Shoot it. Then it gets tested for CWD. Then the state comes in and kills all the deer within a 10 mile radius of you. If you shoot it keep it quiet.

Several years ago I had a buddy who hunting a small lease south of a large high fence ranch, they had a massive flood and it wasted out a section of the high fence and he lost a lot of big deer.

My buddy and the others who hunted with him killed several of these tagged monster deer, high fence ranch owner was some kind of upset, same story said those were "his deer", contacted the local Game Warden, GW told his was SOL, that once the deer were off his property they were legal game, owner did not like his answer so he contacted the Texas Rangers, they told him the same thing, but he would not leave it alone, then he tried to sue my buddy and his hunting group, District Judge from the jurisdiction threw it out.

Owner was an A$$h%$L

I'd shoot it. Have a friend that killed a giant buck with a tag in it's ear. He borders the Faith Ranch. He called S. Stedman and said "Stewart, I've got one of your bucks over here, ear tag # such and such". Stedman said "great, I was wondering where he went. I'll send some hands over to get him." My buddy said "Stewart, they can come get the ear tag but not the buck. I killed him." Stedman wasn't mad at all.

Absolutely I would. I'm not sure why the guy is mad.

Have you talked to the landowner or is your info on him being mad, second hand from a friend of friend info?

You better not get caught with those wire cutters.

This^^^^^

Did the HF owner offer a reward for spotting his escaped deer so he could dart and retrieve them. Had he asked for help from his LF neighbors....

If he was genuinely trying to recapture his escaped deer then maybe give it a pass....otherwise....in season..

Gotta fix those water gaps.

He can't legally re-catch a deer once it was released. The only way he could possibly re-catch one escaped is if it where directly from a breeding pen into to a pasture. Then he has to notify the state and then has or had(if still allowed) xx amount of hours to try to capture the deer...if he can gain permission from the landowner it escaped onto. If not then he is SOL.
Fences get cut, blown over, washed out, torn up from fighting and trees fall all them overnight and deer can get out before daylight the next morning.

I would love to shoot a free range 170 class buck, but if I knew that it was raised behind a high fence, I might be tempted to keep him around as a pet. I would have to see how wild he was, and if I thought he would stick around or run off. I would enjoy seeing a buck of that size every day out and about on my land more then I would want to have him on the wall.

That is cool to see Eddie. It’s happened more than most of us know and mainly on low fenced ranches believe it or not.

The crew putting up windmills at our neighbor's place somehow hooked the bottom of the another neighbor's high fence with a loader and raised a portion about 15" x 12'. I'm not sure how the heck they managed that. It honestly looked like it was done on purpose but that wouldn't make sense. For over a year the HF owner claimed that two 170s got out in the 3 days it was like that before they got it fixed. They eventually showed on camera, though, still safe at home. I saw one of them this year and although his body is not huge I would estimate he is easily 180+ and could be 200".


Darned tooting I'd shoot him even though he's a white-horned stickered-up breeder type.

I wouldn't shoot it in hopes it breeds some doe. Makes no difference to me if he's 170 or 300.

My wife on the other hand is gonna kill him no hesitation.
A decent taxidermist can fix the hole in the ear no problem.

Well hell I guess I got it wrong? I thought deer that had tags in their ear were suppose to be like live stock that it is illegal to shoot them and you are suppose to call the game warden.
So is it legal to shoot a deer with a tag in its ear that escaped off a HF ranch

Absolutely.

Well Shiver Me Timbers then I would have

If it is legal to shoot, I would shoot. Perhaps report later.

I don't mean to hijack the thread but i've wondered the same thing about exotics.

say you are surrounded by low fence ranches but have a few high fence ranches withen five miles of you and one day a kudu, oryx, elk or some other exotic shows up. would it be legal to shoot it? would an ear tag make a difference? my guess is it would be illegal if it had a tag. But probably ok if it had no tag since you'd have no way of prooving who exactly owned the animal.

tag or no tag its legal and Im

Not legal if the animal in question requires a CITES permit. Pretty sure the Kudu and Oryx both would require the CITES permit, the Elk would not.

I'd shoot him and have the taxi leave the tag in his ear for the mount!

Exotics are listed as livestock, unlike whitetail. Legally, you are supposed to notify the owner of the animal is marked.

Most sheriff and game wardens I have talked to you will tell you to shoot it...but as it is written, someone actually owns it

seen brovsbro on deer leases argue about shooting legal deer, only ta loose every thing when lease ran up, out bidded by Bigger Bucks... Didn't fall for the games played, Twas a True Blessing when a WMA opened up just down the road...

As pappy say's: " What once was price of poormans food stamps, has slowly become a Richmans Sport... "

Ya ya ya Damn Yankee ..... Just look at the so called Hog problem in Twas buck only in county lived in, when hogs started showing up, concentrated on that, the other wild game it finally went ta 4 deer county, price of leasing goes up 1deer vs 4deer & it dont take an major in English ta figure whats going on... took me bow in hand & took a stand down at WMA & still proud suporter of WMA.... ya few people could walk in my shoes, i gots small feet... Doing more with less...

edit : interesting read above.... arnt hogs considered exotic's ? They were let go by farmers, ranchers, been trapped & sold for hunting purpose .... Thats FACT Too dang much Fake News....

A little more clarity for you on that from TPWD.

What are the current regulations regarding exotics in Texas?
The aoudad sheep is the only exotic big game species currently regulated by the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department with an open season and bag limit - and these regulations apply only to the aoudad
sheep populations occurring in the 8 Panhandle counties of Armstrong, Briscoe, Donley, Floyd, Hall,
Motley, Randall, and Swisher. All other aoudad sheep and various other big game exotic species are
available for harvest year-round and without bag limits as long as permission has been obtained from the
animal’s owner or the landowner on whose acreage the animal occurs. Like native game, exotics may not
be taken from a public road or right-of-way