Cougar Mag

Not mine in the least. I don't have to pay to hunt to enjoy my hunting time. I see a few nice bucks each season, but most likely not the quantity I would see on the game ranches in one week.

I don't know about the King Ranch and places comparable to it but...........don't many if not most of the high fence game ranches practice special breeding tactics? That is not natural.

Jack Ryan

OK.

If you got a chuckle it was worth the effort to write it.

TXhighrack

No, very few ranches practice "special breeding tactics". Why? Because its a pain in the A$$ and it gets very expensive with no guarentees. And for the 10 millionth time, the King ranch is NOT high fenced. I dont think Bill Gates could even afford to high fence that much land.

Heres a few questions that I've read, and seem to be repeated over and over when this topic comes up........

1. If somebody has thousands of acres of land, then why high fence it in the first place?

A. If somebody wants to have a high fence, then thats the only reason they need. I bet if that some person was building a standard barb-wire fence around the same piece of property, you probably wouldnt ask him "why are you putting up that fence" so what difference does it make to you if he wants to put up an 8 footer unstead of that 4 footer?

2. If you know an animal is on the property then its not hunting.

A. I'm sorry but I find this some what dumb. Knowing an animal is on the property and actually killing it are two totally different things. No matter where you hunt, I bet you already know that there are deer on the place, right? If you didnt think any deer where around then you would probably find another spot. So what difference does it make?

3. If the ranch is high fenced, then its just a matter of time before you kill the big buck thats on it.

A. Sorry but this is way off base. I have a friend who manages a 10,000 acre high fenced ranch in south Texas for a very well know bussiness man from out of state. Now on this ranch they have dozens of trail cameras, they do 2 helicopter surveys each year, they have 9 full time ranch hands that spend just about every day out in the brush, and they
hunt the ranch hard during season. I asked him the other day how many of the true trophy bucks that are taken each year during the rut are bucks that have never been seen before. He said "of all the trophy bucks taken off the ranch each year during the rut, I would say about 50-60% have never been seen before". I was even amazed by that percentage, but I dont find it hard to believe. When you have 10,000 acres of thick brush, the bucks dont have any reason to step out and they have more then enough areas to hide. In this area just about every single plant is good for deer, and most of these plants are availible year around. So the bucks only have to move a few yards from there bedding areas to find food. Which means the only time these big mature bucks are seen, is during the rut when they have to move in order to find what there looking for. Its really amazing how many of the big bucks that live on these ranches are never killed. They might find a shed, get a glance of him, or a picture or two, but there never killed.

woody7

The key to high fences is not just keeping the deer in and breeding better bucks. The main benefit of fences is keeping the jerks from hunting the four sides of your low fenced lease and killing every legal buck that comes by. I am sick of it. Just try to let a 2 1/2- 3 1/2 year old buck walk so it can mature. Bang buddy it ain't gonna happen. Yes we have tried talking to everyone on surrounding properties, and everyone agrees to shoot mature deer only. Then the season starts and the music of the rifles says, let the bodies hit the floor.

ahunter55

I have Bowhunted Biggame for over 48 years(never gun hunted) now & up until about 3 years ago would never consider High Fence Bowhunting. I got tired of waiting for deer Season & Turkey season to roll around so started researching High Fence/Low fence Bowhunting Ranches for Exotics & hogs to expand my time in the field in the off season.
I "ALSO" thought it would be EASY when I booked my 1st Bowhunt on a 1000 acre high fence. You were allowed any hard horn animal (no velvet) & 2 hogs in a 4 day package for a fixed amount of cash-NO extra trophy fees BUT no guarentee you would kill anything either. Not a pay for what you get operation. I was to film my son 4 days during his hunt & then he was to film me on my 4 days. In his 4 days of Bowhunting we saw several different antlered Exotic deer, Rams & hogs BUT he got 1 shot at a Sika deer that he did get on the 3rd evening of his hunt. He also shot at 2 hogs (misses). On my Bowhunt I wanted to try for an Axis Buck-other hunters were seeing them-I never saw anything but a few Does. I saw hogs but never got a shot-I saw plenty of other legal animals but never close enough for a bow shot. On my last day of my hunt I arrowed a Red Deer Bull that I had never seen b/4. Yes, we got something but it was not easy. Would I consider a Whitetail under these circumstances. No, BUT I have passed on many small bucks this season trying for a good buck & did take a Doe plus passing many more. My Whitetail Bowhunting is MUCH easier than the High Fence hunts I have been on since my 1st & maybe that is because I know how the deer travel & feed in my hunting spot . Oh, I've seen the Bucks I want, just not in that Bow shot distance. I am also looking forward to several Bowhunts for Exotics & hogs this year again. I do not hunt places that charge trophy fees for what you kill-I do the package hunt with no guarentee.
Have I been skunked? YES Like I said-I changed my attitudt the 1st time BUT it allowes me to do what I love most-be in the woods with the bonus of maybe getting a shot at something I could not afford under any other circumstances. We are blessed with being able to make the choice of what we can or cannot do-don't condem another for their choice just because it doesn't fit in your definition.
I have taken Black Bear, Caribou, Elk, Mule Deer, & more Whitetails than I can really remember over the years -FREE Ranging & MOSTLY PUBLIC ground, so I DO know what hunting is by the other definition. Good luck in whatever way you choose to consider Bowhunting. I am heading to Texas real soon for a off season Bowhunt for Hogs-it's great!!!

