Since I brought up game fencing perhaps now is a good time to delve a little deeper. I may be in a unique position to discuss the pros/cons and actual experiences in a non emotional way. As mentioned I have lived and hunted on my farm for 32 years with low fence and this will be the 8th yr. with a fence. I also own a 2500 acre 'pasture' along the Rio Grande. I hunted this pasture for 5 yrs. before fencing it. Beyond that I have a game fenced 'pasture' that is adjacent to another low fenced pasture I also own. I think I can speak accurately to my experience and comparatives.
Starting with my farm which makes a great example what I have found is that the fence has had essentially no impact on deer behavior. They are as wild as ever if not more so. We hardly ever see a deer on the fence unless it just happens to be grazing in the vicinity. There are bucks we find on cameras we never see. Some we see all the time. Appears to me it has more to do with individual personality.However, the hunting now is much better than it used to be. But even that follows traditional experiences. Some days are great, some days you don't see a thing. Nonetheless there are a lot more bucks around to see and there is always the opportunity to see a giant.
Whats also fun is the deer behaviors we get to see. Fighting, chasing, rutting, breeding, big bachelor groups, ...all the stuff that one would want to see in a well balanced deer herd with great age structure . And while you might get to see more bucks in a given hunt, chasing a specific deer is super challenging.
So what about the high fenced pasture next to the low fenced pasture? The only difference I see is that I hold a slightly higher population of bucks on the fenced pasture. And that might be simply because I have been feeding and managing it longer. Now both pastures have the same mgt. practices with feed and population and the quality production is similar. There is no difference in the challenge or quality of the hunt.
Regarding the challenge of the hunt I place the difficulty in this order:
Hardest--my farm!!!
2nd-- the 2500 acre fenced pasture in Mexico
Tied for 3rd--the other 2 adjacent pastures
Easiest--With no comparison when I used to hunt the King Ranch
I'm sure there is a point in size where game fencing creates a 'pen ' environment. Thats probably a function of habitat as well as size. What I know is that in my circumstance I have only found the hunting vastly improved and more fun.
Starting with my farm which makes a great example what I have found is that the fence has had essentially no impact on deer behavior. They are as wild as ever if not more so. We hardly ever see a deer on the fence unless it just happens to be grazing in the vicinity. There are bucks we find on cameras we never see. Some we see all the time. Appears to me it has more to do with individual personality.However, the hunting now is much better than it used to be. But even that follows traditional experiences. Some days are great, some days you don't see a thing. Nonetheless there are a lot more bucks around to see and there is always the opportunity to see a giant.
Whats also fun is the deer behaviors we get to see. Fighting, chasing, rutting, breeding, big bachelor groups, ...all the stuff that one would want to see in a well balanced deer herd with great age structure . And while you might get to see more bucks in a given hunt, chasing a specific deer is super challenging.
So what about the high fenced pasture next to the low fenced pasture? The only difference I see is that I hold a slightly higher population of bucks on the fenced pasture. And that might be simply because I have been feeding and managing it longer. Now both pastures have the same mgt. practices with feed and population and the quality production is similar. There is no difference in the challenge or quality of the hunt.
Regarding the challenge of the hunt I place the difficulty in this order:
Hardest--my farm!!!
2nd-- the 2500 acre fenced pasture in Mexico
Tied for 3rd--the other 2 adjacent pastures
Easiest--With no comparison when I used to hunt the King Ranch
I'm sure there is a point in size where game fencing creates a 'pen ' environment. Thats probably a function of habitat as well as size. What I know is that in my circumstance I have only found the hunting vastly improved and more fun.
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