# Possible Bow Only Hunting Lease in Bartow County, GA



## PAPALAPIN (Oct 17, 2010)

I posted a while back that there is a possibility of a bow only hunting club in Bartow County coming up for next year.

It is located about halfway between Cartersville and Canton Ga. in Bartow County right at the Bartow/Cherokee line, surrounded by the Allatoona WMA.

It is easy access from Marietta, Rome, Cumming, and Roswell/Alpharetta areas.

It will take at least about 35 members at $500 each to secure the lease. If we get enough interest, it could be TRAD BOW only, if not we can open it up to wheelie bows.

The deer population is decent and growing since there is a successful coyote removel program in progress. Lots of Turkeys, and four different Bears have been cought on game cameras.

What I need now is to get a feel for how much interest we will have in this, with commitments starting as soon as this hunting season is over.

If you would be intersted in this, please post here so I can get a count on potential members.

Thanks


----------



## Bowyer29 (Oct 17, 2010)

I am interested. I will pm you too.


----------



## Chris Horsman (Oct 17, 2010)

You know I`m in. Which camp will we use?


----------



## robert carter (Oct 17, 2010)

How many acres?RC


----------



## John V. (Oct 17, 2010)

This sounds like the "Cobb's Legion Club".  I was a member a few years back and there wasn't a lot of game but it sounds like they've turned things around.  I'd be interested in joining again if it was a trad only club. It's only a 20 minute drive from my house!


----------



## PAPALAPIN (Oct 17, 2010)

Acreage will be up to about 1200.  With 35 members that would be about 34 acres per member. That's even good for a gun club.

Chris, I need your cell number.

Probably use the generator camp but I would expect that gun hunters using the campsite will be allowed to keep camping there.  So,me have permanent built campsites.

John, I don't want to mention club names, but you figure it out.

Right now I know of about a dozen that would get in, including those that posted here.  We would still need to get about 24 more to make this work.

A while back the club was over sold.  Too many hnters for the property size.  The deer population was knowcked down by too many hu ters and a big surge of Coyotes.  They tool over 100 'yotes off the property this year, and they only have a bit over 50 members right now.  The deer population is on the way up and there is litle hunting pressure this year.

A bow only lease will really allow the population to come back because bow hunters will not knock the population dowm like gun hunters will.  Unless we have 35 Robert Carters, Lance Colemans, and such.  If we have 35 Papalapins, the population is gonna explode.


----------



## johnweaver (Oct 18, 2010)

Please keep me in mind.  That a good location for me.


----------



## PAPALAPIN (Oct 18, 2010)

Will do, John

If it happens.


----------



## Jake Allen (Oct 18, 2010)

Jack, that seems to work out to almost $14.00 per acre.
That seems a mite high for that area. Is it one piece of
property or several?
Insurance, food plot money and such?

Who would run the club? Land managers?
A club with 6 or 8 members is a handful , 35 members
is hard to imagine.  

Finding and maybe joining, or forming a Traditional
Only club is high on my list.


----------



## PAPALAPIN (Oct 18, 2010)

The lease as I understand it is about $10 per acre.

So if it is exactly 1200 acres, that would be about $12,000.

If we devide that by 35 members it would com to close to $350 per member.  The addititonal $150 per member would go to insurance and lease maintenance such as food plets, coyote program, etc.

This is all assuming the club management stay under the guy that is managing it now.

If we take it over, we will be on our own as to what to charge so we have enough for Lease payment, insurance, maintenance, etc.

We could reduce the price per member accordingly, and increase the membership if we want to reduce cost per member.  I got a feeling that the property could support as high as 60 Archery members and hold the cost dowm more per member, but for right now I am targting 35 or 40 to get started.  Once established, the membership can determine how many people to let in, and what the rules would be.  Of course that is if we get to manage it instead of the present manager.

My gut feeling is that it will stay under the present management, just putting th approximately 1200 acre section under "bow only" restrictions.

I have no solid facts right now, but I need to be ready to tell the land owner, and the present lease manager how many people I can get up when the time comes. 

I am only posting it here and on Georgia Trad Gang.  If it comes down to not being able to get the numbers we need, I can open it up on the wheelie bow forum to get what we need.

For right now I would like to try to keep it as traditional as possible, although I got no problem with a trad club that allows ladies and teenagers to use wheelie bows, or a few men if we need the numbers.

Bringing a few wheelie bow shooters into it is a good way to introduce them to traditional archery, if we keep the higher percentage as trad shooters.

If this goes through, It may also give us a place to host a trad shoot or 4 during the 3-D season.

All kinds of possibilities, but we gotta crawl before we can walk.

Personally I would not mind the presnet manger keep control because he does a great job now in maintenance and upkeep.  It takes that burden off of us.

But for now, everthing is up in the air.   I just need to know that I can get he numbers up.


