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Obsessed said:
There's a BIG difference between hunting deer and farming deer deer. I personally LOVE hunting deer, talking about it and reading about it, etc. Farming deer doesn't blow my hair back in the slightest. Deer farming doesn't require enclosure fencing either... Killing a farmed deer isn't hunting, as far as I'm concerned. The increasing popularity of deer farming, and people bragging about farmed deer they killed, claiming they hunted them, turns my stomach. Major reason I went from enjoying many deer hunting Websites to despising them on some levels. Lakosky's are deer farmers and it's paid for by all of the people who buy into the eye candy they push, by mistaking it as actual hunting.

Change my mind.
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Well if you're hunting deer around any crop land then you must be deer farming too? Shooting a deer inside a fenced area is what most would consider deer farming because the deer aren't free to go wherever they want. Do you know a 100% that the deer you killed aren't in some form "farmed deer" as you call them? No you don't because you don't know where those deer have been and what they do during the off season. Just be careful standing up there on that pedestal you put yourself on because it hurts when you hit the ground!
 
Obsessed said:
There are different degrees of deer farming. 'Managed' private land where deer are photographed, named, followed, patterned, passed on for years before they're ripe for the picking, etc... Yep, that's farming, not hunting.
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So it's not deer hunting if a person patterns deer, passes on immature deer including doe and bucks to improve the herd, manages his property for better habitat to make it better deer hunting? You sound like a very jealous hunter who wishes he had the land to manage for better deer hunting?
 
I think habitat in general is what people do to give back to the resource , sure we want to grow big deer , healthy deer and more in general that why we give back to the land and the resource IMO.. Hell that's as much rewarding then shooting a deer half the time and as much fun too .. Deer farming is fenced in Animals not free range IMO and if you live in places where people fence in 1000 's of acres if that's what makes them happy have at it , I am sure they are good people just hunting there way.. Hunters need to stick together ...
 
If any of you have read their book it would settle this debate. Good or bad at "hunting" what goes on there is not remotely close to what the majority of us encounter while farming deer or hunting deer. BTW hopefully I don't get in trouble for my book and Crush review...... Save your $ unless you have the large tracts of land with essentially NO pressure because that book WILL NOT help. Totally agree with Jbohn above but don't think what you see and read there is anywhere close to the majority 99% of Iowa. Too each their own but don't think the deer you see there are living behind every tree in Iowa. Entertainment yes reality no. JMO
 
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Personally, I would say "farming for deer/managing property" and "hunting deer" is a toss up for me in terms of enjoyment. Both are extremely rewarding, but there is something about putting in work to improve the land (resulting in an improved herd) and seeing it pay off...so I would probably give the edge to managing property. Last thought: Everybody thinks about deer hunting slightly differently, that's the beauty of it....as long as it's legal, I do my best to put myself in other peoples shoes & try to respect their point of view, even if it differs from my own. That said, a healthy debate is always fun to partake in!

*Honest question: If money wasn't an obstacle, would anyone here seriously NOT want the setup that Lee & Tiffany or the Drury's enjoy???
 
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advantagewhitetail said:
Personally, I would say "farming for deer/managing property" and "hunting deer" is a toss up for me in terms of enjoyment. Both are extremely rewarding, but there is something about putting in work to improve the land (resulting in an improved herd) and seeing it pay off...so I would probably give the edge to managing property. Last thought: Everybody thinks about deer hunting slightly differently, that's the beauty of it....as long as it's legal, I do my best to put myself in other peoples shoes & try to respect their point of view, even if it differs from my own. That said, a healthy debate is always fun to partake in!

*Honest question: If money wasn't an obstacle, would anyone here seriously NOT want the setup that Lee & Tiffany or the Drury's enjoy???[/QUOTe

I think Majority would .. I would say YES !!!!
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I get it - some guys can contribute the habitat and manage your ground and herds and essentially "grow" big deer . Thats great too - not talking it down. I can see where obsessed is coming from in parts though - the guys from videos like the Hunting Public shooting a 150 on public are WAY more impressive TO ME than a 180 inch deer you shot from your heated box blind to the majority of the public. Winkes Lakoskys all that garbage I havent watched in years. When you have 25 shooters on 600 acres do you have the same bragging rights on how good of hunter you are as the guy that has one on ground shared with 2 other bow hunters and 2o shot gunners ? At what point does it get old to go out year after year and kill a good one ? Maybe never for some guys - but for me Id rather go pound some public out west or round up some coyotes with the boys then worry on managing my herd of 25 shooters and 6 food plots . Too each their own . Food for thought .
 
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The only thing Lakosky does different than us is he can afford to mow 20 acres of mature corn to attract deer and he spends top money on building premium food plots and he can hunt 50 different farms and some farms have no pressure for several years due to no big bucks being on that property. Winke does a great job of showing how to target a mature buck on your property by slowly going after him and waiting for the right opportunity and finding that deers core area.
 
If in sharing my opinions has me placing myself on a pedestal in your eyes, so be it. I'm not jealous of any deer farmer. Assumptions have been made that I don't have means to do the same. I do. I chose not to because it doesn't flip my switch, I recognize it for what it is, and I don't like how it locks down large tracts of land for a few individual deer farmers, that used to be freely accessible to MANY.

