I have to disagree on just this statement. I have seen many small acreage places and their neighbors places ruined because someone got greedy and wanted to shoot "their" deer. Just sayin. I know that is not what you use them for. But lots of people do.

I agree with helomech. It is very difficult to manage lf when the neighbors have different standards or no standards. You don't have to worry about the neighbors when the property is hf. No one can shoot "your" trophy but you or someone you let hunt (excluding poachers). I'm sure there are many hf ranches that have deer that are just as wild as lf, but Joe next door will not get a crack at them.

I'm not against hf hunting, but a lf 4.5 yr old buck beats (meaning is harder to acheive) any hf buck regardless of score.

Well folks this may come as a surprise to some of you younger hunters here in Texas, but Texas has ruined deer hunting in fact all hunting in my opinion. It has nothing to do with the height of the fence either! It has to do with the oil companies, back just after WWII, started paying farmers, and ranchers to buy all the hunting rights to their property so they could entertain investors. This unlimited money priced the citizens of Texas right out of the game. By the 1950s nobody could afford to hunt deer in Texas! Today about the cheapest one can buy a deer lease “JUST FOR THE DEER SEASON” is about $1000 per gun. That, my friend, is just plain silly. However if you hunt deer in Texas it is almost the only way you will do it.

HF or LF no deer that ever lived is worth $1000 much less the thousands they charge the DUDEs they let SHOOT on their DUDE RANCHES today. I’d rather spend the $1000 traveling, and hunting wild mountains in wilderness areas, and national forests of the Southwest even paying out of state license, and come home eating tag soup than to pay one dime to shoot a deer that belongs to me anyway.
I happen to be old enough to remember hunting any ranch in the county simply by walking up to the front door of the rancher’s home and asking for permission to hunt! Giving him my word that I wouldn’t shoot his cows or horses, leave gates open, or leave trash on his place. You always shared the meat with the landowner if he wanted it, and most times he didn’t take it. If your word turned out to be good, you were invited back next year.

Most of you guys are much younger, some younger than my grand kids. I was born on my grandfather’s ranch in the North end of the Texas hill country, back in the 1930s, and while all the young men in our family were over seas fighting WWII I was the oldest boy in my family, and with meat rationing, along with rationing of everything else almost, My job was to hunt, and fish for fish, and meat to feed four families who moved onto our ranch while their men were at war. Consequently I shot a lot of deer during the whole war to feed the kin. There were few game wardens, and the ones that were there didn’t say a word as long as you weren’t selling deer, and just feeding your family. That was a sign of the times (shortly after the great depression) so to speak.

IMO the fence has nothing to do with this, it is the greed that turns me off hunting in my home state. It seems nobody cares about real hunting anymore. I hear complaints about the fence, making a hunt unethical, no matter how large, or how much cover and escape routes the deer have, from a guy who doesn’t hunt but sits in a tower blind over a feeder that sounds like a dinner bell when dumps. He says anyone who doesn’t hunt the way he hunts is automatically wrong. If it isn’t the fence, it is because he has money, if it isn’t the money, it is because he uses the wrong caliber rifle, and the list goes on!

I say get yourself a life, and as long as the other hunter is not breaking the game laws, then you hunt your way and let him hunt his way! None of us are kings here, and simply do not have the right to tell other haw to hunt. My preference has no bearing on how you choose to hunt, or how high your fence is!
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They would not allow it.

I could type 10 pages on this topic since I have a lot of experience on both sides of the fence.

