I'm not a member of TTHA so I'm not going to bash what they do. I would if I was a member, but I'm not, so I usually don't pay much attention to them or watch their show on television. But I do like going to their trophy shows every summer if I can. I won't make it this year but to just the San Antonio show. I think its this weekend. If I missed it...oh well.

There are some bigger chicken sugar honey iced tea guys out there that cause more trouble with hunters than the TTHA does. WHA is one that comes to mind. But....maybe I need to take another look into some of the TTHA magazines from some of my friends and see what is going on. Maybe I am missing something?

txtrophy85 obvious you dont bow hunt,which any deer taken with a bow is a trophy,rifle hunting is not too hard,since anybody can shoot a rifle and hit something over 100 yards away,but not everyone can shoot a bow and be within 20 to 35 yds. and make a harvest,so dont bash bowhunters until you try it..

Thanks Wes,looks like we need more bowhunters over here on this site...I wasnt trying to PISS anyone off,(well maybe i was,trophy85)those are just opinions i have on guns now that I'm a BOWHUNTER!!!!!!!

I use gun and bow...last year, did not pick up a rifle until week of thanksgiving. Shot two bucks with my rifle in S. Texas, arrowed two does and another buck at other places. This year, same pattern....rifle will stay put up until Thanksiving at least.


Oh and they do have Texas Trophy Bowhunter Stickers...

I ain't a member. I went to the website 3 or 4 years ago and got a free issue. That was enough for me.... Nothing wrong with it, just didn't interest me in any way possible to have a membership... Nor does it even interest one of my best friends with a partially high-fenced 12K ranch in S. Texas not by their choice. All natural and nothing like that mag goes on there.. Sure, no 175+ but all natural like nature intended. You show up or have that sticker on your car, you are shooting does only there. Probably not but there are guys out there like that against it no matter is you are a millionaire or a average joe hunting public land.

I just love it!!!

We have, during the past 90 days, had people "Discussing" the merits of being too judgemental, the effects of "New Members" coming on here and dragging fights from other forums with them, to this business about the TTHA.

I think most of us, A. think their decal of the bucks heads is cool, B. enjoy going to the various Hunters Extravagnzas across the state, and C. feel that they have moved their main goal of promoting deer hunting in Texas, to promoting breeding trophies for those that can afford them.

This whole thread has become a circular arguement. Some folks are going to back the TTHA, because they feel that they are doing good. Others are against it, because they are seeing the other side of the coin.

People that are in a position to benefit from any groups programs, blind themselves from the facts, that, that same organization has created a siutuation, whereby only those that are either moneyed enough or have friends that are moneyed enough, benefit from that organizations programs.

I have no problem with anyone that is able to hunt by invite on anyones property, I have a problem, that in a state with a population of 3.5 to 4 + million Whitetailed deer, people are being priced out of the hunting market, and those that can hunt, are treated as second class citizens, because they didn't shoot a 150 class buck or bigger. JMO.

hey guys i am a die hard bowhunter and deer hunter.i am 31 yrs old and i can remember when you could go out and hunt for fun and it not cost you your kids colledge funds to do so.now these people making all these hunting ranches in S.TEXAS are driving the cost of hunting sky high so a poor country boy cant even find a nice reasonable deer lease.Hunting behind a high fence are for rich people that are to LAZY to go out and take the time to scout and find the deer themselves.so they go to these big ranches and have people wait on them hand and foot.H_ _ _ why dont they just pay the rancher to shoot the deer themselves so they dont brake a nail or get dirty,then get there pics taken and tell everyone back home they killed it themselves.someone needs to just go buy and hook a chain to all the high fences and drag them down and let all the deer go so even ther average man can have a chance at some of the big ones and tell the rich man to go back to the CITY where they belong.DEER HUNTING IS A RICH MANS GAME NOW JUST LIKE FISHING HAS.some people depend on hunting and deer meat as food for the family,the rich man and the ones that pay all that money to kill one of those big deer probably dont even take the meat home,wonder what happens to that meat.hope this doesnt piss the average working deer hunter off,but i hope it crawls all over the big man that goes to the pen to kill a deer that cant even get away,WHY NOT TIE HIM TO A TREE AND LET THEM SHOOT THE DEER.SAME PRINCIPLE. :mad

Owning land is the rich man's game that lets them do as they please. In one way I admire them, IF their money is earned and not inherited. Can you imagine how well off you have to be to own the land, high fence it, and then manage it. If I am going to wish for something, I am not going to waste any of my wish on anything except, I WISH I WAS RICH SO I COULD DO AS I PLEASE.

