going to a high fence what can i expect?
 

i was wanting to know if anyone knows anything about dos plumas exotic hunting ranch i have talked to the owner and he insures me that it wont be a shoot i am going there for a safari bow hunt and i was wondering since i have never been to a high fence place before what can i expect from one of these hunts i am going the between may and june he told me this would be the best time to hunt there with most of the axis deer being hard horned i am allowed to take either 1 black buck or axis deer 1 ram and 2 hogs can you guys give me some info please

and this is not a guarteed hunt so i thought that was good

In my experience you should have a good time. You'll see lots of animals because they really can't go very far. And you're pretty much guaranteed a kill.

Never been to one and won't be going ever. I value my hunting experience way more than taking that kind of shortcut. To each his own though and if that floats your boat I hope you have a good time.

in my opinion its like hunting in a petting zoo but if thats what you like that i dont see why you wouldnt have a good time good luck

I have been to a high fenced ranch before. I arrived around noon and left to hunt at around 3:30 or so and had my animal killed by 4 or 5 its basically target practice or it was at this place anyways. But shoot I looked at dos plumas prices and heck they are WAY cheaper than most places I have seen they usually charge thousands of dollars to kill black buck, axis, or fallow deer. But if I read that right you can kill a black buck or axis deer and a hog for 325. Or a deer eight point or bigger a doe and a hog for 350. Any place around here it would cost 3,000 for buck 300 at least for the doe and 300-800 for a hog.

Enjoy yourself. Depending on the size will depend on what you see. It's not Bowhunting as many know it but several of these places it's not a "sure thing" unless it's a put & take operation. The place your going to is "No Guarentee" if I remember but I have no idea how large it is. I've went to a couple-smallest was 1200 acres & the other was 4000. Take it for what it's worth but it was fun..
There are some who will never go to one & that's fine. I've done about everything in over 50 years of Bowhunting (DIY Elk, Bears, Mule deer & more-public, private land & a few guided hunts where required) so as I said-it's FUN & something you can do when all the other Biggame seasons are closed. I've never done Whitetail but mostly hogs with a few animals I could not afford to hunt in their native countries.
All this other crap just ignore.....Enjoy yourself.

I was thinking of taking my boy to one just to get his first big game animal. He's 7 and only allowed to shoot whitetail bucks in our state. I was thinking it couldn't hurt for him to pop a ram or something like that and get him interested.

When he first started fishing, I took him to a pay to fish pond. He had success and was "hooked" for life. We would only do it once, just to let him know hunting can be more than just sitting in the cold for hours on end.

The place I'm looking at has no fence. It's a 150 acre island.

you can expect a great hunt, depending on where you go. I bowhunted two HARD days in order to get an opportunity at a russian boar. It was very difficult, but i wanted it that way. I talked to someone who went to a different place and there were pigs all over and were told to find one they liked and shoot it. On the other hand i know a guy who went down to tennesse on a fair chase hunt and 14 guys tagged out in two days. So it depends where you go, every place is different, but my one experience was very very difficult.

I hunted in Africa a couple of years ago and about 95% of the areas are "high fenced." One ranch was 225,000+ acres and we never even saw the fence. I think "ahunter55" had the key, ... enjoy yourself, I'll pretty much guarantee you will.

To use the words high fence and hunting together is a shame.
I went on a socalled hunt in texas once with a buddies urging, at a high fence place, what a damm joke. That is the farthest thing from hunting I have ever seem!

I know that this is just my opinion, and that it only rings true in my mind...But it's my mind and I want to keep it that way.

I have some friends that have been to Dos Plumas near Abilene! They had a blast and keep wanting a bunch get together and book it up for a weekend.Not high end hunt but they said it was worth it! Just don't shoot a wet sow.I say hunt a high fence if you want,then say been there done it,some are first rate setups some aren't,but the hunt at Trent should be a fun time!I may try to do an off season hunt there next year myself!

Actually, you guys that have never been on a high fence hunt shouldn't speak as though you are experts. Its not like hunting in a pen. Not by any stretch of the imagintion. The fence is only there to keep the ranch's exotic animals in. I was on a high fence hunt this past fall. This fence encompassed 10,000 acres (thats 10 THOUSAND ACRES). A hunter couldn't cover this ground during an entire hunting season let alone a few day. The only drawback on this type of hunt is that game taken cannot be considered for any records. This I assume is due to the other so called hunts where the fence is only a few acres.

Depends on the ranch, size of the ranch and what type of terrain the ranch has. It could be a lot harder hunt than you would ever expect or it could be a turkey shoot. we sell high fenced hunts and just for our own personal feelings set a minimum acerage for any high fenced hunt we sell at 1,000 acres. Y'all are mistaken if you think all high fenced hunts are pen shoots. We have one 1,000 acre ranch that has a black buck on it that we're pretty sure is a world record. I sold a hunt for him and the hunter hunted hard for 4 days and only got a quick glimpse once at him. Ask a lot of questions about size of ranch and type of terrain and hunting methods.

With the decline of public land hunting, , leased land, and anti-hunting legislation, high fence hunting may be the way of the future. I once hunted boar, at a high fence ranch. The hog hunting was pretty easy. We spent the rest of the time, watching exotic game. I really enjoyed the chance to see some unusual animals. Some species would be easy to take, while others would be much harder.

