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Our approach to paid hunts (turkey and all) allow the hunter access to all lease land, for Kansas, Missouri and Iowa for all seasons in addition to what else he may have an interest in. Lease land access is limited to members only and on a self guided basis. No guide service activity of any description is permitted by anyone. At the time of membership application the applicant must declare a primary and secondary hunt interest. That profile compared to the membership hunt profile and that of the lease land by state and regional location determine membership availability. The intent is never to have too many of any one type of hunter in excess of what our lease land can provide quality hunts. A quality hunt is one where the member may hunt on his schedule any time during the season, never be denied an opportunity to hunt and hunts without stepping over the boot prints of others or seeing another turkey hunter. Membership application is by means of a telephone conversation, submission of a membership agreement and issuance of the MAHA ID card, vehicle marker and online map access instructions. These memberships are continued on an annual basis as determined by the hunter and that hunter's compliance with our rules. Family memberships offer a discounted cost for dependent children and spouses. Children must be 18 and under in high school or 21 and under in college. There have been exceptions for grandfathers taking grandchildren where the intervening father is not in the picture and other guardianship conditions other than traditional family structure. An individual members may upgrade or downgrade the family membership as children mature. Immediate family members only of the individual member that are not hunters may accompany the member at no cost. This is for only the member's children he has guardianship for or spouse. It does not extend to any other family member of any age. Memberships are for a 365 day/year from time of allocation until that anniversary the next calendar year. When to apply for membership is a common question. We do not offer a best time of the year to apply. We will offer some points to consider when time lining what the resource actually is when gaining a Mid-America Hunting Association membership. That base resource is year round scouting and hunting opportunity. An illustration of how best to maximize that resource assuming a deer and turkey hunting discipline profile follows. Apply and gain acceptance in February. Scout that February through May for spring turkey roots and potential fall deer hunting spots. Enjoy a turkey hunt in one state, harvest a tom or two and continue the deer scouting effort. Return to that one state for that fall's deer hunt hunting the same grouping of farms as during spring turkey season. Later after deer season try a buddy hunt for an upland bird or waterfowl trip and then add some more scouting time. Repeat the next February with the option of continuing to develop the current deer and turkey hunting locality as well as develop a second state or explore a second region within the first state. Continue this approach until one or more spring turkey and fall deer areas are explored in each of our three states. At that point of having a seasonal option in each state typically results in each member deer and turkey hunting two of the three states each year. This is commonly a three year process. The above illustration may seem like a slow road to maximizing the full potential of a MAHA membership allowing hunting in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Trying to hunt all three states the first membership year is only possible for those with much free time. The most common member/hunter is one with about 2 weeks vacation time a year. That two week year member typically spends a long weekend spring turkey hunting and deer scouting and reserves the bulk of vacation time for fall deer hunting. With the approach of developing one state at a time prevents any one hunter from spreading himself too thin and not allowing time to develop those golden nugget spots to be found on most farms. Good turkey hunting to all!
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