High Fence vs. Free Range Hunts

Now I know this will probably create some controversy and I know it's been a topic discussed previously, but I thought I throw out some food for thought.

First of all, I don't have the money or the interest in a high fence hunt but some people do or high fence operations wouldn't be around. They made them illegal a few years ago here in Montana.

I'd never thought too much about them and like most people my impression was that it would be like shooting a prize bull in a pasture, but I happened to be on a caribou hunt a few years back with a wonderful old fellow who had hunted all over the world. He'd hunted caribou 9 times and his trophy room was 16,000 square feet (to give you an idea of his experience). He was 80 years old at the time and over the course of the hunt we visited a lot about the different hunts he'd been on and somehow or another the topic of high fence hunts came up. He said he'd been on a few and here's what he said he'd learned about whitetail High Fence Hunts. Keep in mind that they are not all the same, but this is what he told me about the ones he's researched.

In the high fence operations he researched, the fawns are separated at birth. The doe fawns are bottle fed and raised up so that they are relatively tame so they can be handled more easily. All are artificially inseminated. The buck fawns are put in separate pastures based on age....1.5 year old are together, 2.5 year olds are kept together, etc. As soon as the antlers are fully developed they are sawed off the first two years so that the bucks do not injure each other fighting, etc.. Human contact with the bucks is kept at a minimum so that they do not become tame. When they are 3 years old, they are released into the preserve several months before they are hunted. Within a couple of weeks, they revert back to how a buck in the wild behaves.

By fall, they act like any normal buck in the wild. Many are never seen during daylight hours and many are not even caught on trail cams. Some preserves use corn, etc. to lure the bucks out but others do not.

Some high fence operations are several thousand acres in size, while others are much smaller. One operation in Texas has 30 miles of fencing to maintain. Deer do escape... Many in the south have hogs and the hogs are continually rooting around and breaking the fences created holes were deer can escape also.

The gentleman who was telling me all of this said he hunted one high fence preserve for a specific buck they knew was on the property, but he never laid eyes on it.

As we all know, these hunts are not cheap. Most charge according to the size of the buck killed but some do not... Some charge a flat rate and you can shoot any size buck you find... Prices range from about $7,500 on up...

So, the question is why would anyone pay to hunt a high fence preserve? Other than the gentleman I have mentioned, I've never talked with anyone who has hunted a high fence preserve, so I'm not sure. This gentleman said he was curious about how a preserve hunt would be compared to a free range hunt. He obviously had the money!!! He said it was fun...much different than he'd envisioned it would be. I asked him if he'd done others and he said a couple, but he much preferred hunting free range game. When I met him he had 16 hunts scheduled around the world that year..5 of them in Manitoba. After our Caribou hunt we dropped him off at another camp for moose and then he was hunting whitetails there later in the fall and geese and he had a spring bear hunt planned!!!! What a life!!!

Most hunters frown on High Fence operations, but my guess is that 99,9% have never even visited one say nothing about hunt on one. Leasing and buying land specifically for hunting has become the big thing these days.... Is leasing or buying land, planting food plots in the middle specifically designed to grow large bucks and keep them on the property really that much different than a high fence operation? Bucks are basically grown up until they are fully mature until they are on the "Hit List". I'm just tossing that out there for food for thought...

Hunters these days travel all over the country, Canada, etc. in search of a large buck. Everyone seems to want to kill something bigger, and bigger, and bigger......Probably the reason high fence operations exist. I know a guy back east who traveled to Saskatchewan 4 times looking for "the big one" and never shot anything bigger than a 130" buck and he probably spent well over $20,000 by the time it was all said and done. Did he have fun trying? I really don't think so.. He sat in a ground blind from daylight till dark every day and froze his butt off... Not my idea of fun!!!

For me, I'll continue to hunt right here around home. I may travel to another state or to Canada to hunt deer, but probably not. We have good bucks, but generally speaking we don't have huge bucks. I don't have much interest in hunting Muleys because quite frankly they are no challenge at all... Many will disagree, but I see thousands of them each year and they just aren't anything that I find to be much of a challenge. For those who choose to hunt a high fence area, lease land and plant food plots, etc., go for it...... Any kind of hunting is better than watching tv, playing video games, etc. It's all about getting outdoors and enjoying ourselves and NOT judging each other.

