Dividing up lease work...

How do you guys divide up lease work? I’m talking cleaning around camp and making sure firewood is stacked. I proposed on our lease to divide it up between the 10 members where each person is responsible for a month. However, it was decided that all 10 should be there for one day to handle chores. Is it just me or does it make more sense to have it done by one person each month or to have 10 guys do it one month?

The day we have to be there is mandatory or we pay a fee. The point was made that the day just needs to be flexible as many of us work weekends or have families but those concerns fell on deaf ears.

This has caused a fairly good riff amongst us and I would just like to hear what others may have done to come to an understanding with other guys on their leases.

No right answer I know, but just curious.

How about 3 times per year?

Each person has to attend once. Make the dates in advance and rain-out alt date.

On leases I’ve visited everyone cleans their own crap up and everyone has their own firewood. No community chores.

This seems like the reasonable approach. Unless everyone on the lease is close friends and/or family trying to to things communally seems like it would just lead to nothing but headaches and drama.

What do you have to clean up around camp? I mow ours in June for everyone which takes one hour and a few beers. We don't leave or take crap there to clean up. Firewood, I keep my own secret stash away from camp in case we run out. Otherwise we just load a pickup full when needed out in the woods and have a big pile. What else is there to do besides maintain feeders?

exactly. Sounds to me like a couple lazy guys want others to pitch in and do their chores for them. If I was on a lease and someone ask me for help I’d help them but I would not want to be contractually obligated to help someone I may not want to deal with or like.

No way in hell I'd be on this lease. 'Don't need to shoot a deer that bad.

I pull more than my own weight on our lease. No camp rules. Nothing is mandatory.

Looked at a lease a lease a few years ago. The printed procedure for the last one out of the cabin each time was two type written pages. Little Napoleans everywhere.

We have an unspoken rule, seems to work. If it’s broken, fix it. If you make a mess clean it up. If you need to use something that isn’t yours, replace it. Seems that almost everyone has to deal with their share of each and we’ve had no problems.

We just tale care of whatever we see that needs taking acre of.

There is only two of us plus the landowner and we've been friends for years so it's easy for us. We simply do what needs to be done like men. I probably do a little more of the housekeeping, cleaning around camp and firewood gathering because I'm there the most. The other guys have way more money than I do so they throw more money into the place. It all works out.


I do need to chew someone out for always leaving coffee grounds in the coffee maker and it gets moldy.

I think on a big lease anyone freeloading or not helping out could just be asked to leave. I have to deal with laziness enough at work I don't want to deal with it during my free time.

I was on lease with seven guys. We all helped in chores. Not everybody was there at the same time. Before leave camp pick up trash take trash with you, you burn firewood replace it, clean up after yourself, if repairs needed on camp house we all pitched in on a specific weekend if major repairs, someone always helped others since two guys was in late 60's.
What's the problem?

I just let that one slide since my buddy spent the $15K on our cabin and bringing water to camp.

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Sounds like a fair trade off

I bet every group of hunters on a lease has different dynamics, such as a lot of guys all staying in a cabin versus each having their own trailer or other accommodations.

I could see potential issues with a large group staying in a common building, some people are pigs, some neat freaks other middle of the road.
Guess it all boils down to having like minded folks on the lease

I was on a lease once where the guy who ran it used it to store old construction materials that his wife wouldn't let him store at home. Needless to say, it soon looked a dump.

Which is why getting on a "good" lease can be difficult. When things work as they should, existing members hold their spots forever while not being very open to newcomers who may not share the same opinions and attitudes.

We always had a few work weekends. Good time to burn a steak and drink a few.......

sounds good. But we’re guys required to be there or burn their vacation time to be there?

Requiring people to be there seems odd to me. Is that in the lease agreement that you signed? If not I'd tell them to pound sand.

"Leave me a note outlining the items you'd like me to address (mow around cabins X, Y, Z, cut 1/8 cord wood, fill feeders 5-10) and I will come at a more convenient time".

Lets just say I would not want to be on that lease. I'm not required to stack up firewood that I didn't burn down. If you made a mess around camp...sh*t you clean it up yourself after you made it, not say ohh its not my month, johnny can clean up my crap since its his month...stupid.

Skinnerback has to cook.....after one of his meal no one will care about anything else.....

I'm with this, unless it is a community function, I didn't go to a lease to babysit, or sit through drama. The one lease I was on with a large group, close to 15, if you didnt police your crap, the LO kicked you off, worked for us very well.

Never get on a lease with 10 guys. I've been on them and they never work out well especially when it comes to who does the work. It's always 3 or 4 guys that carry the load so I solved the problem and only hunt with 3 or 4 guys. More money but fewer problems.

The problem occurs when someone thinks everyone else has (or should have) the exact same concern, goals, reasons, etc. for being on the lease in the first place as he has. That's pretty close to impossible to put together. Then you mix in folks' different careers, work requirements, and family needs and realize how hard it is to get everyone even at the same place at the same time. Mature men (and ladies) will recognize this fact and try to accept each other's differences. (I have to remind myself of this fact repeatedly.)

We're feeding deer and hunting them, with hopefully a little commeraderie thrown in. That's the best you can hope for.

We always made it a point to make sure you left camp cleaner than you found it. If someone habitually didn't abide, he was warned and if it continued he was booted. Be a responsible adult and pull your weight in one capacity or another.

You have to remember some guys view the lease as a place to put forth minimal effort while expecting a maximum return.

We try to take care of camp work as we go Don't put it off for a later time or someone else.. Group activity would be wood for camp use and there has been very little wood burned at our place last few years.

Agreed Dan, guess a mindset like leaving better than before has to be taught and not everyone has been. I was lucky to have a good role model when it came to that sort of thing. Just couldn't imagine not having respect for the outdoors and wildlife when it brings me so much peace and enjoyment.

