Hunting clubs

coonhuntincowboy

Button Buck
Just wondering what everyone's opinion and experience is hunting north like Halifax Northampton warrenton, red oak that area, vs east like towards the coast. Which do you like more n which is better hunting with hounds. Factors such as clubs, land, problems with outsiders, the deer in each place n etc.
 

Trappertod

Six Pointer
I hunt in a club near Castalia / red oak area. We started there last year and love it. The folks are like family, treat "little" hunters well and make sure they have a fun time. I plan to be there until I can't do it anymore.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
I like the terrain of Franklin, Nash, Western Halifax and Warren Counties. Didn't know what it was like to not hunt on red clay. Last year I started hunting with Gatlin in Edgecombe, Martin and a small slice of Halifax, it is different but OK. The most difference is being able to see the deer, if you step off in the woods. Hard to see deer if the understory is reed taller than your head and as thick as hair on a dogs back. Western Halifax and Warren counties have quite a few large dog clubs with plenty of land. There is right much game land there to, but most of the local clubs hunt them.

Plenty of deer to hunt in all of them. The more contiguous acreage the less problems.
 
Last edited:

coonhuntincowboy

Button Buck
Yea I've hunted east more but should be moving soon and wondering if I should go north or east. I've been looking into some clubs north like fork, community,fellowship, to name a few.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
Yea I've hunted east more but should be moving soon and wondering if I should go north or east. I've been looking into some clubs north like fork, community,fellowship, to name a few.

I know people in all three. Good people. I know more about how the clubs operate with Fork and Fellowship both good clubs. Fellowship merged with a club I hunted with after the other members decided to join Fellowship. When I was deciding which club I was going to try to join, I considered both Fork and Fellowship. I choose Gatlin though over 5000 acres without even a State road through it, was appealing. Fork and Gatlin are the same drive from my house too. I decided to try it downeast.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
I also hunt in Gatlin. To be honest right now, there are way to many dogs there on the weekend for me to enjoy myself. It would be fine if I were a stander, but having hounds and hunting with another 100+ hounds on the ground and mine getting scattered ain't my idea of fun. Some love it though. I like to hunt there during the week, especially Tuesdays. Club rules: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are dog running days. This is something many clubs are dealing with large clubs getting more dogmen looking somewhere with a more vast area to hunt, then before you know it you have to many dogs.
 

nchunt101

Ten Pointer
I don't dog hunt but live in Warren County. Fork has a very good reputation and have some pretty land to hunt. Fork also does a good job controling their dogs and has good relationships with adjoing landowners. I can tell you a few clubs to avoid like the plauge via PM if you want.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
I don't dog hunt but live in Warren County. Fork has a very good reputation and have some pretty land to hunt. Fork also does a good job controling their dogs and has good relationships with adjoing landowners. I can tell you a few clubs to avoid like the plauge via PM if you want.

That was one thing I look at when looking at a club. That is one reason Gatlin and Fork were the top two when I was looking at clubs to join. I know I said there were too many hounds at Gatlin on the weekend for me, however, the board has limited the number of dogs that could be brought per member for this weekend while hunting a smaller block(close to 2500 acres). This is being done to keep good relations with our neighbors. Having good relations with neighbors is a must for any club or people I hunt with. That also means as houndsmen we must do our part, controlling the dogs as best we can while doing it respectful of our neighbors.
 
Last edited:

nchunt101

Ten Pointer
That was one thing I look at when looking at a club. That is one reason Gatlin and Fork were the top two when I was looking at clubs to join. I know I said there were too many hounds at Gatlin on the weekend for me, however, the board has limited the number of dogs that could be brought per member for this weekend while hunting a smaller block(close to 2500 acres). This is being done to keep good relations with our neighbors. Having good relations with neighbors is a must for any club or people I hunt with. That also means as houndsmen we must do our part, controlling the dogs as best we can while doing it respectful of our neighbors.

Growing up in a dog hunting county I don't get as bothered by deer dogs as a lot of folks. They can be irratating but the flipside is I have killed several nice deer that were headed back to their bedding area after dogs had come through. The issue I have as a landowner is wth certain clubs tearing up roads, dumping dogs on property lines, and cutting/bypassing gates. A tresspassing still hunter makes me allmost as angry and is no better but they tend not to destroy your paths. What the problem clubs all seem to have in common is they recruit members from all over the state in order to keep dues low. All a lot of these idiots want to do is drive a 4x4 as fast as they can down a path and sling mud then catch an attitude when told to leave. The clubs made up local guys hate the rouge clubs as much if not more than non dog hunters. I had to deal with a bunch of them this past weekend. The came warden couldn't make it out there in time to catch them but two out of the three plates I got came back to different vehicles when he ran them.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
nchunt101, I have hunted in the area in the past. I basically grew up in and consider the area where Franklin, Halifax, Nash and Warren counties corner, my old stomping grounds. The last club I hunted with those guys were good and I generally liked hunting with them. The membership got too low, pushing the dues too high. I know the president of Fork personally and he is a stand up man. We have had many a conversation on what the problems are and both of us, along with many others are letting others know that this behavior should not be tolerated within a dog club or any club for that matter.
 