How is the hog hunting in Montana claiming to have killed 40 over them over a baited hole? Since you started another thread on it in the exotic section.....

There has been approx 5000 threads about this. There are those that like it, those that hate it, and those that will belittle you for liking it like NogulusPraire.

All of these threads go a few pages until the attacks get to bad from fellow hunters then they get locked and shut down.

And every HF place is different. Many are just native deer they let get to 6 to 7 years old.

I think most are just envious of what can be achieved with management or high fence, the negative outlook is just an excuse for them not to except someone else's logic works better than theirs.

As far as travelling to hunt, I've hunted the mid west, Texas hill country, swamps, river bottoms, and South Texas. Never have I found local people with the same outlook on hunting as in South Texas which is where I'll hunt for the rest of my time. Just good ole hard working country people. I don't miss the hard woods but I do kind of miss the hill country, I love South Texas if my kids weren't so rooted in sports and school I'd move in a heart beat.

I have a HF and it is only around 350 acres. I do not do any of the things that the person who told you this BS does. I raise Ibex and I have WT and sometimes Axis that get in. A while back someone was running off his mouth about hunting a HF was like "Shooting Fish In A Barrel". I made him a deal. I will let you in the gate at daylight. You give me $1500 and you have all day to hunt. I will pick you up at the gate at dark. If you have killed the Axis Buck he was mouthing about I would give him the $1500 back. If not I kept it. I never heard from him again. I guess he was not that sure of his actual hunting ability.

No way.......


The best thing about HF hunting is, you know there are big deer inside. As opposed to many LF places, where the fence line hunting neighbors (& their buddies) shoot all the bucks at 2 years old, & all the doe, so there’s not much chance for nice deer.

I’ve guided and hunted on both. Anyone who tells you there is no difference is lying to you. I think it all comes down to what the hunter wants. I haven’t guided on high fenced properties bigger than 5 sections. Anyplace you have captive deer is going to be different and the customers are different.

I’m not envious of anyone who wants to kill a giant deer on a high fence place. I enjoy deer hunting because I like hanging out with old freinds around the campfire. I don’t give a chit if I ever kill another whitetail as long as I live. I’m a Quail hunter and the difference is almost the same as hunting wild bird Vs. planted bird. They’re both fun but there’s a big difference.

If I had a dime for every time I've heard "no challenge at all", or something similar...

I’ll toss out no challenge again. I have a buddies ranch ( three section high fence). If you can’t get a shot at a 170” buck while we’re riding around drinking cold beer something’s wrong. The only challenge is trigger squeeze. I saw a guy kill a 350” elk out there a few years ago after I guided a clusterfk planted bird hunt. We saw the bull while riding around in a Jeep relaxing. The bull was standing in the middle of the dirt road. We circled around a hill and called the rancher to dicker over price. After negotiations the guy walked over the hill and killed him at 200 yards. Perfect shot and he fell right in the middle of the road. That’s just the same as hunting in the Rockies? The bull did make a fine looking mount and is a conversation piece in his office I’m sure.

For the record I'm on both sides of the fence, I like both, dislike neither.

The first 1/4 of ten miles of bad road...

This never ends well.

A natural death is not bad for some things and this thread is an example of one of them.

It won't die. Folks get antsy this time of year and have to blow off steam.

Yup....surprised it hasn’t been locked yet.....

Flounder and CWD is not in the thread...

Fake News. His BS is faker than CNN.

I herd Colonel Sanders hunts at a high fence chicken ranch.

I’ll keep hunting my LF section from my fence line blind, y’all hunt however y’all want, deal?

Has anyone asked flounder if chickens get cwd?

I'm sure he can look it up and find a study and then copy and paste three pages to prove his point that we are all going to die.

All you prove by the above is how little you know.

I wonder, if you have a 'LF' lease and all of your neighbors put up a high fence, are you now hunting a 'HF' lease?