Lets state the facts about Most high fences(deer related):

1. not all have breeding pens
2. not all buy bucks to be released for hunting(ear tagged bucks)
3. Deer don't become "tame" when a fence is erected
4. Is it easier to kill a mature deer? Yes, because they aren't shot as young bucks
5. If you wound a deer it is not a guarantee to find him/her. We have lost over 6 that couldn't be found
6. Yes the fence "traps" native deer, but now the fenced out neighbor doesn't have to worry about the HF neighbor shooting his deer(now he can manage the deer on his property.
7. There is very little if any "profit" from HFing a ranch
8. The deer are just as hard or harder to hunt because they know every inch of the property and they are mature.
9. there is no guarantee of a harvest
10. They are not hog proof or deer proof
11. They might affect the neighbor if he has small acreage.
12.They are just one tool used to manage the herd.
13.Not all HF places have 170's running around.(I have only produced two over 160 in 13 years.
14.Most keep the deer below the carrying capacity
15.Alot of money is spent to feed these animals(protein or food plots)
16. Most are erected to protect the young bucks while reducing doe numbers
17. Can be expensive to hunt, but it isn't cheap to take the family to Walt Disney World either.
18. The deer still go noctural too
19. Its not for everyone
20. HF don't equal deer pens

Facts about most low fenced places:

1. can be challenging or easy depending on area and deer density
2. can be cheap or expensive(see #1)
3. Deer can go "book"
4. Fewer numbers of mature bucks but they might exist
5.Always worried about the neighbor shooting "my" buck
6. You never know what might show up(element of surprise)
7. Its a year round hunt...not 4 days
8. Can shoot as many deer as the law allow
9. Can usually take guest and they might be able to shoot for free
10. Deer can go noctural with pressure
11.Cost money to build blinds,buy feeders etc and you don't know if you will be there next year
12. Hard to manage if you own a business and can't get away from work to set up the place
13. Never know if the place is going to sell and you have to move on after managing the herd for several years
14. Don't know exactly what its going to cost over the year.
15. Better have a 4x4 truck or 4 wheeler
16. can shoot any buck that is legal

These are just a few I came up with.

High fences are not for everyone. Some like the chance of seeing a mature buck that a lot of LF places don't have. Most of our hunters had leases and still boughts hunts because of the above.Most look at the hunt like you would a vacation. They don't have to do anything once they get there. Food is cooked, blinds are in place, feeders are filled, animals are cleaned etc. I have been on low fenced places that were pretty easy to hunt but you never saw a deer over 5.5 to 6.5 years of age. Some people like them some hate them. to each their own.

Tye, I think a HF is great if its in the right hands. Someone that grows trophy bucks and maintains the habitat for the deer to thrive are ok by me. Its the doctors and lawyers that have no idea what they are doing that sicken me. They throw up the fence and dont know how to manage the habitat they have just created. just my .02 cents.

I am blessed to be able to hunt both. They are both well managed and neither one is easy. I enjoy the who I get to hunt with as much as the what I get to hunt for...My opinion!

MacD37 so are you for or against a HF?

if that is so then you they wont shoot your 2.5 right...by the looks of your deer your in kahoots with them anyway...you prolly have lasers to keep your deer in like 35 acres and you inject deer growth hormone and feed them 99% protein....thats why your not against HF

As I said the fence has nothing to do with anything! If you are a hunter, you can hunt anyplace, as long as you get off your butt, and hunt!

I can agree with that. I love old school hunters like yourself. I respect your values.

X2...Anytime an oldtimer starts to speak I make it a point to listen I love listening to you guys. You made a bunch of valid points that people need to listen to. Thanks for posting!!

As a sixteen year old i believe that i am the next generation of hunters. I cant stand high fench hunting, it makes me sick to my stomache. It is not hunting, you are going out with the postitive knowledge that animals are in your location and thats simply not hunting. I believe that while high fence hunting does take some skill, a real hunter is a man or women that can go out on a free range tract of land and harvest an animal. Another thing that grinds my gears is the practice of penning, breeding, and then selling deer with loaded genetics to so called "game ranches" for some guy who has a huge amount of money to spend can go shot a monster, but yet altered deer. All in all i hate both things and am a firm beleiver of fair chase, and unaltered genetics. I will now take a step down off my soapbox.

LMAO, no they lease and are not allowed to have guests. And they sure would not let someone come and shoot hogs during deer season. I am hoping they won't shoot them, I will continue to talk with them.

