Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum HIgh Fence Hunting

There is a HUGE difference in a 'pen' and a high fenced hunting area.

I don't have a specific acreage to throw out there......but, if it feels like you are in a pen......it is probably too small.

Danny,

You are wasting you time with this. People that have no idea about some thing are usually the ones that bitch the loudest about not wanting it happen.

What is the BIGGEST argument point on fencing a place is MONEY.

Most people can't afford to do it so they think it's evil, or stupid, or lazy, or something like that. If you hunt a fenced place you can't kill one on a lease. If you hunt a large lease you can't kill one on a small lease. If you hunt a small lease you can't kill one on a management area. If you hunt in a shooting house you can't kill one in a climber. If you hunt in a climber you can't kill one on the ground. Don't even start talking about Dog hunting.

It's funny, but a dead deer is a dead deer and it don't matter where it came from. These guys are still so bundled up in the "KILLING" that they have forgotten that we are HUNTING. It's a social thing. Not a killing thing. If it's all about killing then you need a new hobby. If you are SO bunched up on YOU killing a deer then you are doing it for SELFISH reasons anyway. Hey, it ain't all about YOU.

STOP bitching about how some one else does it and just enjoy each others company while we are HUNTING and trying to enjoy Gods Creation.


Outback, are you not trying all that stuff cause you are afraid you might like it.......

I can't speak for everyone else but I don't think I have seen anyone imply that someone who chooses to hunt a high fence can't kill free range deer only that it is different. I don't know why anyone would even argue that it is the same.

I do notice that no one replied when I asked if very small enclosures existed that allowed shooting. Of course they know they exist.... in our state and others. I know of one that is 4 acres.

Mackdaddy, who says that if we only knew what it felt like to kill a big fenced deer then we would do it, has a post in the classifieds offering a Missouri fenced hunt where you pay based on what type deer you want to shoot. He says No KILL No PAY. How can you guarantee that on a large enclosure?

Those sentiments do exist...and as u said it is often a product of jealousy. However, that isn't everybody's reason...and it sure isn't mine. I've been invited to hunt in two large enclosures (pens), and have turned them both down....not because I didn't want to gawk at the giants they held, but because I'd rather spend my time hunting my little lease down the road with a clear conscience. IMO the worst thing that's ever happened for the high fence hunters' reputation is the Outdoor Channel. In one of my more recent examples(don't recall the show's name)...I saw some jackass in an apartment-like ground blind watch a 200"+ deer stumble up a wide open dirt road and stand inside 30 yards long enough to be missed...then, on the second shot, hit high in the hindquarter.They miraculously found the "monarch"...probably by walking the fenced perimeter. They blathered on and on about what a great bow kill it was...it was a travesty that the ignorant public will see as a strike against hunters - specifically bowhunters - not high fences.
I'd never argue high fencing should be illegal though...no one should be told how high their fence can be...it's just too subjective. One question I would ask is if anyone knows of a study on...or has personal experience with....the supposed "dead zone" that results around a fences exterior. I can picture it happening but I've never had one for a neighbor, so I'm really just guessing.

Bill there are places that have free range that don't require you to pay if you don't kill anything. Your ignorance on this type of hunting is noted. If you ever save up enough pennies you could come hunt and see what I'm talking about. I can gurantee that the deer in the high fence area in missouri i was referring to are as wild as the ones you hunt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkqxEyBHe6c
A look at the creation of these trophies. This is like democratic deer hunting where everyone deserves a trophy if they earn it or not.

Brother, your arrogance is noted. You know nothing of my finances and yet you assume I couldn't afford a pen hunt? its a choice and obviously you can't understand that some have standards you dont. Either that or your insecurity is causing you to try and make it a money issue so you can feel better about the fact that some would never consider your type of hunting.

Is deer hunting steadily evolving into pay-as-you-go hunting ? Will deer hunting finally evolve into large, private reserves with a fee to hunt ?

Mind you...I'm not stating this...I'm asking this. I don't know.

Mission, Texas is dam close to that... My brother lives there and guides on FT Hood. he says it is almost impossible to go to a farm and ask permission to hunt without paying something.

MD,

What military reservations did you hunt that were totally enclosed?

