South Dakota imports birds from Wisconsin. If you didn't stock fish many lakes would have a limit of zero. I don't really care about fish to be honest. Talk to people who fish lakes in c anada that have little fishing, and it's incredible. Are they bad people?

if you hike miles and miles in a way from people, does that make you not hunter, since deer are not pressured?

I actually do think of it quite the same when I hear somebody bragging about the big fish they caught in a stocked pond. I love to do it myself....Its a blast but its obviously not the same.

I don't think anybody said it makes you a bad person.

Ive done the bird thing and much like a stocked pond its a lot of fun but its clearly not real hunting.

I'm sure a high fence deer hunt is a lot of fun as well.

I hunted high fence in Texas and was successful. We drove right up to the animal we selected and shot it. There was no "hunting" at all. I actually did not feel good after this trip. Whether it is right or wrong, hunting or not, I choose not to do it as my preference. As far as letting birds go out of a cage, I always had a funny feeling about that. I would still do it but it would be about the same as sitting in a box blind next to a feeder for me, just not my preference. I'm not trying judge anyone else for their choices because if someone called me and offered a free hunt then I would do it.

I went hunting a couple weeks ago for Bos taurus. Picked it out and subdued the critter with my own hands. Never fired a shot, now THAT is prehistoric. Had that sucker on the grill for Sunday dinner last week end. Just plain primitive hunter gathering, putting food on the table for my family, none of that trophy/picture/gab fest bragging around the office blarney.

never went anywhere to hunt. But I think you are being bit of drama queen.

I am not talking bird clubs. I been told state does it for tourism. People 5hink they are hunting wild birds.

I have gone to club that releases on leased land. It was fun working dogs. Still had to make shot. But it was odd even though they had 100s of acres. I might have joined for fun of it , but once I bought my camp I just don't have time. Fun drinking beer at the bar too.

Afraid I can't respond to a quote that makes no sense to me. Would you like to try again?

Ok. If you want ,me to say it again. I think you are full of it.

if not what man shoots an animal in a pen.

A farmer raising hogs? A rancher or slaughterer with cattle? I don't think they shoot chickens to slaughter them. :biggrin:

Maybe you should go back and read my post again. You clearly misunderstood how I felt about that experience afterwards. Who's being the drama queen?

So true. We were preparing to roast a hog. Friend got it from a local farm. Said it was the best 20 square feet of hog hunting he has ever seen !!

First, I'll have to agree with Old Timer, several thousand acres, with NO FEEDERS, Is pretty much Hunting! Most people don't understand, a 40,000 acre ranch is 62.5 square miles! That’s not exactly a “feeder pen!”

My only experience with “high fence,” was that a friend invited me on a “cheap, bow only, hog hunt.” Only 200 acres, with feeders and several types of game, including Black Buck Antelope, Red Stag and Nilgi!
I think I saw EVERY animal on that 200 acres, except for the Nilgi, as they are very shy and smart! I DO NOT CARE TO EVER HUNT THAT TYPE OF AREA AGAIN! TOTALLY “CANNED HUNTING!”

Again, NOT the same as 40,000 acres of property, WITHOUT feeders!

I had a newspaper outdoors columnist contact me about the above hunt. He argued that many people can’t afford, or have the free time to take their kids on a “real hunt.” This is as close to the “REAL,” hunting experience that they can have with their children! I can understand that!

My “REAL” problem is that some of those same parents that can afford thousands of dollars for they, and/or their children to hunt can brag about 150+ bucks that they or their child killed as their “first buck!”

Now that right there, AIN”T REAL HUNTIN' !!!!!

This all peeked my interest so I contacted a couple of preserves and asked for references. I tried to keep an open mind about the whole topic. It was interesting talking to these folks. I only contacted two, so the information I got was limited, but here's what I found. I talked to one fellow who was elderly who has hunted one of the preserves 5 times and is going back again this fall. He said he just can't get out and about like he used to so he thought he'd try a preserve hunt. He said he really enjoys them (obviously if he's going back for the 6th time). He said the deer act like deer you'd hunt anywhere....the older bucks do not show themselves until last light, etc. How true this is, I have no idea....I'm just sharing what I was told. He said beforehand he had a lot of reservations about doing one of these "hunts", like most of us, but decided to give it a try. He said the buck he shot last year hadn't been seen since it was released 4 years earlier. Again, I have no idea how true this is....I'm just sharing what I was told. He said he enjoys going every year and while it's not as challenging as a hunt on public land, etc., it's a lot of fun and for him at his age it's challenge enough. On the preserve he goes to the deer are released several months in advance, so they have a chance to reaclimate to the wild. How wild they become is anyone's guess, of course.

