Hunting Club Opportunities

The hunting clubs are beginning now to have their annual meetings and set rules for the new year. In the last month I have been invited to speak at two clubs about raising quality deer. Most of the members had never heard of deer farming and knew vary little about high fence hunting.

I was there to speak about age structure, feed and genetics and how to age a deer on the hoof. The main question is always how long does it take to see results and what can they expect from the herd. I use this opportunity to show what has happened to the quality of deer in breeding operations and high fence preserves. To say the least all members were highly impressed. The questions quickly turn to high fence hunting and you have a great opportunity to educate them on high fence hunting.

The main negative is we are controlling the breeding and that is not natural. But when you explain that the hunter controls the breeding every time he pulls the trigger on a free ranging animal and that most of the time they shoot the animal that would have been breeding if nature was left to determine the breeding they understand. What we are doing is much more natural by breeding with the best animal.

It simply provides a great opportunity to promote our industry and let them hear the positive sides.

Great chase to educate them Brett. Most of the clubs we have here in the south are weak on management practices, especially here in Alabama

Great points. It shows that we have a lot of knowledge on deer genetics that they can learn from. They should consider us as a friend to the deer world and not the threat to the deer population that QDMA and the DNR make us out to be. We should speak to these hunting groups as often as they ask. Good job.

Gary Olson

507-269-9791