----------



## Chris Horsman (Oct 18, 2010)

Jack, I don`t mind stepping up and helping the current manager or being a "sub" manager for the bow only. 
From experience i`ll share that a trad only club is a bear. i`d make it a bow only club and go from there. As for #er`s of members I believe your right about what the land can hold, specially if it is the piece I think it is. But I also believe charge a little more and reduce #`s. I have great insurane for my proprty in Fl, so unless the land owner specifies which company we can shop around.
As for potential I believe the place has huge amounts. I see deer every time I go out there and thats at least 3 times a week. And some of them ain`t hanging around Jack`s feeder I`ve seen several flocks of turkey and the lake is less than 10 mins away. During the summer my family and I would enjoy picnics and swimming right by camp.
Any one that is familiar with the club will see a huge difference from what i`m told it was like.
So I say Bow only and trad only if possible.
Jack call me at 770-627-4201. But I`m leaving to hunt gators on fri for 4 days so


----------



## TNGIRL (Oct 18, 2010)

Sounds interesting Jack......can you keep us informed? Bartow County is only about an hour from my home.


----------



## Lowjack (Oct 18, 2010)

Jake Allen said:


> Jack, that seems to work out to almost $14.00 per acre.
> That seems a mite high for that area. Is it one piece of
> property or several?
> Insurance, food plot money and such?
> ...



Actually that's Cheap for Florida, just about any lease down here is at $20 to $25 an acre.

Keep me and my son in mind Papalin.

What about Camping area etc ?


----------



## Taporsnap77 (Oct 18, 2010)

im new to hunting this club this yr, the jury is still out as if i will rejoin or not, you can see deer there as i have but i put in lots of hrs scouting and hunting but its not overflowing by any means i dont work during the week much or sundays so i hunt most every day but pros are for the price its alot of land and looks good tho. I would just check to make sure this is what you want bc its gonna take you a few yrs to get a decent population there. It is true that in certain areas of the club its loaded with turkeys and the manager and  one of the owners of the land are really nice guys.  And about 60 yotes have been caught since last yr not 100.


----------



## Taporsnap77 (Oct 18, 2010)

one last Con there and its the biggest the Fourwheeling and truck riding high schoolers and people trying to come in and camp. they tear up the roads and dump crap everywhere. Ive personally caught um down there several times.  They ride high powered four wheelers and dirt bikes the whole start of bow season anywhere they can and because most of those rds are county rds to wma they somehow get away with it. SO annoying.


----------



## PAPALAPIN (Oct 19, 2010)

It all depends on how much land they set aside for Bow Only.

They won't set aside 1200 acres for 10 members unless each is will ing to pay about $1500.

You have to remember that the members are not going to be able to get in for the lease payment alone. There are other expenses...insurance, food plots, lease maintenance, etc...

1200 acres is pleanty of property for 35 - 40 members, and the deer population is on the rise. It could be a good situation if it is handled right.

As I stated before. right now I do not have hard facts. At this point all I can do is see how much interest we have to even be considered.

I was told they took over 100. I may have been told wrog. However. I can see the effects already in fawns around here that we have not seen in three years. Also a huge increase in Turkey pullets, and rabbits. I also do not hear the 'yotes singing at night like we used to hear them

There is an establishe campsite where you can park a camper, and generators are allowed. No electricity or water. When I was in the club we got up a kitty and had a porta potty brought in. Ya gotta pay to pee. People in the kitty get a key...others don't...only fair.

As far as fourwheelers and mud trucks, yes they do trespass. The manger is real hard case about this and has caoole the Sherriff's office and had quite a few arrested. That tends to stop at least those that gets caught. You can have this situation just about any wher you go. No place is immune to it. 
__________________


----------



## Clipper (Oct 19, 2010)

If I am not mistaken, this club is surrounded by the Allatoona WMA which is open for gun hunting from Oct 18 to Dec 26.  Would it be possible to maintain a decent sized deer herd on 1200 acres with that kind of hunting pressure in the neighborhood?  Just my 2 cents worth.


----------



## PAPALAPIN (Oct 21, 2010)

Right now the entire lease is over 3300 acres. Most of it will stay a gun club except the section taken out for noe only.

I live right next to it and I can tell you that there is not much hunting going on on the WMA...not like it used to be.

The existing club only has a bit over 50 members hunting that 3300 acres right now


----------



## Clipper (Oct 22, 2010)

PAPALAPIN said:


> Right now the entire lease is over 3300 acres. Most of it will stay a gun club except the section taken out for noe only.
> 
> I live right next to it and I can tell you that there is not much hunting going on on the WMA...not like it used to be.
> 
> The existing club only has a bit over 50 members hunting that 3300 acres right now



That is good news.  I live about 15 minutes from the WMA so I may have to give it a try next week.  I also hunt the Corps of Engineers archery only area near Gatewood Park but haven't seen a lot of sign there so far.


----------



## PAPALAPIN (Oct 29, 2010)

There are areas of the WMA accessible around here, and I am seeing very little hunting traffic. It might be worth a try. 
__________________


----------

