Hunting & Fishing 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

[rrflyer]

Let me start by saying I'm no soggy old grump. I grew up hunting around TX on friends land and had a chance to take two does when I was kid. Other than that I've mainly been a wing shooter and occasional pig hunter on another buddies land. So its been probably 15 years since my last real deer hunt.

My GF is interested in taking a deer hunting trip so I figured I'd see what it might cost to go doe hunting somewhere.

As I was looking around at various places...i kinda lost any desire to go. Every place I looked at was all stands overlooking corn feeders. Some places had pictures of deer that were named and a price next to 'em. Is this how it is in most places out there?

I guess I'm used to sitting near normal feed lanes/water holes or spot and stalking deer. Being surprised or disappointed by what you see and appreciating the opportunity to take a trophy deer if you're given that once in a lifetime chance.

But the idea of sitting and watching a feeder then negotiating the price of that deer with the guide just doesn't sit right.

I guess I'm getting at is has the killing taken precedence over being outdoors?

And what kind of person chooses a deer off the internet pays 20,000$ flys in, gets to the stand 30 minutes before the deers timed/tracked arrival, shoots him, then probably expects some sort of praise for being the big great hunter?

or am I just totally out of line with this way of thinking?

I can see putting some nice food plots out on your land and managing and culling the herd for bad genetics but beyond that it doesn't really seem like hunting anymore.

Just kind of killin.

 

[chris112]

Re: 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

That is "hunting" in Texas. Try it in another state where 90%+ of the land is not privately owned.

Your right it is not hunting. At best it is harvesting. But there are people out there that can't (or won't) ever learn that there is a difference. To them it is just the head on the wall. Nothing more. And those type of people are not hunters.

 

[buckskin52]

Re: 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

I don't know what kind of hunt you are looking for but if you want a real hunt Go on a pack trip on horseback for Mulies or Elk in Wyoming. K bar Z ranch is top notch and I garuntee you will HUNT and they are great people.

 

[LS6TT]

Re: 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

I hate how hunting has turned here. its all business now. Its understandable but its out of control. You use to be able to pull off the highway and dove hunt, now everything is a lease with ungoddly amount of limits.

Unless you already have land, dont even try to deer hunt, charged out the wazoo. Same thing with hog. Thank god I have a buddy that has a ranch, no hog, but plenty of coyotes

 

[jeffbird]

Re: 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rrflyer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My GF is interested in taking a deer hunting trip so I figured I'd see what it might cost to go doe hunting somewhere. </div></div>

Surfing the net self-selects those operations that advertise on the net, which means very commercially run operations.

With little public land available, the hardest part of your hunt is the hunt for the place to hunt. Ask others who hunt in your area. Make sure you emphasize that you are just looking for a doe hunt, that makes all of the difference.

 

[gunsandcigars88]

Re: 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: chris112</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That is "hunting" in Texas. Try it in another state where 90%+ of the land is not privately owned.

Your right it is not hunting. At best it is harvesting. But there are people out there that can't (or won't) ever learn that there is a difference. To them it is just the head on the wall. Nothing more. And those type of people are not hunters.</div></div>

You cannot define that as "hunting" in Texas. That is a standard high dollar hunt in any state. There are plenty of places in Texas that are not like that. You will run into those types of hunts in many states. I have never hunted like that (with the exception of one year that I put out some PVC corn feeders, but stopped midway through season because it just did not seem right), and have hunted in Texas all my life. Nor would I ever pay to "hunt" like that. It is not sportsmanlike in my book. If you would like a good outfitter that is located in South Texas let me know and I will get you their contact info. A fella I know here in NE Texas used to guide for them. It is a hunt where you will go out into normal hunting country (No plots or feeders) and hunt well managed land. No high fences either. Or just find an area and research the public hunting area there and hunt that.
B

 

[secondstoryguy]

Re: 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

I'm from Texas and have lived in Montana as well. 90% of deer hunting in Texas is just harvesting/killing. I had the oportunity to hunt on a deer lease in south Texas last year that cost almost as much as a small house every year. These guys watch the deer grow up on trail-cams, harvest the ones with the bad genetics and actually have nick-names for some of the larger deer that they plan to take as trophys. To each his own, but this ain't my kinda thing. I'll kill pigs over a feeder but I like to walk/stillhunt for deer.

But I digress, let's get back on the topic of finding a place to hunt in Texas. If she wanted to kill a trophy buck that's one thing but wacking a doe shouldn't present much of a problem. Landowners in certain geographic areas can often even petition for a stack of doe permits for a given hunk of land. Some counties even hire guys to trap/cull overgrown deer populations. Here are some options from an average blue collar guy:

1)As jeffbird says: Put the "word on the street" so to speak. Friends, church, work, the gun shop, etc. More often than not you can make contact with someone that either has land or knows someone with land to hunt on.

2)Texas Parks and Wildlife. There is public land/BLM land in Texas, not much, but there are some areas to hunt around the state. Call a local game warden, depending on who he is he might know someone who needs some doe culled.

3)Craigslist. People advertise day-hunts on Craigslist from time-to-time, or you could just run a "need a place to hunt" ad yourself, it's free.

 

[BigTriathlon]

Re: 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

Personally, I enjoy the "hunting" aspect as much as the "killing".... There is just something great about actually finding, stalking, waiting.....one shot, then a few hours of cleaning and gloating.....

 

[kyle1974]

Re: 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

that's right! hunting in texas is such horseshit... it's so much more fair in the midwest where they shoot the deer in food plots instead of feeders or senderos...

The post above is dead on in refer3ence to high price deer hunts being found in any state... The lay of the land in texas, especially south texas doens't lend itself to "spot and stalk" hunting. I've jumped deer at 20 yards, that I never saw until they were already running. unless you've hunted down there, you have no idea how thick it is...

 

[rcr]

Re: 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

Call your game warden and ask them for suggestions. If they are a good guy, they'll ask around.

Craig's List is a good idea too.

In NM there are always leftover elk permits for sale that are way below market value.

 

[azemspilot]

Re: 20,000$ dollar deer...and hunting today.

I have always wondered why we call it "harvesting". Plants are harvested, animals are slaughtered.