For starters pelham range in alabama the former Ft. mClellan and Ft. Campbell Kentucky are just a few i hunt or have hunted that were fenced.

we have a property owner near our property that dicided to put his property in high fence. At first I thought that it would increase the number of deer on our property and it did. Then he sold his land to someone with even more money and that guy started buying land and has now put more than 1000 acres in rfence with I believe that they baited up the deer and started to draw in the deer before they finally put up the last section right before gun season started. We have noticed a dramatic reduction in deer numbers and the fence have changed the natural travel routes of the deer. The deer use to travel across our property to get to the large agriculture fields that are now inside the high fence. I believe our deer numbers will recover but from talking to other landowners that have experieced this it will take about 2 years. I personal would never fence my property just because I like going into the woods with the expectations of what could be out there. Eventually he willget tired of seeing the same old deer and shooting the same old class structure and he will sell it to someone with more money than sense.

This continued vein of "the bitchers can't afford it ... it's about money" is a bunch of bullchit.

NOT everyone is against killing deer in an enclosed fence because of money. For some, it's an ethical issue. If an animal cannot escape and is not a free-range animal then they don't want to pursue it.

Well said Clem.

12 pages...really? 12 pages? LOL!

Flychucker, Thanks for your reply. Hunting appears to be steadily and quickly heading that way here, too.

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In my experience, either you are denied permission to hunt a place...or...you have to join a club or lease land, or pay a landowner a fee to hunt. Gaining permission to hunt a place without paying is getting much rarer. Simply asking and gaining permission is getting to be a thing of the past.

I noticed this trend coming when the commercialization of hunting began; the celebrities, tv shows, advertising hunting equipment, etc.

I know it causes some folks to go into knee-jerk spasms of anger when money is mentioned in a seemingly derogatory manner, but: Privately owned and managed, pay-to-hunt packages will ultimately become the sole way to hunt...and will spell the ultimate downfall of Traditional American hunting. Only a select group of people will be able to enjoy hunting in decades to come. Hunting on pay-to-go corporations will require a payed Guide, the employ of private Biologist/Game Warden staff, and the cost will be prohibitive to average salaried folks.

The predictable but hum-drum response of, 'we have WMA's for the general public to hunt' doesn't cut the mustard. Neither will predictable responses of, 'well, join Obama and the Socialists if you don't like Free Enterprise.' Neither does the usual response of, 'save up your money for these hunting trips.' Many people are barely drudging by, financially, month-to-month, and cannot save up an extra penny. WMA's will become inundated with hordes of hunters unable to join the exclusive hunting society due to the high fees. They will eventually fail, too. (drastically less license fees)

Maybe the people who have 'high-fenced' hunting areas already established...are light years ahead on the coming trend...and are on to something even more profitable in the future ?

Hey, I'm not griping nor am I veiling a criticism...I'm purely speculating on the future. If high-fenced areas and pay-as-you-go hunting is inevitable and for the good---it's inevitable.

I'm only wondering how the average and below average salaried hunters' desires to enjoy hunting will be handled with only cost prohibitive places available ?

May be true, BUT if the current landowner breakdown maintains anywhere near what it is then: 1) average landowner size will stay "small", less than 300 acres say 2) 80% of the state will stay in private landowner hands 3) timber company lands will still focus on growing timber and be poor wildlife habitat. If these stay similar to today, the guides, biologists, warden, etc will not be employed by the average landowner. Most of the private lands I know are owned so that the landowner can hunt and take friends. I believe this will stay as the standard.

"bullchit"??

Well you make sure and scare all the deer you see so they can "escape" BEFORE you shoot at em.

The loudest bitchers on here are the ones that have NO idea about what they are bitching about and it's always a "moral" or "ethics" issue with them.

Remember, there are immoral and unethical hunters outside fences too.

I'd say, just quit bitchin. If you don't want to do it, then just don't do it. You don't have to make yourself feel better by classifying as wrong or unethical. Hell, Outhouse even compared it to being gay..... WOW

I have often wondered if any here would consider a 70,000 acre enclosure (like one in Idaho)a "deer pen"? My guess is they would if they were hunting in one corner?

Sounds like good advice. Try it!