I think Huck is trying to get additional definition of what some of you guys are discussing. 30,000 acres, some claim as "sure not canned hunting." Other guys seem to think that, regardless of size, it's a "pen." I think we can all agree that if the landowner ties a 200" buck to a tree and then opens it up to high bidders, that is different than 30,000 acres inside a high fence. The problem is, where do we draw lines, and should we draw lines, at points in between? What factors should be considered? Just acres? Terrain and available cover? Hunting style?

Here in Texas, the vast majority of deer hunting is done from box blinds stationed within a hundred yards or so of a feeder that operates on a solar powered battery and timer. That being the case, does it really change significantly if there is a high fence? Regardless, the "hunting" style is to sit and wait and hope that a "shooter buck" wanders into your field of view.

It seems that some here are speculating about what it's like behind a high fence. That's really all you can do if you have never done it. Speculate. So, you end up believing that it's a 100% guarantee. That the owners import genetics. That they hand feed the deer, and basically serve them up to the clients on a silver platter. That's not how it is in all cases, and I doubt that's the way it is in the vast majority of cases.

I've hunted both sides of the fence. As I said earlier, my first "deer hunt" was on a high fenced place in Central Texas that was part of a TPWD study prior to implementing antler restrictions in the contiguous 13 counties. I showed up on Friday afternoon, and we went for a drive around the ranch, roughly 500 acres of heavily wooded area, in the middle of what is known as the "Post Oak Savannah", with a few scattered food plots. We saw two deer, flags up, fleeing our Ford pickup truck. Next morning, we were in a blind, set up at the corner of a food plot (no timed feeders), and we waited. The deer eventually did what deer do. They left their bedding areas, came through the food plot, ate a little, and headed off toward a creek. The owner has been managing his place for the better part of 20 years, and has since taken a couple of 160-170 class deer off of it. No imported genetics. Age and food plots. And those deer act exactly like wild deer. They are not tame...

Since then, I've been hunting at a no-fence ranch in the Texas Hill Country. Essentially, the same scenario. Get in the blind early, sit and wait for deer to start wandering through the area. Hope that a big one comes through looking for food, or chasing a doe. Blinds and feeders is pretty much the only way to hunt on the 1500 acre ranch, with roughly 10-15 hunters every weekend... Too crowded for spot and stalk hunting. I suppose there are some who say that's not hunting either.

Nonetheless, it's hunting to me, and to most in Texas... And, I don't think that folks ought to be at each others' throats about it, suggesting that "my way of legal hunting is real hunting, and your way of legal hunting is really nothing more than going out and shooting a cow." To me, that reeks of being a pompous azz. What gives you the right to define hunting for anyone other than yourself?

To me, it's about getting out a 4 A.M., and seeing the stars, undiminished by the lights of the city. Listening to the birds as the sun breaks over the horizon. Watching the deer interact with each other. Does stomping, snorting, rearing on their hind legs and sparring each other. Young bucks, rapping their antlers together, practicing for fights over breeding rights. Getting your son into the woods to do something other than World of Warcraft. Shaking with anticipation after his shot at his first buck.

I suppose everyone is welcome to have their own opinion, but, if you haven't done it, it's nothing but speculation. You're relying on negative characterizations presented solely of the worst case scenario, presented by PETA, and/ or HSUS, the worst of the worst anti-hunting organizations. You're imagining what it's like, without any basis in reality. And, you are playing right into the anti's divide and conquer tactics... The pro-fence and anti-fence guys really ought to be allied, because to HSUS, it doesn't make ANY difference whether you're hunting 10 acres, 10,000 acres or a Million acres, with or without a fence. They want to stop it ALL. Anybody who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves...