Ever Been On A Canned Hunt?

[Abraham]

I haven't, but think I'd feel, well, odd...

I've a friend who's quite proud of the exotic deer he killed on a game ranch. These critters are bred and born on this property and never get to roam really wild. The acreage is limited with deer fence all around. Few escape. You can pretty much point at the one you want and if you're willing to spend multiple thousands, he's yours.

If you just want deer meat, wow, it's a very expensive way to obtain it.

If you want a trophy, did you earn it?

I tend to think not, as I'm something of a purist. I think I'd feel odd with an exotic trophy mount that didn't take some real effort to earn. But, that's me.

What am I overlooking?

[WildBill]

What am I overlooking?

Nothing.

[Lumberjack98]

I agree with you.

I won't even get started with deer feeders.

[AggieC05]

never done the trophy hunt that way... but hearing of my boss's trip to canada guided looking for trophy mounted white-tail (not on a game ranch) that sounds like fun

[nitrogen]

My ex girlfriends father took me on an upland game canned hunt. It was the most boring thing ever.

It put a real sour taste in my mouth regarding hunting that I need to get rid of someday. It's been almost 10 years and I still havn't managed it. One day.

[WildBill]

Merriam-Webster
Main Entry 1hunt
Pronunciation: \ˈhənt\
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English huntian; akin to Old English hentan to seize
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1 a: to pursue for food or in sport <hunt buffalo> b: to manage in the search for game <hunts a pack of dogs>
2 a: to pursue with intent to capture <hunted the escapees> b: to search out : seek
3: to drive or chase especially by harrying <members…were hunted from their homes — J. T. Adams>
4: to traverse in search of prey <hunts the woods>
intransitive verb
1: to take part in a hunt
2: to attempt to find something

[flintknapper]

I haven't, but think I'd feel, well, odd...

I've a friend who's quite proud of the exotic deer he killed on a game ranch. These critters are bred and born on this property and never get to roam really wild. The acreage is limited with deer fence all around. Few escape. You can pretty much point at the one you want and if you're willing to spend multiple thousands, he's yours.

If you just want deer meat, wow, it's a very expensive way to obtain it.

If you want a trophy, did you earn it?

I tend to think not, as I'm something of a purist. I think I'd feel odd with an exotic trophy mount that didn't take some real effort to earn. But, that's me.

What am I overlooking?

Just be careful to distinguish "canned hunt" from managed lands (big difference).

I hunt one ranch in South Texas that has "Pastures" divided into 10,000 acre plots (thats about 250 square miles) each! Even if high fenced...most animals would live out their entire lives having never seen a fence.

Certainly, very small parcels of land with different conditions could provide a (hunter?) an unfair advantage, I am not disputing that, but don't be too quick to label every property with a fence a "canned hunt".

What you described does not fit the TPWD definition of a canned hunt anyway. Look in the 2008-2008 outdoor journal.

[NcongruNt]

I'm going to have to agree with others. Hunting essentially penned animals holds no attraction for me. To me it's neither hunting nor sportsman-like. It's more like slaughter for entertainment.

"King Of The Hill" had an episode about this several years back. Hank wanted to take Bobby deer hunting, and when they got to the "lease" it was all pre-packaged with close-proximity stands and feeders. Both agreed that it wasn't right and ended up leaving without shooting the captive deer.

It's not really a hunt if you're not actually hunting, and this is one of the reasons I've not gone big-game hunting yet, only bird hunting. I'd love to go, but finding a place to really hunt generally means you need an unmanaged lease or have a friend with property that you can hunt on. I haven't got the money for a lease, and don't have any friends reasonably local with suitable hunting land.

EDIT: flintknapper's post describes a different situation than what I'm describing, and I would agree with him. 250 square miles is far from a pen, and would be quite a bit more reasonable. I still can't afford to go to those places, though.

[amaguy]

About 15 years ago I was invited to go pheasant hunting up around Sunray in the Texas Panhandle. Just a regular hunt.
I was with 4 other guys and we joined some other groups when we got there.
There was also a hunt on the land adjacent to the land we were hunting. It was a fee hunt and they had brought in pheasants
to "stock" the fields I guess you could say.
The hunters on the adjacent land had started hunting just a little before we did.
I guess nobody told them to flush the birds so they would stay on that land. They flushed most of them onto the land we were
hunting right from the get go.
Needless to say, we had plenty of birds to shoot and everybody had their limit by about 11 that morning.
I never knew if I was eating a "wild" pheasant or a "stocker".
I never will forget that hunt and it always comes to mind on opening day of pheasant season.

amaguy

[The Annoyed Man]

I agree with you.

I won't even get started with deer feeders.

Then I guess I'm some kind of jerk. I went deer hunting for the first time in my life last December. I spent 2 days freezing my parts off in a deer blind, staring at a feeder through binoculars. I shot nothing, because there was nothing worth shooting. But I can assure you that if there had been something worth shooting at, I would have shot it - feeder or no feeder.

Sure, a hunt from the ground would be better, but it wasn't my lease, I was someone's guest, and it was the opportunity I was presented with, so I took it. But it wasn't a canned hunt, there were no deer fences, and the lease was at least a couple of thousand acres.

[bryang]

I have never been on a hunt where it was like shooting fish in a barrel. I have been on many hunts, but we had to really hunt to get anything. I agree that flintknapper's post describes and entirely different situation. I would enjoy going to a nice lease like that. But there again, as NcongruNt put it...

I haven't got the money for a lease, and don't have any friends reasonably local with suitable hunting land.

-geo

[longhorn_92]

My ex girlfriends father took me on an upland game canned hunt. It was the most boring thing ever.

It put a real sour taste in my mouth regarding hunting that I need to get rid of someday. It's been almost 10 years and I still havn't managed it. One day.

In this kind of "hunt", the animals are released in an area where they cannot escape and are systematically slaughtered by people too lazy or too immoral to go on a conventional hunt where the intended prey has a chance to escape. This is the equivalent of going big game hunting at a zoo.

Anybody have any Cotton Candy?...

[Bunkins]

I've always described it as going to a petting zoo. I wont ever hunt in a situation like that, it's not hunting, it's slaughter. I'm not a fan of feeders either, but my lease does have them, because the guys that are in on the lease with me want them.. When I go to my lease, I dont even sit in the blinds. I find a hidden spot somewhere, away from the feeders. I have just as good of luck, if not more than the guys on my lease. And I know I see more animals than they do. I deer hunt because I like the meat, but I haven't found anywhere in Texas that has the type of hunting situation's and conditions I like.. So deer hunting to me is just to put meat in the freezer.

Elk hunting, now thats fun. You wake up 2-3am, you start walking. It's cold, wet, and in some cases flat miserable. The chances of taking a Elk is 1 every 5 yrs. I see lots of Elk every time I go, yet I've only shot 2 of them in the 15 yrs I've been doing it. You might be able to see them, but more than likely you wont get a shot. I like it, your testing yourself in a sense ( you can test yourself as far as you want to go ). Going to a lease, walking a few hundred yards to a blind to watch a feeder, that's what a lot of hunters have to do to be able to hunt, and I would too if thats all I could do..

There is a old man down the road from me, invites me to NM every yr to shoot a cow Elk off a "game ranch" or petting zoo as I like to call them.. 500 bucks, 1 day trip. I haven't ever considered it, and I never will. Been invited to go to petting zoo's which raise exotic animals, ranging from 500 bucks, up to 7-8K. My Elk hunting trip is 2 weeks long, the fuel I put in the truck to get me there and back costs me more than 500 bucks. We sleep in army tents, we stand by the camp fire, I play guitar next to the fire, we cook our meals from scratch. We stink up the tent at night, laugh until it hurts. Even go to the restroom when it's 0 degree's outside and snowing, and loving every single minute of it. If we get something, great! We all share in what we got. If not, who cares? We had a blast! It's just a great experience, and no game farm or lease can compare..

[longhorn_92]

My Elk hunting trip is 2 weeks long, the fuel I put in the truck to get me there and back costs me more than 500 bucks. We sleep in army tents, we stand by the camp fire, I play guitar next to the fire, we cook our meals from scratch. We stink up the tent at night, laugh until it hurts. Even go to the restroom when it's 0 degree's outside and snowing, and loving every single minute of it. If we get something, great! We all share in what we got. If not, who cares? We had a blast! It's just a great experience, and no game farm or lease can compare..

Those are the trips that you always remember and talk about for years to come!...

[bryang]

My Elk hunting trip is 2 weeks long, the fuel I put in the truck to get me there and back costs me more than 500 bucks. We sleep in army tents, we stand by the camp fire, I play guitar next to the fire, we cook our meals from scratch. We stink up the tent at night, laugh until it hurts. Even go to the restroom when it's 0 degree's outside and snowing, and loving every single minute of it. If we get something, great! We all share in what we got. If not, who cares? We had a blast! It's just a great experience, and no game farm or lease can compare..

Those are the trips that you always remember and talk about for years to come!...

Now that's hunting!! I have been on several of those types of trips years ago out in the California mountains and that was what came to mind reading this post. How good the beacon smelled cooking on the camp fire after the morning hunt...I can almost smell the the crisp clean air and the smell and warmth of a campfire when we got back half frozen.

-geo