Maybe the bottom line is that killing a deer is different for different people. For some it's about the challenge and the satisfaction that they have taken a deer on public land where anyone and everyone can hunt. For others it's about putting in food plots and managing the land to produce large bucks. For some it's about getting into wilderness areas and taking a track and killing a buck. And for a few (probably very few) they find shooting a buck on a preserve enjoyable. I personally think it's about not judging anyone for the way they enjoy the deer. It's all better than sitting around watching TV, playing video games, etc. The one thing I have a problem with is outfits that charge based on the size of the critter you kill. Some preserves charge by the size and some don't. If you hunt in New Zealand for Red Stag, it's all based on the size of the stag you kill (unless you go on a free range hunt...not many people do that). Never been to New Zealand but I've looked into hunting there.. To me that's more like going shopping, but that's standard procedure in New Zealand... There are ranches in Texas that do the same thing....you pay according to the size of the buck you kill...

I generally agree with all of that.

Personally for me the fun in a hunt is the challenge. My most memorable hunts were because of the challenge that I was presented with. With that said I would never in a million years hunt high fence, I won't even bait or put out food plots for whitetail. I love killing mature deer on their own terms, outwitting them in their unaltered environment. I really feel a connection to the animal when I hunt them naturally. But, to each their own.

Seems like the older I get, the less judgemental I've become. A few years back if someone had mentioned a high fence hunt I probably would have told them how it wasn't hunting, it was just killing, etc., etc., etc., I still think that way, but have come to the conclusion that no matter what I think people have a right to hunt where and how they choose to as long as it's legal. I might not agree with what others do, but it's their right...that's what makes American the country that it is.

In regards to high fence hunts, I can kind of see how some folks might be drawn to it. In some states a person can hunt their entire life and never take anything remotely close to being something most people would put on the wall. I know guys in Vermont who have hunted all their lives and maybe have only killed a little forkhorn or two. My uncle had two brother-in-laws who two their two week vacation during hunting season every year and hunted 26 years and never killed a buck!!! True story. Hard to believe, but true. My wif'es cousin (from Vermont) went to Saskatchewan 4 times several years back and never did kill anything to get excited about.. Between the cost of the hunts, the travel, etc. I'm guessing he spent over $20,000. I could see someone like that taking a serious look at a high fence hunt, although he never has. Personally, I'm lucky. I've taken far more big bucks than any one man deserves, but Montana isn't Vermont or any of the other states were a big buck is a scarce as hen's teeth.

At any rate, it's interesting how we all look at hunting differently.

As for challenge, I'd be happy if monster walks in first day first 5 minutes. Ha

I just got back from a week stalking mule deer in the breaks in Montana and only pulled back my bow once and missed underestimated the distance and I have hunted in Kansas several years and Kentucky and only taken 2 bucks.I guess for the money I could go kill a big trapped buck behind a fence but I still wouldn't even if they paid me !

Oh and that big boy I missed. I guess a high fence would have eased the pain of knowing I blew my only chance on that big wily buck I had followed all week. He was headed to the next county but would have had to stop at the high fence and not just kept going like mine did LOL !

I agree with that. Most people will never hunt more than a few thousand acres and keep going back to the same area to hunt. It could take a lifetime to learn 62.5 square miles of hunting area and even then, different bucks would still teach you new tricks.

Out of site is out of site.

My take on this is definitely on the extreme end of the spectrum but I like to have a connection to the animals I take, particularly whitetail bucks. When I look at the deer on my wall, every one of them brings back wild emotions of the chase and many unproductive days spent afield waiting on the opportunity. The cat and mouse game of trying to outsmart the animal is what gives me the biggest rush, when it all comes together its that much more special. I just cannot fathom how one could have this sense of accomplishment and pride in something raised behind high fence and I personally wouldn't even want to hunt whitetail with a guide or over bait. Solving the puzzle of the deer is half the challenge so having a guide to me is essentially someone doing the leg work and solving the puzzle where all I have to do is show up, sit in the assigned spot and wait to pull the trigger. Of course thats just my take.