Wilderness Unlimited

[Mel Carter]

Man, to those who are members of WU, did you see how many hog and deer properties they just lost, I don't see how they can keep their current members happy. They lost like 3 of their hog/deer properties, and 3 deer properites that I think were either in the B zone or C zone.

I was thinking of going back as an active member next year, but unless they get some more properties like Ashurst, Peachtree and longview, no way.

It seems like they have been losing a lot of their top properties over the last couple of years, and haven't been getting anything close to replace them.

 

[Tree Doc]

Hey Mel, I'm an active member and I have to say that I didn't hear of any lost leases recently. Where did you hear that? Maybe I missed something.

BTW...I haven't recieved my June newsletter though.

 

[Coondog]

Tree Doc... Check out these threads:

Wilderness Unlimited

Wilderness Unlimited

There are probably more, but I just remembered these from recently...

 

[Tree Doc]

Hmmm....interesting at least. I'm a 4th year member and haven't really had much problem. I find it interesting how so many hear of these occasional issues that crop up and then say "I'm not gonna join and I'm telling all my buddies!" or that "$1300 is way too much for a Pig Hunt." Up here on the Central Coast you're lucky if you can get on a private ranch and hunt a pig for less than $450 and that doesn't include a trophy fee if that applies. As for Waterfowling....yeah, go fight the public on a Refuge or drop a minimum of $1000 on ONE SEAT in blind. WU fees aren't cheap but I think they're fair when you look at the big picture.

WU is certainly not for everyone but I hunt Deer, Pig, Upland, and Waterfowl and hunt all of the open seasons plus Pig. I'm self employed so I go a lot during the weekdays and seldom have issues getting on properties. I do have some issues with WU in some respects but before I piss and moan I try a figure a solution and look at both sides of the issue.

 

[Coondog]

Tree Doc.. I know nothing about WU and have never hunted public land... Hell, I am not even from Cali.. but, I did read those posts.. I think they have every right to piss and moan if they were told they could hunt one place, pack up all of their stuff, make plans to leave, and then receive a phone call the day of the hunt that they either cannot go to the ranch or have to go on a different day! You can bet your shorts I would be very fired up.. Even more so if I was paying dues every year!!! Glad that you have not had to experience any of this, but they sure have been getting some bad press here lately...

 

[Live2hunt]

Mel,

I didn't hear about WU lost any lease. I'm suspicious that Los Gatos and Cummings were about to be dropped off after what happened to Doccherry and Nofear. Did they lost LongView too?

Now tell me they lost Bear Wallow, Cold Creek, and Salt Creek. I never like WU leasing those three properties. I think those three leases were a waste of members' money. Before WU lease them, they were open to the public and I used to hunt there. I felt bad about giving my money to WU and they used it to lease lands that I could hunt it without them being involved.



L2H

 

[Mel Carter]

I just got the new flyer and all the properties they lost are in there, saying to remove the map due to lease expired. I know that sometimes they get the lease back, but It gives a description on another page saying something like it was sold or something. So I doubt they will get them back.

L2H, I think the ones you mentioned where the ones they lost. But I know for sure they lost Longview tract, but the got back Twin Peaks, which is over by Los gatos creek.

When you get the flyer, you'll see which ones were lost.

 

[Live2hunt]

Woohoo!.........they got one of my favorite ranch back (Twin peaks). Tonight when I get home, I'm gonna dig in my piggy bank and start counting the coins to see if it equal $1100. Stay tuned for pics of pig or buck when deer season open.



L2H

 

[Tree Doc]

L2, where is the Twin Peaks property? I don't recall it being on the roster since I've been onboard.

 

[KevinZ]

I talked to a Patrolman a few weeks ago and was told that Longview was being sold. However, once the sale was complete, negotiations were expected to commence with the new owner. Never know how that will turn out though.

 

[Live2hunt]

Tree Doc, Twin Peaks was leased by WU from 1996 to May of 2001 or 2002. It's one of those year when WU lost the lease on Ashurst and Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks is just on the opposite side of Los Gatos Road from the Los Gatos Creek Property.

