Welcome To The Coop Forum

[SD51555]

Hey team,

You've just found the newest addition to Habitat Talk. In this forum, the goal is to have a place for people to discuss anything and everything coops and neighbors, and the wins and struggles that go along with it.

Can they work?
Can it work with my neighbors?
I want to do one, where do I start?
"My neighbors and I have been doing this for five years already...."
Everyone is on board except that one guy. What to do?
My coop likes the concept of working together but we're struggling to find consensus.
Updates from your coop. (Much like MDDI, you could use a thread here to communicate with your members)
Are there coop solutions for public land hunters?

I asked John to create this forum based on a discussion with Batman. Perhaps the most important and hardest component of realizing improved hunting is harvest management. Given that nearly all of us don't own enough land to have our own contained ecosystem, this forum should be right up there in importance with food plots, native habitat, cover and water.

 

[bueller]

Really hard to envision a coop forming and working in an area where the deer numbers are down and the hunters want meat. Maybe someday if the numbers return to where they were it would be possible.

 

[biglakeba$$]

So far this winter I have reached out to 3 different neighbors, and have not received a call or text back from any of them. No mention of a co-op, just reached out to see if any of them would like to meet up this winter and talk deer.....

 

[bueller]

So far this winter I have reached out to 3 different neighbors, and have not received a call or text back from any of them. No mention of a co-op, just reached out to see if any of them would like to meet up this winter and talk deer.....

They are too busy making sausage from the 12 deer they took

 

[biglakeba$$]

They are too busy making sausage from the 12 deer they took

No, they are probably out ice fishing now and putting their 12th limit of sunfish into the freezer........ :)

 

[SD51555]

We've had our best luck meeting neighbors by just popping in when the day is over. That first meeting is a hard one. We met a couple guys that owned a 40 a few parcels down from us this fall. We could tell we weren't on exactly the same page as far as land improvement and harvest considerations. What we did find was concern about the number of deer and prevalence of wolves. I think these guys are the typical case study of those who aren't perfectly geared towards our way of thinking, but could be moved in the right direction for the greater good. We may never realize a buck protection agreement, but may could possibly earn a couple years of doe protection.

 

[bueller]

We've had our best luck meeting neighbors by just popping in when the day is over. That first meeting is a hard one. We met a couple guys that owned a 40 a few parcels down from us this fall. We could tell we weren't on exactly the same page as far as land improvement and harvest considerations. What we did find was concern about the number of deer and prevalence of wolves. I think these guys are the typical case study of those who aren't perfectly geared towards our way of thinking, but could be moved in the right direction for the greater good. We may never realize a buck protection agreement, but may could possibly earn a couple years of doe protection.

I agree that getting people on board with doe protection would come long before any type of buck protection in my area.

 

[bueller]

I think a very important thing to consider when establishing a co-op is that the "leader" is the key. Getting something set up will require a charismatic leader who is able to communicate with many different kinds of people. Varying education levels, socioeconomic status, rural vs. urban upbringing and current living situations, etc. etc. etc. will present real challenges

All that and be a full time resident with some decent acreage. Being a "fixture" in the neighborhood will be taken much seriously than a "weekend warrior" that the locals will question.

 

[sandbur]

I think passing on some does is the key for many of us. In time I would hope most would take the route of shooting ONE deer that they are happy with and forget this two deer or more idea until we definitely have plenty of deer.

Keep emphasizing one deer and party hunting legally if you are going to party hunt at all. I just hate the idea of hunters carrying multiple license of other people in their pockets.

 

[sandbur]

Maybe 15-20 years ago, I briefly talked to my neighbors in the area where I live. We did not agree on goals and I have not tried since.

All of the neighbors where I live are great neighbors. They do not trespass and we respect each others boundaries.

I have pretty much given up on the coop idea. To each their own, as long as they hunt legally and respect my land.
There is no public land in my section, but there is a 500 acre wildlife management area within 1/4 mile. This tends to make me think that a coop will have little affect when the biggest piece of habitat is public land with mulitple doe tags.

 

[bat man]

All that and be a full time resident with some decent acreage. Being a "fixture" in the neighborhood will be taken much seriously than a "weekend warrior" that the locals will question.

Start reaching out and I think you would be surprised. 3 of the 4 'officers' our cooperative are citiots.

The first step is to get to know the locals so they know you as one of them when it comes to deer issues.

I know almost as many in my hunting area than there are active participants in this forum.

 

[bat man]

Maybe 15-20 years ago, I briefly talked to my neighbors in the area where I live. We did not agree on goals and I have not tried since.

All of the neighbors where I live are great neighbors. They do not trespass and we respect each others boundaries.

