I haven't hunted Texas since 2004 and my Dad is wanting to go back while he is still able to do so.

Looking to hunt late this year or late 2018. Looking for whitetail in the 130"+ range; free-range, no pens or high-fence ranches. The hunt will have to be from box-blinds, tripods, etc. since Dad has a knee that won't allow him to do a lot of walking, however my brother and I have no problem with a spot & stalk hunt.

The last time I hunted Texas, we hunted Pecos county. Not really a whitetail mecca, but I harvested a very nice deer. I don't really care what area of the state we hunt, just looking for a reputable outfitter that is more interested in hunting rather than drinking booze all week.

SOE Hunts, Canyon Ranch.

Check out a guy with the handle Mulie_Mike. He's out of San Angelo and will most likely have exactly what you're wanting.

http://www.westtexashunt.com/

Here's a great place as well. They have both low-fence quality deer as well as a big variety of exotics.

http://raincreekranch.com/index.html

What difference does it make if it's a high fence?

What difference does it make if it's a high fence? The deer are just as wild, just easier to manage and improve the herd by bringing in better deer. If it's managed they can hunt from October until the end of Feburary.

I understand your point, but I don't care how big a pen is, it's still a pen. I'm a firm believer in fair-chase.

Let me ask you a question, if the shoe was on the other foot and you were being hunted, do you want to try your odds in a pen, a big pen or no boundaries?

If you are hunting from a blind, the HF isn't much of an issue as anything that doesn't walk into your killing zone has "escaped".

The problem with HF in Texas is you really have to do your homework or you are going to wind up at a place that buys deer from breeders every year. You can find a HF place that doesn't do that, but you will have to really do your homework and ask questions, because the other type of place will try to disguise the nature of their operation. Also, those places will typically have lower prices for a trophy buck, so will be tempting.

LOL< we all have our issues. If I could find the old thing about the spike that cleared a fence, and was in a trap pen, and took dunno how long to find and kill.

Fences, especially those consisting of 10K acres or more on many of them, are of no issue at all, unless it is with you, and if thats the case then stick to your guns and let the rest of us just ramble on!

No one would kill me in a big fenced area... I doubt they would in a small one either, unless thermal and night vision was used...

And one last thing, the fences are not to keep the big deer in, they are to keep the trash out... when you consider how much harder it is to manage deer, than cattle you'll understand.

Low fence with feeders and blinds is fair chase though. LOL.

Good luck.

Jeff

Duck,
take a look at the management hunts at the King Ranch or Cochina Ranch.

Either should be able to work something for your dad.

Both are low fence.