Sportsmen's Club
Monticello, GA
Overview
GNG was established in 1993 and began practicing QDM in 2000. The Club is approximately fifty miles southeast of Atlanta between the historic towns of Monticello and Eatonton in Jasper County. The Club camp is eight miles southeast of Monticello and is located on Old Hillsboro Road about a quarter of a mile east of highway 212.
Hunters here enjoy access to thriving deer and turkey populations, small game animals from quail to foxes and bobcats, and fishing ponds stocked with bass and bream. Our greatest assets, however, are the members themselves.
Members of GNG Sportsman's Club are dedicated to the long term sustainability of the land we maintain as well as the proper balance of wildlife in the area. The hunting practices we use help to guarantee that future generations will be able to enjoy this land as much as we do.
Club Organization
The Club has a President and three managers. The President and the managers have the responsibility of determining the Club’s policies and to assure that in the long term, the Club is being operated in a manner that is in best interest of the land, the land owner, the game and the long term sustainability of the Club and its membership. The President and the managers determine this by complying with land owners’ requirements and by utilizing proven game, forestry, QDM and agricultural management practices and with extensive input from the membership.
Land
GNG leases two thousand acres from four different Georgia land owners. All of the property is within a few minutes’ drive by truck or ATV from the Club camp. The timber is a mixture of pines and hardwood bottoms and intersected with numerous streams. The pines are at various stages of development ranging from clear cuts, planted pines, thinned pines and mature pines. Mature hardwood bottoms and streams are on every parcel of property. This provides the member with a variety of hunting situations from which to choose. The clear cuts and thinned pines have been especially productive.
Membership
GNG currently maintains twenty five members. The Club has members living in Tennessee, Florida, Arizona and Georgia. Membership allows the member to hunt deer, turkey, small game and fish. Membership does not include a spouse but it does include kids. The Club encourages members to bring their child and participate in a parent supervised hunt from the same stand. When a child meets the State requirements and with the approval of a Club manager, the child will be allowed to hunt with parental supervision in a separate stand.
Although the member has year round access to the property, recreational riding of ATVs is strictly forbidden and extended stays at the Club camp is discouraged. Members are required to adhere to all State and Federal game regulations and to follow ethical and courteous behavior to other members at all times.
Food Plots and Club Stands
The Club has forty-five food plots strategically located throughout the property. All the plots have a Club stand overlooking it. The stands consist of tripods, quad pods, tower stands and ladder stands. All have skirts and tops or are enclosed. Numerous stands are two person stands intended for use by a parent and child.
A member may have personal stands. However, personal stands cannot be located within two hundred yards of a Club stand or food plot or another personal stand.
The Club plants all forty-five plots in the spring and again in the fall. This requires a tremendous amount of work and cannot be accomplished without the generous support of several members. Because of this generosity, the Club has access and use of five tractors, four bush hogs, several drags, a rock rake, two Rangers and numerous other types’ equipment. The Club reimburses the member for the fuel used in their equipment but it does not compensate for the wear and maintenance. Keep this in mind when you are requested to help complete a Club project that requires the use of your truck or ATV. Every member is expected to contribute effort and expenses to better the hunting enjoyment of all members.
Work Days
The Club schedules four work weekends each year. Two are scheduled in the spring and two in the fall. Every member is required to attend a minimum of two of these each year. If a member does not meet this minimum, they will not be invited back the next year. Some allowances are made if a member discusses their particular situation in advance with the President. Working on a camper, scouting and putting up personal stands are not considered Club work. The President and managers help assign projects to the members.
Pin-In Board
For safety purposes, the Club utilizes a pin-in board. The board is covered, has a light and a concrete floor. Each hunt starts with the member pinning in and ends with the member pinning out.
Guests
A member can have a guest for two days a year. The member must be present at the Club with the guest and the member is responsible for his/her guest’s actions and behavior. Guest cannot hunt during muzzle load week, the first week of gun season or the first week of turkey season.
Deer Processing
After harvesting your deer, the real work begins. The Club has made this much easier for our members. The Club has a covered skinning shed. The shed has lights, water, sinks, counters, a concrete floor, an electric hoist and a weight scale. Each member is responsible for weighing their deer and recording the required information in the Club harvest book. Each member is responsible for putting guts, skin etc. in a bag for proper disposal. After processing the member is responsible for washing the skinning floor, the sink and the counter. Next to the skinning shed is the Club’s 12’by 12’ commercial cooler. During deer season, the cooler maintains a 38 degree temperature for cooling and ageing your deer. Bags for disposal, a disposal site and tags for deer in the cooler are provided by the Club.
If a member does not want to process their deer, a commercial deer processor is conveniently located five miles from the Club camp.
Shooting Range
The Club has an excellent shooting range for sighting in your hunting rifles. It has an elevated covered shed with a wood floor. The shed has a bench rest, chairs and gun racks. There is a fifty yard range with a back stop and a 100 yard range with a back stop.
Fishing
The Club has three recently constructed ponds stocked with bass and bream. Catch and release is the rule. Additionally, one property has a fifteen acre beaver pond with fish and it attracts both duck and geese.
Club Camp
Our Club camp has electric and water hook-ups for campers and four security lights in the camp area. Electricity is included in the Club dues. Currently, there are fifteen campers in the camp with four spots remaining for additional campers. Each member is responsible for their septic and septic maintenance. The camp provides a great opportunity for camaraderie among our members with shared cookouts and gathering places. Social drinking of adult beverages is allowed. Excessive drinking or drinking just before or during a hunt is not allowed and will not be tolerated. Every member in camp is expected to be courteous and polite to fellow campers.
Club Dues
Club dues are $1400 per year and are due between 1/01 and 1/15.