#1710339 - 01/06/10 10:55 AM
My high fence rut hunt experience
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megalomaniac
10 Point
Registered: 10/28/05
Posts: 4887
Loc: Mississippi
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New years day, I got to hunt inside a 550 acre high fence down here. Interesting experience for sure, nerve-racking, however...
A little background...
A buddy enclosed 550 acres 4 years ago just to see what the local deer would grow here in South MS with little pressure and expanded food sources. He feeds protein pellets on demand throughout the year, the 550 acres is in 5-15 yr old pines (varying ages in blocks) with around 30 acres in various foodplots. Coyotes have been all trapped out, but a few occasionally dig underneath the fence.
After a few years, he was growing some massive 8 ptrs (5-5.5" bases, 22" beams), but realized his local genetics just weren't going to produce mainframe 10's for the really high scores. You can't legally purchase deer in Mississippi, but he's got good connections within the state game department, so he acquired 2 orphaned/rehabilitated buck fawns and 4 orphaned/rehabilitated doe fawns from the MS delta (known for larger bodies and often typical 10pt frames) and Noxubee county (known for nontypical genetics). The buck fawns are now 3.5 yrs old and will score 145-155".
This year, his goal was to remove all the bucks 2.5 yrs old and older with mainframe 8 pts or less (preferably prior to breeding), along with as many does as possible (save the ones with big yellow ear tags- the ones brought in from the Delta and Noxubee county). Of course, all the doe fawns and buck fawns (which may carry the new genetics) he did not want killed.
Prior to my hunt, 20 does and 4 bucks had been killed this season, all the bucks were 8 pts or less and still would have scored 115-135", 3 of the 4 bucks were killed in the past week- peak of the prerut in the area. Prior to last week, very few bucks had even been seen.
My goal was to kill a couple of does, as I didn't want to kill a buck unless it was a really old deer. He does have a 6.5 yr old 8 ptr (will score around 150" despite 3" browtines!) which has been seen in daylight only once in the past 3 years, and the hunter didn't have a clear shot.
So, in essence, I had the green light on does (save the yellow ear tag ones), and any buck 2.5 yrs old or older with 8 pts or less. To complicate matters, he also had a couple of recent imports- button buck fawns with TINY blue ear tags... almost impossible to see more than 100 yards away.
I set up on a gas pipeline planted in clover with 500 yard shots in both directions. After around an hour, a single antlerless deer came out at 500 yards and fed- but it was impossible to tell for sure it wasn't a spike or button buck at that distance so I passed. Another 30 minutes later, a 2.5 yr old buck with 7 or 8 pts came out at 80 yards. He was a nice 90-95" deer with a 15" spread, but not a buck I had any desire to kill. Saw a few more young deer I'm assuming were orphaned fawns. About 20 minutes before end of legal shooting time, I had what I thought was a doe come out at 300 yards. I looked it over, no ear tags, but it was feeding toward me so I waited for it to get closer. Of course, I was suspicious of any deer by itself, as they are often button bucks or small spikes, and I'm glad I waited, as it turned out to be a spike/button with 2" antlers.
So I finished out the hunt without a kill, but it was an interesting experience... not necessarily enjoyable due to the pressure of having to be 110% sure you weren't killing a button buck or an older buck with more than 8 pts.
One definetly wouldn't be able to shoot a deer in the first 15 minutes of morning or the last 15 minutes of the evening hunt.
The other thing I found interesting is that they have a mature buck in that 550 acres that has only been seen once. Also one of the 4.5 yr old deer they killed last week had never been photographed by trail cameras, meaning he had learned to avoid the feed stations/ cameras altogether (they don't rotate camera locations often).
It's a neat experiment for sure, but wasn't as much fun as hunting my own properties in TN.
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#1710375 - 01/06/10 11:08 AM
Re: My high fence rut hunt experience
[Re: megalomaniac]
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tndrbstr
16 Point
Registered: 10/06/05
Posts: 12157
Loc: knox co tn
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The other thing I found interesting is that they have a mature buck in that 550 acres that has only been seen once. Also one of the 4.5 yr old deer they killed last week had never been photographed by trail cameras, meaning he had learned to avoid the feed stations/ cameras altogether (they don't rotate camera locations often).
It's a neat experiment for sure, but wasn't as much fun as hunting my own properties in TN.
Just curious as thier usuall hunting methods...Are there stands mostly permanent? Do they actively move on the deer within the fence to try and locate them in an attemp to kill em or do they generaly sit and wait for the deer to show thierselfs?....
