I would not pay to hunt a big buck with an ear tag behind a high fence... Just doesnt seem right.. But if I was sitting on my low fence free range lease and a monster buck showed and had a tag .. I'd assume he got out of a hf and I'd probably lay the hammer down..

Even mentioning sheep conservation and restoration efforts that brought them back from the brink of extinction in the same thread discusssing the HF whitetail deer industry in TX is painful to me. Just as it was seeing you post those pics of the monitored sheep-as if it had some relevance to a TX HF discussion.

One reflects efforts to save a species and restore it to the truly wild places. So, yes, some drastic TEMPORARY measures were taken. As of 2008, Texas' desert bighorn sheep population was just over 1000 animals.

The other reflects making money off of a growing desire to make it easier (easy, in fact) to kill a big antlered deer- usually within a specified time frame. Not restoration efforts. Texas alone has a free-ranging WT population of over 4 million.

Being realistic, I would be overjoyed with a cessation of the whitetail breeding and sale industry and a minimum acreage for HF of 1000 acres. Then, maybe in the future the minimums could be increased.

I might as well be wishing for the moon....

need ya'lls suport. after reading this thread. my kids need theropy i taught em wrong. tis all about the Big Bucks . reason why avoid the Deer Hunting Form best wishes ta all.

Disappointed. Even though the deer may have been as wild as a March hare. But disappointed because:
1)I don't know;
2)I do know he was not native; and
3)Sad we live in a world where chit like that can happen.

Had a buddy kill a huge buck with his bow. He was hunting about 2 miles from a HF big buck farm. He has a nagging feeling his deer may have been an escapee. Ticks me off he even has to have that feeling. Just another by-product of game farming.

I've killed some pretty nice animals out west for 6K (and a helluva lot less). One can go on a top-notch Dall sheep hunt for that first figure you mention. Buy any Governor's tag for any species in WY for the second and have $$$ left over. (In fact, could get a sheep, moose, and MD tag). Get a TX LO Desert bighorn tag for about 80K.

You have fine tastes.....

All I was saying is there is a lot of good hunting to be had for less than 16 grand out west. Certainly less than 120 grand. A WY governor's sheep tag is around 60-65K. The hunt price is 10K give or take. Governor's moose tag 20-30K. Hunt price 6-8K or so depending on the outfitter. Governor's MD tag 15-20K. Hunt price again 6-8K depending on the outfitter.

TX Desert sheep hunt price is $9500. (I happen to know that one exactly since I just hunted with the man who guides for them.)

Didn't mean to mislead by not including the hunt price in my Governor's tag analysis. But, honestly, in that rarefied air the hunt price is just a small portion of the cost.

Excellent hunts can be had if you persevere in the application process (which is most folks' Achilles' heel). My WY moose hunt cost $8500 or so (tag, guide fees/tips,travel,taxidermy included) in 2005. Same hunt would be about 12K today.

The Desert sheep hunt will end up somewhere around 19K all told-6K of that will be taxidermy for a full body mount/habitat.

Those are admittedly skewed figures when you consider the long draw odds. But if one plays the application game well, a few top-notch elk and/or muley hunts can be in anyone's future for something south of 10 grand. Not every year, of course. But if one truly wants to have any chance of hunting top-quality animals with any degree of economic sanity, one must take the long view.

In the meantime, you can hunt the OTC units/general tags, still be hunting, and every once in a while still take some decent animals. My first elk was a 320" bull on a general tag in Wyoming. Total cost was about $2000.

Now, if you want to hunt big elk and big muleys every year? Yep. Be ready to fork over some big $$$ every year. (Unless you have been playing the application game for 20+ years in a dozen or so states.)

And if you want to hunt sheep every year? Yep, yep, yep. You better be rich and that's all there is to it.

IMO the best North American hunting bargains today are:

1)Big black bear in Canada;
2)Barren ground caribou in Canada; and
3)Newfoundland moose;

All can be done for 10K or less all-in.

To stretch it a little, if one wants to have a true adventure of a lifetime, Alaskan Dall sheep can be hunted for less than 20K all-in. Add another 5-8K for a Yukon/NWT Dall. A little less for AK/Yukon moose.

Or play the application game smartly for mid-tier elk/muley units in the States. There are great units besides just the Kaibab/Henrys/Escalante type units.

Is it just me or are there others that find it hard to stomach seeing ear tags in WT that are for sale for hunting? I can see buying deer for your place and getting people to hunt them but at least remove the tag before you release them. Do I need to buy some popcorn for this?

All I was saying is there is a lot of good hunting to be had for less than 16 grand out west. Certainly less than 120 grand. A WY governor's sheep tag is around 60-65K. The hunt price is 10K give or take. Governor's moose tag 20-30K. Hunt price 6-8K or so depending on the outfitter. Governor's MD tag 15-20K. Hunt price again 6-8K depending on the outfitter.

TX Desert sheep hunt price is $9500. (I happen to know that one exactly since I just hunted with the man who guides for them.)

Didn't mean to mislead by not including the hunt price in my Governor's tag analysis. But, honestly, in that rarefied air the hunt price is just a small portion of the cost.

Excellent hunts can be had if you persevere in the application process (which is most folks' Achilles' heel). My WY moose hunt cost $8500 or so (tag, guide fees/tips,travel,taxidermy included) in 2005. Same hunt would be about 12K today.

The Desert sheep hunt will end up somewhere around 19K all told-6K of that will be taxidermy for a full body mount/habitat.

Those are admittedly skewed figures when you consider the long draw odds. But if one plays the application game well, a few top-notch elk and/or muley hunts can be in anyone's future for something south of 10 grand. Not every year, of course. But if one truly wants to have any chance of hunting top-quality animals with any degree of economic sanity, one must take the long view.

In the meantime, you can hunt the OTC units/general tags, still be hunting, and every once in a while still take some decent animals. My first elk was a 320" bull on a general tag in Wyoming. Total cost was about $2000.

Now, if you want to hunt big elk and big muleys every year? Yep. Be ready to fork over some big $$$ every year. (Unless you have been playing the application game for 20+ years in a dozen or so states.)

And if you want to hunt sheep every year? Yep, yep, yep. You better be rich and that's all there is to it.

do you tag or otherwise mark your ibex?

I don't tag. Back when I used to sell a few at RAZ I would not let them put a tag in the ear. Why would I want to put a tag in the ear? Ibex are like people. Each looks a little different than the others and if you need to do something to one you know which one it is. Deer are the same. Each one is a little different that the rest. If a person spent enough time with them they would not need a tag to know the individual deer.

I don't tag. Back when I used to sell a few at RAZ I would not let them put a tag in the ear. Why would I want to put a tag in the ear? Ibex are like people. Each looks a little different than the others and if you need to do something to one you know which one it is. Deer are the same. Each one is a little different that the rest. If a person spent enough time with them they would not need a tag to know the individual deer.

I thought if you worked Deer, purchased a Deer to improve genetics, etc..handled deer in Texas the law was they had to be tagged and records kept. Ear Tags

Ah. So they're individually marked. So natural identification is righteous, but doing it yourself isn't.

I'm getting low on...anyone have extra?