Moose_Maximus

I hunted a fenced area for the first time in early December. I was there to hunt feral hogs (which tunnel under the fences) and exotics (which I never saw).

There were so many whitetail deer on the property that my hunting buddy referred to them as "cockroaches." The owner wanted to thin out the herd, and offered cheap kills of does, but I didn't take him up on it. It just didn't seem sporting.

The deer would walk about 30 yards in front of the stand. I tried an experiment to spook them. I waved, snorted, called out "Hey, Bambi!" and in general knocked around the stand, and they pretty much ignored me.

The hog hunting was fun, because the hogs are smart and wary (not to mention tasty). But I don't think I'd care to hunt deer this way.

I've attached a photo I took from a stand. There are four species visible in the photo--hog babies in the foreground, then Corsican sheep, then red deer, and in the distance, two whitetails.

kevin1

Never done it , never will .
I don't care what size it is , it's still wrong . My state doesn't allow it anyway , and I wouldn't do it if they did . [:'(]

Montana Bob

First I think it is a matter of choice and we come back to the control issue.
If you take the entire state of Nevada and put a high fence around it and then charge a fee to hunt, then it is a controlled hunt. You are excluding the people who don't have or will not pay money to hunt. You could not really call this type of hunting Fairchase as you do have the advantage of control by allowing a chosen few to hunt the area.
What about the guy who hunts his 100 acres and won't let the public in. Is this fairchase hunting? What is your idea and anothers idea of fairchase can be different.
My idea of fairchase is just that.....It is fair to everyone. Eastmans Hunting Journal show on TV. This guy hunts Fairchase. Hunting public land and using his hunting skills on public land where anybody with the proper skills of hunting can hunt and be successful.
With the public land being gobbled up, I think the word Fairchase is becoming extinct in my opinion.

Deerslayer_37

Highrack, how can you compare 4 foot fences to 8 foot fences? Deer can EASILY hop over a four foot fence. I've seen bambi's that would stand thigh high on a human make it over the four foot fence we have around most of our 640 in Iowa. we low fence to mark boundaries, discourage people from entering the property, and keep the neighbors cattle in their pastures. A deer would have a helluva time getting over an 8 foot fence, if at all. I know theres a game farm in this state thats 500 acres 11 foot fence. guys pay $10k to shoot a 180" buck thats basically pen raised. Timber Ghost ranch in iowa has a high fence area and a low fence area, so you can pick. I watched a guy hunt the high fence on a TV show witha rifle(usually in iowa its shotgun only, unless you're hunting a pen). the deer were all stupid. In wisconsin, and i believe in iowa too, you have to drive off the deer and then fence the land, and every deer the DNR finds before you stock it you are charged for. that means all the deer in that enclosure are non native. for all these guys breeding super bucks in pens, i say ban it. non natural, non native. hunting means the deer can get away, not having an 8 foot high barrier that they can't cross. i dont care if you dont see have the bucks you shoot in a season. they're still fenced in, no matter how large the expanse.

As far as hogs go, i dont care how you hunt them. they need to be culled anyway. Game farms that shut down in this area let their hogs go so about 15 miles south of here they have a huge problem with them now. all becuase of guys with their high fences. exotics should be banned too. too much risk of disease or them getting loose and hurting habitat for native species.

slayer

burniegoeasily

This debate always cracks me up. The sanctimony expressed is only matched by the lack of thought. If you are not butt naked, and dispatch a deer with your bare hands, its not fair chase. Scents, decoys, camo, stands, rifles, bows, etc. all increase the hunters advantage. So in essence, no form of modern hunting is fair chase. If jargon bothers some, call hunting harvesting and the grips will end. As for the ethics of the practices, both can conjure conjecture so to condemn one, you must condemn the other.