Hunt Camp Rules

I'm not bashing having rules, I just don't find it necesarry in my group to have the rules posted, written, vocalized or keep track on infractions.

If someone said 10 O'clock is lights out, we'd laugh at them.

If at 10 O'clock Jodi is tired and hits the hay, we'll do our damndest to be quieter, or just quietly chat and soon turn in as well.

If an animal is shot, no one needs to identify the gutter, we're all there lending a hand.

If the drinks are flowing, no one needs to lock our rifles up.

We don't need a rule to tell us within 50 feet of camp you can't have a loaded gun or your booted out of camp.

It must definitely be the difference in the groups we hunt in and the camps we setup and the people we invite. We've had new guys com to our camp.
They'll drink it up, puke it up, laugh it up, learn along the way, it's all part of it. I guess mainly, the people that I extend the invitation to, or end up falling in with, are not guys who need to be reminded of rules. Our common experiences as hunters, men, Fathers, sons, friends, students, workers, coservationists, etc etc. have most of us on the same wavelength.

After 5 minutes talking to someone, I know If I want to hunt with them or not. If I don't want to, they don't get invited. The ones that do get invited are those that subcribe to a similar moral and social compass as myself, therefore few issues.

I have gone for beers with guys rom this sight. I have made a few good buddies and have also learned of a few guys I will never ever in my life ever ever hunt with. The guys who became good buddies, know the rules without being told, the guys who didn't, well they didn't, end of issue.
 
Rule #1: What happens at the camp, stays at the camp.
Rule #2: Have fun.
Rule #3: Piss in the piss bucket, not on the deck.
Rule #4: Clean up after yourself.
 
sealhunter said:
After 5 minutes talking to someone, I know If I want to hunt with them or not. If I don't want to, they don't get invited. The ones that do get invited are those that subcribe to a similar moral and social compass as myself, therefore few issues.

I have gone for beers with guys rom this sight. I have made a few good buddies and have also learned of a few guys I will never ever in my life ever ever hunt with. The guys who became good buddies, know the rules without being told, the guys who didn't, well they didn't, end of issue.
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The problem, how I see it, is that some folks don't have the last word on who comes to a camp AND in most cases, it does not appear to be a democratic process either. It is for this reason, the guidelines are there. If there is an understanding of what is to be expected, there should be no excuses.
 
sealhunter said:
After 5 minutes talking to someone, I know If I want to hunt with them or not. If I don't want to, they don't get invited. The ones that do get invited are those that subcribe to a similar moral and social compass as myself, therefore few issues.

I have gone for beers with guys rom this sight. I have made a few good buddies and have also learned of a few guys I will never ever in my life ever ever hunt with. The guys who became good buddies, know the rules without being told, the guys who didn't, well they didn't, end of issue.
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X2....;)
 
My group just doesn't have a need for 'rules' like this. Common sense prevails to me. If someone has a beer with lunch, so what? Getting drunk, you put your guns away.

Split costs, split meat, both obvious.

Everyone helps when work needs to be done.

I just don't see the need for all the rules? I have enought rules to follow at home in Southern Ontario without making more up!
 
I agree with Gatehouse, why hunt with guys you need rules with....

We have no issues, as we all get along... if frustration mounts, just leave it be for the night and tomorrows a new day. We all drink in the evening and go to bed when you are tierd, if you dont go to bed and hung over well thats your own fault, we take turns cooking and cleaning and if one guy cooks 3 nights in a row oh well, who cares... I hunt with family and friends I have grown up with my whole life from 16 year old cousins to 65-70 year old uncles..

I hate rules like getting told when and what to do, and if I had to hunt around them I would not go to camp, I would just Hunt solo.
 
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Sometimes there needs to be some type of guidelines.

If every camp member brought a friend or two, then all of a sudden there's 20-25 people showing up at camp. So who has the say on who stays and who goes? Keep in mind that you may not know 1/2 of them.

Nobody likes to have rules, but there needs to be some lines drawn that are agreed upon. You guys say "then he doesn't get invited back..." Says who? Who makes you the boss or the inviter. Maybe another member will invite him back anyway. These things sometimes need to be dealt with.
 
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rob870 said:
If you have a good set of camp rules a copy wouold be a great help.

Rob
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Bahh, we dont have no darn rules! Are you serious?? You are there to have a good time, not to follow rules. We do what ever we want when we go, no one is dead yet, and we have had no trouble...
 
Culture clash. Big wide-open provinces with a history of individual hunters or very small groups, vs organized camps of hunters (especially in Ontario).

Most Ontario deer and moose hunters belong to camps, and every camp has its rules, whether they are written or unwritten. A small camp with a few guys will not need written rules. A bigger camp, with changing membership, definitely needs written rules OR an authoritarian hunt captain, or both. But in general, for a well-run, HAPPY hunt camp, all of the people should know what the expectations are. And in general, somebody needs to be the gate-keeper as in the case that blargon mentions - what if everybody just decides to invite a buddy or three? That just does not work.

I have been in a lot of camps, and I have run a few myself. The most enjoyable camps are the ones where "everybody knows the rules" whether they are written down or not. We party hunt in Ontario, and MOST camps have some meat sharing agreement, maybe based on days hunted (my usual), or maybe based on equal shares regardless of how many days each guy hunts, or whatever. If a new guy comes into camp, shoots a deer and tags it, then expects that all of the meat is his, that just might clash with the camp expectations and "guidelines."

I think what guys are saying here when they suggest guidelines, is that they find their hunt camp experience more enjoyable if they know what is expected of them and of their buddies. In many (probably most) cases, that does not need written rules, but it does mean that everybody knows what those expectations might be.

