High Fence vs. Free Range Hunts
01-17-2018, 03:11 PM
#11
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: south eastern PA
Posts: 15,431
Some of these places are 4,5 6 thousand acres or more. There is little difference with that size property than a non fenced area because you would not cover that amount of land on a hunt even if not fenced.
01-17-2018, 03:59 PM
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,359
Its probably still tough to target a specific animal but you have 100% control of the age structure. I'd have giant bucks everywhere if I had complete control of the age structure as apposed to hunting the few animals that have the instincts to allude hunters long enough to mature.
The deer can never go where you can't shoot them. Being able to allow every buck that nature doesn't kill mature is a pretty big deal.
I don't care if its 100,000 acres Its a huge difference. I'd kill 200+ inch deer every year behind a fence and it wouldn't matter how big the fence was.
01-17-2018, 05:36 PM
#13
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Port Neches, Texas
Posts: 5,514
I don't care for high fence hunting, but as said before it is legal. So that would make it a personal issue!
You see all the pictures in the deer rags with their "first kill!" 170+ Booners that we might never see in a lifetime of hunting. Most of these kids are hunting in a stand that daddy didn't build or set up, on property they've never set foot on before, and likely they were dropped off about 3 feet away from the stand! Daylight comes and boom! Hunts over!
Sadly, most of these kids will never learn about the outdoors, scouting, tracking, and camping!
Again, if it is legal, the choice is yours! Just don't try to pass it off as some giant "trophy," or try to to make out like you are Super-Hunter!
You see all the pictures in the deer rags with their "first kill!" 170+ Booners that we might never see in a lifetime of hunting. Most of these kids are hunting in a stand that daddy didn't build or set up, on property they've never set foot on before, and likely they were dropped off about 3 feet away from the stand! Daylight comes and boom! Hunts over!
Sadly, most of these kids will never learn about the outdoors, scouting, tracking, and camping!
Again, if it is legal, the choice is yours! Just don't try to pass it off as some giant "trophy," or try to to make out like you are Super-Hunter!
01-17-2018, 10:19 PM
#14
Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern California
Posts: 18,381
Not to argue but aren't a lot of the preserves in Africa high fence?
01-18-2018, 02:35 AM
#15
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: On an Island in Vermont
Posts: 22,593
Keeping deer captive behind a fence is illegal here in Vt. The reason is simply to decrease the chance of CWD from coming into the state. Most releases of CWD throughout the country have followed a captive deer or elk facility. Personally...I wouldn't even consider hunting behind a fence. Like Rocky said there is hunting and farming. I do understand that nice beef ribeye I like so much comes after someone kills a beef behind a fence. They don't call that hunting and neither do I.
01-18-2018, 06:44 AM
#16
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Montana
Posts: 309
Your friend sounds like an elitist, so many hunts each year, he is not a hunter, he is a shooter, with all of these hunts lined up how in the world could he possibly scout out his own stands and deer ?????? on my one and only outfitted hunt in arctic circle quebec for caribou, I met a gentleman from Michigan, who stated he has hunted with rifle only for years, , shot much game. after we took out allotted caribou we had a couple of days to enjoy the country so we walked and explored, he followed me like a puppy, I finally asked him why, he said he would be lost with somebody guiding him, he had never hunted alone, or hunted animals on his own. He was I believe in his early 60,s He is another shooter, not a hunter !
01-18-2018, 06:47 AM
#17
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Montana
Posts: 309
Keeping deer captive behind a fence is illegal here in Vt. The reason is simply to decrease the chance of CWD from coming into the state. Most releases of CWD throughout the country have followed a captive deer or elk facility. Personally...I wouldn't even consider hunting behind a fence. Like Rocky said there is hunting and farming. I do understand that nice beef ribeye I like so much comes after someone kills a beef behind a fence. They don't call that hunting and neither do I.
01-18-2018, 07:00 AM
#18
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: south eastern PA
Posts: 15,431
Norway to exterminate 2000 Reindeer
They thought Reindeer didn't get CWD up until several moths ago when they found out they were wrong. This is the problem with prion diseases, they mutate and jump species.
Reindeer have not had an easy time recently. There are only about 600,000 left of them, down from 1.5 million in 2000 thanks to dwindling habitat due to climate change, and last August, 318 of those were struck by lightning in a single storm and killed.
And now, the government of Norway has decided to kill off (link in Norwegian) an entire herd of roughly 2,200 reindeer to stop the spread of a highly infectious fatal disease.
Since last March, Norwegian officials have been keeping an eye out for cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The disease, which causes the brains of animals in the deer family, including moose and reindeer, to slowly turn to mush. It spreads through chemicals called prions, although scientists are not sure how exactly.
Prions are misshapen proteins that can cause other proteins—like vital ones in the brain—to change their shape, too. They’re found in the waste, saliva, and infected brain matter of diseased animals, and can stick around for years in the environment. Sometimes, the CWD-causing prions can form spontaneously brains of older animals, but in these cases the prions aren’t contagious.
Lab tests on the brains or excretions of animals have to confirm the presence of these prions. However, it’s easy to miss in most cases because it’s a degenerative disease that kills animals over time. Its symptoms include general health problems, like losing weight or drooling excessively, which could happen for any number of reasons.
According to Science, in 2016 officials found prions from CWD in the brains of two moose and three reindeer. The moose, they believe, likely developed the illness as result of old age, in which case prions would only be found in the brain and couldn’t spread to other animals. However, the reindeer all lived in the same herd in Nordfjella, a rocky region in the middle of the country.
