I think it's pretth obvious you don't like high fence ranches, which is perfectly fine, as it's your opinion.

Dogging on people that get invited or spend the money to go on these type of hunts is petty. Get over it, man.

I don't like that the bigger check someone can write the bigger deer they can have on a wall... but you know what? I don't care about what someone else does or doesn't do with their money. I know I am a better hunter than joe bob who writes a $8k check and shoots a 180"+ deer over the weekend. I enjoy spending time watching deer mature over the years and putting in the work all year long. I know I will never shoot a deer over 150" unless I pay for it or a buck escapes a high fence place... but I am perfectly fine with that.

Let people hunt how they see fit, especially if it's not their own money. No need to interject your personal disgust with these operations.

No its not partner. I know a good Aggie who has a ranch close to ours. It is high fenced. He has never purchased a deer to put on it nor raised one in a pen. He has devloped, for over 25 years his native genetics and has really let his deer herd obtain its potential. He never shoots a deer that is not at least 5-6 years old or a management buck or doe.
His population density is 1 deer per 20 acres. He is in the Hill Country where, in his county, the TPWD says the density is 1 deer in 7 acres. It is a hell of a lot easier to shoot a deer on my low fence property than his high fence. I have helped manage this place and have sat in a blind on his place for multiple days and have only seen one doe....not common in the hill country on any place. ( Maybe you don't know that?)
He never charges a penny to hunt to nobody. He donates hunts to CCA, Texas Wildlife Association, Wounded Warriors, Operation Orphans, Operation Game Thief, and his church.
He has hosted many youth hunts and given the chance to many a youngster to learn about Gods creation. and for them to get their first deer.

I suspect, you either picked the wrong high fence ranch to hunt on, or you have never been on a hunt on one that does it right, or you listen to people who "think" they know what they are talking about.

I don't know what you do for a living but I can bet that whatever you do there are bad people in your business as well. Being that you are an Aggie I am going to er that you are one of the good guys in your business. It would be a shame for me to lump you into being a "bad" guy just because some guys in your profession are.

That's the point I am trying to make. I have made part of my living as a biologist in the WFS field. I have seen both the good and bad. Take it to the bank buddy....there is more good than bad......just like the guy above, and it is unjust for you to condemn all ranchers who have a high fence.

But the other part is like one of the other posters said......I may not agree with what a man does on his property, but as long as he is not hurting people or breaking any laws I will support private property rights all that I can.


I hope that the OP goes on one of the good ranches and has a great experience. The good thing is he is excited about going on his hunt................he wants to get a rifle or bow and partake in an American tradition that is slowly being eroded away by anti hunters and anti gun people.......God bless him for wanting to do it.

We would be better to put forth efforts to get people of all ages out in the woods and experience Gods great outdoors instead of being self righteous of what is conceived as bad or good.

txaggie02 said:

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Thisguy1 said:

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We don't all have giant south Texas ranches to hunt on like you do. He didn't ask if he should do it, he asked where he should go because someone is taking him. You don't have to make him feel bad for it because you don't agree with it.

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1. This has nothing to do with me hunting in South Texas. It's obvious you have some serious butt hurt given your comment though.

2. I was merely suggesting some better options on where to go, given my experience with taking clients on hunts over the past 4-5 years. If you are going to spend $4-5k on a high-fence hunt, why not go chase some wild big game animals for the same price? We can all agree that a black bear is way cooler than a high-fenced elk. If his vendor is letting him pick based on a budget, why not do a really cool and challenging hunt?

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Hey man, why not go DIY on those hunts out west? We can all agree that DIY is way cooler than hiring a guide. Why not do a really cool and more challenging hunt? Why not sneak in to 100 yards to shoot than pronghorn rather than shooting him at 800+? Or better yet, take a bow with you?

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2984708

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2988093


(I'm just busting your balls here because I know those hunts you did were awesome and very challenging, but also pointing out that there are always varying degrees of the way people like or choose to hunt. It's not cool to look down on them because they do it differently than you.)

Personally, I only go on hunts that achieve a hunt-purity score of 124/124
The MeatEater's Hunt-Purity Scale

(I'm kidding)
ETA: I don't think the pdf in the link is very well thought out.

AgEng08 said:

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Personally, I only go on hunts that achieve a hunt-purity score of 124/124
The MeatEater's Hunt-Purity Scale

(I'm kidding)
ETA: I don't think the pdf in the link is very well thought out.

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Rinella even mentions this scale is biased in one of his podcasts

Yeah...

I said I was kidding!

AgEng08 said:

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Personally, I only go on hunts that achieve a hunt-purity score of 124/124
The MeatEater's Hunt-Purity Scale

(I'm kidding)
ETA: I don't think the pdf in the link is very well thought out.

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Yeah, I like the spirit of the scale but, man, some of that stuff is wacked out.

"There's barely that many big deer killed in a whole year in all of South Texas on low-fenced places,"
Not true. You just dont hear about them.

