This is a CAN of worms. What size high fence operation do you consider to small or unethical? All or some?
I hunted a Texas operation that was 6 1/2 miles around the fence & after 5 days did shoot an animal-I was allowed 3 on the hunt I booked & got 1. I saw many animals but as we all know in Bowhunting-only 1 in this time close enough for a shot. Thou it was high fence & I knew the animals had to be somewhere on that property, I must say, I hunted harder than I do for a Whitetail at home. BUT-I would not consider hunting a Whitetail under these circumstances & I did have 2 P&Y Bucks close enough for a shot. I did enjoy this experience & plan on returning. I know many will rip me, but keep in mind, I have also taken over 100 Biggame animals with a bow under fair chase and MOST on PUBLIC Land. Just thoughts-not derogitory remarks about how bad I AM or FUEL for PETA.

always thankful

If you pay the money to buy a deer, then why would anyone have trouble with you going out to shoot it?

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

It depends on if the animals can somewhat easily get over the fence. I had a puppy once that was in a small dog run and I couldn't catch that thing for nothin but that don't make it huntin. Hunting is not just stalking, and hiking. Its topo maps, scouting, patterning, and knowing that there may not be anything in the area. If you want to go to a cage to shoot your animal this is America and you're free to do that, just don't call it hunting. And I think these animals should not be allowed in P&Y.

to my knowledge pope and young does not recognize a animal killed in a fenced hunt. As for the shooting of one in a fence, if you have over 100 big game bow kills why would you need to go to a fenced area to get another one??????? Sorry like fishing in a bathtub.

Did this in the off season (our gun season-I only bowhunt) & was for exotics & hogs which there is no way I could go to another country to hunt. I have hunted Sika on the Maryland shores thou.
I have a few LEGAL P&Y animals but have never entered in the books-I know a few REGULAR members & sometimes question what they consider "fair chase" too. Since I don't worry about the 15 min. of fame my P&Y animals are only important to me. I know my hunting is important to me thou.
thanks for your input.

always thankful

ahunter55,

You are absolutely correct about opening a can of worms. Just like the recurve bow vs compound bow or inline muzzleloader vz traditional muzzleloader or rifle vz pistol controversies, there is no one answer that will satisfy all of the parties involved. And does use of feeders, illegal in some parts of the country and heavily relied upon in others, reduce the trophy quality of the animal harvested? Each of us as individuals have to determine what is fair chase and what is not fair chase within our own personal set of ethics. Not one of us can judge another for the decisions we make. Now for me personally, I don’t have a problem with someone choosing to hunt on high fenced ranches as long as they are of adequate size and have enough cover to give the animals pursued a decent chance to evade the hunters. For example there is a ranch near Medina, TX that I absolutely refuse to hunt. It is only about 450 acres in size and all but a few trees around the 2 watering holes have been removed. This “hunting outfitter”, and I use the term very loosely here, normally has around 150 to 200 “exotic” rams and goats on the place at any one time. In my book this is not hunting. However, on the other hand I have hunted high fenced ranches that afford the animal plenty of territory and cover, thus giving them a fair chance to get away undetected. Some of these are the YO which covers over 70 square miles of prime hill country hunting territory. Others are the Greenwood Valley at 23+ sq mi, La Solana at 8+ sq mi, Ft. McKavitt at 54+ sq mi and the Forrest ranches at 6+ sq mi. There is nothing easy about hunting these ranches and I am proud of each and every trophy I harvested on them. Granted any high fence may make a ranch unattractive to some of us, irregardless of size, but there again, I think that this is an individual decision and not one for someone else to decide for me or you.



denvas

[Deleted by Admins]

Blah, blah, blah is right. There has to be a line drawn somewhere whether you believe in it or not and hunting a caged animal is beyond that line. Enough said.

Edited by - rather_be_huntin on 01/10/2003 14:46:15