KevinZ, One thing about that Patrolman (Fred something) on LongView. He is one of the most full of it man that I've met. I don't believe or have a hard time believing a single word he say. There are two patrolmen (Cliff Guyton and Luis Escobar) that I could trust and believe the majority of things they told me about WU and the properties they patrolled. "The property is sold" is what WU always claimed whenever they lost a lease. I found out that is not always true. When WU lost the Covelo East, Buck Mtn LP, and a couple other ranches in the same vicinity, they claimed those properties were sold. Several months after WU lost the leases, I looked at the Golden Ram website and the background of pictures of the new leases that Golden Ram acquired looked familiar. I talked to a Golden Ram Rep faking an attemp to join the club and got the real word that Golden Ram just leased the former WU Covelo East and Buck Mtn LP and they named it BarZ. I asked how they got the new owner's contact info and the Rep told me it was the same owner as they had leased the properties way before WU had got it. Not sure how long ago was that. Same story goes to the Ashurst Ranch when WU lost the lease a couple years ago. Infact WU lost the lease on Ashurst twice. The first time they claimed the ranch was sold. The following year WU got the lease back. I was hunting on the property and happened to stumbled onto the owner named, Wayne Ashurst, riding his horse on the hill. I stopped to chat with him for a while. He told me it was all BS about the ranch being sold. Unless the guy I met on the hill was BS-ing he was the owner, then I have no comment. But when I was talking to him, it doesn't sound like he was BS-ing.


L2H

 

[Tree Doc]

Got it! Just received my newsletter this evening. I do remember Ashurst as it was one of the 15,000 acre ranches that I was looking forward to hunting when I signed up (December) and by the time waterfowl season was over it was gone along with another right across the street if memory serves me correctly. Both equalled almost 30,000 acres I think. I was pretty bummed about that because it reduced my ability to hunt "closer proximity" properties.

Fortunately we picked up Rinconada! That's darned near in my backyard and I have been fortunate to harvest a nice Pig and a huge Tom this season (my first Turkey). As for Scheller....phooey! I used to rifle hunt it for Pig, Deer, and Quail. One of my clients used to own it all and still owns the property that you go through to access it as well as another client owns all the land to the west of it. My friend & gun dealer was responsible for turning salesman Fred Piekert (sp) on to the possible availability of that lease as Scheller wanted to much cash for a private gig. Scheller couldn't be getting all that much from WU but I really don't know that much about that side of the equation. Scheller apparently requested it be Archery Only and NO DOGS for shotgun Quail hunting. I've taken a lot of Quail off that property with my dog and from a conservation standpoint, not allowing Dogs for Quail hunting is a crime as the brush is so thick it's tough even for my Lab who has an exceptional nose. I get a little miffed at the Dog restrictions that are placed on so many properties. They just always assume the worst case scenario I suppose and it's easier to say no. I think that is BS and unethical not to mention a wanton waste of game.

 

[Live2hunt]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

Got it! Just received my newsletter this evening. I do remember Ashurst as it was one of the 15,000 acre ranches that I was looking forward to hunting when I signed up (December) and by the time waterfowl season was over it was gone along with another right across the street if memory serves me correctly. Both equalled almost 30,000 acres I think. I was pretty bummed about that because it reduced my ability to hunt "closer proximity" properties.[/b]

Yep that is correct. At the same time WU lost Ashurst and Triple E (the one across from Ashurst), they also lost Los Gatos Creek, Twin Peaks, and San Antonio. Good thing they got Los Gatos Creek back last year and now Twin Peaks. Although I still missed one of the better productive portion of Los Gatos Creek that is no longer in the lease.



L2H

 

[Huntnlady]

Although properties come and go, there's still no better club than Wilderness Unlimited. I know, because I have been a member since 1981 (in the ASC before it became WU). I have also been a member of Golden Ram. During the times I had to go inactive because of financial concerns, I hunted public land. Try finding any pigs on public land. Talk about your basic walk in the woods.

ALL WU properties have game on them. I have not been to Palm, but I know member Tom Merenkovich took a pig there, and there are pigs there.

I invite you to view just some of my pictures of deer, pigs, bear, and elk on my web site. Every one was taken on a WU property.

In 23 years as a member, I have never had my reservation cancelled at the last minute, either. That was only one unfortunate accident that happened to that guy. It is in no way typical of the club's record.

Besides having lots of game on the properties, they are litter-free and behind locked gates with a wholesome family atmosphere. They are managed for game, with programs such as controlled burns, special plantings and flooding for waterfowl. There is no better club in Calif. than WU.

Take it from me, who is just an overweight old woman who hunts alone. If you can't get game on WU properties, perhaps you should just move to Texas and do canned hunts behind high fences. I've tried that too- there was no challenge.

 

[Tree Doc]

Hi HuntnLady, I can't say that I have your experience with WU but so far I find it well worth the money. You have to use it though and I feel that might be a big problem for some members or "ex" members as they don't have the schedule flexibility that some of us do and they just don't utilize it but find themselves paying for it and I think that fuels anger. Just my thought on that regard.

As for Palm, I have personally taken a nice Hog off of Palm about a year ago. In fact, I literally just got in the door having made it home from today's Ground Squirrel Shoot on Palm Ranch. My Plus member guest and I absolutely slayed 'em all day!!! Had an awesome dinner, as usual, at the Parkfield Cafe on the trip home too! As for Deer there, haven't seen a one in 3-4 trips to that property but I have never been specifically for Deer Hunting.

Regarding cancellations? Not here so far. The only thing close was I had a rezzy on Rinconada for the 4th weekend of "A" Zone Deer and a few days before my
rezzy I was notified "no more deer may be harvested" as the ranch quota was met. I went anyway and took a nice Pig

 

[sparky (akaT2)]

Hey tree doc, it's me again.

I've been quiet long enough so here goes. Huntenlady, Seems to me W.U. is very hush hush when it comes to giving their members info. I know when I belonged it was as if you were asking for sombodies first born if you asked questions about membership size, game taken on a particular property ie.. how many ducks were shot last weekend etc. So it does not surpries me that members are given the runaround when asking why a property was lost. I am not going to go into detail again why i left, but I need to ask. To what other clubs are you comparing W.U to when you say it is the best in the state? Golden ram ? Why were you a member of G.R. if you are so happy with W.U.? You are right , all W.U. properties have game on them, so does public land and so does my backyard, that doesn't make the hunting any better. I will give you the fact that you have a better chance at a pig than on public, but is 2 hogs worth 1200 a year? Unless something has changed dramatically in the last few years, I never saw a W.U. ranch managed specifically for game. I see controlled burns on N.F. land all the time and the rice will be flooded wether it is a hunting property or not, so I would not call these practices W.U attempt to manage for game. I am glad you like your club, but I am presenting my 2 cents so that the next guy that is willing to throw down a couple grand to join , has an opinion from an EX member. If I had the benifit of these forums before I joined I would have thought twice and asked alot more questions. Anyways, welcome to the forum, please feel free to share your opinions, stoies and pictures. I

hope you don't think I am pickin on you, nothing personal, I pick on all the W.U. members. Just ask Doc.

 

[mallarditis]

I rarely defend WU even though I am a member and have been for over 10 years. It has its faults and has its benefits but sometimes the arguments AGAINST the club are just a total demonstation of peoples stupidity. When someone says, "1200 is too much for 2 hogs" that just isn't valid unless the only activity that person participates in is pig hunting. If you are a single hunter it is still a good deal if you hunt a minimum of 3 species (ie. deer, pigs, ducks). If you are a family that hunts the club is way under priced. I have a family of 5 (at this point only 3 hunt), where could I get this access for 1200 per year for all of us. A quality blacktail hunt in Ca on private property without a guide goes for 750+ per gun per hunt, that is the reality. People can say they don't like the club and they will have valid points but to complain about the price is crazy. Are the properties "managed" specifically for game? Hell no! This is private ranch access not trophy quality top tier hunting. But keep in mind you can spend 3500 on a guided Blacktail hunt in Ca easily and have a good chance to shoot a 3x3 and an outside chance at something bigger but I have shot trophy deer on WU properties on a few occassions and have shot many "respectable" bucks. The duck hunting has gone down hill over the last few years but show me a duck club that hasn't. The club is what it is, a place to go that is TYPICALLY better than public land and more secure. My advice for anyone checking out the club is to definitely not get caught up by all the pictures in the marketing materials because many of those animals weren't even shot on WU properties but for a person looking for good access to better than mediocre private property it's a pretty good deal. Now none of you really would expect a club that charges 1200 for a family to hunt pretty much every species Ca offers to be able to spend the kind of money to develop a property that they don't own or even have the master lease to right? They only have recreation rights to these properties and the leases aren't forever.

 

[Huntnlady]

Originally posted by sparky (akaT2)@Jun 13 2004, 10:55 AM
I am not going to go into detail again why i left, but I need to ask. To what other clubs are you comparing W.U to when you say it is the best in the state? Golden ram ? Why were you a member of G.R. if you are so happy with W.U.?

