I'm just simply saying the whitetail hunting has gotten ridiculous, almost comical. I'm glad I'm not a horn hunter, I'd go broke.

Corn
Protien
Feeders
ATV
Blinds
Food Plots
Lease
Gas
Deer Camp Supplies
Clothes
Time Costs

When did hunting become focused on trophy management and what horn size your deer can grow. What about spending time with family. Shouldn't that be the real focus?

Who is to say it's not? Are the two mutually exclusive in some way that I can't see? How come if someone wants to do it differently than you it is ridiculous or comical? Are you related to Ms Sparky?

I think I made her Mad.. Lol I didn't use name calling or anything like that.. That would be disrespectful.. She did call the game warden on me though.. that was sweet..LoL!! Honestly she's just looking for attention and I couldn't help myself.. I'm not a native Texan.. I grew up a yankee hunting the same way she hunts, however the way it's done here makes it easier for me to take my kids and thats what its all about for me! I don't care what she thinks about it but I just wanted to put some fire in her britches..lol.. To all yall that defended the way we hunt here that was sweet.. to all yall that called her names.. not cool..

name calling and shooting off at the mouth never gets you anything but trouble back. I posted and got complimented in return. Here"s the post: (warning it was long winded!!!)

I have had a lot of fun reading the posts for this blog. Although I have not hunted outside of Texas, I am very respectful of methods used in other states. I can’t make many comments that haven’t already been said. However, I must say that I am embarressed by some of my fellow texans’ behavior toward you ms sparky. That is no way to treat a woman. Most of us live be the adage “treat others the way you would like to be treated”. I will mention that quite a few of the folks on texashuntingforum are very argumentative and love playing devils advocate. But I have to say that there is no place on both sides for name calling.

My opinion is “Frank” did not accurately explain to you the nature of hunting in texas. I am in the feeder camp. I utilize 8 feeders on a 2000 acre ranch in south texas brush country. This helps greatly in attracting deer to our land and retaining them. It also assists in patterning the deer by forming “congregating” areas. However, this does NOT make it much easier to find deer. As many others have stated and will agree, you still have to “do your homework”. Just as a member of your elk hunting party attempted to locate and pattern the game in WA, so we must also do. We still have to figure out what trails are used at what times, locations of bedding areas, which foods sources are utilized at what times of the year, etc. Since most private ranches in TX are less than a quarter the size of mine, the spot and stalk method is rarely used due to the issue of space

My plea is to all the hunters here and in all states to be ethical sportsmen, and honor the laws in the areas you hunt; Most of us hunters strive to make clean quick kills, utilize the as much of the animal as we can, donate useable parts that we don’t care for, and dispose of the remainder in a manner that doesn’t threaten the health of others. All of us should be appalled by poachers and those that abuse the priviledge of hunting. These “hunters” are the ones that give the anti-hunting and animal rights activists their ammunition. In the same manner, criminals and gun owners that can’t keep their anger in check, give ammunition to the gun control crowd. (No, I’m NOT an NRA member! I just happen to thing that the idea of guns killing people is horrible logic. That same logic would say that pencils cause spelling and grammar errors, and matches cause arson. Guns have an IQ of ZERO! They cannot discharge by themselves. A person must make the decision to pull the trigger and then actually do it!) As for myself and all my friends that are hunters, we don’t shoot if we can’t make a clean swift kill, we make every effort to recover any animal that was shot, handle the carcass so that waste is kept to an absolute minimum, and donate any edible parts that we don’t need/want. If this was the message the non hunting public received, then the animal rights activists would not have the clout that they do. It’s those irresponsible individuals that abuse the resource and their hunting privileges that give hunters a bad name. We are in an age where beef, poultry, and pork can be produced commercially in sufficient quantities so that hunting is not the NECESSITY it once was but is now a PREFERENCE. ( this is a response to the one that would not accept the argument of hunting for meat.)Just as that person may prefer to eat beef, poultry, fish, pork, shellfish, or just vegetables & grain based food, I and most other hunters prefer to eat venison, wild boar, wild birds, etc. and choose to hunt for them . WE ALL HAVE THAT SAME CHOICE TO MAKE EVERY SINGLE DAY! WE HUNTERS DON’T CRITICIZE THE NONHUNTER’S OR VEGETARIAN’S CHOICE SO DON’T CRITICIZE OURS!
Also, some of our ranks are hunting just for sport in order to get the big “trophies” and not for the meat. As long as the edible part of the deer is responsibly used, then I have no problem with it. Personally, I hunt for trophy bucks and kill does for meat. My only issue with fellow hunters comes when only the best parts of the meat(backstraps & tenderloins), along with the horns, is taken and the rest left to rot. I find that to be irresponsible and abuse of the resource. Sorry for the lengthy post. I’m getting off my soapbox now.

