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Deer Hunting Ames Plantation
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<blockquote data-quote="david k." data-source="post: 3520754" data-attributes="member: 10555"><p>This thread may be dead but I thought I'd chime in on my Ames experience. I'm sure that someone will call B.S. on what I'm about to say but it can be verified by my friends here who have hunted my families property or have been invited to hunt with me there in the future.</p><p></p><p>I have free and unlimited access to hunt deer, turkey, squirrel, duck and coon (the quail and rabbits have been long gone for years) 1500+ acres of family property in western McNairy county that has been in my family since the early 1900's. I choose to pay to hunt at Ames for the following reasons:</p><p></p><p>1. It's 45 minutes closer to my home so I actually get to hunt more frequently.</p><p></p><p>2. I have a better chance at a real trophy deer at Ames. I'm 50 years old and had been hunting McNairy county all my life - even when there were literally almost no deer in that part of the country - and in the past 35 +/- years we killed probably 50 to 75 bucks and double that many does. A good buck for the area was 100-110" And the best ever killed have been a 196" non-typical killed by my brother (check it out on the tennessee deer registry if you doubt me) a 130" non typical killed by a guy out of Selmer that had permission to hunt the property and then a few deer that approached 120". In 6 years at Ames, weve killed 6 bucks that average just over 130", I've shot 4 and my son and brother have killed one each. We've also passed up at least 6 other deer that we are pretty sure were all over 125". We've never been able to do that on our property in McNairy county.</p><p></p><p>3. I can leave my camper, my generator, and my 4 wheeler at Ames without fear. If I left any of it in McNairy county the crack-heads would steal it all in a matter of 2 to 3 weeks. My great grandparents home is vacant on our property and everything of value has been stolen....chain, it, bolt it, weld it down...doesn't matter. I'd like to shoot the bastards.</p><p></p><p>4. I have access to 16,000 huntable acres for $0.10 (that's right, I said 10 cents) per acre with an average of one hunter per @ 300 acres......I challenge anyone to find that kind of deal ANYWHERE in the country for quality deer hunting.</p><p></p><p>5. The members, with a very few exceptions, are a really good group of guys and the fellowship around the check station is worth part of the annual fee. I have made friends there that, even if I were to cancel my membership, would still be friends and we'd still find a way to hunt together.</p><p></p><p>Now, do I consider Ames to be "perfect" the answer is No. Here are my challenges with our current situation.Please note that these are just my opinions and not meant as an assault on any members at Ames so don't kill me for them.</p><p></p><p>1. I think that too many people take advantage of the 4 wheeler permits for "handicapped" access. I'm old and fat and still carry my Summit Viper to every spot I hunt. I know of several members who appear just as "able bodied" as me that have 4 wheeler access to areas I'll never be able to walk to....not fair in my opinion....I think that Ames could very easily open up access to everyone and restrict it based on road conditions if they are worried about erosion.</p><p></p><p>2. I think the move from 120" to 125" has hurt the overall enthusiasm from the members and has not accomplished what it was intended to do. I've had this conversation with several members and the best suggestion I've heard is go back to 120" with really stiff fines for any buck 2.5 years old or younger....spikes included....nobody should hunt there without binoculars anyway.....I know that mistakes can happen but are we really in that big a hurry to kill a doe that we can't take a few seconds to look carefully at a deers head? And if a specific buck hasn't made it to 125" as a 3 year old, what are our expectations for him as a 4 year old anyway? 130-135.....maybe?????</p><p></p><p>3. I personally would be in favor of limiting the membership to @ 60 and adding the members choice of either duck or turkey hunting acces for something like $3,000.00 (or maybe $3,500 for all three?) per year. Ames would make more money with less headaches and the hunting would be even better.</p><p></p><p>4. I think each member should be required to shoot 2 does as a condition of their membership...there is too much pressure on those of us who are willing to shoot does when other members don't ever shoot any. </p><p></p><p>That's about it.</p><p></p><p>I'm sorry if I offended anyone, it was not intentional.</p><p></p><p>David Koeppel</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="david k., post: 3520754, member: 10555"] This thread may be dead but I thought I'd chime in on my Ames experience. I'm sure that someone will call B.S. on what I'm about to say but it can be verified by my friends here who have hunted my families property or have been invited to hunt with me there in the future. I have free and unlimited access to hunt deer, turkey, squirrel, duck and coon (the quail and rabbits have been long gone for years) 1500+ acres of family property in western McNairy county that has been in my family since the early 1900's. I choose to pay to hunt at Ames for the following reasons: 1. It's 45 minutes closer to my home so I actually get to hunt more frequently. 2. I have a better chance at a real trophy deer at Ames. I'm 50 years old and had been hunting McNairy county all my life - even when there were literally almost no deer in that part of the country - and in the past 35 +/- years we killed probably 50 to 75 bucks and double that many does. A good buck for the area was 100-110" And the best ever killed have been a 196" non-typical killed by my brother (check it out on the tennessee deer registry if you doubt me) a 130" non typical killed by a guy out of Selmer that had permission to hunt the property and then a few deer that approached 120". In 6 years at Ames, weve killed 6 bucks that average just over 130", I've shot 4 and my son and brother have killed one each. We've also passed up at least 6 other deer that we are pretty sure were all over 125". We've never been able to do that on our property in McNairy county. 3. I can leave my camper, my generator, and my 4 wheeler at Ames without fear. If I left any of it in McNairy county the crack-heads would steal it all in a matter of 2 to 3 weeks. My great grandparents home is vacant on our property and everything of value has been stolen....chain, it, bolt it, weld it down...doesn't matter. I'd like to shoot the bastards. 4. I have access to 16,000 huntable acres for $0.10 (that's right, I said 10 cents) per acre with an average of one hunter per @ 300 acres......I challenge anyone to find that kind of deal ANYWHERE in the country for quality deer hunting. 5. The members, with a very few exceptions, are a really good group of guys and the fellowship around the check station is worth part of the annual fee. I have made friends there that, even if I were to cancel my membership, would still be friends and we'd still find a way to hunt together. Now, do I consider Ames to be "perfect" the answer is No. Here are my challenges with our current situation.Please note that these are just my opinions and not meant as an assault on any members at Ames so don't kill me for them. 1. I think that too many people take advantage of the 4 wheeler permits for "handicapped" access. I'm old and fat and still carry my Summit Viper to every spot I hunt. I know of several members who appear just as "able bodied" as me that have 4 wheeler access to areas I'll never be able to walk to....not fair in my opinion....I think that Ames could very easily open up access to everyone and restrict it based on road conditions if they are worried about erosion. 2. I think the move from 120" to 125" has hurt the overall enthusiasm from the members and has not accomplished what it was intended to do. I've had this conversation with several members and the best suggestion I've heard is go back to 120" with really stiff fines for any buck 2.5 years old or younger....spikes included....nobody should hunt there without binoculars anyway.....I know that mistakes can happen but are we really in that big a hurry to kill a doe that we can't take a few seconds to look carefully at a deers head? And if a specific buck hasn't made it to 125" as a 3 year old, what are our expectations for him as a 4 year old anyway? 130-135.....maybe????? 3. I personally would be in favor of limiting the membership to @ 60 and adding the members choice of either duck or turkey hunting acces for something like $3,000.00 (or maybe $3,500 for all three?) per year. Ames would make more money with less headaches and the hunting would be even better. 4. I think each member should be required to shoot 2 does as a condition of their membership...there is too much pressure on those of us who are willing to shoot does when other members don't ever shoot any. That's about it. I'm sorry if I offended anyone, it was not intentional. David Koeppel [/QUOTE]
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