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High Fence vs. Free Range Hunts

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High Fence vs. Free Range Hunts

Old 01-18-2018, 07:30 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by CalHunter
Not to argue but aren't a lot of the preserves in Africa high fence?
Some are. But I've never hunted one. Like I said, to each his or her own.
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Old 01-18-2018, 09:54 AM
  #22  
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Originally Posted by tatonka
Isn't there an elk farm in Vermont? They carry CWD. I don't know about Fallow Deer and CWD, but there is a deer farm just outside of Middlebury with Fallow Deer.
There are no canned hunt facilities left. The state banned new ones but allowed the last 2 still running to to be grandfathered and since that time both went out of business so that is ended. I think there are a few elk ranches and fallow deer farms left but I don't think they are allowed to ship live animals either in or out of the state.

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Old 01-18-2018, 11:13 AM
  #23  
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i sometimes feel the art of real deer hunting has been gone for years .. now it's more about how many cameras you can afford and how nice of a food plot you can afford .. sit in your shooting box and bammo .. great white hunter.. couldn't hunt a gorilla at the Atlanta zoo
--some still actually "hunt" but not a lot of us .. i'm not mad about it , I've just seen the changes over the last 50 years .. put a fence around it, so what

Last edited by davidg; 01-18-2018 at 11:17 AM.
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Old 01-18-2018, 11:43 AM
  #24  
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I get a chuckle reading the comments on Deer and Deer Hunting TV's YouTube videos. "Great job shooting your pet deer!" Stuff like that. Do they deserve the scorn? Who knows. Hunting pressured deer on National Forest is very, very different from hunting over a food plot in a high-fence "pet deer" preserve. Is it bad? I don't know!
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Old 01-18-2018, 01:02 PM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by CalHunter
Not to argue but aren't a lot of the preserves in Africa high fence?
That is largely true for the country of South Africa, but not most other countries. I have hunted a few countries on the African continent but I will not hunt in South Africa. Some of the SA properties are very large and it is very possible that guys hunt them and never see a fence or even realize that the property is fenced.
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Old 01-18-2018, 07:23 PM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by flags
It also depends on where you are hunting.
That is the big point that most people are missing! It depends on where you are hunting!
Example: Texas Hill Country and just North of the Hill Country: Over-run with deer! You could fill ALL your tags in one day! High fence OR low fence.
Differences:
LOW FENCE:you have to hunt longer and harder! (get away from the feeders and be more selective!! You may be rewarded with a 130- to-140 buck!
3-5 grand,: you should get something in the 140-160 class. You may have to provide deer cam pictures and beg the land owner for permission to shoot that deer!
5 grand and up,:You will probably be charged by the inch!
5-15 grand and up:You probably don"t care what your "trophy " costs!
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Old 01-18-2018, 08:52 PM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by davidg
i sometimes feel the art of real deer hunting has been gone for years .. now it's more about how many cameras you can afford and how nice of a food plot you can afford .. sit in your shooting box and bammo .. great white hunter.. couldn't hunt a gorilla at the Atlanta zoo
--some still actually "hunt" but not a lot of us .. i'm not mad about it , I've just seen the changes over the last 50 years .. put a fence around it, so what
I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to hunting whitetails. It's gotten more than just a little bit crazy. Years ago you almost never saw a B&C score if you read an article in Outdoor life, Field and Stream, etc. (talking the 1950's and 1960's) unless it was a world record. The stories were all about the hunting experience. Those days are long gone, but that's life... Technology is a different topic, but I hear where you're coming from...
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Old 01-21-2018, 07:30 PM
  #28  
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This thread has been surprisingly civil thus far....


I've ate plenty of animals that I raise. But I don't consider it hunting. Some of these areas are huge. You'd likely never realize you were in a fence other than the ability to be extremely selective on what gets shot.


-Jake
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Old 01-21-2018, 08:15 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by tatonka
I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to hunting whitetails. It's gotten more than just a little bit crazy. Years ago you almost never saw a B&C score if you read an article in Outdoor life, Field and Stream, etc. (talking the 1950's and 1960's) unless it was a world record. The stories were all about the hunting experience. Those days are long gone, but that's life... Technology is a different topic, but I hear where you're coming from...
That's a good point about how hunting articles and, to a point, hunting demands have changed.
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Old 01-22-2018, 07:43 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by Rob in VT
To each his own. If it’s legal and your ok with it, then go for it. As a rule, high fence hunting is not for me. I like the chase and the ability for the critter to elude me, which is what usually happens. I know this can happen behind a fence but it doesn’t seem the same.

With that said, I really want to take a Bison. Free range doesn’t seem to be an option as I don’t think I would ever draw a tag. Such a dilemma . . .
Keep applying for that tag, if it's meant to be, it will be.
on another note, my feeling is if you can no longer hunt the way you like or want to but can afford the "canned" hunt and still have the desire, go for it you probably earned it.
Personally besides my own little property here in PA I hunt public land in the other states I'm lucky enough to visit (most of my friends say I'm just cheap.....and that's probably 25% true when it comes to hunting private land) but I like the challenge.
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