Hunt Club vs Regular Lease

Im a seasoned hunter but having to look for a lease for the first time. Many of the sights and what not have "hunting clubs" listed which appear different then just regular deer leases. Whats the difference? What are pros and cons? They seem cheaper why are they cheaper? What do y'all suggest?

Any lease that has a "hunting club" designation has a reputation for packing on too many members. I think they are basically the same, just called differently depending on what part of the state you grew up in. I have never heard the term "hunting club" outside of East Texas.

Most of the ads for hunting clubs I see are in East TX, or Arkansas. One reason they are cheaper than most leases is because the land is often leased from timber companies, at a per acre price, that is much lower than say the going rate elsewhere. If you are able to talk to some current or recent members of a club you are looking at, that would be helpful.

Brother Phil is right- timber companies call their leases hunting clubs. I lease three tracts from a timber company and they are all called clubs. And we do pay less per acre than I have seen advertised for many private property leases.

Is the landscape typically different because they're timber companies?

I grew up in Alabama. Everything there was 'hunting clubs.' Of coarse, most of that land was owned by International Paper. IP has since all of that land to the state who turned it into a massive WMA. It eliminated most of the clubs where I grew up. Not all bad though, a lot of those clubs hunted with dogs so it did away with that.

Poppa, I don't know about E. TX but where I'm from paper company land meant all pine trees unless along a creek or other water where they couldn't harvest trees.

I've looked at some "hunting clubs" in the Hill County and they were basically 10-20 or more guns that just move around shooting [censored] up. No stewardship, no management, no real pride or care put into working or improving the leased land. I'm sure they're not all like that and of course there are plenty of traditional deer leases working the same way. Caveat emptor.

There is no difference. It is the same thing just semantics.

Depends on who managing the land. We manage both leases and hunting clubs. Our hunting clubs are more exclusive and more expensive than leases and we supply all the land management, lodging, planting, blinds etc. so just depends on who your talking to with clubs. I have seen clubs both ways.