[Longbow14]

We started to get into a good argument on the Hawg hunt page about outfitters in Florida and the term "Canned"
I'e seen a similar trend in other states where large and trophy animals are corralled into very small pens for "hunting" this I consider to be "Canned" Vs most properties of several 100-1000s of acres that are fenced to either keep cattle or game inside, the latter when they are invasive like Pigs, Axis, and such.
One thing the Sgt Zim brought up was that "canned" can be used far to easily by Antis to try and ban any private land hunting and as such it's wise to keep the usage to a minimum.
While I'd much rather save my money and hunt animals on public land, sometimes its not that easy depending on your states and anytime I can keep hundreds of acres green and not filled with walmart and condos I'm happy.

What do y'all think?

 

[DanielE]

I must have missed the argument, but it sounds like my remark may have had something to do with it. It should stay a difference of opinion and not go down the tubes.

Im not going to be the guy to draw the fine line in the sand about what is or isn't "canned".

The hunts I was referring to are in the far end of the spectrum. Pigs in fences chased along the fence by a swamp buggy and gunned down. There's videos all over YouTube.

I cant feel bad calling that a canned hunt.

 

[mrguvna]

I would say similar to fish in a barrel. of course I have followed the stocking truck around the mountains to catch the trout...............is that canned? of course it is..........but I ate well

 

[DanielE]

Most every hunter I know today (people I know in this area, in person) hunts with methods that would have been taboo where I grew up.

Feeders, corn piles, food plots, cell phone controlled trail cameras...whatever.

Different time, different place, different people.

This came up because the OP (in the other thread) should at least be making an informed decision and/or knowing what to expect.

Lasty (now that I've spilled all my opinions) I'd say it's not what we call these hunts that fuel the antis, but the fact that people feel compelled to post them all over YouTube.

 

[Longbow14]

Daniel E: Argument may have been to dramatic on my end but hey it sounds cooler than "chat" Secondly it's no dig at you, hopefully you don't feel like I was calling you out on using the term. I think I agree that Facebook, Kill selfies, and youtube have put a worse spin on hunting than just about anything I can call it.

I have seen petitions attempting to ban hunting like I mentioned, using examples of the very small "game ranches" where you can shoot an SCI class animal for 25k. that is a bit over the top, but thats just me; stiring the pot.

 

[DanielE]

No, I don't feel like any sort of a dig...just thought maybe I missed something, and more importantly, wouldn't want a healthy discussion to go down the tubes.

I went through this here maybe 8 years ago with a discussion on hunting deer with dogs. It's just how it's done here in the southeast, and as an outsider I've had to learn to live with it. Some people were astounded that I accepted that and the whole conversation turned to pot and harsh words were exchanged both ways. We were all a bit ignorant.

There's just no need for that and I don't want to feel a repeat of differences prompting uncivil exchanges. Yet at the same time, we need to be free to share opinions.

That is all, Sir

 

[Longbow14]

Agreed, I didn't want to derail the original thread.
I think I recall a deer dog thread.
I hope we can get some other voices in here. Since hunting on nearly all levels is between you and the animal, I'm curious to see what the rest of the forum has as a bench mark.

 

[marlinluvr]

There's many different opinions/ways on huntin' and not everyone has a chance to hunt the same way. I've been fortunate to hunt public land when I was a kid with my dad (didn't know anyone with private land), hunt private land (that a buddy leases), hunt with a professional guide several times and also hunt at a place that would be considered a "canned hunt" where there was 50-100 (the guide says 100...we say about 50) acres and stands set up. After the "guide" put you out at your stand, he would go get the four wheeler and feeder and come back 30 minutes later to spread the corn where 30-50 hogs would come out of the woods to feed! Take your pick! Wasn't my favorite way to hunt, but it was my son's first hunt (and the memories will last a lifetime) and we took home the meat and it was more humane than the way many animals (that are bought at the store) are killed IMHO! Sometimes, time/land constraints make it hard for some to hunt they way they'd like too OR that's the way THEY like to hunt! They're payin' for a service and are pretty much guaranteed to take home some meat...nothin' wrong with that!
P.S. Per the dog issue, but I feel pretty much the same about that...Iv'e done it and NOT done it! To each his own!

