# Hunt Clubs - any here in Utah?



## chuckler (Sep 30, 2007)

Are there any big game hunting clubs that lease big game hunting properties for its members here in Utah? It might be worth it if they offer reasonable value....opportunity for solitude, decent success opportunity.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

united sportsmans has big game properties all over the state. It pricey.good luck.


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## chuckler (Sep 30, 2007)

They've turned United Sportsman into weathered horn outfitters and operate a number of cwmu's. 

The cwmu program must be a lot more lucrative for some enterprising person to set up than a hunt club given the opportunity to sell tags, etc. which is more enticing than managing a large group who pay affordable memberships and then dealing with leases. 

Thank goodness there's a lot of good public land hunting here....there are some other states where about a $1000 membership gets you on 10 to 50+ hunting properties (1000s of acres) for big game (including year round hog hunting), waterfowl, and upland game.

Doesn't seem to be such a thing here but it probably just doesn't make sense to do leases like that given the CWMU program.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

I did not know that united sportsman has changed or got bought out. that good to know and on the other hand im glad.


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## elk22hunter (Sep 7, 2007)

I believe that Terry Thatcher still opperates some properties under United Sportsman. I was a member of Western Outdoorsman for all eight years that they existed. They sold to United and I dropped out. United opperated for several more years with Terry Thatcher and Cal Haskel at the helm. Cal Haskel broke off with a guy named Lonnie Billiter and they are doing Weathered Horn and have quite a few CWMU's in the Coalville area, Chalk Creek, and even one in Wyoming on the other side of Evanston. I think Weathered Horn outfitters is ONLY big game where United had some big game and several duck opportunities in different areas but mainly near Bear River. Todd Yates was a break off of the United Sportsman days and was the owner of Western Outdoorsman. He worked for Terry as one of his top guys. He had some premier duck clubs that he kind of took from United by offering more money to the land owner. He got into big game leases also and was a mirror of United. Like I said before, he sold out to United as a result of not managing as well as United. He still has the lease on the Corrine Duck area. He is mainly a Waterfoul guy. He hunts his lease for the ducks/geese in fall and then hunts pigs on it for the rest of the year. He is the Pig guy in Corrine. Make sense?


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

we belonged it it when it was western out doorsman and then when it went to united sportsman. we stayed with them for a couple years then got out.So he still owns the big pond? My under standing it another guy that owns that now.


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## elk22hunter (Sep 7, 2007)

I was one of the original buyers into Western Outdoorsman and bought a "Gold Card" which meant that I payed a bunch of money up front but never had to pay dues after that. I was a "Lifetime" member. When United bought them out, they would not recognize my gold membership and were going to charge dues. I didn't want to pay dues to hunt properties that were over hunted already and backed out. On a side note, I am very glad that my lifetime lasted longer than my lifetime membership.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Yea I under stand you on that. Pluse they where losing land so every one was coming to the other land.


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## bigolmuley (Sep 29, 2007)

Weathered Horn runs about 5 CWMU's and was never in any of the duck club stuff. Cal is pretty much out of Weathered Horn. He still runs a CWMU in Coalville, but that is all. U.S.'s last season was in 2005. Terry still runs the Heaston CWMU. Other than that I do not know what he is into. Todd Yates runs the Corrine Gun Club, mostly waterfowl with some above mentioned pig and goat hunts.
I belonged to U.S. for the last 7 years before it was gone. I saw that it was dying the great death when I joined. Landowners were wanting to much money and prices and dues just kept going up. They started putting more and more people on to pay for the increase in costs. Once the CWMU program began, the leasing of ground for hunting by a club was soon to be gone. And that is what happened. So like any company trying to survive, it adapted to what would hopefully make some money. Though with the prices the land cost to lease, I have a hard time believing they really are making much money. But I believe the animals have benifited from this move. 
They have some awesome properties that have gotten better in the CWMU program. My buddy drew a deer tag on one of the Coalville properties and shot a great 30" buck on it.(With my help of course) I had hunted that property during the U.S. years and you were lucky to see a 20" 4-point, and if you did you shot it. I wish the prices could be kept down, but I don't see that ever happening. 
I am sure a lot of people got burned on the whole U.S. Western Outdoorsmen deals. I actually had a good experience as a whole. The big pond was an awesome spot to hunt ducks and I hunted during the bowhunts and rarely felt like there were to many people and shot some good animals. But hunting is adapting. Wether it be a club going under, your honey hole being found, or a piece of ground you hunted gets tilled under for a subdivision. It will always keep changing, sucks, but it will.

Jason
"The Big Ol' Muley"


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

we got burned on a elk hunt. We hunted just south of the big pond and when it froze up we would wait for teh geese to come off in the moring off the big pond and blast at them.We had soem good hunts out there. When it went to 1000 for my dad and then another 500 bucks for me to hunt with him. that got way to much for us. so we got out. PLuse when we would ask them to with soem lanmd on the deer hunt they would not take the time to show us the area on the map.But they shure would help there buddys out on the good land.


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