I'm with Big Tony, if it's legal, do it the way you see fit. Just teach your children all legal methods and let them choose. Still hunting, from natural blinds, stands, and stands and feeders. And while you're at it, teach them how to gather firewood and how to cook.

And, who really cares?

That's the place I get to hunt on at a buddies place
no feeders, a huge winter wheat field that the deer come down to lick clockwork at dusk, no one hunts it but me once or twice a year.. man, I love it...

But, most places it really helps to have feeders

I dont care how ya hunt em so long as its Fairchase.What bothers me the most about the direction hunting is going is the High Fence "zoo hunting" situation.
As for feeder vs no feeders,this comes up all the time from people up north.They will jump up and down a scream and holler if you mention the word feeder,then the next thing they say is : I killed my deer just outside a apple orchard or I killed mine just as he walked out of the corn field..I just laugh.Both of those areas have "Feeders"-so what are we going to do ,cut down all the acorn trees,we surely should not be hunting around any of them since they put out feed.That just throws em for a loop everytime.This feeder vs no feeder is just the same kinda hype we hear from Peta people..same mentality to me.
I have hunted this state from North to South-east to west and deer hunting is getting way outta hand.Deer lease use to be what we paid a fella to hunt his property and he would pay his taxes with it.Thats how it all got started. 300 dollars was alot in the early 70's.But thats all farmer Joe needed.Offer the guy 300 and some of the kill and a handshake and you were good to go.
In today times its all about the dollar.Deer hunting has become a commercial bizness,we have allowed that through the years.I am the new man on the board and I know I am going to catch Holy Hell for this ,but,
I say the state comes in and sets a regulation : ie - if a person plans to make a profit off of the wildlife,then the state should set a cap on what may be charged to do so.Like a 500.00 per gun limit.
Back in the 80's I use to hunt fredericksburg,cherry spring,doss ,etc .Never paid more than 500.00 per gun-year round.Today the same area will cost you between 1500-1800 per gun..Same land,same deer.So who's to blame.Okay I will get off my soapbox.I am sure I have done enuff damage.

Well, maybe Ms. Sparky should just stay up there in Oregon and leave Texas alone.

I am quite sure a deer really doesn't care if it gets shot from someone in a blind or someone who is stalk hunting.

The deer that I harvest out of my blind get fed twice a day and have all the water they need all year. How's that for cruel and unusual punishment!

In case she has forgotten, animals are on this earth to provide food for humans.

Even though my deer are hunted out of box blinds, they still have a better chance of survival then cattle or hogs in the stock yards.

DCS;

she has probably never read that verse in the bible -so,
me and you and about 3/4 on this thread are wasting our time with her.

I think Frank did a poor job of explaining how we hunt...IMO

Ain't that the truth!

I guess I will just be the old man set in my ways on this board.Theres alot of good points and bad comments on here..JMO.
Back in the day you NEVER saw a Blind on a fence line,never saw another hunter-unless you went down the road to see the fellas next to ya.You never heard a deer called by a name,when I am watching a outdoor show on tv and her some fella say "hey look its "tree trunk" we saw him last year and he looked the same,I pretty much have learned that I am watching some "high fence" show and just change the channel.As for my comment above about the Zoo hunting...to me its just that-no I am not peta - I was just raised with different hunting ethics and values.I look at it like this: If you need to be inside a fenced in area in order to kill a deer..then so be it.After all, those that can only kill a deer this way-still bring in money to the area and to the sport.I think the state should shut down "all" out of state hunters coming in too..Just saying,but the one thing that has my tail tied in a knot right now is the new 13 inch rules..yes I know the reason for this and yes its a good effort-but what about a fella like me that just wants the meat for sausage and jerky,dont care about racks..just meat hunting.Its okay for the state to take measures to increase herd numbers and try to control a area,but then again -the feds thought they were doing a greast job with the Geeese..now look at the mess they are in.But that another story!

Fellow Texans lets not let mssparky.com start us bickering amongst ourselves. Sure they do things different up there. That's why we all live down here so we can do it our way. You try to stalk a deer in my country you won't see anything but flags all day unless you spook a cottontail or covey of quail.

Sure I would rather hunt the big woods like I did growing up in Minnesota..But this is the way it's done here and it sure can be relaxing to sit in a nice blind with a soft cushion under my butt. Every once in awhile I get drawn for a spot and stalk type governement lands hunt..so at least get out and do some walking every 2-3 years.