I've seen HF places that were as small as 25-30 acres. That was for the nimrods that wanted antlers and didn't care about cost or the 'hunt'. I heard one state that he'd be happy if he shot it on a leash tied to a tree. I've also seen HF places that were several sections of land enclosed. Hunting there was done mainly from elevated box blinds over feeders (same as is done on LF places). No guarantee of a specific deer, but a better chance at 'some' size of deer that fit the hunter's budget.
I've seen LF places that did all of the proper management and had 150-175" bucks roaming around. Some crossed fences and were shot, some died of old age.

The only one's I have a real problem with are the small enclosures as I mentioned at the first. If all you want is massive antlers, just pay some jack-a to shoot it and give you the head. Why waste your time on the 'hunt' when it's not one?

Maybe it’s really a tough place to hunt. Possibly, I imagine how easy it is to kill a giant.

Obviously no one knows as much as you do. Why don’t you educate me.

So hunting LF in front of a feed pen while sitting in a heated blind is real hunting? You learn something every day.

I've road around large south Texas ranches with low fences and seen all kinds of big deer. They weren't scared of trucks. They saw oilfield and ranch traffic everyday and the hunting pressure was so low they weren't afraid. Seen HF where they were hard hard to find.

This is my 2 cents on the argument " The biggest threat to the future of hunting is hunters who aren't united. We should not destroy our future from within."

Amen, brother. If "difficulty of the hunt" is what defines "real hunting", then a HF may or may not contribute. It's only one of the tools that can be used to manage deer.

Getting to old to bare the elements of cold wet weather........Cost of premium hunting clothing vs cost of building a nice box blind are too close so I choose to use a box blind and wear normal clothes, no need for camo in a box blind.

You’re judging all high fence ops by your tiny one ranch experience. I have low fenced ranches and high fenced ranches, and have hunted many high and low fence ranches. By far the most difficult to hunt are the deer in my Zavala co high fenced ranch. They see people about 20 days out of the year, live in thick brush (so even when people are there they don’t see them). And are all native. There is absolutely no difference in hunting them behind that fence than hunting them in low fence. Except in the psyche of hunters who simply have no clue.

I’m sure things are different on your place in Zavala county than they are up here and the biggest high fence I’ve been behind were no larger than 5 sections. I don’t have the stastistics but most of the high fence ranches in Tx, I would assume are smaller than that. Most of my experiences have been on company leases taking care of customers. Just judging from my own point of view it’s not the same as hunting free range animals. Especially the exotics.

Back in the day when I saw a giant buck on the wall in someone’s office I wanted to hear the story of how they killed that monster. Now I don’t even ask because I assume one of my competitors paid for them to kill that beast on a weekend hunt.

As far as the comment earlier on hunting deer out of a heated blind over a feed pen being no different, I agree. I kill deer off my back porch but I don’t consider that hunting either. I consider it grocery shopping. I became disenfranchised with deer hunting when feeders and small farms with too many hunters became the norm. I was spoiled at an early age growing up In west Texas with giant tracts of land to hunt on. I guided on 100K acres from age 16 to 22 and loved it.

I still go deer hunting with my buddies and have a hell of a time. I do most of the cooking at camp and let the youngsters kill my allotment. I still enjoy a good mule deer hunt when I get invited. Other than that I’ll stick to Quail hunting. To me hunting is about time spent with freinds and family not what it’s going to cost when you put a tape on the antlers.

Lots of troll bait around here. Nigerian IP. Don't be so gullible.

Agree with all the above. But that’s not what you stated in the other post. Also, to some people that safari style deer hunt is how they have fun with friends/family/clients. And for some, cost is secondary.

Implying that hunting high fenced ranches is always easier is just plain not so.

Interesting discussion in this thread. There is a fervent following on both sides of the fence. I harbor no ill will toward the high fence crowd, but, it's not my gig. I am a low fence, fair chase guy. High fences have been in Texas for quite some time. They continue to gain traction as our culture in general becomes more and more a culture of instant gratification. There are parallels to the steroid age in modern sports in that, it is a much quicker and easier way to produce above average results than trying to cross paths with one of the rare animals nature smiles on. As long as no laws are broken, I've got no beef with it, however, I don't judge the trophies from behind a game proof fence as equal accomplishments when compared to fair chase trophies. The rare frequency of natural occurrence is a large part of what a trophy is to me. Rather than cast stones at what each other does though, I think the sensible path is to gravitate to hunting areas that fit your preferences.