 

[mam444]

I interpret a canned hunt as, a way of killing an exotic animal on a small piece of property. Typically less than 100 acres. And the species hunted is usually exotic and not indigenous to that region/area, and is held in a pen and released somewhere near where the hunter is waiting. Like paying money to hunt an exotic cat would be, I guess, a good example. Again, I'm not saying this is what the definition of a canned hunt is. This is what my interpretation of a canned hunt is, to me and me alone. Everyone else might have a different interpretation of what they think a canned hunt is.

 

[mrguvna]

ditto marlinlover.

Not everyone can hunt in the same way, some need to hunt public lands, some have to use guide services, some go to game ranches. None of it is bad if the intent is to use your game as a harvest and use the meat. I am fortunate to own almost 300 acres so I do not have a lot of the experiences folks here have. I can shoot and hunt anytime I want, year round with no outside interference, my own nature preserve, I am very fortunate. I have food plots, corn piles and cameras all over the place. Most game I shoot is from pounding the ground and being a hunter, I observe the animals in the food plots and corn piles and cameras, learn their behavior in a natural setting. is this a canned hunt? I dunno, sure is a lot of fun and I have seen some very cool stuff over the years.

Most of my guided stuff has been charter fishing, and I have done a lot of that. Capt. Andy in Hatteras would put me on 400+ pounds of fish everytime I went out, I was meat fishing, not sure it was canned but I could bank on having the fish box full, never got skunked in 30+ trips. I also used to participate in pheasant shoots in NC. The birds are not native so the local farmer would buy them from a breeder in Pa then throw them out of a tower while we all stood around and shot them. Lot of fun but canned? dunno certainly not hunting good comradery, also spent time with good friends and family planting quail and chucker around the farm one day and then we took some great dogs and walked around the farm and shot birds all day. Three generations of folks, good family fun, then we had a feast, canned hunt or good family firearms fun?

Trying to define something specific as canned would be difficult, I would rather call these as shoots,some might fancy one type verse the other. Not sure if these hurt the hunting industry, I would think it bolsters the firearms enthusiast as it gives them a different aspect to the hobby/sport of shooting with the benefit of eating fresh harvested food!

and don't get me started on dog hunting..........

 

[M700]

To me, a "canned hunt" is one in which the animal has little or no chance of escape, because it's in a smallish fenced-in enclosure.

Other than that, some hunts are easy, some are very hard. I've enjoyed easy and difficult hunts both.

My pheasant hunting is about as close to "canned" as I get - and I only do so because there is little or no wild pheasant hunting in my immediate area, so I belong to a "pheasant club." It's all very gentlemanly. I reserve a field, date, and time and tell them how many birds I would like...

Show up mid-morning with my dog, my shotgun, and often my son or a friend. Wander out into the sagebrush, and the dog starts finding & pointing birds. He points, I flush 'em and shoot 'em. He retrieves to a "good boy." After a couple of hours, I've got my pheasants and we head for home after a meal at a nearby restaurant. Yes, it's pretty close to canned... But I do enjoy. We have lost some birds out there that simply didn't stay in the area. Also had an eagle swoop down and get one! That was pretty cool, even though I couldn't figure any way for the eagle to pay for that bird I'd bought...

Contrast that with my chukar hunting... The same dog and I will walk our danged legs off in the canyons and hills, and MAYBE I'll bring down two or three birds after I've sweated like crazy and worn myself out. Ya, that is a REAL HUNT and tough! I enjoy both.

Regards, Guy

 

[M700]

When it comes to big game, I hunt on both public and private land. Am blessed to live in a county where about 85% of the land is public. On that public land I've hunted and taken elk, bear and mule deer. And thoroughly enjoyed. Tough hunts normally, now and again one is ridiculously easy.

I also make a nearly 1,000 mile drive every other year or so to enjoy a hunt for pronghorn and mule deer on a large ranch, about 40,000 acres. I pay to stay on that ranch and hunt there, but I certainly don't consider it "canned" in any way. What I'm paying for, is a chance to hunt a large property with very little hunting pressure. I've never seen more than two other hunters on the ranch at the same time, and often we only see each other at breakfast and dinner. The animals are wild, and undisturbed. It's a bit of a contrast with the public land hunts in high-pressured areas. Conditions are often harsh in Wyoming, and it's a fairly tough hunt sometimes, though my last pronghorn was ridiculously easy.