I have pretty much given up on the coop idea. To each their own, as long as they hunt legally and respect my land.
There is no public land in my section, but there is a 500 acre wildlife management area within 1/4 mile. This tends to make me think that a coop will have little affect when the biggest piece of habitat is public land with mulitple doe tags.

Letting your neighbors know Your plans goals objectives lets them adjust their goals. Keep them in the dark they may assume you shoot everything and they will do the same.

I play middleman for more than one set of neighbors who have never spoken and it saved a bunch of momma deer past couple years.

 

[bat man]

I think passing on some does is the key for many of us. In time I would hope most would take the route of shooting ONE deer that they are happy with and forget this two deer or more idea until we definitely have plenty of deer.

Keep emphasizing one deer and party hunting legally if you are going to party hunt at all. I just hate the idea of hunters carrying multiple license of other people in their pockets.

MN does not have enough deer to advocate for legal party hunting in my book. More tags than adult deer does not justify trying to find someone else to kill your deer.

 

[bat man]

The single most important thing you can do is open dialogue with your neighbors. That is the start.

Cooperatives don't exist to dictate what will and won't be shot. You will never succeed if you plan to tell any neighbor what they should and should not do. Your goals will never be identical.

Success comes when the majority of the area hunters realize better hunting is on the horizon because as a group they learn what needs to be done, and they do it.

 

[bueller]

I think passing on some does is the key for many of us. In time I would hope most would take the route of shooting ONE deer that they are happy with and forget this two deer or more idea until we definitely have plenty of deer.

Keep emphasizing one deer and party hunting legally if you are going to party hunt at all. I just hate the idea of hunters carrying multiple license of other people in their pockets.

One deer per year is all my family eats and all that I will take off my land.

 

[bueller]

Does anyone else in your family hunt? If not, will they at some point? If so, what's your plan for then?

My dad hunts his land and I imagine he will continue to do so. On average he takes one deer every other year. A friend of mine is also in our camp and he has the green light to take one deer per year if he wishes. My friend and i hunt both properties.

I have two boys that will hopefully be hunting with us but that is a few years away yet. By then I imagine I will have graduated on to becoming more selective in what I harvest and the goal will shift to getting them a deer, much like my father did for me years ago.

We have always gun hunted. Since we started bow a couple years ago we all agreed one buck per hunter per year regardless of which weapon or tag used. Also one doe per hunter per year no matter how many tags we have. We have stayed way below these standards every year. But our neighbors I'm not so sure about.

 

[bueller]

Yes its a fine line between trying to provide a quality hunt for the kids and others without giving up all hope of continuing to improve the overall deer herd on the property. I'll be in trouble if the boys get their cousins and/or friends involved.

 

[j-bird]

I don't have a coop, but I do have a great relationship with most of my neighbors. Most of you saw my post on when I found a stand on my place or had to enter a neighbors several trying to recover a deer. These neighbors support hunting, but don't hunt themselves. I think to pursue a coop you will have to find and stick to a common ground. You have to find that common ground first and may require a lot of education first.

 

[bueller]

Overall I think the concept of coops is a great idea for some areas, namely those where hunters have seen the dream of harvesting monster bucks become reality. Pretty tough to get hunters to consider passing on those 2.5 year old bucks when they are in the top 20% of the buck population. Another factor is that it's pretty hard to get a majority on board when you have 30 hunters in a square mile. That kind of pressure puts one hell of a hurting on the herd year after year.

 

[Satchmo]

There will be many challenges to forming these coops, but an avalanche begins with a single snowflake. Is it easier not to try.....definately, but change does not come without effort. Simply opening lines of communication is the first step.

A coop does not have to mean a set of rules among neighbors. This is grass roots work. It is all about communication. I am going to simply talk to my adjacent area landowners and ask them about their recent hunting observations. I will then take the opportunity to tell them ours and state my plans to try and improve the local population on my property. I can then guage their receptiveness to working together. This will take time.

Our plan since buying the land in 2010 is that my buddy, my oldest son, and I leave a single doe harvest to my youngest son. The three of us only hunt mature bucks. This is a fluid plan from year to year as the doe population hopefully will increase to support more harvest and we can be more selective on bucks. But, I would never want to "impose" a set of rules on anyones outdoor experience, especially our youth, but through communication, we may find enough apathetic neighbors that are willing to curtail their harvest enough to help bring the herd back quicker. Again, it will take time.

Hopefully, as those neighbors see some positive results and are informed of the fact that surrounding properties are not getting "hammered" , they will warm to the idea of a more structured coop.

I truly believe that until the DNR gets straightened out, this will be the best option for those of us "on the ground" to help our deer herd and have a quality hunting experience. Sure beats sitting around waiting for them to fix it!