Gunny456 said:

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No its not partner. I know a good Aggie who has a ranch close to ours. It is high fenced. He has never purchased a deer to put on it nor raised one in a pen. He has devloped, for over 25 years his native genetics and has really let his deer herd obtain its potential. He never shoots a deer that is not at least 5-6 years old or a management buck or doe.

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Well no ***** Pen them up where they can't go anywhere, feed them piles of protein, and guess what you will turn out? Good deer. Same thing you do with goats, cows, pigs, etc. It's livestock. You've made my point exactly and my opinion stands. We can agree to disagree. To each his own. There's a reason most states don't allow high fences and B&C doesn't allow HF deer in their record books. Because normal people with good judgement can clearly recognize and admit that it's cheating and not fair chase hunting. It is what it is.

I believe you are in the minortity here which means your assumption as to what normal people would consider fair chase is wrong. I have hunted on several HF ranches that had all low cross fences. The places where thousands of acres and it was a common occuranxe for animals to appear that no one has ever seen. You are using a blanket statement that is completely wrong, kinda like the gun grabbers and there thoughts on gun owners.

Let's re-route this back to OP's original question ...

if you're willing to drive to Uvalde, the clear winner would be Ox Ranch. Where you can kill a white elk for $30K (or choose from 60 other exotic species), drive a Sherman tank, hunt from an elevated man cave (complete with a night vision AR, live feed cameras on the multille feeders, a poker table, booze, etc) for hogs at night, shoot a machine gun/.50 cal, race jet skis, feed giraffes and relax in the resort pool when all the activities have been exhausted.

Regardless of what you choose OP, kudos for being good at your job and getting blessed with a hunting trip for it. Being out of the office/off the job is a nice reward in itself.

cledus6150 said:

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I believe you are in the minortity here which means your assumption as to what normal people would consider fair chase is wrong.

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Bro, the governing body of record book animals, Boone & Crockett, says that HF hunting is cheating and not fair chase. It doesn't get any clearer than that. You ding dongs can keep liking each other's posts all you want. It is what it is. The opinion of Walter or Gunny or Cledus on TexAgs isn't going to change the fact that if you kill a HF animal, then you get a * next to your name, just like Barry Bonds. That's what B&C says, not txaggie02. But, I do obviously wholeheartedly agree with their stance.

Bro... using your vernacular, B&C isn't the only governing body for trophy animals. SCI for example allows high fence animals and no notes are made for High fence. The simple fact is that HF hunting is fair chase so long as sufficient area and cover is provided. But we digress, OP i hope your. Liner ends up taking you in a great hunt. The hill country may be on the edge of your hunting zone. But there are some great fair chase HF operations there that offer excellent client entertainment facilities.

cledus6150 said:

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SCI for example allows high fence animals and no notes are made for High fence. The simple fact is that HF hunting is fair chase so long as sufficient area and cover is provided.

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Actually bro, you are wrong. SCI classifies those animals as Estate Taken. So even they recognize that HF hunts are not free range and will not be classified the same as fair chase entries.

When did this become a record book thread? The guy wanted a good hunt and asked for ranches where he could get it.

Every ****ing high fence thread gets pissed on by the same people. If you wanna pay to shoot a deer and be done then so be it. If you wanna pay $12000 a year + required protein + required corn + a stand/feeder to have a low fence south Texas lease where you may not shoot a 'trophy' for a few years then do that.

Just don't **** on someone else for doing what they want to do. The OP is having a trip paid for where he'll be wined and dined and he'll hopefully walk away with a deer and he wants to know where he should go. That's it.

What point are you trying to make? This thread was started by asking for suggestions about hunting on a high fence place... if you have some sort of moral objection to it, guess what? You're not going on the hunt.

Have you ever hunted on a high fence place? Did you have some sort of terrible experience that compels you to argue against any outdoorsman that chooses to pursue game on one?

I have hunted on a couple of high fence places. One was slam dunk, no challenge, pick your ram. I didn't pay for it (vendor hunt). The others have been very challenging and not at all consistent with the broad brush you're painting with.

Let people hunt how they see fit... this isn't illegal.

Who would have ever guessed that people on the OB would be arguing against shooting a deer, and arguing for letting a rattle snake live? Strange times ....

Sent you a PM RE: beef/consulting

TIA

Just here to say that txaggie02 is not a PFG sock

txaggie02 said:

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cledus6150 said:

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SCI for example allows high fence animals and no notes are made for High fence. The simple fact is that HF hunting is fair chase so long as sufficient area and cover is provided.

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Actually bro, you are wrong. SCI classifies those animals as Estate Taken. So even they recognize that HF hunts are not free range and will not be classified the same as fair chase entries.

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You are coming off as a major pecker. Everyone on this post gets it, you don't agree with the OP wanting to HF hunt. Move along and find another thread to hijack and quit bashing this thread. It's ok to not agree with HF hunting, but it isn't YOU hunting so relax. In this life not everyone is going to agree with everything you think is right. Its okay, life will go on.