RJ1

Ten Pointer
Buckshot32182,hunts Northern Dismal they have alot of land he's the only one I know of on here that hunts there,they also have alot of members.They have alot of bear hunters which makes the competition for running grounds hectic I am sure.
 
Last edited:

Treetall

Twelve Pointer
Buckshot32182,hunts Northern Dismal they have alot of land he's the only one I know of on here that hunts there,they also have alot of members.They have alot of bear hunters which makes the competition for running grounds hectic I am sure.


I’m in the northern dismal and also a small club not too far from walstonburg. I prefer a small crowd myself to hunt with
 

wildcat3

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I never liked hunting in a 30-40 man crowd on Saturdays. The best dog club I was ever in was also he smallest but we had a blast. At most we'd have 12 guys hunting. Lot of weekday hunts wed have 5-6.
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
Southampton always puts out big deer. I have long thought about trying to join a club there or Greensville Co.

sent from...... Tapatalk
 

bertienchunter

Twelve Pointer
Southampton always puts out big deer. I have long thought about trying to join a club there or Greensville Co.

sent from...... Tapatalk

There are definitely more good bucks up there than in Bertie. Bertie has turned right sorry. You kill a 4.5 y/o deer and they are 115-120 inches. I've gotten where I'm not that excited to even hunt in NC. Just in a club to hunt my dogs and possibly shoot a 15 inch deer.

Our rule up there is 14" inside or 14 tall. $100 fine first offense, $200 second and done after that.

It is a different way of thinking and hunting up there than how I grew up hunting with dogs. I have never been one to shoot a many small bucks even in NC so I like hunting up there. All the clubs around here are brown its down and hunt every day. We only hunt on Fridays and Saturdays up there and there is NO still hunting. Fits my style perfectly. There are 8 dog clubs within 4 miles of our hunting club that I know of.
 

JoeSam1975

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I have hunted down east, up in VA and around Wilson/Nash areas. As far as just running dogs, I hunted what is now the northern and Southern Dismal and you won't find a better place to run dogs. NO STATE maintained roads did I ever have to worry about. Deer are smaller but plentiful....I absolutely hated dog hunting in Wilson/Nash counties (IMHO) Blocks are just not big enough and too many roads. I loved hunting in VA, but that is a whole different ball game...We would have dogs running as soon as it was light enough to see and hunt til you couldn't see. Huge deer and you were tired when you got home on Saturday night/Sunday morning. I sold out of dogs a few years back, actually miss hunting in VA. One day I hope to join a club up that way.
 
Last edited:

clrj3514

Eight Pointer
I never liked hunting in a 30-40 man crowd on Saturdays. The best dog club I was ever in was also he smallest but we had a blast. At most we'd have 12 guys hunting. Lot of weekday hunts wed have 5-6.

That's how you get it done there. The only time I like the big crowds is when we have a bunch of kids there to do most of the shooting.
 

wildcat3

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
That's how you get it done there. The only time I like the big crowds is when we have a bunch of kids there to do most of the shooting.

Those days were when I found out just what a Toyota truck could take and what it couldn't.
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I never liked hunting in a 30-40 man crowd on Saturdays. The best dog club I was ever in was also he smallest but we had a blast. At most we'd have 12 guys hunting. Lot of weekday hunts wed have 5-6.
You just described the Albemarle hunt club. :)
We are lucky to have 12 to show up on a Saturday. We need at least 12 to 15 to properly hunt some of the tracts we have though......... unfortunately.
 
Last edited:

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
You just described the Albemarle hunt club. :)
We are lucky to have 12 to show up on a Saturday. We need at least 12 to 15 to properly hunt some of the tracts we have though......... unfortunately.

had 9 folks this past Saturday,,,,,7 standers,,,killed two bucks and ran a couple of others that escaped across the creeks,,,,,,

you missed a good day Jug!
 

RJ1

Ten Pointer
We had 18 show up that wanted to bear hunt today had four older gentleman hunting there is noway they could have gone to a tree,but they did get get to shoot at one that broke out an ran across a field sounded like a war going however they did get him before he got out of the field chase just didn't last long enough for me.We took another one off after a good chase around 1200 today took awhile to get that one out even with the portable winches.
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
had 9 folks this past Saturday,,,,,7 standers,,,killed two bucks and ran a couple of others that escaped across the creeks,,,,,,

you missed a good day Jug!
I am glad yall had a good day. Saturday before was horrible. None of the dog clubs in the Sandhills area had luck though from what I heard that day. Finally got some rain so the dogs can catch that scent.... ;)
 

bertienchunter

Twelve Pointer
In Va we might have 15 dog men and 30 standers. We have a heckuva crowd.

In NC we might have 10 trucks on a Saturday and 5-7 on a weekday.

I like the smaller crowd better. Get too many yahoos in a hunt together there ain't no telling what will happen.
 
Top