY will no doubt bring you an overall more satisfying hunting experience in my honest opinion.

[Fantail]

Man, I am glad I never joined one of these so called clubs.

For Renfru I'm just thinking next year you can take what you would spend there and go in on a lease, or use the funds for lodging and hit state land - wma.

[Bucktooth Earl]

the property upstate costs another several hundred dollars, and shotgun season is several hundred on top of that, aint nothing for free. don't  go for shotgun season behind the club its a madhouse riding , members riding quads thru the woods while you try to hunt from your stand, 2 small does and one buck taken. Pitifull waste of money.hopefully this post doesn't get deleted! post the truth and get it deleted what do they have to hide!

So I wonder how many of the deer in the pics on their website were killed on club properties?........none?

And what is with the Quads-it is a hunting club or an ATV club? :-X

[LIHUNT]

Steve, im glad you decide not to hunt long island, but for some of us its our only choice. And frankly i enjoy it alot. I have a few spots that are private property and even the public property has some real good areas to hunt.  From reading other posts on this forum long island is FAR from the only area that has problems with getting away from the "human life." And too the other guys im sorry you had such a bad experience. Dont let it get to you though. Theres always next year.

[bellmorekennels]

LIHUNT, Have to agree with you, I would love to got to adirondacks more often,but the honest truth is that family and work come first, and they do not always allow a 5 hour drive, so for me , if I want to get out for a day, LI is my only choice. Yes there are people everywhere, but you have to pick your days, and stick to the rules. That is the reason why although I really hate to hear the deer hunters are having a bad experience with other members, for me to rabbit hunt, the hunting clubs I belong to allow me many options to hunt on, and yes there is alway state land too. The other option is during the offseason approach the remaining farmers on LI, and ask permission to hunt, I have hunted many spots this way. But you should expect to offer something in return, wether it be a service or pay a fee or buy some kind of gift, as there are others doing the same.

All in all, LI is a big part of my hunting season, and wether it is the gun club property or state or private property I hunt on, I am thankful for it, again just my opinion.