Free Range Hunts Vs. High Fence

[reloaderlen]

Having time to hunt is hard on a lot of us. I spent 23 years with only 9 to 10 days off a year. I still managed to hunt on free range land . Not the best hunting always but it was still enjoyable. Like I said in a earlier post I shoot deer ,Exotics on high fence
ranches and would do it in a heartbeat to spend sometime with my dad but he would never do it definitely not wasted time by no means if your Dad or kids , family etc.
No matter how you look at it or what you tell yourself you can't put it in the B&C or P&Y Record book .
I have killed many many whitetail deer in my life. Matter of fact I have killed more than I am old . I have traveled all over the US in search of one whitetail that will be bigger than all others. I have yet to find it in the wild and so I will keep on searching.
It sure is nice to shoot those big ones behind the fence but not nearly as rewarding,at least not for me .
If you bow hunt you will understand what I'm about to say , if not then you probably won't.
When I kill a deer with a bow,
One that I have set up waiting on with no food plot or feeder just me
Waiting on him and come with in 10 to 30 yards me .
One who knows his house better than I and I just out smarted him and made a clean kill . The thrill is far more rewarding then shooting one with a rifle.
When I go to the high fence ranches and kill animals ,I can't even brag
I can't share those hunts with my Dad due to the shame. See my Farther is part Cherokee Indian and my grandfather is a100% . They look down on this type of hunting (high fence)
Their thoughts on hunting are far different than most of us these days including my self.

 

[KyCarl]

I'm with the "As long as it's legal' bunch...Why should I care what someone else does?
There are some of us for one reason or another can't hike over hill and dale
High racking and box blinds over bait are a chance to have some fun?
If you don't like it..Don't do it! ....but don't knock those that do...

 

[Grandslammer]

Good debate. Ultimately, this country is not what it was long ago. We have been building fences and roads for over 200 years...for all sorts of reasons. Sure, I'd rather hunt when the country was as it was back then...but that's not possible. The country is vastly different, more developed and more populated than ever. The last few times I hunted public land in the lower 48 I went twenty miles into a wilderness area and yet saw hunters everyday...more hunters than elk in fact. At times I wished there was a fence to regulate the number of hunters per square mile rather than to contain the movement of wildlife.

Similarly, I once lived in Alaska for a few years and was dismayed that nearly every road sign in the state was shot full of holes...presumably by "hunters"...not "sportsmen". They shot holes in signs because they lacked respect for our sport and for the law. These were not ethical hunters even though they hunted in the least fenced, most wild state with the greatest amount of game in the nation.

At the end of the debate, its about respect for the animal, respect for sportsmanship, respect for the quality of the experience and for our treatment of each other. These things can all be present, with or without a fence, if executed in the right way. And, if executed in the wrong way, they can all be absent in the wildest places on earth. It all depends on us...not a fence.

 

[antlersNmoore]

Free range for me.

 

[Monttrap04]

I have never had a desire to hunt behind a fence. I have buddies that have and do and they absolutely love it. Not my bag but if they are happy I am happy for them. I have my opinions about how a high fence operation should be operated but unless I am signing a check I don't think that opinion means much and tend to keep it to myself. Maybe someday I will have a desire to go.

I have shot pen raised birds in a preserve hunt over dogs and would have no qualms doing it again. With bird hunting it is all about the dog for me so I guess the ability to watch it work created a similar experience to wild birds.

I love trapping coyotes almost as much as I enjoy calling and shooting them. Used to be more. Two totally different deals and I don't expect hard core callers to understand trapping. I would just ask for a little respect if it isn't their thing.

I also run hounds for lions. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea but I love my dogs and love the chase. I never understood it when I was younger and wasn't that interested. Something sparked an interest a few years back and I have been pretty serious about it ever since.

I used to not understand long range hunting but the more I shoot at distance and increase my skills and equipment the more I understand the appeal and ability to operate within my own standard of ethics.

I am glad I kept my mind open. I would have missed out on some great experiences if I wouldn't have tried some things that I didn't understand at first.

