Sir, I realize you're 15 and you believe you are being disrespected because you are young, but you really need to step back and realize there are people who know more than you do. I know that's difficult for a teenager (I have one), but there are people who have experienced things, been to college, worked in more than one occupation, hunted decades more than you and in more states and countries than you. Rather than being defensive, you might listen and learn something.

Will and I have offered data point after data point. Article after article of supporting data. No one seems to point out any data to the contrary, just that their opinion isvalid and they're upset because their opinion is not valued or accepted as valid. We've made the point that fair chase can happen behind fences - it does happen behind fences. We've offered proof that species are preserved and reintroduced into the wild due to fenced operations - it's not my opinion or Will's opinion, it's fact. If you don't want to read the data or accept the facts, that's your option, people do it every day.

I'll give you one more piece of scientifically gathered data by a reputable and widely accepted study group and then I'm out. I'll quote for you from Southeast Deer Study Group who recently met in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (you can read a summary of the meeting and their findings in the 2006 Whitetail Special of Bowhunter Magazine:

"...the home range for 35 bucks that were 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 years of age was 526 acres. The home range for 6 1/2 year-old bucks was 346 acres. Researchers also showed that there was 61-percent overlap in home ranges of bucks from age 2 1/2 years to 7 1/2 years. So, the home ranges of bucks will change from year to year, but not much. The second finding was especially interesting. Deer have a core home range defined as the area deer spend 50 percent of their time. For bucks over 3 1/2 years of age, the core home range was only 45-55 acres. Obviously, the core home range includes bedding and feeding areas, and finding those areas will greatly increase the odds of finding that buck you've been after."

Translation - an enclosure of 1000 acres or more may well have deer that have never even seen a fence. When deer evade hunters (human or otherwise) they do not run straightline. The article goes on to talk about thick cover and deer circuitously go from thick cover to thick cover when pushed and seldom leave their home range. So, if you're really having a hard time finding that big buck that has paterned you and you can't find him - guess what - he's still there, but you can't find him because he's smarter than you and you're on his turf. That's the data. That's the truth. You can have what ever opinion you want, but free-ranging deer don't behave the way you may think.