There is not a hf in Texas via itself that will hold a deer if its pressured or wants out.
It's a deterrent nothing more..

Well if you did "bait" them would you use sour cream, butter and chives?

Yeah we're down to that argument huh? Then there are some really stupid people spending all that $$$ on fences to make sure that doesn't happen.

When we get down to the "'HF doesn't matter because it doesn't really work anyway" defense I usually declare victory and go home. So bye-bye...

Disagree... the one behind the inlaws isn't letting a deer out on the fence side.

no need, they like them plain, and use body heat to warm them up....

Yep and I have never seen a tagged deer on a LF place huh? Would not fathom how they got there since no one in their right mind would spend money to turn tagged deer loose on LF.

Dang I might need to change my plan for Kansas.

I was on a lease that had 10 tagged deer on it delivered from Buddy Temple's Freer ranch.

I've been thinking about something I posted earlier on this thread, and I feel bad.

You see, East Texans typically breed large families and live in small dwellings they build from materials salvaged from junkyards. Feeding the family comes first, and the lack of common sense or money should not interfere.

To them I say, carry on wayward hunters. No offense intended in earlier post.

I was told the bucks hammer it gearing up for rut. They weren't getting there until almost dark in 3rd&2nd.... 4th season a few years back you had to wait for deer to get out of the rd and there were a few 180-190 hanging close.

It depends on what you declare as successfully or roi in deterring dispersal in or out.... 1 in 10, 1 in 20?

The agruement is still the same.... You condescending tone about deer and hunters on large ranches or HF ranches. We just poking holes in your reasoning.

why hunt the mid west? There are HF up there, are there not? Is it bigger deer for your money??

Ego/money same reason you talk smack about large ranches and HF deer in hind site is the same reason you hunt up north... Funny when you step back and look at it...

im probably not going to change your mind so it doesn't matter but just maybe you will find it wrong to degrade others

You hunt those places, especially public bc it's you against the animal and you against the other goobers with tags after the exact same deer. Luck plays a big part, but knowledge & patience in the rat race of a short season makes things interesting.

no need for the small ranch to manage, the state does it by the number of tags per county, want that changed ? well pressure them to issue tags by the amount of acreage.

This buck was raised on 800 acres HF. He never ate protein...not one ounce. 100% native Hill Country genetics. In fact the owner of the 800 doesn't hunt and doesn't allow hunting.

This buck was killed on a neighboring ranch, several miles away from where he was raised. I know both ranches, both owners, and the man that shot this deer, and the taxidermist. Deer scores 179 and change gross.

He jumped the fence to get there too. No holes in or under the fence.

NP, I know a good many people who own HF ranches and not one of them has ever sold a hunt, introduced genetics from elsewhere or any of that nonsense you're spewing. They fenced their ranches in order to grow older, bigger deer. They feed 'em corn and protein. They don't do it to make money.

In fact I don't personally know anyone that owns HF ranch for the sake of selling hunts or making money.

WOW!! 13 Pages and I read every post. There's an hour of my life I will never have back. Thanks for the distraction y'all

we have a 1900 acre place for sale.

been high fenced for 25 years. hasent' been hunted in god knows how long.

no protein is being fed, no corn feeders, nada. there are some bucks in the 180's in there, albeit the ranch has a low deer density.


would it be less like hunting ot take a deer in there or a 100 acre low fence place under a feeder?

Those deer inside the fence will be looking for a free meal, bet I could corn a long stretch of road by hand on afternoon and shoot something decent the next morning

Yeah, I dunno. My last S. Texas lease was low fence. Drive down a sendero throwing corn from a tailgate feeder and they come out of the brush and fall in behind the truck like cattle. But since it was low fence it's real huntin'.

Wait just one dog gone second. We learned earlier in this thread that if we didn't manage deer and be good stewards of the land, we would have water pollution. I need to know where this place is so when I go by it, I don't drink the water!!!!

And how in the world does it produce 180" deer with no protein????

And I remember one esteemed member of this forum saying that if that happened, even on a LF, there would be so many deer that tails would be sticking out of the fences...

Now this story right here changes my whole opinion of everything I thought I knew

Couple of questions for the HF'ers (since y'all just had to make this into a HF debate)

(I will state that I am doing this for arguments sake and the following statements in no way reflect my opinion of HF ranches or people that hunt them )

1. I have read the argument that HF doesn't really work that well. Then what is the point?

2. I have read the argument that HF is a deterrent and does not stop the deer. Then who in their right mind would put a $50k deer behind a deterrent?

3. I have read that some HF places can barely manage to grow 150" deer. How and why do you justify the cost?

4. I have read that a HF does not effect the normal travel of a deer. Same pattern on 1200 acres as 12k. If this is the case, you have not hunted where I hunt. No matter the size of the ranch, you are limited some of the deers mobility...maybe not all, but without a doubt, some.

5. I have read that someone shot a deer on 300 acre HF that no one has ever seen. Someone needs to spend more time on that property because they have no idea what the herd is.

6. If HF is no different than LF, then explain why so many HF places offer a 100% oppurtunity in a 3 day hunt. How many LF places will do that?

7. If HF hunting is just as hard as LF places, why are people willing to pay $10k plus to hunt one instead of just hunting LF places?

8. How can the hunting world expect the views of HF places to change when you can go on many websites, pick your price, pick your deer and get a call from the rancher to come on down, spend 3 days in a 5 star lodge and shoot your deer when you feel like it?

9. I am sure I am missing some points, but feel free to fill in the blanks or answer these

Well i'll throw my 2cents worth in. I manage a 7000ac+ ranch we run cows on it part of the year and we've also got it leased out to 10 hunters. We have corn feeders and protein feeders scattered around. And yes it's high fenced but to make it more of a challenge we give the deer 1911's where they'll have a shooting chance to survive.

Oak leaves....

Without a doubt, the best kept secret...where did that fella go anyway?

No clue, but he needs to be here on Fri.

Maybe some other fella will step up and claim it wasn't the oak leaves, it was the pine cones