VERY TRUE but I would not waste it on screwing up the deer hunting sport

This post was about being sick and tired of the TTHA bashing. It has turned back into bashing it to a degree.

They are going to exist, many hunters want to shoot big bucks and will pay big bucks. I hunt a high fenced S. Texas place, I do not pay....The owner made the money to buy it, who cares if they made it or inherited the money or the land? Deep down, I am sure all of us wish we either owned land or had family that owned land that we would actually inherit. Money also. Though it is not the case for the majority, the conceptions of what other hunters do and do not do that we either agree with or disagree with or only brought to light when folks discuss them. I could care less if you or somebody shoots a 2 1/2 year old 8 point or 10 point. Should you? NO, but it may be the biggest deer you have seen, I do not know, but will not pass judgement. Chances are great that I will not hunt that place and many others will not either, so none of us can say, you should not have shot it, or belittle your trophy or buck or meat or whatever. As it goes, most will not get a chance to hunt the land where I hunt, and most will not get a chance to hunt on a ranch that the OPPORTUNITY, to shoot a 150 or better buck exists..So, why does it bother so many people that guys grow big deer? Why does it bother so many people that guys shoot young bucks? Why does it bother so many people that guys make money off of deer hunting? Why does it bother so many people that Texas Trophy Hunters, who makes money as a business off advertising has advertisments of breed does, semen straws, breeder bucks for sale, guides hunts, etc.?

Magazines, TV shows and bulletin boards such as this, all bring publicity to the above facts. It is out there to be either disputed or accepted...that is why so many people feel bothered by it, in my opinion. There are too many vehicles for misconceptions about others who hunt, own land, offer guides hunts, etc..

OH, the saying of you are from the city, you live in the city, you are city folk with big dollars....Those guys from Dallas/Houston/San Antonio with all the money have made it too expensive......BS....Cannot fault a man by where he lives and or where he makes his living. If a high powered attorney in the Houston area could make the same amount of money in Ozona TX, he probably would, but because he has a high dollar lease out there, he gets a bad rap. Sad fact, money makes the monkey dance, go try to make a deal for anything, offer less then the asking price, go in and low ball somebody on a price....see what you get..Nothing....the only way you get the low price is if you are bidding a job to do. The owner is going to take the most money he can get, who would not?

TTHA is an organization, you can choose to be a member or not, it is not a fraternity that you have to be offered a bid and pledge, it is not an elite society...You can choose to not be a member if you like, that is your right, you do not want to pad their profits, then don't go to the show, do not join TTHA..think of it as a Rated X movie...You dislike the porn industry, it exists, always will, but not with your dollars.

Sorry, they are expanding to other states, that is a fact. There are many who will join it, many who want to shoot a big buck, many who will not, but they provide the opportunity to meet some guides, outfitters in case you ever want to. Thus, the outfitters will brag and show photos of the bucks they have as breeder bucks, sell some semen straws, sell some breed does, they are making money, it is a business. Like it or not, Texas is mostly private land, good or bad, it is private and the owner can do what he wants and build whatever kind of fence he wants. The state licenses the deer breeders, your issue should be with the state, not TTHA.

For me, I like deer meat and I cannot taste the difference in a doe I shot in Young Co, to a 6.5 150 inch buck I shot in S. Texas. I just take care of the meat, I cannot eat the antlers, but I sure can look at them on my wall in the form of a european mount, or a shoulder mount or even just a mount of the antlers for the smaller ones. None of us have to worry about what the other guys is doing, shoots, has mounted etc.....however, it is our egos as humans and as hunters and fisherman to share with others our success in the field. Those outfitters and guides who put clients on big animals and or lots of fish or big fish, those are the ones who are successful and stay in it.

