We have several clubs here in my area. I'm still not sure if I should join one or not.
I don't know what benefits I would get from it. I have joined clubs with other hobbies I have had in the past and have had bad experiences with them. One man took the entire meeting arguing with the treasurer over 38¢ that he felt was unaccounted for in the budget. Or things become highly political and stopped being fun for me. Eventually I lost interest.
Iam reluctant to join a club because of this.
What benefits would I get out of a club?
Lots of threads about clubs, some have had bad experiences others good, it just all depends on the type of people in the club so you just have to check them out to see.
Some have clubs that are very stand-offish, kind of selfish and not very welcoming and they stay that way.
Others might seem like that but once the members get to know you and realize you are not just there to get information out of them for new sites to hunt they warm up a bit.
Ryanchappell joined the one in Birmingham and they were this way at first, but as he continued to show up to each meeting they warmed up and were way more forthcoming with advice and site information in the area.
A bonus is they hold their meetings at Niki's West, one of the best meat and 3 restaurants you could ever visit for great tasting comfort food.
My club is one of the oldest in the country started in 1976 and I have never felt more welcomed by any place in my life, but that might have something to do with the Midwest sensibility the people have around here.
Being the member of this club has increased the fun quotient in this hobby for me many times over what I would have had without it.
Benefits?
I have made several new friends and hunting partners, and I found a place to show off my finds and brag a little and see other great finds from other members.
I am very competitive and enter many contests we have and win more than my share so that is a bonus.
Almost anything I ask about anything including sites to hunt gets an answer, and nobody seems to hold anything back and neither do I.
One member is very good at asking permission in an old county in Missouri with lots of history and at one meeting he spoke about exactly how he does it and even what areas he targets.
We do have some informative meetings with some nice speakers from time to time from outside the club, and many members speak about their experiences they have had here and also at places like hunting fields over in England which is very interesting.
2 weeks ago we got permission to hunt a site that nobody ever hunted before because it is historical and I found my best coin ever, an 1865 2 cent.
Only one other coin was found that day by one other member but still the high fives and back slapping and congratz flowed even though the other 40 or so other hunters found very little that day...that is just how nice and friendly these people are around here.
Our annual end of the year seeded hunts covers a whole weekend with a couple of fun hunts, too, and even though it costs to enter these hunts I have found enough silver coins to cover my entry fee for the next year and have won some very high quality prizes that totaled up to several hundred dollars.
This weekend is much fun for all members and their families including a kids hunt that is very fun to watch.
Our club is so popular that we now have too many members for the amount of prizes we have available at these seeded hunts, but still more members are joining and they still welcome them and will probably never stop doing that.
Like life, these things are hit and miss...not all are the same.
Most let you show up and watch the meetings for awhile before you join so maybe you should try that and see if maybe your local one is a good fit for you.