He saw me, but didn't seem too concerned, and was crossing in front of me, right to left, at about 245 yards. The ol' 30-06 was plenty of gun for a rather small animal. I do love hunting these guys, and the meat is excellent. Normally I use the 25-06 rifle instead. Hoping to draw the tag again this year:

Also got a pretty decent 4x5 mule deer on that hunt, at about 140 yards with the 30-06 rifle. That was a tougher hunt. I seem to look kinda grim in the photo, which is unfortunate as I was actually quite satisfied. Just tired perhaps? At any rate, nice buck, and good eating.

If drawn I plan to return to that ranch again this fall. It is a very nice hunting experience, and the experience is exactly what I'm after. In no way do I consider these ranch hunts "canned" as the animals are free to go wherever they want, on or off the ranch. They're just not as pressured as animals on public land.

Regards, Guy

 

[mrguvna]

hey Guy, sounds like that Eagle got the proverbial/literal free lunch................:elefant:

 

[M700]

hey Guy, sounds like that Eagle got the proverbial/literal free lunch................:elefant:

He did! The pheasant flushed wildly, and flew right off the property. Then the eagle ended his wandering... It was really pretty doggone cool to see.

Guy

 

[mrguvna]

don't want to drift the thread but yes watching predators from the sky is pretty doggone cool to see, I watch the big hawks each summer flushing the song birds out of the blueberry patch by flying slow enough on a sunny day you notice the shadow, so do the little birds. eventually they freak out and fly off and the predators go to work and it is something to see

 

[Sambane]

Controversial subject indeed!

Right now it is a very sensitive subject of much debate here. Some very passionate arguments and points of view abound!

Theoretically I guess any animal in a fenced area is "canned". So saying that, I admit guilt. Bear in mind that some game (i.e.) Kudu, do not abide by little obstacles like a 10' fence and Springbok, Warthog, Blesbuck and many other find their way under or through any obstacle, Crocks & Hippo just go down or up stream.

Our whole country is fenced and I do 80% of my hunting here, so I am a hunter of "canned" animals I guess. Some of the game farms I hunt on are 15 000 hectare and some are even bigger, some border on one another, sometimes there are 10 hunting farms all bordering, but they are all fenced! The one property I utilise is but a mere 4500 hectare, but it is the most challenging terrain out there ~ really difficult hunting!

Our current game management is a success story as we have now much more game than 150 years ago ..... thanks in a large extent to "canned" hunting .

:elefant::damnmate::elefant:

(Fine subject - I'll be watching it closely. :alberteinstein: )

 

[M700]

Sambane - I don't consider your hunting to be "canned" and for me it's largely because of the size of the properties that are hunted. HUGE places where the animal has an excellent chance of evading. Some of those ranches/farms over there are so big, I suspect you could hunt for a few days and never even see a fence!

Guy

 

[Sav .250]

A definition of a "canned hunt" can be easily found by a search. It is what is is.............

 

[richardtriple4]

I was taught to hunt by my father and grandfathers...hunting involves scounting land, finding sign, ID'ing feeding and bedding areas, developing a pattern of movement, concealing your outline, movement, and scent by the proper placement of a blind or stand or the advanced application of still hunting. I do not believe "hunting" on a fenced property with a higher concentration of game animals verses the surrounding "free range" is actually what I consider hunting. I freely admit that I may be a purist or hunting snob or whatever but for me to think I am hunting, I want to find the food source, locate the active trail, pattern the animal and put myself in the right place...not have some else do that work for me...I find those thing to be much more important than taking the animal. The idea of a "canned" hunt is offensive to me...how must the anti's look at it? Just my 2 cents...oh and this only applies to game animals...I shoot vermin on sight given the oppurtunity.
RT4

 

[richardtriple4]

I think I need to add this for upland hunting.
There are many places that just do not have the game birds to support traditional hunting. In these situations, clubs that support bird breeding programs are a must but I would really only want to hunt these birds with dogs and walking the scrub. I love to hunt quail in the mountains but they are getting harder to find...we may have to begin breeding them at some point or lose this type hunting.
RT4