The hunting experience is often, what you make of it. I would do high fence hunting again. But next time, I would go after a more illusive species. If each hunter sets their own goals, it can be rewarding.

For example: I've already shot a 350 pound hog. Anything less, doesn't mean much to me. If they want me to shoot hogs, I would shoot a small meat hog, and leave the big ones for someone else. That way you avoid coming house empty handed, and you can hunt for something that would mean more to you. This is my first year deer hunting. Any whitetail would be a trophy to me. If you have shot a nice 8 point buck, hunt for something larger, and leave lesser deer for someone else.

Make it a good experience by not killing animals, just because you can.

I agree. Personally, I'd never fork over money to one of those places, but if works for you, then..........but don't call it hunting, it's not. What can you expect from high fence hunting? A kill, that's what. In real hunting, there are no guarantees.

I've heard all of the arguments about why we should "stick togeather, and support any kind of hunting". No. It is not sport, it is not hunting, and it gives everyone involved in the sport of hunting a bad rep.

You can expect to spend a lot of money

Well, if you can't call high-fenced hunting...hunting.... (even if it's on a 10K acre ranch where you actually have to "hunt" down the animals to kill them) then you can't call dog-hunting...hunting... You're not hunting the animals... The dogs are.... And it's not hard at all when the dogs are tracking down the animals and then letting you know when they have them cornered.

Just my $0.02..

Another subject altogeather, but since you brought it up, I'll agree with that statement also.

Why knock one person's choice of hunting when he may go to a place that is first rate.Quality of the place to hunt being low or high fence is rather subjective it all depends on what you can afford and what you have experienced so I would like for him to go and form his own opinions and report back on how he feels afterwards.This is close to the xbow,long bow,compound,verses firearm debate...we're knocking someone else wanting to get amongst the joy of hunting.I still stand my ground of go out do it and report back with pictures to anyone who goes afield! That ain't 2 cents thats the whole dang dollar for ya!:rock:

if ya gonna hunt a fence, save the money and ya can usually find a lease..not for $350 who-ever mentioned that, but most of those cheap places charge trophy fee's, guide tip, tip the cook, the 4 wheeler needs a tip too, and the guy who dragged the deer and so on..check and see what ya can get a lease for. then ya can go out all season!

Very well said, Rowel. When I was younger I used to feel that high fence hunting, wasn't hunting. Now that I'm 48 years old and I've had two major back surgeries, I'm lucky to still be able to walk and I'm in considerable pain when I do get out. I can't walk very far, can't climb a tree, can't hold a rifle in a shooting position for more than 15 seconds without starting to wobble, I can't kneel down to gut an animal and forget dragging one out. I hope that it changes in the future but I can't even drive a car for right now. I love hunting, and all of this talk about high fence hunting is looking better and better every day.

Now that I'm 58, with a neck injury, I'm thinking more and more about a high fence hunt. I would need help with anything bigger than a Florida Whitetail.

high fenced hunts
 

My two first hunts where on private fenced properties for two reasons.
First of all, I haven't got a hunting licence yet and second of all because of the price. The fact that I did't know if I had it in me to shoot an animal played a roll all so.
it was a 10 square mile fenced woodland area and like some of you said, here in Europe they fence these places just to keep the bad people out and the animals in.
First time I had a doe down after 1,5h in my stand.
Second time, last saturday, I saw maybe 20 wild boar but no shooting options. It's like a normal hunt, you can scout for a day, choose the place to hang your stand. And then, if you want, the rangers just do a walk through so the animals move.

BIG GAME - HIGH FENCE?????
I sort of relate this type of hunting to target shooting at the zoo.
TO each their own and I hope you have a good time, but I would never do it.

I don't agree with this but have fun!

I dunno, I would probably try it. I'm kind of cheap though, and all I've looked at are pretty expensive. If I got a free one, or something ridiculously cheap, I would go.

I think your opinion might be different if you have actually hunted one. Hunting a high-fenced operation from 500 acres and up is nothing like hunting in a zoo. But I do understand your mentality about it. I've only hunted high-fenced once for hogs. I'm not against it at all but it's not my preferred way to hunt.

I would go and take a shot if it was offered to me. Enjoy your hunt. Heck, not much difference if your lucky enough to hook up with the right people for hunting. I hunt residential areas with a person who has mastered gaining permission in awesome spots. The very fact that people choose to hunt that way is the reason those animals are alive.

I high fense hunted once. Never in my life was I so disappointed in myself. But I guess all has to find out for themselves.

Depends on the outfit
 

I can tell you I have only hunted two high fence operations in my life. One was great the other was horriable. Hopefully this will help.... First one was in TX. There was 20,000 acres boxed in. We never saw the fence other then the drive in. It was a difficult hunt no doubt but it never seamed quite right. I do have to say.... GREAT TIME. Let's face it... they are hogs and are not easy to kill under most conditions.

The other... Horriable... we went to Wilderness Hunting in TN. This operation is a joke. They claim to have thousands of acres and that they do but they fence off the operation in sections. It was no kill no pay so I should have taken the hint. We were placed in an area of about 100 acres... hogs running accross our feet. It sucked. I will say though I drew my bow a few dozen times but never touched the trigger. I got my money back after some complaining. So... Leason learned and it only cost me gas money.

If you can avoid it... stay away from fences, there are plenty of good operations that will get you on game without the fence.