Depends on how much area is inside the fence. If it is less than a 1000 acres I'm not much for it. Over a 1000 acres and there is some challenge... but over all I would prefer free range and no fences.

I do not like baiting at all. There is no challenge to sitting on a feeder. Sooner or later game will show up. To me this is like shooting a cow in a feed lot. Feeding deer from a feeder also greatly increases the risk of spreading diseases such as EHD or Chronic Wasting Disease.

There are those that say food plots are just feeders. I disagree with that also. Food plots done right require an investment of time, labor, equipment, money and cooperation from mother nature. They will provide sustinance for deer after the season when they need good balanced nutrition the most. With food plots 1/4 acre or larger there is less chance of spreading disease and forages don't upset the balance of a deer's rumen the way some feeds do.

If it is legal, I am not the type of person to put someone down for choosing to hunt that way. I personally would not want to hunt in a fenced in area, or use bait to hunt either, but there is nothing wrong with doing either if it is legal. I do think that B&C should never change its rules to include any type of animal harvested within fences, regardless of how many acres are involved.

Wrong and wrong again, it is never fair to hunt and animal that is fenced in, and I don't care how large the area is. This is not how hunting should be. Bait, I have mixed feelings on this topic if done right, meaning food plots, not just piles of gain. Let us all remember, that the word hunt, truly means putting your skills verses the animals, not fencing them in or bringing them to a bait pile. Hunters use your skills...

I couldn't agree more with MB915. Fences and feeders are not for me, but I dislike the B-word, ban, even more. There are not enough hunters as a percentage of the total population for us to pick and choose our "pure" allies. The antis don't like any hunting, and they are fanatically committed to stopping all of it. They do not discriminate and we shouldn't either. If we don't hang together, we shall surely all hang separately.

High fence is not fair. Something wild shouldnt be fenced in. The deer don't belong to the landowner they belong to every tax paying American. And if I'm correct doesn't that mean that in high fence places they are bought and sold like cattle? Then fed and vaccinated like cattle? Doesn't leave much room for sport in my opinion. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but anyway you look at it its not right.

To compare an agricultural field to a feeder is just plain ignorant. I've never heard of disease being easily spread from deer eating from the same 100 acre bean field. Can't say the same for feeders. And mature bucks rarely come to feeders? I dont own a feeder and wouldn't know but I have seen countless pics and video of very nice bucks standing around and eating from a feeder.

Baiting and feeding in my opinion can be detrimental to herd health. Many diseases are easily spread from deer eating from the same bait pile. Winter feeding I think can be done with the right intentions to help them make it through a rough winter but when they grow dependent on it and it stops, they suffer. I say leave the WILD in WILDLIFE.

i dont like them

Baiting=OK
Fenced Hunting=CHEATING

fenced hunting is asanine baiting is ok if you dont hunt over it

I'll jump on the bandwagon, High Fences arn't good for anything except business. People paying money to shoot that "once in a lifetime buck" when really... Its a deer that has basically been grown, and doesn't hold the same characteristics of a "wild" and "free range" deer where survival for them is a neccisity. As far as baiting, I've hunted on bait and even this year sat on a feeder or two. Heres where I'll disagree a tad bit. Putting feeders up isn't just a promise for deer to show up. I live in central FL and have put out gravity feeders and have watched deer literley walk around my feeder. Now I do prefer hunting away from bait just because of the challenge, But I do use bait to get the deer to come in my general area, for example, My 5 acres surronded by 250. Or my side of the fence instead of my buddys side of the fence which he happens to hunt. All in all hunting is hunting, Its a challenging sport.

I like to bait in post rut for the fact that there are few food sources. Where I hunt, that is the only way you will see deer. I am not a fan on fenced hunting, unless the area is a large area (1000+ acres).

There is no sport to fenced hunting, there is a high fence hunting setup near my home and I don't see the sport in it. You can walk up to the fence and see the exotics and other game sitting ther like they are pets waiting for you to pet them.

Fair Chase is always better in my opinion

There isn't one answer for the whole country. It really depends on the size of the property and the population of deer. There are fenced ranches out west that are larger than the gamelands and state parks we hunt in the Northeast- business owners have every right to protect their heard from traffic or predators.

