Funny thing Jorgy - I read this and think that hunters may actually have a chance to survive. We gain nothing by tolerating high fenced slaughter and calling it hunting. Hunter is a subset of conservationist in my mind. Nothing conservation minded about shooting penned animals. These places spread diseases and make real conservationist/hunters look bad in the eyes of the 80% of the population that does not hunt but holds our future in their hands. Montana and Wyoming got it right. The rest of us should demand the same.

If it is high-fenced it is not a record book animal. It likely would not have developed such an amazing set of headgear had it not been in a high fence. It is not hunting, plain and simple!

Yep, that is the same basic reasoning that many sportsman have used when they vote on state referendums to ban other forms of hunting too. If you worry about what 80% of people think then maybe you shouldn't be hunting in the first place. It upsets people when they see dead animals.

I would like to add my thoughts as to private land animals as well.

I think there should be seperate catergories for public and private land bucks/bulls. If you look at the stats you will see that 90% of all the trophies in the books are private land animals. This puts those public land hunters such as me at a major disadvantage. I would rather take a 170 class mulie on public land than a 260 class deer on private, wouldn't you?

No. But I would take more pride in a hunt that was hard and tested me and my abilities, not a get out of truck and shoot that deer kind of hunt.

Who cares about the record book?
Maybe that is the problem. Maybe if there were no record books things would change.
Or if there was a record book but the hunters names were not listed. It is supposed to honor the animal right? I think it may just be ego talking when we start arguing over who's animal should or shouldn't qualify for the record books.

Hunting is a sport for each person to enjoy in their own way within their means.
We are hunters, animals are being killed no matter how you go about it.
This is just my opinion.

noway-with that argument you would be able to say that by hitting a deer with your car, you are hunting. an animal is getting killed, right?

Wrong, hunting in my book and a lot of other's is a fair-chase sport. you obey the law to hopefully shoot/shoot at an amazing god-given animal that you worked for. It is not just killing some animal no matter how you do it.

I too believe that hunting an enclosed animal is a degrading situation for REAL HUNTERS. It shouldn't even be allowed. There is no way I would even have a thought about hunting an animal that you can't call wild. I hunt only public land and that is all I will ever hunt. Heck maybe noway is right. If there were no record books would people be so worried about HOW BIG the animal is, probably not. Personally I shoot pretty much the first thing that comes by me and presents the shot I am looking for. JMHO

If you want to kill a pet!!!! Kill you cat. Dont believe in it.

Pope/Young requirements states the it has to be fair chase, thats the rules I go by. Bobby