Searching For 3 Gun Clubs

[RednekF350]

I left the house a little before 6 yesterday morning to hunt coyote, maybe set some snares and look for 3 gun clubs that have piqued my interest for a long time. I assume the first two were gunclubs only because of their location and remoteness.
The first two appear as structures on the Atsion quad and Indian Mills quad, east of the Mannis Pond area.
The third structure I have no printed documentation for but I always believed there should be something there.
I smoked down Quaker Bridge Road trying to get back in my spot before daylight.
I arrived at 6:40 and backed into a little pull-off and stepped out. There was no air moving and you could hear only the deafening silence.
I love this area of Wharton because of its remoteness and solitude.
I put a cap in the muzzleloader and struck out to my first search in the pre-dawn glow. I had previously extracted a lat/lon from Maptech for two black squares.
I walked into the woods about a 100 yds off of a lightly used dirt road and quickly found signs of previous occupation. There used to a road leading to this spot but time has erased all but a few tire ruts that I felt as I walked through the brush.
The first sign was a faint clearing in the woods. (Still a little dark.)
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/7228/ppuser/177
The next hint was this:
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/7234/ppuser/177
A non screw cap beer bottle and a vinegar bottle with the cap on.
I also found a very shallow depression and partially buried and exposed corrugated steel decking. The rusty brown is the metal.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/7231/ppuser/177

I took a leisurely stroll and stopped to give some yelps and whines along the way to the next spot. The calling got no response and I saw no encouraging sign in the area like I did last year.
The second black square was supposed to have a road leading to it that was either mismapped or totally obliterated by time.
The only faint clue was this clearing.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/7229/ppuser/177
No trash, no metal, no nails in trees for old clotheslines and no depressions.
About 80' away I did find this old stand.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/7230/ppuser/177
The owner was pretty industrious having fabbed these steps out of steel plate, square tubing and round stock.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/7232/ppuser/177
I believe this stand was probably built by someone who was associated with the club because it was in a pretty inaccessible area and next to the supposed location of the club.

From there I hiked a mile and a half to Mannis.
I was going to look for Lower Forge Deer Club which I have always assumed would have been associated with the pond area.
Here is the weir at the end of the pond. (Last week's photo)
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/7233/ppuser/177
Here it islast year under flowing water.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/5016
Using LiveSearch Maps, I checked a few clearings that I hadn't noticed before on the south side of the pond but to no avail.
I did find large hidden excavations at the end of the pond in the woods but I believe these were dug to get material for the earthen berm seen here.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php?photo=7235&cat=500
I had looked at the 1930 aerials and the pond was there then but the resolution isn't good enough to determine if there was a club structure.
L.F. Deer Club could have been somewhere nearby and they could have just helped build the weir in 1962.

It was beautiful morning well spent but I was a little disappointed with the lack of coyote sign. No droppings and no tracks in my 4 mile+/- jaunt. No answers to my amateurish yelping and whining either. No reason to do any snare setting.
Last year I saw a lot of sign in the area but they have apparently moved out of there for now..
Scott

 

[Teegate]

Scott,

I had always felt that the Lower Forge Gun Club would have been one of the three squares right below the target symbol at these links near Lower Forge. The dots are right next to the target symbol so look closely. Just a guess on my part.


http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=39.71907&lon=-74.66955&s=25&size=l&u=4&datum=nad83&layer=DRG

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=39.72574&lon=-74.67316&datum=nad83&u=4&layer=DRG&size=l&s=24

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=39.73254&lon=-74.67757&s=24&size=l&u=4&datum=nad83&layer=DRG


If you were looking for the two locations just east of Mannis, I visited there about 4 years ago and found a dip in the ground at one location with metal fragments of a building. Notice the dip in the first photo where I suspect there was a building.

I have photo’s from the other location but can’t find them yet.

Guy

 

[RednekF350]

The same dip yesterday!
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/7236

I looked at those other locations last winter and didn't find much other than depressions but they are likely spots too.
I will ask some of the old timers that I know about LF Deer Club.
Last year my friend Bill told me about an old club on Penn Swamp and I found a lot of evidence there.
Scott

 

[Teegate]

Depending on the accuracy of the USGS topo’s, there are two locations at Penn Swamp where there was some sort of building. I visited one location with Ed around the same time I visited the others. Topozone shows it on the east side of Penn Swamp, and the 1997 USGS map I have shows it on the west side.

