States
Hunts
Interests | ChoicesA hallmark of our do it yourself deer hunting is providing the hunter with choices of where, when and how to hunt. Flexibility is often lacking in hunter choices. Just as the MAHA hunter has over 200,000 acres of leases to select from he quickly sees he is no longer looking for just a or one place to deer hunt. He is actually deciding by tens of thousands of acres at a time where not to hunt. Our deer hunting is over a range of choices. This flexibility is further enhanced as our lease land covers three states and all three seasons in each state. Again, the hunter has the challenge of deciding where to spend his limited time from a selection of available options greater than his needs. He, at his election, within our Association may select to concentrate in one state or attempt to hunt two or three states. It is a common approach for the new Association member to concentrate on one state until acquiring knowledge of around 2,000 acres of ground. At that point that hunter has choices of where to hunt and expanding to a second state easily accomplished leaving the third state until a second set in the second state of around 2,000 acres is settled on. On this schedule it is typical by the third season for most deer hunter/members to be hunting two of our three states each year with which two on any given year the question. Once the hunter settles on a single state or states and a particular season or seasons to hunt the hunter sets his actual deer hunting schedule. He may hunt as many days as he wants at any time during any deer hunting season. This advantage comes from our limited membership both in overall members and those with deer hunting as a primary or secondary hunt interest. We then have more than 44% of our membership from outside of Kansas, Missouri or Iowa with many coming for that one valuable deer hunting vacation week a year. All this combined with that when deer hunting all hunters reserve a specific numbered lease per day per hunter and when he hunts that property he hunts it alone. And, there is more. If that first farm does not meet his expectations he may move on to another. Our land reservation system is not restrictive in terms of that we never deny any member to hunt any season day. It is restrictive in terms we insure each hunter hunts alone, free from the influences of other hunters on that numbered lease. Each of our deer leases is a variable number of acres dependent on two factors. The first is the central mid-west rural road network that is laid out in 1 mile squares breaking off the country side into 640 acre sections. These sections in many cases have over time been sold and resold into fractions of: half sections, 320 acres; quarter sections, 160 acres and 80's (80 acres) or 1/8 section. The average acreage for deer hunting per hunter per day is the 1/4 section, or 160 acres. The second acre delineation is based on deer hunting relative to habitat quality in terms of some key leases being subdivided into smaller portions as small as 80 acres as the habitat is thick and that area has a history of above average trophy deer production. In the case of this latter category the base reason for the smaller subdivisions is not to have a deer hunter on each 80 acre piece every day. It is that these properties are for deer hunting only during the season and anyone going there must commit to a very specific locality to prevent any from simply walking through the ground and applying pressure. Human on land pressure control is strict within our organization and continues with other requirements. Illustration of further human on land pressure beyond simply hunter pressure during the season includes no ATV's or off-road any type of petroleum powered vehicle for stand placement or take down, scouting and of course hunting. (We allow human powered bicycles and electric wheel chairs). Putting an ATV out there is easily 10 hunters worth or pressure. No guests for scouting, stand placement of hunts. If guests were allowed multiply each deer hunter/member by a minimum factor of two to evaluate human on land pressure. Our land is for use by members only that pay their way for quality habitat access. limited camping is prohibited on any deer or turkey lease again for the human pressure issue. Any farm that sees only occasional farmer crop activity that suddenly has a 24 hour/daily human camp presence will set on alert the surrounding deer. And, there are other controls we have with these examples being the most readily and commonly accepted practices that serious deer hunters can relate to and support. Conversely, in some other areas in Kansas the deer hunter may find himself alone on a full section, 640 acres, as that is all the deer habitat that ground will support. The confidence the deer hunter has that the Association will insure he has ample acreage to deer hunt every day is that we know fully the two reasons why we have a high renewal rate amongst our deer hunting members. It is due to first, all may deer hunt their own style on their schedule as often as they want and secondly they get to deer hunt without competition. Sustaining these two facets is the Association's method of operation and will be maintained.
Now to answer the most common question and that is the average acreage available per deer hunter per day is a 1/4 section, or 160 acres. Any locally experienced deer hunter will tell you that 160 acres in the central mid-west could mean enough deer hunting habitat for 6 or more stands or just enough cover habitat for one stand. In all cases each lease or sub section of a deer hunting lease will have habitat enough that very few are ever disappointed by the quality of habitat or the deer hunting opportunity to get on a trophy. Seeing a trophy whitetail deer is not the challenge. Getting that trophy deer in the truck is where the hunter gains the satisfaction of having deer hunted on his own with only the Association making the deer hunting leases available to do so.
MAHA MethodWe exist for those that want private land self guided deer hunting and do not want to waste time looking for a place to deer hunt. We have the acreage, the deer habitat, and the genetics to allow all the opportunity to achieve their own level of success, trophy or otherwise for those becoming trophy deer hunters.
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