Discovering three cases of CWD in dead reindeer likely means others in the herd are already sick, and potentially spreading prions to others. Although there’s never been a case of humans getting sick from CWD, we can contract a similar prion disease found in cattle—mad cow disease—from eating contaminated meat. Even if there’s no threat to human health, authorities are concerned that CWD could spread to other species and even across the globe through shipments of undiagnosed animals, or even prions that hitch a ride on human travelers.
For now, Norwegian park rangers will patrol the borders of the herd’s habitat to quarantine them until they have all been shot by amateur hunters. Reindeer won’t be allowed to live in the area until 2022 to ensure any leftover priors from current reindeer waste have broken down. Hopefully, the deaths of these reindeer will prevent the deaths of thousands more later on.
Reindeer have not had an easy time recently. There are only about 600,000 left of them, down from 1.5 million in 2000 thanks to dwindling habitat due to climate change, and last August, 318 of those were struck by lightning in a single storm and killed.
And now, the government of Norway has decided to kill off (link in Norwegian) an entire herd of roughly 2,200 reindeer to stop the spread of a highly infectious fatal disease.
Since last March, Norwegian officials have been keeping an eye out for cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The disease, which causes the brains of animals in the deer family, including moose and reindeer, to slowly turn to mush. It spreads through chemicals called prions, although scientists are not sure how exactly.
Prions are misshapen proteins that can cause other proteins—like vital ones in the brain—to change their shape, too. They’re found in the waste, saliva, and infected brain matter of diseased animals, and can stick around for years in the environment. Sometimes, the CWD-causing prions can form spontaneously brains of older animals, but in these cases the prions aren’t contagious.
Lab tests on the brains or excretions of animals have to confirm the presence of these prions. However, it’s easy to miss in most cases because it’s a degenerative disease that kills animals over time. Its symptoms include general health problems, like losing weight or drooling excessively, which could happen for any number of reasons.
According to Science, in 2016 officials found prions from CWD in the brains of two moose and three reindeer. The moose, they believe, likely developed the illness as result of old age, in which case prions would only be found in the brain and couldn’t spread to other animals. However, the reindeer all lived in the same herd in Nordfjella, a rocky region in the middle of the country.
Discovering three cases of CWD in dead reindeer likely means others in the herd are already sick, and potentially spreading prions to others. Although there’s never been a case of humans getting sick from CWD, we can contract a similar prion disease found in cattle—mad cow disease—from eating contaminated meat. Even if there’s no threat to human health, authorities are concerned that CWD could spread to other species and even across the globe through shipments of undiagnosed animals, or even prions that hitch a ride on human travelers.
For now, Norwegian park rangers will patrol the borders of the herd’s habitat to quarantine them until they have all been shot by amateur hunters. Reindeer won’t be allowed to live in the area until 2022 to ensure any leftover priors from current reindeer waste have broken down. Hopefully, the deaths of these reindeer will prevent the deaths of thousands more later on.
01-18-2018, 07:03 AM
#19
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Montana
Posts: 309
Many very good points have been brought up here. Hunting is defined differently by different people. For the vast majority, a high fence operation isn't appealing or considered hunting. I personally would not be interested and if I ever did (not going to happen) I'd feel pretty foolish posting photos of a buck I killed.
Most all of the Red Stag you see killed in New Zealand are taken on High Fence hunts. Some are free range, but not many. I'd love to see New Zealand and hunt a Red Stag, but the cost, sitting on a plane for upteen hours, and not being able to bring the meat home is a deal breaker for me.
I'm still on the fence (no pun intended) on farms and ranches that plant food plots, keep everyone out except for family, close friends, etc. I realize that the deer aren't fenced in and can leave whenever they want to, but if they have all the food they need, the cover, and are not pressured why would they leave? In my mind this is not all that different than a high fence operation. But that's me.
With my hard earned money (the little that I have), if I spend money on a hunt it's going to be for something up north. I love the Canadian wilderness. I love the moose, caribou, etc. I'll never be able to afford a sheep hunt and quite frankly, I'm too old to tackle those mountains but it would be the experience of a lifetime. I've been fortunate to hunt moose and caribou and both trips were fantastic.. In the meantime, I'll hunt the wonderful deer, elk, antelope, etc. we have right here in Montana..
Most all of the Red Stag you see killed in New Zealand are taken on High Fence hunts. Some are free range, but not many. I'd love to see New Zealand and hunt a Red Stag, but the cost, sitting on a plane for upteen hours, and not being able to bring the meat home is a deal breaker for me.
I'm still on the fence (no pun intended) on farms and ranches that plant food plots, keep everyone out except for family, close friends, etc. I realize that the deer aren't fenced in and can leave whenever they want to, but if they have all the food they need, the cover, and are not pressured why would they leave? In my mind this is not all that different than a high fence operation. But that's me.
With my hard earned money (the little that I have), if I spend money on a hunt it's going to be for something up north. I love the Canadian wilderness. I love the moose, caribou, etc. I'll never be able to afford a sheep hunt and quite frankly, I'm too old to tackle those mountains but it would be the experience of a lifetime. I've been fortunate to hunt moose and caribou and both trips were fantastic.. In the meantime, I'll hunt the wonderful deer, elk, antelope, etc. we have right here in Montana..
01-18-2018, 07:29 AM
#20
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
Gonna have to disagree. Perhaps that would be the case if all you hunted was whitetails from a tree stand but if you are a still hunter or a spot and stalk guy then you'd be amazed how much ground you cover. It also depends on where you are hunting. A couple thousand acres in the northeast is a huge tract of land but out west that is just the back pasture.