It sure doesn't take much to go from your original statement to one that could have a completely different outcome. One little word.

Seems like some outdoor writer raised quite a bit of commotion with the big B word relating to some guns a few weeks ago.

I've never hunted a high fence and probably never will, but I'm not calling for banning it. [&:]

Yep. Having 40,000 acres under fence is exactly the same as going down to the zoo and shooting something out of a 20' by 20' cage... Right? 100 square miles is no different than tying them to a tree. Right?

High fence alone does not make a canned hunt.

If you're just hunting for meat, shoot a doe and let those baby bucks grow up for folks who would like to get a shot at a mature buck.

I'm against places like the Sanctuaryin Michagan,if I saw another show from there I think I would puke.It seems like the Texas trophy hunters show wasthere every other week.Hardly ever watch a hunting show anymore.

I'm more against raising deer like cattle,bottle feeding, getting them so used to being fed by humans they are basically tame.

I think that one thing that freaks me out about Texas and some others statesis that a lot of the stuff that goes on there is illegal in NY.


I'm not a big tentguy anymore,sorry if that offends people, because I honestly think some of the things that are legal are really bad for our life style as far as the non hunter views it. Not anti hunters non hunters.

If they ever try to legalize baiting in NY I will be against it. Just as I would being able to drive around and shoot from a vehicle.

40,000 is a good sized ranch, and I'd be willing to bet alof of those deer have never seen the fence. But as soon as the guides start flying over with helicopters, find a buck, get video of it, then set out bait for a week before a hunter arrives, shows the hunter what deer he will be waiting to shoot, sitting in the stand for 20 minutes after the rancher drives away spreading corn, and going bang when the deer hears the dinner bell. That is canned hunting!

I dont really consider that real hunting. Yes some areas are 10,000 acres that are fenced in, but the deer are still fenced in. I believe that it takes the fun out of hunting.

Grrr.... this always riles me a bit. The presence of a High Fence does not make it canned hunting. If it takes the fun out of hunting, regardless of property size, then that is a personal opinion, and doesn't necessarily apply to others.

All you high and mighty woodlot hunters... you try scouting and hunting SW and S Texas without feeders or feeding of some sort. You can't. Deer sometimes roam hundreds of acres in a day looking for one thing or another. And in deep south texas you can't see 10 yds unless you're on a sendero or jeeproad of some sort.

As far as I know, no rancher would fly low enough with a helicopter to video a deer, and risk scattering the rest of the deer. (and yes the deer will disappear in a 1000 acre "pen")

High fences (on LARGE PROPERTIES, thousands of acres) produce not only large racks, but also healthier herds. Better buck to doe ratios, and also generally healthier deer. Deer, when they have all they need in a specific area, and have little/no predation, will stick to a relatively small area and may never venture past a few mile radius in their entire lives. The exception being rut-crazed bucks if there are not many does in the area. You guys in the midwest know this.

High fences on small(10-100 acres) are what should be considered canned hunting. This is little more than slaughtering and is illegal in most states. Sadly, there are a ot of spreads here in Texas that are 100-200 acres all inside a highfence.

There is a huge gray area between 300 acres and 5000 acres where depending on the habitat and carrying capacity of the land, HighFencing may or may not be restrictive to the animal.

Absolutely, even on large properties, the deer not entirely free, wild animals, because they're limited to a certain (all be it large) area. But you just try catchin one and explainin it to them.

Not all anti-immigrants are trespassers.... and I suspect not all trespassers are anti-immigrant. stop lumping people together with other groups.. it just muddies the waters.

Basically, let people hunt as they wish. You know guys, alot of people say bowhunters are unethical because the arrow is not as powerful as the bullet. Does that give them the right to say bowhunting should be outlawed?

Make no mistake about it, the lines between shooting and hunting are being blurred, but ultimately it is up to each state to define what is and is not hunting, for it's own constituents. The reason that it is up to each stat is that the definition of what is "lawful hunting" varies regionally, not just because of state lines and law books, but because different people in different parts of the country(different parts of a given county even) define hunting differently. This message board is a perfect example! Look at the difference in attitudes between the Bowhunting forum and the Deer Hunting forum.

What happened to if it's legal and ethical do what you want?

Every walk the Adirondack or Catskills, the mountains in Tennessee (don't know their bating laws) west Virginia?

Your right it's not thick anywhere but there.

Right on Charlie P!I have done it in NW NC and NE Tenn. and if you're not in shape, you better stay home!Oh, I have also done it in CO...