Put in for it this morning

LOL, oh I actually figured you were messing around..I just felt the need to stir the pot by explaining by dig at feeder harvesting LOL

And to keep the entertainment going, I do have answers to your questions! ROFL

Yes, on acorns...unless the acorns were placed there by an individual as bait. The distinction I make is whether the bait was placed there by a person with the sole intent of luring in a prey

Rifle over bow only because I view the rifle as having a higher chance of a humane kill (chance only - no guarantees)....humane kill > priority than fair shot to elude (to an extent).

I would actually argue that non-feeder hunting isn't fair for people - it's weighed in favor of the deer (regardless of technology used). I think for the average hunter, assuming a day of hunting is considered a full "game"... that deer win far more often than hunters. I mean, I'm sure there is someone out there claiming to kill a deer every time they go into the woods...and they're liars ROFL.. Feeder harvesters generally use cameras as well and know when the deer like to show up, so know when to come to harvest one ... The people I know who feeder harvest are more successful than the deer in the daily game.

And finally, if someone saying 'fair chase' feels like a form of moral superiority - that feeling comes from oneself ... you yourself deep down feel that fair chase is morally superior... because unless someone flat out says that they think fair chase is a morally superior form of killing animals - then reading that into it is 100% on you, it's how you feel.

Like I said, to each his own when it comes to putting meat in the freezer.. no judgment from me.. and I certainly don't think the way I prefer to hunt is morally superior to others - I always thought it was silly when people made that claim. Take people for what they actually say, not some underlying read between the lines opinion of what ones believes they really mean - the later will always lead people down a rabbit hole.

And geesh Thisisbeer, why can't you just give fair chase to your prey lol

Today is the day, good luck everyone!

Good luck everyone. Please let me know when the drawing starts!!!

The waiting is the hardest part!

So far, we're showing pending 2nd draw on the youth management category. Others are still showing application received! Not feeling overly hopeful.

I still have a full month for the next draws I am in.

At least they are starting. They must not have gone out last night. I hear those wildlife management types like to party pretty hard.

E-Postcard Quail just hit me with 'pending 2nd draw'.

Have the adult hunts started? My kiddo was picked for youth javelina at Black Gap

Congrats! None of my adult categories have drawn yet.

CRAP! I didn't get my doe permit for the SAM this year.

My daughter just drew youth antlerless/ spike at Chaparral! I hunted it last year on archery! I'm pumped for her!

Congrats on the youth hunts guys!

bah, me either. I have never won one of these USFS anterless tags...which is crazy since the odds of winning one are really high LOL.

Looks like they made it through all the National Refuge General Deer...and started Gun Deer - Management ...all Pending 2nd Draw for me so far.

I just drew General Deer at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge! I had 4 points! I'm so stoked!

I dig it. I like discussion on the topic. Helps me think about something I already spend way to much time thinking about.



What if you plant the tree and play the long game? Or transplant the tree to shorten up the timeline? Why is the human placing it the determination? In a more realistic sense what about food plots? Hunting over a farmers field vs hunting over a plot planted specifically for deer.



Fair enough. I don’t think that’s necessarily true though. If someone puts in far more work with a bow and only takes the perfect shot I would argue a bow is just as efficient at killing. But severely limits the opportunity at shooting.



What about using cameras on game trails and not by feeders? If the success rate helps dictate the ethics I go back to why rifles over bows. If the bow is properly used. Feeders also increase the chances of making an ethical shot.



I said it feels like a form of moral superiority not that it is morally superior. The definition of moral superiority is literally the attitude that one's position and actions are justified by having higher moral values than others. I don’t think it is morally superior. That’s why I made the comment about ribeyes. We don’t give cattle the opportunity to be fair chase animals. Why should we with deer?



Lol I would be willing to bet we hunt the same. I hunt because I enjoy the difficulty of it. I’m more playing devils advocate. I hunt under a feeder one week in a year when I travel to my grandfathers ranch for thanksgiving and only because he won’t let me hunt anywhere there isn’t a feeder already. Other than that it’s mostly public land. my only real point in why I think fair chase is BS is because it’s usually set up on a moral stance which I think is odd. We certainly don’t give that stance to all animals. I find most fair chase guys idea of what fair chase is mostly falls into what there particular idea of “fun” hunting is to them. Some guys love bow hunting and all of a sudden rifles aren’t fair chase. Some guys love spot and stalk and sitting in a deer blind isn’t fair chase. The moral grounds always seem irrelevant and realistically just happen to be defined by their preferred hunting methods.

That sucks guys. I've been really lucky to have drawn each of the last 3 years, and drew it again this year too.

that's awesome. That looks like it'd be a fun hunt!

I drew one last year and my wife thought it was trash and tossed it. Saw three big does that weekend before they mailed me out a replacement. We’re still married...

Did you at least make her sleep on the couch LOL

Those doe knew they were safe, just like backyard dove, and big bucks from February - September

We drew Roger Fawcett WMA for Gun Deer Management.

nice! I've never drawn in that category, should be a good one though.

I just drew Antlerless/Spike - Lake Whitney SP ...

looks like all the Gun Deer - Antlerless/Spike category are complete now