I agree with Smokey Bear.

Kind of nice to see a thread like this not get locked, civil discussion among hunters.

If there's no difference then why did you (or whoever else) put the fence up?

"If there's no difference then why did you (or whoever else) put the fence up?"

That's an easy question to answer: to avoid the problem of neighbor hunters either shooting everything that moves and decimating the deer population entirely, or only shooting bucks and letting the buck/doe ratio, and the overall population above the carrying capacity of the land.

I hunted on a place for 20 years and took nothing but does. Never saw a buck over 1.5YO, but the number of does was so high that the deer were undernourished and under weight. I put up a high fence and got the population under control, the ratios more normal, and let the young bucks pass. The "hunting" is harder, ie, you don't see near as many deer. But the deer are healthy. the other wildlife is more abundant, the pasture looks much better, and the tanks don't fill with silt. But it must be all bad, because its high fenced.

We are all hunters. Not for me, just live and let live.I'm not gonna judge...…….

Ditto. Well done sir! But, there's no stopping the "hunt as I hunt, or you're not a hunter" crowd.

What about the counties that have laws requiring high fences along highways?

I have hunted and guided on both low and high fence too, and if you think hunting a 15k or 50k acre high fence on three sides is easy, you haven't hunted the right place. Many places are smaller I know, but I think size matters, or so many have told me over the years....

Ive killed.many high fence animals probably 15 or more, some are nice trophys i shot with friends and family and had great hunting experiences and memorys regardless of weather it was on a high fence or not, most people dont know but most operations in South Africa are high fenced just large preserves. My favorite hunts are all natural free range spot and stalk hunts, i also enjoy hunting whitetail in old mexico, these deer are no different than high fence deer we can throw corn out and the deer will come out and eat it 30 yards from you(generally not the big bucks but they are less skittish than other areas.ive hunted and do come out in the middle of the day) Point being sometimes it comes down to convenience and just enjoying hunting wherever it be

Thank you. I knew as much, just wanted someone else to say it. So, hunting behind a high fence is completely different because you control how many deer are killed, what they are fed, the buck to doe ratio, who can hunt them, the overall population in a particular area, how old the deer are, where they can travel, etc, etc. Basically, it's absolutely nothing like hunting a low fence place where you don't have control over all of those things to the same degree. To say there's no difference is one of the most asinine things I've ever heard in my life. Otherwise, no one would do it.

Of course there is a "difference", There is a difference in hunting the Hill Country vs the Brush Country. There is a difference in hunting in East Texas vs West Texas. There is a difference in hunting private property vs public land. There is a difference in hunting a 10 acre HF place and a 10,000 acre HF place. Wildlife are influenced by density of human activity. There are few places in Texas where one can actually practice hunting undisturbed deer. There are more hunters on smaller and smaller tracts of land. We don't all live adjacent to hundreds of thousand of acres of public land where we can stalk animals undisturbed by human activity. All of us have to live and hunt within constraints be they time or money. But all of us (at least those on this forum) love the outdoors and wildlife and hunting. As others have said bickering among ourselves and denigrating our fellow hunters about the right and wrong ways to spend our precious hunting hours can't be good for our sport.

Uhh the low fenced neighbors practice everything you just listed as a "difference" on my high fenced place. Except of course your false statement about "where they can travel" (several square miles of brush isn't controlling anything about a deer's travel as related to hunting that animal).

There is no difference hunting my Zavala county ranch than there is a large low fenced place in the same vicinity.


Here let me help you with visuals since you seem to struggle with written word. This deer was allowed two more years to mature, the same way my low fenced neighbors would have protected him. He was involuntarily "allowed" another year because he was nocturnal by the time I could hunt him (November-Feb). Hunting him in October was the only way he was ever going to be killed. And that's when he was killed the next year (three years after the picture). The difficulty in hunting that animal was exactly the same as it would have been on my large low fence neighbor. And that's what was being discussed with the previous poster (the difficulty in hunting, not the management methods used to enhance opportunity that are practiced on both high and low fenced ranches in my area).

