I raise deer. Im also a taxidermist. Ive raised bucks that would break some of your's state records. I can honestly say Ive seen people just like all of you at one time or another. Many of you are just like my own hunting buddies. I do not claim to know you personally, or your feelings, but I sure can generalize here. Im happy to see cooler heads prevail, and intelligent responses on this, for the most part.I watched this thread develop before I responded. Some of your attempts to bad mouth this type of hunting borders on pathetic. For what its worth, I will say that some of the outfits that do this hunting have, in the past, been just as pathetic. A few of you sound just like the local guy that gets kicked off private property while hunting, "Well, we always USED to hunt this!" They own zero ground, but hunt everybody elses. Hey, times have changed. The farmer that owned all the acreage died, and the family sold out. Maybe YOU bought some of that land to build YOUR house. The house that never was there, that makes the local deer movements different now. And now MY fence is illegal to YOU??? Should housing developments be illegal too? Just because that guy or guys could buy it, and then develop it? NO difference. You buy it, and keep it for hunting, or someone else will. Doesnt matter if its for high fence hunts, or whatever. Its still gone, and not yours to say. It sucks, but thats the way it is.

As far as what we brag about as hunters, lets face it, theres way too many guys that stumble into a road kill they finish off, or a buck they shoot after someone else shot it, trespassers, night hunters, you name it, that still brag. Yep, their rendition of fairchase. So, lets back up a bit and reason...

If you CHOOSE not to hunt this way, Im with you. I understand what drives guys to hunt. Everyone has their own reasons. To call oneform of hunting or anotherillegal just because you dont care for it is assinine. It smells of envy and jealousy way more then logic. Ill give you a scenario, I hope you guys will be HONEST to me, or at least, yourselves...

You try to buy up as much land as you can for hunting. Perhaps you lease some. Remember when you all thought leasing should be illegal too? Anyway, now you plant food plots. Instruct farmers to leave crops standing. Then you practice QDM. You guys spend more time patrolling your ground then hunting. So, what does almost all of you wish from there? Ill tell you..."Boy, if I could only keep those deer IN, and those trespassers/hunters/others OUT!" Well guess what, thats just what theyre doing!

Want another scenario? Its going to get ugly, but stay honest with me. EVERY high fence operation I know, EVERY one of them, has neighbors who hunt the perimeter. These fences arent changing your (your?) deer's habits, theyre enhancing them! All the locals see that good wild bucks are using fence as corridors, funnels, structure, and the does in them as attractance, and they hunt right outside our fence.

Heres more. Are you ready to give up the stocked pheasant hunts you and your dogs enjoy? Forget about taking the kids out to the stocked bass ponds. No more fly fishing those blue ribbon (stocked) streams for trout, either. Hey, fair is fair, boys! While youre at it, all you purist bowhunters that buy the hunting magazines? Where do you think all those deer pictures come from? See the newest one, with that great looking buck with all the drop tines? Guess what, I can tell you where in Indiana hes from. Two different mags feature him on their front cover right now. All your calenders? Ask Bill Kinney, Charlie Alscheimer, Curt Helmick and other great photographers where these deer are.

Yeah, theres always going to be guys who brag up their hunting "prowess" regardless of how legit they are or not. No, high fence hunts are NOT allowed in record books. Personally, I think that record books dont need hunter's names anyway. Lets acknowledge what these animals grew, not who collected them. If one of you fellas brought me to your den, showed me your trophies, Id admire the horns and antlers, not you personally.

As for whats going on in Indiana, thats not accurate. That fellow was charged with Lacy violations, but its clear that thats for wild deer, not captive reared deer. Theres a lot of crap going on with regard to Indiana right now. You might be surprised by the outcome...

Look, if you cant admit that some guys actually love to sit 14 feet up a tree, wait for it to get light, and look out over a fifty yard circle within 100s of acres and wait for a good buck to come at them, only this time they paid for the circumstance that deer WILL be there, fine. They are no less of a hunter. Or a man. Nor are you. But, the lesser man calls this illegal. A real man simply states whether it might be "for him" or not.