Unfortunately, there are also places where you can buy a trophy buck and "hunt" it from a heated blind with a TV. I'd hardly consider that hunting, but if someone is foolish enough to pay 10m for a buck- I guess that's his business. It must be a great story to tell your grandchildren, "Well tommy- I recall is was cold that day as the guide drove me to the blind in a golf cart.. I remember it was half time when he told me a big one was approaching the feeder... I placed my $15,000 custom 30-06 on the bench rest and dropped him from 50 yards.."

Where I live in SE PA, we are over-populated with doe and I'd support anything that reduces the heard including crossbows, baiting, or higher bag limits. May main concern here is with baiting is disease not ethics.

I have done baiting in the past, but have never shot a large deer over a bait pile. However I have shot several Pope and Young deer, but they have been over large food plots or agricultural fields. I used to treat bait piles as supplemental feeding through the harsh winter months, but I have found good food plots have been much more successful and actually cheaper in the long run. However their are certain places that you would never see a deer if it wasn't for baiting. For example,most of the hunts in northern Canada you wouldn't get a chance at a large whitetail if it wasn't for baiting. Or in Texas, you might never get a deer to step out of a sendaro. For high fences it is cool to see large animals, but it isn't hunting if it has a guarantee.

I never have and never will take a animal in a fenced trophy for cash, business. To me it's not hunting and for those who spend thousands may do so just don't post and brag about your conquest and tell us a long story to make yourself out to be a stud hunter. It makes the rest of us sick. As far as baiting goes there is really no need for it, although it does help farmers. If a state decides to allow food plots but outlaws dumping of bait, then this is wrong because foodplots and dumped bait both exist for only one reason and that is drawing animals for hunting. I see nothing wrong with recreational feeding as long as it's spread out over a large area and not during hunting seasons.

Unless someone can give me a really good reason why some people should have thousands of acres of land that is fenced off to non-paying customers while public land is taken and hunters have to pile into what is left of the public land, i see no good reason for fenced off areas.
As for baiting, pointless. No hunting involved.

Nate

I think it all depends on the situation, but it, like other things is right at times, but just as often, if not more often they are not right. Plus it might not be legal. Just things to consider.

In my state it's illegal, but I think it is OK if you have an over-population. Other than that I believe it kinda takes the sport out of hunting.

NO!!!!!!!!

Nate

i dont like them

People who hunt in fenced area are more then likely doing it purely for sport. If I could say I HATE the idea of killing for antler or horn size....I call it murder since they don't eat the meat and only keep the "trophy". The trophy is the meat itself!

I could deal with baiting, but fenced hunting is not really hunting in my opinion.

Baiting is nothing compared to fenced hunting... that is not hunting... you might as well just trap an animal and then kill it. That is not hunting... hunting is about going out there and maybe getting something, maybe not... not guaranteed success.

No thanks, No fenced hunting or baiting here!!!

I wouldnt mind so much if the Freakin deer wasnt bottle fed & trained to come & eat to the sound of a buck grunt...thats just not hunting bro.

They just keep on doing the TV shows because dummies like us just keep on watching. Shame on us. I keep saying I won't watch another show because they are so fake but for something better to look at I seem to look at them again until I get too disgusted and turn the channel.

I am all for feeders and high fences. I have hunted with and without. The vast areas of land under high fence in west and south Texas are not unlike your National Forests. The snobs who turn their noses up at the fence by saying " Its not fair" will be the first to grab a high powered rifle and "sneak" within 300 yards to shoot a buck and say that it was "fair-chase". Those high fences add greatly to the health of a deer heard by stopping EHD and CWD at the gate. They also reduce highway accidents saving untold millions in insurance premiums.
To the rest of you "purists" who prefer the loin cloth and knife; you have a much better chance of killing a mature buck on a food plot than you ever will under a feeder. The feeder supports the health of young deer and does. Trophy bucks will generally never come anywhere close to the feeder. Food plots and grain fields are way less sporting than a feeder but since we are about fair; we need to outlaw deer drives because you are not outsmarting the deer you are just herding him like a cow. Hunting on private lands where grain is grown should also be outlawed because thats really just a big feeder.

unbelievable.