Think it all depends on what the deer grow up around. Naturally I think HF places appear to be more successful because in many cases they are shooting deer that simply do not exist on a similar piece of LF property for no reason other than not being able to get age on them and people don't own a large enough piece of property to contain a deer for its whole life so they get shot somewhere along the way. Many variations of hi fence from fenced in native deer that the only supplemental feed they get is from a tailgate feeder to places like mentioned above where all does are artificially inseminated ect. they are not similar and I don't think its fair to paint them all with the same brush.

Human interaction also impacts them as well. I drove through a subdivision this weekend and in about 2 miles of road saw enough deer to fill my tags for the next 10 year, some where less than 1 yard off the road and even honking the horn at a dead stop didn't encourage or scare them enough to move. On the other hand you go to a HF place that every time there are people there they have a gun and kill a deer, they will probably be some of the hardest to spot deer there is. No way to paint them all with the same brush.

We are LF and shoot deer every year that we would pass on HF just because its not productive enough for us to let them keep walking.

Rancher, you are equating controlling and hunting in your words above. DocHorton said by being HF you can “control” many factors that LF hunters can’t control. And then you berate him saying he can’t read and you go on to talk about how hunting is the same in both situations....different argument. I agree with doc, the “control” situation is much improved in a HF situation. You can control which deer are shot, you can control your neighbors actions to a large extent (I know we can never fully control poaching). In a LF situation you can’t control your neighbor if he wanted to shoot that nice deer in your pics, if the neighbor wants it and it walks on his side, bam animal down and there’s goes years of management. If your neighbor is on the same page as you and agrees to let said deer walk and then he jumps your LF and gets hit by a car....same issue. HF takes this problem away mostly (not completely).

But I will agree with you, in certain HF ranches, hunting can be just as difficult as any LF place. Maybe even more so. Small places animals can get very skidding and never come out. Large places can be just tough to find animals. However, even you have to admit, there are HF shops that operate like a zoo and essentially you pick your animal, go shoot and be done in a couple hours or less. It isn’t hunting at all, just an expensive shooting range.

I know doc said hunting is different, but he went on to discuss management methods as to why the hunting is different. He wasn’t discussing the various methods of hunting in his discussion. I suggest you read past the first sentence to get the gist of what he was saying rather than seeing the first sentence and attacking based solely on that first sentence. It’s all good, just trying to say there may be disagreements in parts of these posts but agreement in parts as well. There is no 100% correct answer In this discussion except for what is legal and what isn’t.

Spend the time to go read ALL of scalebuster's posts on page one. I was responding to him when Horton decided to chime in. Scalebuster was implying that HUNTING was always easier on HF ranches. I pointed out he was wrong.


Horton was as well because we were discussing the difficulty of hunting. Not the opportunities enhanced by the fence (that I pointed out can be practiced the same on large low fenced ranches).


And really? I berated him? Maybe you should see his post I was responding to. Here, let me help:
"To say there's no difference is one of the most asinine things I've ever heard in my life".


I didn't start anything. But I'm not gonna sit and let someone talk that kind of smack without responding in kind.

If hunting a high-fenced ranch is so easy, how come I have culls in an 1,800 acre pasture that we've been trying to kill for years. And still haven't been able to? Why did it take me three years of targeting one buck before he finally slipped up and took a bullet. At 7 1/2 years old? Prior to that one encounter, the deer had never been seen on the hoof by anyone. Only a few trail cam photos and all of those were at night. I could tell countless stories of unsuccessfully trying to kill deer behind high fences. Now, the breed, grow 'til three or four, release and shoot within' weeks places really aren't hunts. I've been on several of those ranches and killing a target buck is very easy.

Rancher, I don’t want to quote too many levels here, but saying someone with a. Doctorate level education struggles with the written word and needs pictures to see a point is pretty “berating” in my mind. You may not have meant it as such, but it comes across as really insulting, although doc might not have felt it as such.