I miss my 365 day a year, year round lease that we could do it all on, it was $500 a year for 7,000 acres back in 81,82,83,84,85, $750 in 86 and 87, went to a $1,000 in 88,89,90, $1,250 in 92 and 93...after that the land sold and is not available for lease or for hunts or anything. If you are not a family member or a family friend, you can drive by and see it from the road. The deals of old are no longer as landowners can make more money, it is our egos that fuel the prices. Probably too small a majority to say, well, I am not paying that, I will pay this, but is easy to complain about it. Believe me, I share in the frustration of the rising cost of hunting, the rising cost of everything. Gone will be the day of being able to do it all and one must choose what he does the most of. I choose hunting, gave up golf, sold the boat, that does not mean I will not go play golf or go fishing, just not as much. Am I concerned that at somepoint in life I will not be able to afford to hunt?? NO....What concerns me is the fact that I might not be able to do it as much as I would like to! Key word is {as much as} I would like to. Unless I either buy land or inherit it, I, like you are subject to what the market will tolerate. However, I applaud the efforts of those who wish to raise and have trophy deer. I have not seen an ad in TTHA magazine with a buck with an ear tag at over 200 B and C points available for you to come shoot! Very few would be able to afford that! What you can save or afford is maybe the opportunity to hunt on land that that buck and his offspring have been brought in to improve the deer herd.

Only other alternative to bashing and not bashing..blah blah, is to not share with anybody what we do, shooot, etc. However, that is not human nature, we all have ego's and sometimes they need to be stroked. I have three animals that would get awards, I sent in no paperwork on them...no need, no need for a plaque, certificate, etc...though they are all exotics, I know how big they are, I do not care if anybody else knows.

Big deer make people go insane, folks loose their minds when a biggest deer they have ever seen in their life walks out in the field.....they do not care how old, is it mature, they only see it as the biggest one and might not get another chance at it...click boom.....there dies a buck that could have been better. Who cares, it is a trophy to them....and along those lines, actually on the flipside...could one say that TTHA started to exist, deer breeders started to thrive and such due to the fact that so many folks were shooting young deer and not allowing them to reach their potential?

Shoot what you want, shoot what you can, shoot what your lease owner allows, shoot what you can afford. Is it a trophy for you? If so, then nobody should bother you with their comments. Everybody will have an opinion and I have expressed mine. If you are happy, then I am happy. Though we probably will not share a lease together or hunt the same land. So, I really could care less what you shoot behind your fence, low or high. Just do it on a place where I hunt and we try to manage, then we would have a problem, but that is probably not going to happen. So, why does it bother us?????? Human Nature, greed, ego's....wanting to affix blame on somebody else out of jealous, point a finger at somebody who has ruined something in our minds. TTHA has not ruined deer hunting.....they are making money off advertising, some f the shows they have and they sell a magazine with stories, photos, etc.. I wish I had founded it.

Enough of that...let's get this thread back on track. Let the bashing begin!!!!!

Let me give a disclaimer, I hunt more days a year behind a low fence, then a high fence. Only of the ranches that is low has the potential to produce big bucks. I let a 130 inch 5 1/2 year old 8 pt walk last year, why, because I have two just like him, somebody else would want him more then me, I held out for bigger and only shot a turkey...Still a good hunt. One place is high fenced, I hold out for what my friend wants me to shoot, still hunting, still have to go to the stand, wait, wait some more and hopefully get a shot, no guarantee. Other then that, I am up in a tree and letting deer walk, though they might make pope and young, but are too young, somebody else may harvest, arrow, kill, shoot them whatever, I just did not as it was not what I wanted. However, any place at any given time is capable of producing a big buck, he did not get that big by accident..somebody passed him early, somebody never saw him, many variables...but proof is in the pudding, on 800 acres in Hill Co, first light opening morning at a stand I let my brother in law hunt instead of me, me choosing a stand where I would see lots of deer and putting him in one that I felt would let him shoot a doe or two.....6 1/2 yeard old 158 inch 11pt comes out on the trail of a doe, click boom, on the wall, biggest one to come off the low fence ranch...luck or right spot right time? Managment? Trophy Hunt?

Nope, just lucky enough to be there and have the rut in full swing and a loved starved big boy walked out.

I deleted this post to make sure it didn't come across wrong to some people that may misread it. Sorry.

Popcorn, popcorn. Who wants popcorn!

I'll take a large over here!