Not sure if there is already a thread about it, but I was just reading the article on Free Agent and it was cool to see but also made me mad. I am not a big fan of deer farms, or pay hunts with high fences. Just curious on some of your all's thoughts on matters like this? Would you kill a deer like that, that was raised his entire life in a fence? Not trying to make anyone upset with this thread, just would like to hear some opinions.
I wouldn't. How could you look at someone and tell them how you got it? Yeah he'd be cool on the wall, so buy the sheds and put them on a mount that way. I was talking to a friend one day who when ram hunting in Northern Indiana... errrr what!?... He was asked to go and it was a pay farm. He said it was a neat animal but it wasn't any fun since you basically just have to wait for it to walk by which it will have to do eventually.
Nice for a deer park for people to see. I, personally, could not kill that deer in a fence hunt. I am sure it would walk right into range, though! I am split between being impressed by the genetically engineering and supplements that made this deer the size it is today. On the other hand I am disgusted by it's "elephant-man" appearance of it's rack knowing that it just not natural. Just my $0.02.
I'm the same way.. I believe we shouldn't play that part in antler growth and testing, etc.. Although we make the deer's antlers and body healthier by food plots is one thing but I think we should just let nature take it's own course. I agree!
I agree. You can plant food plots to help the health and maybe size of your herd but you can not make them eat at them. This buck had little to no choice in eating the supplements provided him in his fenced in area. My $0.02- Sitting in a fenced in area waiting for something (that has no choice) to walk by and take a shot isn't hunting. Putting in the off seasons scouting, tracking, planning and tinkering to get a shot on a monster is hunting. The thrill you get from each would be day and night, if you could even muster a thrill from shooting a fenced in deer.
I'd wouldnt be for me as the fences would be just a turn off, but that said, I have hunted a state park the last 3 seasons. I honestly thought it was going to be like shooting fish in a barrel being during the non-hunting season, you can walk to within 20 yards of the things easily and they just look at you. Now put yourself into camo, into a tree and off the standard hiking trails or public use areas and I'd have to say these deer are much more aware than the standard whitetail. In those 3 years I have not shot a deer in this park but have taken 7 from outside the park. Depending on the size of the fenced in area, it may be much more of a hunt than some would think.
When most people think high fenced hunting they think of a pen that's possibly only several acres big, where the deer basically have nowhere to go to escape the "hunter". For most of us, this stirs up bad feelings and is something we'd rather not partake in - myself included. However, what a lot of people don't realize is that a lot of your high-fence preserves down in Texas or other states are tens of thousands of acres. We're talking miles and miles of land surrounded by a high fence. So yes, the genetics can be altered and it's certainly not as "pure" as killing a truly wild deer but it's also no walk in the park. There's plenty of deer on those ranches who die of old age before they're killed by a hunter - and just as many who never show up on trail camera or may never be seen by a human eye. With that said, if I was in a 10,000 acre "pen" with the opportunity to hunt a 500 inch whitetail you bet your butt I'd do it. However, if I was in a 100 acre pen I would not.
This buck makes me kind of sad. That much genetic manipulation, artificial supplements (and who knows what else) is a depressing thing to do to in the quest for high scoring antlers.
Justin, I understand that 100 percent.. Even if its a 10,000 acre "pin" a whitetail will still be a whitetail. I just don't and could not make myself come to hunting at a pay ranch or anything. I have 10,000 acres of Mark Twain National Forest 10 miles from my house and would much rather get skunked any day of the week then pay 4,000 and be garunteed a deer, not my forte. Nothing against people that do, just my .02 cents I guess. By the way I ordered a hoodie the other day and recieved the DVD 1, great footage.. awesome hunts!
Believe me - I'm not going to pay any amount of money to hunt in a high fence no matter how big. But to each their own. What they want to spend their money on is their perogative. Now if someone invited me on a hunt (yeah, you King Ranch guys reading this!) I'd be happy to oblige them. :D
That 500 inch deer is the ugliest buck I have ever seen. That rack would not entice me to hunt it no matter the situation. I would be much happier killing a 120 inch 8 point than that monstrosity.
I don't think I'd ever pay to hunt whitetails behind a high fence... I have however, paid good money to chase wild hogs up and down mountains in TN. I still wouldn't classify that as 'hunting' but it's about as hard as you could possibly work for some pork. If a high fence place needed some deer culled, they should call me before Justin tho'. I have more freezers to fill.
I am new to our culture of hunting and before I knew exactly what these places did and I still don't know exactly how they work. I have heard stories of "hunters" if you choose to call them that, personally I don't, pick a deer from a form of a catalog and they pay to harvest them. I heard the owners of these places would tranquilize the deer, drag it past the stand and the deer has a natural instinct of following it sown scent back to where it came from in turn walking back past the stand half drugged. I have no idea if this is true or not. Either way I do not agree with fenced hunts or outfitters that are doing this if it is true. As far as outfitters go, I don't see anything wrong with paying to hunt open land with an outfitter. I personally would love to one day be good enough at hunting and be able to buy a few thousand acres to QDM for several years and become an outfitter. I believe that would be awesome to get paid to share hunting with others that may not have the time or land to be able to hunt on. I would never buy deer from a farm unless I was trying to increase my heard. Even then I would not fence them in.