Point aside, you are arguing against scalebuster by quoting doc’s post....seems a little counterproductive to quote someone else when you are arguing someone. I certainly didn’t see you arguing scalebusters points, only saw you arguing doc. It’s all good, sometimes these things need a little clarification as not everyone can know what someone else is thinking.

Again, what I saw doc argue was that HF ranches offer a better opportunity to manage deer than LF. He stated that by saying HF ranches are easier to hunt because ...control deer population better, control deer ratios better, neighbor influence is essentially gone, what they are fed, where they can not go (outside the fence), how many animals are killed, etc. Are any of those points patently false when comparing a LF to a HF operation? (I think except for a few examples, most HF ranches are easier to hunt as well, due to their method of operation (way too many deer per acre and a almost forced feeding program due to that high population which allows very dense deer numbers at feeders)).

You took all those statements to say “HF hunting is easier than LF hunting” end of discussion. If you can make an argument against any of the above points please do...if you just want to argue HF hunting can be as hard as LF hunting, well I have already conceded that to you.

My point is, if you are strictly after antlers, it is silly to think a HF ranch wouldn’t have better “hunting” than a LF ranch. Due to all the variables one can control in a HF ranch, it has to be better antler hunting. Notice I didn’t say it would be easier. Just better.

This discussion was staying civil for once until Doc and now you have to throw out words like asinine relating to other posters' opinions. Doc didn't have to do it to make his point and neither do you.

I read the post from JJH and I saw no reason whatsoever for Doc to have to state his opinion was asinine. This tactic is being used quite often now by people that run out of facts to support their opinion and turn to name calling instead.

Pitchfork, You are correct, I didn’t need to use that term and won’t in the future.

Edit: changed my post to it include a more civil word (I hope)

I have been shamed. I don't have a doctorate. My property has a HF. And now I am asinine.

Don I don't have a doctorate either and most people wouldn't consider our property to even have a fence lol.

I think if you'll read this post #7219128 you'll find that docs "asinine" comment was directed at me and not JJH. Whatever, I responded in kind.

Oh I fully agree. And if you would read previous posts you'd understand I didn't denigrate the tooth puller until he denigrated me. I have no other qualms with your above post, other than you still seem to be focused on doc and his switching the convo from scalebuster and my discussion on whether hf is easy hunting, to whether there's a difference in management. Doc changed the subject, and then foolishly implied that hf hunting is always easier, because of management differences. Which, is asinine.

Wonder when he's gonna figure out we're deplorable as well?

I have been called despicable before but to my knowledge the only one that has called me deplorable was hillary. I will have to add that to my resume.

Rancher, not focused on dochorton anymore than you. But, I did see where a quote was being responded to in an inaccurate manner. Was just trying to correct that. I try not to quote people and then respond to other people or other posts from that same person without acknowledging it in the quoted material. That’s all.

I don’t think you are a deplorable but there is someone who is putting herself back out there for president in 2020 (at least running the polls to se if she stands a chance) who thinks we are both deplorables. Let her run....it would be best down galore given all we know now about what her and the dems did in run up to 2016.

Does havin a doctorate make somebody’s opinion on something unrelated more valuable?

They used to call me “The white Doctor J”. Does that mean my opinion counts for more?

I wonder what the real Dr. J would think of that comparison? I think I'd also like to better understand the reference group considered, for the title to bestowed upon you...

I didn’t respond to anything in an incorrect manner.

He would be honored

Most of us these days seem to hunt over a feeder. If you do that you can only shoot the deer that come to the feeder you are sitting over, so the argument that HF deer can't "get away" is pretty moot.

As others noted, there are some HF owners who buy bred bucks at the start of each season. These are tame deer who haven't been hunted and so come easily to feeders, plus, they can average very high on the points scale if that is what the owner bought. It's easy to get a trophy size deer on such a place and I wouldn't want to hunt one but if you have just enclosed deer behind HF then I don't see it as much different than LF -- you can only shoot what comes to your feeder. However, the bucks may average older on the HF place, so it will probably be easier to get a larger buck.