I think that most hunters will very instinctively know what is expected of them in the situation in which they find themselves - like all the guys who say they do not need rules/etc. But at the risk of repeating myself, a camp that is more than maybe a half-dozen or so guys, and which has a shifting membership, will benefit from some time-tested "RULES" that are accepted by all. Here is an example: you are a fairly new member of a camp, and have been accepted by the gang after your first (initiation) year. Billy-Bob, who is a long-standing member, does something you think is unsafe, illegal, whatever, and makes your hunt less than happy - if you do not have some kind of hierarchy and/or rules, it is either "suck it up, buttercup" or find a new camp. MAYBE your view does not match the camp view, in which case it is time to move on. But if it is a mature camp with reasonable "rules" then you can appeal to the more senior members to get the situation resolved.

YES I KNOW this is a foreign concept to lots of you folks who hunt with the same group of folks (or by yourself, or maybe one buddy). But in Ontario, and in most camps, an agreed-on set of principles is a good thing.

JMOYMV

Doug
 
In reference to what I said above.

Keep in mind that I have VERY limited experience with group hunts, my gang this year consisted of myself and two others. I'm friends with both of them, but they don't get along particularly well, so we needed to lay out some rules so that everyone felt as if they were being treated fairly. I have definitely learned a lot this year and I will make some changes for next year, but overall I think it worked fairly well, BUT I can see how a large group with changing membership could get to be a PITA.

Having guidelines might not be the ticket for an established stable group, but for a group that is just forming they might be useful.

They might also be useful for a new guy coming into camp, give them to him before hand so he has some time to absorb what is expected of him, his first hunt camp is going to be an experience that he/she remembers for a long, long time. If they know what is expected of them it will make the learning curve easier for everyone and will likely make their first hunt more memorable.

A lot of the people who 'don't need no rules' have rules at their camp, they just aren't formalized, they are just habit/common sense. This like ' don't invite #######s' and 'you shoot it you gut it' are rules that you already have, they just aren't written, a new guy might feel more comfortable/useful if they have half an idea of what is going on.

As for my stance on the booze rules; I always have to babysit my OLDER brother when the booze starts flowing, so forgive me if I have a lack of sympathy for people who drink more than they can handle. Sure the person who drinks too much have a good time, but they can ruin the experience for a lot of the people around them. Have some drinks, get a buzz, feel good. But when people start passing out they have crossed the line, and they are making the experience less enjoyable for everyone else, which is why we go on these trips.


Like I stated before, common sense should be the #1 priority.
 
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YES I KNOW this is a foreign concept to lots of you folks who hunt with the same group of folks (or by yourself, or maybe one buddy). But in Ontario, and in most camps, an agreed-on set of principles is a good thing.
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Wow, you learn something every day.......never knew that there was such a big hunting camp culture in the east......great explaination!
 
Wow, and women are supposed to be bossy?????
At our camp, safety comes first & everyone knows it without being babysat!
We all take care of ourselves and eachother!
 
Other than common sense we have 2 rules.

1. If you don't apply for a doe tag you do dishes the week your there!

2. If a phone rings inside the camp it's a $20 fine going into the biggest deer pot :)
 
Our moose gang has the basic "Common Sense" rules, and it is run as a democracy as far as governance goes.

Everyone contributes to the gang, financially and physically.

No loaded guns at camp.

No piss tanks hunting. (If you want a beer at lunch, that's fine however.)

Make sure your job is done OR you answer to the rest of the gang.

Be safe and have fun.
 
I think the only rule at our camp that I didn't see here was if we're walking into our stands or hunting area only the guy at the front can load his rifle/shotgun. No one wants to get shot in the ass from a falling buddy or an incredibly pooly aimed shot.

The rules at our camp are simple and they never need to get reiterated as the guys that come up are the same every year with the exception of their kids. If you drink the guns are away, no #######s, no complaining about the food yadda yadda yadda. The great thing about our camp is there's a guy that always gets up early to take a #### so he turns on the genny nice and early. There's another guy that loves to cook and he's damn good at it and best all of their all good #### to drink and play cards with.
 
sealhunter said:
I'm not bashing having rules, I just don't find it necesarry in my group to have the rules posted, written, vocalized or keep track on infractions.

If someone said 10 O'clock is lights out, we'd laugh at them.

If at 10 O'clock Jodi is tired and hits the hay, we'll do our damndest to be quieter, or just quietly chat and soon turn in as well.

If an animal is shot, no one needs to identify the gutter, we're all there lending a hand.

If the drinks are flowing, no one needs to lock our rifles up.

We don't need a rule to tell us within 50 feet of camp you can't have a loaded gun or your booted out of camp.

It must definitely be the difference in the groups we hunt in and the camps we setup and the people we invite. We've had new guys com to our camp.
They'll drink it up, puke it up, laugh it up, learn along the way, it's all part of it. I guess mainly, the people that I extend the invitation to, or end up falling in with, are not guys who need to be reminded of rules. Our common experiences as hunters, men, Fathers, sons, friends, students, workers, coservationists, etc etc. have most of us on the same wavelength.

After 5 minutes talking to someone, I know If I want to hunt with them or not. If I don't want to, they don't get invited. The ones that do get invited are those that subcribe to a similar moral and social compass as myself, therefore few issues.

I have gone for beers with guys rom this sight. I have made a few good buddies and have also learned of a few guys I will never ever in my life ever ever hunt with. The guys who became good buddies, know the rules without being told, the guys who didn't, well they didn't, end of issue.
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wow

Just wow:eek:

I totally agree with you.

After hunting with a person once I know whether he/she would be a fit for our group.

We only ever had one rule. Check to make sure you got no #### on the back of the seat and if you did ,clean it
 
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