 

[Corey Schwanz]

I've never hunted a high fence ranch and likely never will, mostly due to costs. But if the place is 20,000+ acres, I can't see how that wouldn't feel like a free range hunt anyway. Story can be much different if you are only talking a couple hundred acres though.

To each their own. If its legal and you enjoy it, have at it!

 

[Paiko]

I have never hunted a High Fenced area, the truth is that this is the first time I've even heard of one. I have always Hunted free range areas during State Hunts and private areas. I won't dis the High Fence Hunting because I have never seen one, been lucky enough to be able to take 1-3 deer a month through out the year (my Family and I take about a month to eat a whole deer). The Deer I have been shooting are Axis Deer, not the biggest but very tasty.
I guess what I want to say is weather you Hunt the way you have to or can Hunt the way you prefer, is it's all good as long as the kill is ethical and the hunt was legal.... And the meat tastes good!

 

[dok7mm]

For over twenty years, I was a hunting outfitter in South Texas, so I have some experience with high fences.

First of all, most ranches that spend their money on high fences do it, not to keep their deer in, but to keep deer from other ranches out. Overgrazing by too many deer can effect the habitat, thus the quality and health of the deer herd. In my days, there were two reasons for high fences......being able to keep deer numbers down to carrying capacity of the property and have enough quality and age classes of deer to add income to the ranch, during drouths and low cattle markets. All ranches I leased, were pure native genetics, no northern blood.

Back then, most of the ranches were 20,000- 60,000+ acres. Often the fence might be put up along only 1 or 2 sides of a ranch, with no high fences separating them from neighbors that also managed their deer herd.

Over the years, the very large ranches have been split up numerous times by feuding heirs, resulting in more fences built around smaller properties. Now there are many breeders shortcutting Mother Nature and owners are buying, instead of managing native deer. And there are plenty of hunters willing to pay big bucks for big bucks. It's supply and demand.

I normally had 80,000-120,000 acres under lease in a given year. Maybe 20% was high fenced, but these well managed ranches produced far more income per acre than the unfenced ones.

On the larger high fenced ranches, where does and lesser bucks we're constantly targeted by management hunters, the mature quality bucks were as wild, or wilder, than on the no fence ranches. Many were 100% nocturnal.

In Texas, there are ranches and there are ranchitos. It's the ranchitos that most people have the ethical problems with. There is no sport at all with shooting giant bucks in small areas, but people are doing it, as we speak.

I have taken a few big whitetails, but none were in high fences, and I haven't shot one over bait. Just because I don't, there are shooters that have a great time and a big wall hanger, to tell lies about, and I'm okay with that.

 

[760pump]

I have a buddy that goes on high fence hunts each year with his job. He shoot giant buck but it doesn't seem so sporty to me.

 

[lancetkenyon]

I WISH I could afford a high fence hunt. Or a hunt like Antelope Island in Utah. I did buy my first ever private landowner tag in NM this year for pronghorn. No fences however, just miles and miles of flat, open, no stalking cover land. Until I hit the lottery, I will continue to hunt as hard as I physically can on public lands.

I have never taken a record book animal....yet (but have seen plenty), except maybe the one Coues that I have never gotten scored. But have some great memories, usually a full freezer, and some decent trophies up on the wall too.

 

[Ndfarmer]

The hunt I went on was awesome! We all had a blast! We didn't have to put on near the miles to find elk but it was still very much a challenge. Definitely got the blood pumping. I love the challenge of public hunting more but would do it again

 

[mtmuley]

I'm in Montana. Fences are for cattle. mtmuley

 

[Ndfarmer]

And horses too

 

[SP101]

In my opinion, a hunter getting a 180" whitetail buck is quite a rare achievement that I respect and admire because all of the time and effort I have put into hunting and have never yet achieved in my pursuit. Not many can do it. The reason I admire and respect it is because these animals are so rare in the wild. When I see someone bragging about a 200" deer they harvested on a high fence hunt, I don't have the same respect and admiration for the trophy because anyone can attain it, just by paying for it. It is obtained by financial ability. I don't care if people do it, to each there own. I just don't view the achievement in the same light. It's like purchasing and wearing Super Bowl Ring from a team that you weren't part of.