What do you think of the people that go the King Ranch and drive up to a 160 class deer in a truck(which is low fenced) role down the window and pull the trigger? Is this hunting in your views. What about guided hunts on Free Range Elk and Mule deer. Alot to outfitters scout the "low fenced" public property and know exactly where the deer/elk are. The hunter shows up, goes to where the mule deer/elk are and pull the trigger. It's low fenced but the hunter didn't scout the property prior to the hunt. He showed up and killed an animal. Is he a hunter because he didn't scout the property him/herself?

You have every right to feel the way you feel. Don't worry about a person that shoots the deer you spoke of to compare his kill to the kill you make on your lease/property. Put and take hunting is one thing, but a high fenced doesn't mean put and take hunting. Most work with the native deer that are on the place when the fence is erected.

Just because deer are known to be behind the fence, doesn't mean they are going to show up when the feeder goes off or when you blow the grunt call or rattle the antlers. You still have to hunt them just like outside the fence. I know what I type won't ever change your mind or give you any insight.Have you ever been on a HF ranch? Or are you speculating on how it would be. You have the right to hate them just like I have the right to like them. You don't ever have to go to a HF place. It's not going to be forced on you.

MacD37 I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'll pay that $1000 a year for the next thirty and still not pay what it would cost me to buy the land. I pay for year round access. I fish, hunt, camp, drink beer, sleep, enjoy my best friends in this world and work there. A little expensive, yes. The cost of my lease is $1100 a year. The piece of mind I get from having it is priceless.

I've hunted the Rockies for elk and mule deer. As much or more money for 10 days for my own enjoyment. The lease is something I enjoy anytime with my son. I love elk hunting but with the price of tags now it isn't worth the elk if you get one. I hunt out of state and enjoy it. Hunting here at home is something I'll afford as long as I can.

your right, owning land is expensive, first you have to pay for the land
what 100k+ for 80 acres
need house built or trailer 100k or 30k
water hooked up and power maybe free or to have it dont very costly
mainting the land every month or so $$$$
alot more $$$ goes into owning the land than just leasing, plus taxes


the list goes on and on.
to me to cheaper in the long run to just lease, if you get bored of the lease just get another one.

That does suck for you and I do understand what you are saying. To me, this just continues to prove that the management was done primarily on the other properties. You were benefiting primarily from their work. Nothing wrong with that. Just don't get mad when they want to manage for their own benefit as opposed to the benefit of their neighbor (you).

Those of you who are high fence supporters can spin it any way you want to. But, the bottom line for me is that high fence hunting is unnatural. It is unnatural for a game animal to be contained, unable to escape the enclosure.

I drew a line in the sand on this issue a long time ago and will not change my mind. This topic has been discussed ad nauseum in the past on this forum and I think virtually every argument, pro and con, has already been made.

I support the rights of others to raise and hunt deer in a container if that is what they want to do. It is just not something that I have even the most remote interest in myself.

I would like to see a low fence and high fence forum.

I've said before that when someone posts pictures of their "trophy" everyone says "nice buck" until they find out it was shot behind a high fence. We have to agree to disagree. I personally would like to see photos of low fenced, wild, free ranging, natural deer.

I wouldn't give my .02 to even hear about what you do on your high fenced property, it doesn't interest me, and i just don't care.

I do believe the right to do what you want on your land goes far beyond hunting, so I will stand next to the high fencers and fight for that right anytime.

TX Whitetails don't migrate. Thats why even on smaller ranches you have the ability to see the same deer year after year.

I hope there are very few folks on this forum who are under the impression that whitetail deer migrate. The migration issue is simply a straw man that some high fence supporters set up so they can promptly knock it down.

The primary reason that most high fences are in place is to keep the animals from ranging onto adjoining properties.

I believe in fair chase hunting. Sitting on a feeder is OK, I've done a lot of it, but I will teach my grandson to hunt without the feeder and stand first. He will sit in the stand enough to keep his interest up, (kid needs to see what he's after) but there's a lot to learn about signs such as tracks, rubs, scrapes, food sources, water, and bedding habitat. Safety, of course, is most important. Staying in your area away from other hunters, etc.