Well I have 1.5 acers in HF, and have had it up for 5 years now. It works fairly well, as that is where my garden is. It would be fair to say the hunting outside the HF is really good, as the deer always try to get in the garden for free produce!
Mind you not all of the ground inside the HF is planted, as I keep a shed with garden tools, seed, water hoses and things in there. After I'm done I open up the double gate and let the wildlife have at it. Many times a big buck will show up, but I've never found the need to whack him in the garden. I have over the years planted different things to see what the deer like best, everything from Chili Peppers, to peas.
I've no problems with folks hunting either LF or HF, just as long as they are having a good time in the woods.

This time around this discussion just doesn't have the same "zing". Then I figured it out. Shame.

My grandparents had a similar high fence operation for years. Good eating from inside that HF. No many escapees but lots of breakins. Those blackeyed peas never had a chance.

Sadly NP isn't here to lend his "intelligence" to the discussion.

I am fortunate to be able to hunt both. As a landowner, the difference between hunting low fence and high fence is simply this... I know every buck on my ranch. I control how how old they get, how much nutrition they receive, and their well-being. I also control (aside from natural instances) when they are harvested. My family doesn't sell hunts, we do it for the enjoyment of watching a deer herd thrive and harvesting animals that have reached their maximum potential.

I'll say this, I enjoy low-fence hunting more, on a personal level. I enjoy the young kid feeling of not knowing what is going to walk out on any given day. On the other side of the coin, I feel extremely proud about the bucks I am able to manage through selective harvest, feed programs, and land management. I enjoy allowing my son to hunt our high fence ranch and learn about what makes a buck grow big... nutrition, water, management, and selective harvest.

I have seen good areas be ruined by hunters taking immature bucks, but I have also seen adaptations on low fence ranches gained from high fence ranches on sound management strategies to produce larger bucks.

I have bucks that are easier to kill because of our high fence, but I also have bucks on our high fence that people have hunted for years that we wanted to kill that we couldn't. I've had the same on low fence ranches. A lot depends on the deer, each one is different.

Bottom line is this... if you own the land... it's yours to do with what you wish. Every landowner that has high-fenced their place will sometimes wish they could hunt low fence. Every hunter that hunts sometimes wishes they had a high fence to better manage their deer herd.

Just my opinion.

blonds, brunetts, or red heads ?? coke or pepsi ?? bud or miller ??,,,, be glad you have choices !!!

The only deer I now hunt are low fenced mule deer. Because that's what I don't have. Agree with everything you said above.

Rancher: just tried your website. Doesn’t seem to work?

Sorry I let it expire. Don’t do much business off it anymore.

Gotcha

Growing up driving through the hill county I wanted to hunt on a high fence place because that would be where the big deer were. Now my buddy’s in-laws own one and I have no interest in hunting it all, even though I’ve been offered the chance to shoot a cull buck there for free. Their curls are bigger than any WT I’ll likely ever kill. The place is crawling with monsters and it’s not a challenge to kill one. A specific one might take you the better part of a season if you had bad luck, or might even get shot first by someone else, but to walk away with a trophy is nothing but writing a check. That is what most high fence places exist to do...insure that the high roller client with lots of money and very little hunting time gets his trophy. I don’t have a problem with it, but it’s not for me. I do the majority of my hunting on public land or some small parcels I’ve secured permission to hunt without paying for a lease. The deer fewer and trophies rarer still. I prefer it though. To each his own.

You just articulated the perfect opinion for a hunter. And described the situation perfectly. Thank you.

Amen!!!

This never gets old....

This should now be a banned topic.


you can't paint all high fence places with the same brush just like you can't do it with low fence places. Big Difference between a 250 acre high fence place that releases pen raised deer to be shot that same season and a 2500 acre ranch that has a high fence and a supplemental feeding program but all native genetics.


There is also a big difference between a 50 or 100 acre LF tract in LLano county vs. a 5000 acre pasture out in Shackleford county that sees little hunting pressure.

Amen to that! The legit HF’s get a bad reputation because some people are either not smart enough or just too hard headed to admit exactly what you explained above! I’m not a HF guy but I don’t have anything against it. Some of them are a joke but the others shouldn’t be judged by the actions of a few. If I ever get drawn for the Chap then I will be a HF guy!