too many rules?

[JackFlash]

Just asking a question here............
how many get on a lease and find out that the rules are so confining and the penalties so harsh that its actually hard to enjoy the place or the hunting? To me, if you are on a place and are so scared to shoot a deer because the rules and criteria are either so difficult, or unclear, that its no fun to hunt there. Example: someone takes a deer they should have let go, then the lease boss or the other members ostracize the guy so bad that everyone else is afraid to shoot ANY deer. I realize circumstances prevail here, like how many times has the guy done this and was it a valid mistake (everyone screws up eventually), but don't we eventually create too many or too difficult to follow rules??? Thoughts everyone?

[BrianL]

Ask for the rules before paying for the lease. There are SO many different type leases as well as different goals for a given lease. You need to make sure you are on a lease with like minded people.

[Ron]

I agree with you. I don't care for all of those rules.
Just tell the members what you would expect and then trust them to do so.

[JackFlash]

Ask for the rules before paying for the lease. There are SO many different type leases as well as different goals for a given lease. You need to make sure you are on a lease with like minded people.

yes for sure........but often the rules change and are amended more after your already on..........then what?

[scott.str]

thankfully our lease is all buddies. but no matter what you bring back youll be made fun of. Either a 140 or a little doe just be ready to defend your kill. More jokes then anything but also helps you think twice. Bigger the deer the easier to defend

[SB09]

Rules are just fine by me. But, they need to be perfectly clear. If they're not, I won't hesitate to ask for some clarification.

A lot of people are starting to trend towards quality deer management. I'm all for improving a herd. When someone shoots a deer that shouldn't have been harvested, I couldn't blame the other lease members for making it known where a rule was broken. If a person wants meat, shoot a doe. No reason to shoot young bucks for any reason in my opinion.

[ACCURACYINC]

Sounds like we've got ourselves a gosh dang rule breaker here!

I just moved from a place in Junction with pretty loosely interpreted rules to a place in South Texas with very strict rules....the first deer harvested this year scored 174. I can handle the rules!

[The Insurance Guy]

I think there has to be some rules but too many is a problem.

[SB09]

yes for sure........but often the rules change and are amended more after your already on..........then what?

That's a failure of whoever is the lease manager in that case. It's their job to make sure everyone knows the rules, and any amendments to those rules.

[JackFlash]

Sounds like we've got ourselves a gosh dang rule breaker here!

I just moved from a place in Junction with pretty loosely interpreted rules to a place in South Texas with very strict rules....the first deer harvested this year scored 174. I can handle the rules!

I never break the rules. I may hate them, but I follow them. What I have witnessed happening to others I think just goes too far sometimes...

[JackFlash]

furthermore, they don't always apply to ALL members. I have an issue with that!

[texan16]

No doubt there needs to be some rules/guidelines in place, but yes I have heard a lot of stories of having too many crazy rules. Can get to where it is no fun to hunt. Need to keep it simple and straight forward.....and make sure everyone understands whatever rules are in place. Bad thing though is when, for whatever reason, the rules change during the year. Makes for a bad situation.

[SB09]

furthermore, they don't always apply to ALL members. I have an issue with that!

I would take issue with that. I would also not hesitate to ask why the same rules don't apply to all the members.

[jerp]

That may be the only advantage of hunting a smaller lease in an area of the state that rarely - if ever - produces big (150"+) bucks. Everybody has lower expectations, there are fewer hard and fast rules. Once again it goes back to $$. If I'm paying $8,000-$10,000/year to have a legitimate shot at a monster, I'm wanting everyone to to play by some pretty strict rules and I'm willing to do the same. If I'm on a place charging $1,500-$2,000/year I'm more willing to let everybody use their own judgment. (other than the basics like not shooting 2 year old basket racks.) It comes down to what your hunting priorities are. I'm really not on a single-minded quest for a giant buck, so if a bunch of rules made me anxious about the "shoot or don't shoot" decision, it would certainly diminish the experience for me.

[JackFlash]

That may be the only advantage of hunting a smaller lease in an area of the state that rarely - if ever - produces big (150"+) bucks. Everybody has lower expectations, there are fewer hard and fast rules. Once again it goes back to $$. If I'm paying $8,000-$10,000/year to have a legitimate shot at a monster, I'm wanting everyone to to play by some pretty strict rules and I'm willing to do the same. If I'm on a place charging $1,500-$2,000/year I'm more willing to let everybody use their own judgment. (other than the basics like not shooting 2 year old basket racks.) It comes down to what your hunting priorities are. I'm really not on a single-minded quest for a giant buck, so if a bunch of rules made me anxious about the "shoot or don't shoot" decision, it would certainly diminish the experience for me.

^^^^^^
Totally agree.