Several of the people up in arms about my statements are the same ones who comment about the decreasing interest in hunting within our youth. Well duh! Let's entice a bunch of young hunters with horn porn and then make it impossible for them to even come close to replicating it on their own because they don't have the funds to buy 600-1kish acres to 'farm' a deer herd. And, they can't afford to pay the leases on farm timber land that used to be FREE for many to hunt, up until just recently. All driven by the horn porn industry and deer farming.

If you individually or collectively own 5 to 40ish acres and you manage your ground to be more attractive to free ranging deer, my comments aren't directed toward you. Sure it sucks when you lock your land down solely for yourself, but I get it. These smaller tracts of land aren't enough to 'farm' deer. Deer don't set up residence there and mainly stay within the boundaries of your property day-in and day-out. It's just not enough physical area. Large farms however, if managed well, can entice deer to seldom ever venture outside of the property boundaries. These are what I consider, for the most part, contained or 'farmed' deer without being physically fenced in. They have zero external human pressure too because it's a locked down private property. A deer herd can be 'farmed' this way without any perimeter fencing.

Not saying it's right or wrong. Just my opinion and some supporting statements for my opinion. To each their own though. As long as it's legal. Just don't bitch about all of the OTHER reasons why our youth aren't as interested in hunting as they used to be. When fantastical expectations driven by horn porn and deer farming practices are completely out of wack with reality, people lose interest in reality. Or they distance themselves from the fantasy and embrace reality for what it is.
 
The argument that we should have as many hunters in the future as we have now, is a very subjective argument.

First off, wouldn’t hunting quality be better if we have fewer overall hunters?

On the other hand, I suppose we need hunters for political clout.

In my home town, I find the interest among young guys, pretty high. Lots of young bow hunters, coyote hunters, carp shooters. Waterfowl guys.. just as high as when I graduated.

We live in an rural area, so the numbers are probably much smaller in the metro areas.
 
You make a ton of good points. Impact on the younger generation of hunters is the responsibility of father figures, mentors, grandfathers, etc. which are lacking. The horn porn shows have a little impact but I think are viewed for mostly entertainment purposes.

Today’s social constructs in the forms of high divorce rate, single moms, absent fathers, anti gun groups, anti hunting groups, education indoctrination, and so on influence kids also. Not to mention the instant communication they have which exacerbates the negative outdoors messages.

I have no issue with the deer growers as I feel they find it challenging to supplement, pass, and implement harvest targets to see how big a deer can become in the wild using thought out practices. To each their own I guess.
 
Iowa_Buckeye said:
I’ve taken several youth to the ‘deer farm’ I hunt on. They are hooked now. I don’t think that has anything to do with engagement of youth in hunting.
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I commend you for taking youth out. It's one of the most rewarding experiences I've personally had within deer hunting.

Since you claim it as your 'deer farm', what are the chances these youth are able to replicate the same type of success in the real world, when they are no longer selectively invited onto your privately managed property? Sure, you're providing these youth with an exciting experience on your 'deer farm', but not a realistic one that they can replicate on their own. To say they're 'hooked now' is a bit premature, I'd say. How quickly have you seen excited youth and young adults lose passion in something as soon as reality sets in? Providing an exciting experience to youth on privately 'farmed' property does not equate to the creation of lifelong hunters. In-fact, it could do the exact opposite and actually turn them off once they try hunting on their own in the real world. They'll always remember the exciting experience they had with you at your place though. So, kudos to you.
 
I think your caught up on this replication thing. I shot my biggest deer many years ago and have never replicated it.

After examining why I hunt the answer would be the solitude of being in the woods and that jolt of adrenaline that I get when I see a flash of brown, a leg , or an ear twitch that signifies “deer”! Most of the time it’s a doe or dink but that initial rush is why you go and is the experience you’re trying to provide, I don’t care what type of farm you’re on. The harvest is secondary.

That is the hook and that is what keeps you going day after day and year after year. You just don’t know what might step out!
 
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Jdubs said:
I think your caught up on this replication thing. I shot my biggest deer many years ago and have never replicated it.

After examining why I hunt the answer would be the solitude of being in the woods and that jolt of adrenaline that I get when I see a flash of brown, a leg , or an ear twitch that signifies “deer”! Most of the time it’s a doe or dink but that initial rush is why you go and is the experience you’re trying to provide, I don’t care what type of farm you’re on. The harvest is secondary.

That is the hook and that is what keeps you going day after day and year after year. You just don’t know what might step out!
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I'm using the word 'replicate' accurately here. If I were using the word 'duplicate', I would agree with you.
 
Kids need to work hard to find spots too. Because they hunted a prime farm, does not mean they can’t go hunt public the next year?

There’s a group of kids in my area, that do fairly well on public. Same kids shoot a bunch of geese/ducks/pheasants/turkeys by just asking permission.

Deer of course, is a bit tougher to get permission. They always seem to get something. Good hunters, determined!
 
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