BarnesX.308

I would say: depends on the size of the fenced in area. 5 acre pen = not hunting. 10,000 acres = hunting. If the area is bigger than a wild animal's core area anyway, the fence makes no difference. Also, depends on the game. If they live there all of the time and are more wild, that's different than pigs that were released the day before.

Muley Hunter

10,000 acres would be a small area for elk. You would still have a huge advantage over public land. I assume we're talking about high fences that can't be jumped over. It wouldn't be hard to corner the elk.

Another thing to consider is on a lot of ranches the elk are used to seeing humans, and they don't have the same fear as a real wild elk.

On a ranch it's not hard to pattern where they feed, water, and bed down.

It's much easier hunting, and not fair chase.

Topgun 3006

I guess I would have to disagree with you on that statement Pete, as that's almost 16 square miles, as well as saying they wouldn't be hard to corner. Unless it's flatland with no escape cover, IMHO that area is more than enough acreage to have a fair chase hunt whether B&C considers it one or not. The public land mixed with some private property where we hunt in Wyoming every year is less than 10 square miles, so we're talking about less than 6,000 acres. However, with the deep canyons and lay of the land with rolling, covered hills, etc., it's more like double that size and you couldn't cover it in a month of Sundays. You can't even glass a lot of it from the highest spots in the area. I can guarantee you that with all other circumstances being equal, if you high-fenced that piece of land that it would be just as much fair chase than it is now with just a few low fences to keep livestock in their assigned areas. That's why these high fence discussions can be very argumentative when you're talking about different terrain, different animals, etc. and why I've pretty well decided to not get into much debating about them. Now if you're talking about a piece of property where the animal has no chance of escape because of flat terrain, lack of cover, or maybe it was raised in a small pen and then released immediately before hunting you're getting into what most would consider a "canned" hunt and that's another story in and of itself. That is really what I and most others call shooting/killing, rather than hunting. However, the problem is that it's filling a niche for people that are just interested in killing or those who may be disabled and looking to stay active however necessary and seek those kind of places out. There is millions of dollars in it and money, as we all know, talks! IMHO it sucks and should have never been allowed, but its' legal and too late now to stop it with the thousands of places and big money that's involved.

Muley Hunter

10,000 acres seems pretty small when Colorado has 27 million acres we can hunt.

Elk have been known to move 15-20 miles in one night.

Topgun 3006

That remark takes things way out of context Pete! How many acres do you or can you properly hunt on foot in a day? If you say anywhere near 10,000 acres unless you're driving on two tracks on relatively flat land glassing for antelope, I would say it would be a little on the horse manure side! Yes, I know how far elk can move in a very short period of time, especially if they're shot at!

Muley Hunter

Give me a plot of land 10,000 acres big to hunt elk that have a guaranteed number of elk on it that can't leave the area, and i'll be filling the freezer every year. 100% success rate, and any hunter with any hunting abilities could do the same thing.

Compare that to the success rate in Colorado for elk at 20%.

I'm surprised you think that an area of 10,000 acres is the same as unrestricted public land.

I don't want to argue about it. These type of threads always turn ugly. I gave my opinion, and I nothing else to say.

Topgun 3006

Be surprised, but if you saw where I was hunting there would be no surprise and it wouldn't matter if there was a high fence or not! Dang you're good Pete, but you didn't answer my question as to how much acreage you can hunt in a day! Each day is a new day and, therefore, the elk as you well know might be in another part of that 10,000 acres where they weren't the day before whether it's fenced or not. To say it's a slam dunk 100% guaranteed meat in the freezer hunt like you stated is baloney! I'd bet the vast majority of the elk we see out there don't go outside a 10,000 acre area because they have all they need there and there are limited tags issued, meaning very little hunting pressure. The latter is the main thing that moves elk completely out of an area like you mentioned. Colorado would be a whole different ballgame when you have the number of hunters the state allows to buy OTC tags. That undue pressure and the probability 75% don't have any idea how to hunt would be a huge difference and it's no wonder only 1 in 5 may take an animal there.

jerry d

I gotta agree w/ '06, 16 square miles is a lot of area.

Muley Hunter

Do you think elk will be in all of it? How much of it do you think you'll have to actually hunt? Do you think the owner of the ranch knows where the elk are, and will tell you? How many elk will be in this 4 mile x 4 mile plot of land?

It's NOT fair chase hunting. The elk are trapped in the area. How long will it take you to find them?

Oh wait! I forgot you've never hunted for elk.

I don't care how big it is. High fence ranch hunting is not fair chase hunting. Justify it all you want. It is what it is.

Topgun 3006

Funny, but in your last post you said you had nothing else to say! Please remember that, unlike djfan, I have hunted elk for over 20 years, LOL! PS: You still haven't answered my question that I asked of you a couple posts ago!