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#1710381 - 01/06/10 11:12 AM
Re: My high fence rut hunt experience
[Re: megalomaniac]
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R Crabtree
4 Point
Registered: 12/05/05
Posts: 344
Loc: East TN
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Interesting read...thanks for sharing.
How does one go about fencing such a large area? In other words what type of fence and installation...maintenance? That seems like it would be an intensive and expensive undertaking.
Makes you wonder just how many deer inside the fence have NEVER been seen or captured on camera.
_________________________
we don't rent pigs!
uva uvam vivendo varia fit
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#1710418 - 01/06/10 11:36 AM
Re: My high fence rut hunt experience
[Re: R Crabtree]
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mcnairy mike
Spike
Registered: 12/28/09
Posts: 48
Loc: west tenn
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It is interesting to say the least. I heard it was like 15 thousand a mile for 8 foot fence. With all the rules it takes a lot of the fun out of it. I have a hard time believin that they have not seen all the deer on a 550 acre farm.
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#1710421 - 01/06/10 11:39 AM
Re: My high fence rut hunt experience
[Re: R Crabtree]
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BoneHead1
4 Point
Registered: 09/15/09
Posts: 199
Loc: East tn
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Cool!
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#1710567 - 01/06/10 12:52 PM
Re: My high fence rut hunt experience
[Re: tndrbstr]
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megalomaniac
10 Point
Registered: 10/28/05
Posts: 4887
Loc: Mississippi
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The other thing I found interesting is that they have a mature buck in that 550 acres that has only been seen once. Also one of the 4.5 yr old deer they killed last week had never been photographed by trail cameras, meaning he had learned to avoid the feed stations/ cameras altogether (they don't rotate camera locations often).
It's a neat experiment for sure, but wasn't as much fun as hunting my own properties in TN. Just curious as thier usuall hunting methods...Are there stands mostly permanent? Do they actively move on the deer within the fence to try and locate them in an attemp to kill em or do they generaly sit and wait for the deer to show thierselfs?....
Stand hunting, no drives. Occasionally if they see a potential shooter (cull) at a distance, they will try to stalk closer to look the animal over, and get a shot.
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#1710570 - 01/06/10 12:54 PM
Re: My high fence rut hunt experience
[Re: R Crabtree]
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megalomaniac
10 Point
Registered: 10/28/05
Posts: 4887
Loc: Mississippi
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Interesting read...thanks for sharing.
How does one go about fencing such a large area? In other words what type of fence and installation...maintenance? That seems like it would be an intensive and expensive undertaking.
Makes you wonder just how many deer inside the fence have NEVER been seen or captured on camera.
They erected a 10' fence approx 50 feet to the inside of their property line and cleared all timber 50 feet inside the fence. That way there's no worries about trees, etc falling on the fence. Total cost approx $100,000; not cheap at all, but easy to maintain once it's up.
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#1710572 - 01/06/10 12:55 PM
Re: My high fence rut hunt experience
[Re: mcnairy mike]
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megalomaniac
10 Point
Registered: 10/28/05
Posts: 4887
Loc: Mississippi
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It is interesting to say the least. I heard it was like 15 thousand a mile for 8 foot fence. With all the rules it takes a lot of the fun out of it. I have a hard time believin that they have not seen all the deer on a 550 acre farm.
Remember, 500 acres or so is dense, thick stuff. Hunters probably wouldn't be able to kill many bucks if they didn't screw up during the rut looking for does.
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#1710573 - 01/06/10 12:56 PM
Re: My high fence rut hunt experience
[Re: megalomaniac]
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SAR Swimmer
4 Point
Registered: 12/08/08
Posts: 499
Loc: Pleasant View, TN/ Jacksonvill...
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That is cool. 550 acres is alot of land. I betcha he will be producing some good ones in a few years if he can structure that herd as he has planned.
_________________________
"So Others May Live"
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#1710580 - 01/06/10 01:03 PM
Re: My high fence rut hunt experience
[Re: SAR Swimmer]
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ChippewaPartners
10 Point
Registered: 08/25/01
Posts: 2910
Loc: Pamelot, my farm near Catoosa
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Just a great example why hunters should have great binocs on stand. Solid identification can be key for alot of managed properties. Great job of telling this interesting story.
As a libertarian and knowing how Texas deer "sales" go I would think the "black market" for high grade bucks must be an interesting one.
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