East side of at least a portion of Penn Swamp.

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=39.70653&lon=-74.62469&s=25&size=l&u=4&datum=nad83&layer=DRG



West side:

The one on Topozone places it here on the Rye strip next to Lake Broyhill

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.70...pn=0.051505,0.104885&t=h&z=14&iwloc=addr&om=0



Guy

 

[woodjin]

Nice post Scott. I am surprised that there is such little evidence remaining. Why wouldn't some cinder block still be about? I am assuming these clubs were operating within the past 100 years. Would the cinderblocks have been recycled for other construction perhaps?

Jeff

 

[TrailOtter]

Nice post. There was a gun club located near Ives Lake in Bass River State Forest. It was there twenty years ago and since that time has burned down. Not sure when. It was called the Highland Park Field & Stream Club across from where Tub Mill Road joins Martha Road.

 

[Teegate]

Nice post. There was a gun club located near Ives Lake in Bass River State Forest. It was there twenty years ago and since that time has burned down. Not sure when. It was called the Highland Park Field & Stream Club across from where Tub Mill Road joins Martha Road.

Did you ever physically see that place when it was around?

Guy

 

[TrailOtter]

Did you ever physically see that place when it was around?

Guy

Yes - 20 years ago. I should have a picture of it around here someplace. If I can find it, I'll post it here.

 

[RednekF350]

Nice post Scott. I am surprised that there is such little evidence remaining. Why wouldn't some cinder block still be about? I am assuming these clubs were operating within the past 100 years. Would the cinderblocks have been recycled for other construction perhaps?

Jeff

Jeff
You never know how they were abandoned or what they were built on.
They could have been dozed into the ground and buried.
A lot of early gun clubs and other backwoods structures didn't necessarily use block foundations.
I just did a Pinelands Application for Development for a guy in Atco to tear down a 75 year old dilapidated house and it had a wood foundation.
No block to be found.

 

[Teegate]

Yes - 20 years ago. I should have a picture of it around here someplace. If I can find it, I'll post it here.

The reason I ask is I have been trying to find the location where this building was located. I have posted this many times before; however, with some new members here I may find my answer. I remember this place as being near Martha, and I thought it was north of there, possibly in the area where the bombing range now has blocked off. A few of us looked for evidence it on an outing once and came up empty. I am not ruling out that it was in the area of the Ives Branch since my memory may be wrong. We found it one time and never visited it again.

These were developed in 8/79. There was a circular driveway in the front of the building, with a few tall trees on one side. You can see from the one photo that there was a piano and church like seating inside. I have one more photo which I can’t find right now that shows my Land Cruiser in the driveway.

Guy

 

[RednekF350]

I see your Land Cruiser in the right foreground of the first photo.
That's an awesome looking clubhouse.
Oh to be there during "deer week" back in the day.

 

[Teegate]

I see your Land Cruiser in the right foreground of the first photo.
That's an awesome looking clubhouse.
Oh to be there during "deer week" back in the day.

I have another one showing all of my vehicle. I am beginning to think that when I view all of my photo's in iPhoto, and drag one out to upload, it must somehow remove them from the database. I have to always get my DVD that has my photo's on and reload them in.

Yea, that was an interesting place. All of the keys on the piano were pulled off, making me think they may have been ivory, or at least who ever took them thought they were. I really wish I could find out where the location was. Someobdy must know, I just need them to see the photo.

Guy

 

[ecampbell]

Another gun club location

Scott, while geocaching acouple of years ago I came upon a large clearing. A pickup came by wondering what we were doing. They told me there used to be a gun club there. Lots of evidence, but no foundation. It's a great place to kayak and paddle, very isolated for being so easy to get to. Cross the river and your in another world.

Aparently the cach is still there, "Hoo was with me?", GCN1C6. I see you found it with Cardlady.


Ed

 

[RednekF350]

Scott, while geocaching acouple of years ago I came upon a large clearing. A pickup came by wondering what we were doing. They told me there used to be a gun club there. Lots of evidence, but no foundation. It's a great place to kayak and paddle, very isolated for being so easy to get to. Cross the river and your in another world.

Aparently the cach is still there, "Hoo was with me?", GCN1C6. I see you found it with Cardlady.


Ed

I remember that one, it is a beautiful area.
I had no idea that there was a club there.