When the American Sportsman's Club split into the American Outdoorsman and Wilderness Unlimited, my ex had us join the American Outdoorsman (because of one specific property they had) and Golden Ram. During this time, Wilderness Unlimited was just starting up and had difficulties keeping the old properties of the American Sportsman's Club.
The American Outdoorsman only had three properties, and they were high quality, but they went out of business after a couple of years.
Our family was also hunting Golden Ram at the time. Now, I don't want to speak bad about Golden Ram, but I will just tell you about my personal experience.
During a pheasant hunt with Golden Ram, we had German Shorthaired Pointers and my ex and I were doing quite well in this rice field. On one bird, FC/AFC Moxie Von Wonzer, MH was on point, and Slam Bam Moosgaard Maam, SH was backing when this Brittany comes in and busts the bird with his owner goodness knows where. Finally the guy shows up, and then he keeps letting his dog hunt in the field. He couldn't understand why we didn't shoot at the two birds his dog put up while our dogs were on point. I can't tell you how hard this is on trained dogs to have an out of control dog running through their points. Not to mention how rude it was of that guy to ruin our hunt. We had to leave early, and chalked it up to just one ignorant member.
Then we went hunting at Baxter Ranch. This was a nice ranch, but in the camping area there were over a dozen trailers parked with only one or two being used for the weekend. I found out that they park them there all season. I did not like camping in a parking lot. There were no outhouses in the camp area either, and that's kind of important to a lady. The reservation "system" made it impossible to know if a ranch was going to be full when you showed up, because drop-ins were allowed at any time. And I didn't see any deer. Ranches didn't have any quotas, and it has been said that the first few years Golden Ram gets a property, they will shoot the $hit (pardon me) out of the game until there was none left on it, then after 5 or 6 years they would let the property go. This was a rumor I had heard, you understand, but hunting Baxter I think I saw the evidence. It was certainly prime habitat, but I couldn't find any deer- just bears, and I wasn't there for the bears.
The straw that broke the camel's back was when our family was deer hunting on Tyson Ranch. Snuggled in our tent at 9:30 with the alarm set for 5:00, ready to go get up and hunt seriously next day, the guy camped next to us had loud country and western music on until midnight. On the other side of us a man was yelling at his black lab, "Balls" which was running loose and got into our stuff and "marked" the side of our tent and our truck. At the little cabin there was a poker game going on until the wee hours of the morning with drinking and loud shouts of profanity (which our kids heard quite clearly.) All this activity makes it hard to answer the alarm and have a quality hunt next day. Then the next day after hunting hard, we came back to camp to find the fellows that were at the poker party skinning two deer. When I congratulated them and asked them where they had taken it, they admitted that they had crossed the creek, which was the boundary, and trespassed onto the indian land on the other side to take the deer. They even bragged that they "knew where to go" and did it every year.
That was the last time we hunted Golden Ram. Those three experiences and a few comments directed at "the woman hunter" led us to the conclusion that Golden Ram was not really oriented to the family, but to guys hunting in parties. That is not the kind of hunting experience I want.
We joined Wilderness Unlimited and found that in the two years we were out it had come on strong, and we never have looked back.
So there's the answer to your question. As a single parent, there have been two of years I've had to go inactive because I didn't have the money, and it turned out that I didn't have any good hunts on public land. So you see, every February I scrape up my membership, because I am passionate about hunting, and it is worth every penny I spend in dues. In fact, seeing other prices for quality hunts around the state, it is downright a bargain.

 

[sparky (akaT2)]

Huntnlady, thanks for the reply, you answered most of my questions and did not have to resort to name caliing unlike others. Kudos to you for being a single mom and taking your kids hunting. Glad the club works for you. We will agree to disagree on the finer points.
Mallarditis, thanks for calling me stupid, I need a reminder sometimes that I am stupid. In my opinion I was stupid in 1997-99 for joining W.U. I was even stupider for ever thinking I would shoot more game on a W.U. ranch than on public land, (pigs being the exception. ) Did I complain about the price? No, I just said that if your reason for joining is to hog hunt primarily, your money could be spent better . I can kill ducks and deer and quail etc etc at the same rate or better on public land than on W.U. land. I find it funny that we agree on alot of things about this club, does this make you stupid as well? I really have to disagree with your comparisons about private ranch acces fees and W.U. deer hunting. Not even close to the same quality of hunting. There are plenty of trophy bucks on public land, just need to scout and do your homework.
I am surprised you mentioned the pictures, that is a pretty well known fact that alot of those were not take on W.U. I still remember my first two camping trips on W.U. properties. Ever been to lake margeret? Had the salesmen tell me and my wife how beautiful and pristine it was. Well if you like camping in a place that was burned to a crisp, ya it was great. Another campground turned out to be a working cattle ranch, literaly had cows brushing up against the tent at night.
My point is It ain't all they say it is in their high pressured sales pitch. People should know both sides before they sign up. the club works for some, ie flexible work schedules and maybe families, but most of the members I met when I belonged had the same opinion as I did. It still cracks me up every time I am at one of the refuges hunting ducks, I make it a point to count how many W.U. stickers are in the parking lot. Any one interested in the club, needs to do a little research before you join. Glad the club works for you , one less person hunting public land!

 

[Tree Doc]

sparky,


Your point being.......................