I experienced this last weekend as a guest at my buddies lease. One of the members was cleaning up the kitchen area before everyone was to leave for the day, then another guy makes coffee and leaves the sugar packets on the counter. You have to walk past the trash can to get out of the kitchen area. Needless to say some words were said, the point didn't click in the guys head. From hearing stories about how he is one of the members that take an act of congress to actually show up for a work weekend or just to maintain his blinds/feeders, it wasn't hard to figure him out. He has always had someone come up behind him and clean up his mess. I lived with a few of those guys in college who had a mom/maid who was always there to pick up their mess. Some people are just plain lazy.

First year on this place one of the guys invites his brother down from out of state. He brings his young son. Son kicks off his tennis shoes inside, in the middle of the entrance to the cabin. I sat there and watched as everyone started walking AROUND them. What the hell?

In addition to picking up after yourself, you should make sure your kids, should you choose to bring them, aren't a nuisance. That USED to be a big part of deer hunting - teaching boys how to get along with other men, when Mommy's not there.

I do most of the cooking and cleaning during deer season. I don’t hunt out of a blind much and I like to have a project to work on while I’m drinking.

I’m not a sit around drunk I’m a working drunk.

Even the Boy Scouts have become a place where boys can no longer do the things they enjoy without having to worry about creating some type of conflict with girls.

We have a few flexible work days each year when all try to meet the same weekend for big projects like chainsawing, moving blinds, stacking wood, and surveys. Outside of that, each of us gets a month assigned during the off-season to mow camp.
There’s never really been an issue with this type of work on our place.. if you can’t do your part, 2-3 other guys will step in and get it done..
We have one older man that doesn’t carry much weight, doesn’t cook, clean.. but, we’re just happy to know
He can still find his stand most mornings... and yeah, we all pitch in to fill his feeders..

I'm the oldest on our place. I hope we're on it long enough for me attain this esteemed position. 'Already have an old blind scouted out that they can drive me right up to the back door. I already don't cook and clean much, but I do other stuff like fill (and fix ) feeders. And check the game cameras and find the pictures of deer that everyone else starts to get their panties in a wad about. And replace light bulbs.<<<This last part is apparently beyond anyone else's skill set.

Maybe I am just anti social. but there is no way in the world that I would get on a lease with 10 other people. Come to think of it not even people I know.

Especially the people I know.

Lol... no one ever thinks about those light bulbs.. keep on truckn.. sounds like you’re putting in what you can and I’m sure your hunting buddies appreciate it.

^^^^^what he said

We usually have one weekend per year where we do communal type work.
Mowing, weed eating and cleaning camp are the big chores we take on as a group.

Great topic. We are trying kangaroo court this year. “Fines” for bad behavior

You would be surprised at how few people have the mindset.
To a lot of people having a hunting lease and getting out in the out of doors is just another thing to do, and nothing special, once the season ends it's over, and then you go and do something else.
It's hard to teach someone who grew up sitting on a couch watching hunting and fishing shows on TV, without them actually getting out there and doing the work to make it happen.

Sounds like it may be time to start culling the herd of hunters.

I'm with the take care of your own property, clean up after yourself, put trash in the trash can crowd. Only communal chore I could see may be grabbing trash bags and hauling them off on the way home. I was on a lease long ago, guy who ran it was always trying to organize work days, so others would help him with his own responsibilities. Currently I'm on a small lease with a few others. We all put trash in the trash can, pick up after ourselves, clean up what we mess up and cut wood if we burn wood. Cleanest, most well organized camp I ever been on.

On our place there are doers and users. You can get some out of the users now and then but it's a pick and choose thing on their part. They will be there every week during hunting season but never enough time outside of season. Personally I like it there with few if anyone else there. Me and a couple others get the essentials done, drink some beer and enjoy it. The others, well they get their enjoyment just hunting. Not everyone is in it for the same thing. I don't think less of them for what they don't do or more of them for what they do.

Heck my wife would rather I worked at the house. She thinks my efforts are misplaced.

Agreed we have all been friends for quite a while along with our wives so no problem on anything...Just one big happy family.

We are set up where you are responsible for your self. If you need help with chores, sometimes that might be two members that are present at the same time sharing in each other's work that needs to be done. I usually recruit my own help and bring them with me.

We have are own separate areas at camp that we are responsible for. This keeps the drama to a minimum. Drama ruins hunting leases IMO.

The worst person to have in deer camp is someone who enjoys creating drama.

What is there to do 10 months a year? The guy who gets October novermber December and January get shafted and the others get a cake walk? Just take care of yourself seems like a much better plan.

Most of our members live from 3 to 6 hours from the lease. Now way can they do a turnaround for less than $60. The first thing I did, when I took over the lease, was increase the lease fees $50. This allowed me to have firewood delivered, buy propane, camp house supplies (paper products, bulbs etc.),mowing and minor repairs. Everyone wins! Another new thing was no new lease members, if someone gets off they are not replaced. Fees go up instead. Helps the "get along" attitude with a little "skin in the game".

I almost always lease by myself so... in part because I know I will have zero problems.

No rules at our place. Just take your trash with you when you leave, or, if there's not a burn ban throw it in firepit and let her rip.

Sounds like a fun lease to be on.

Had similar problem on a lease I was on several years ago. One of the members could go to help mow or fill feeders because of work. He was a small business owner. When the rut started and the deer coming to the feeders he always managed to get down there and stay for a week or so. Not that it matters but the lease was close to George West.

I've experienced the same thing but not as lease manager. I finally concluded that most of the hunters who made this seem necessary weren't the type of people who having roles/responsibilities written out would make much of a difference.

No we went on weekends so nearly everybody was off but if you could not make it no biggie..