Yet another question about hunting land in Texas. (buying, camp)

[C24L]

Hi everybody,
I am a CEO and oilman/land speculator who is looking to buy some hunting land in Texas at some point possibly with my folks.I want to hunt deer,bison,elk,exotics,hogs,doves, and rabbits on it.I dont want to go out west somewhere like Raton,New Mexico or Wyoming to hunt elk or to Africa or India to hunt exotics so I just want to stock some elk/bison and exotics on my land.So whats the smallest amount of land I would need for a small number of elk bison and exotics on my land???I want to do this so I can hunt year round when its not deer season. Im not trying to offend anybody.Hunting is a Texas tradition.Thanks in advance.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by C24L

Hi everybody,
I am a CEO and oilman who is looking to buy some hunting land in Texas at some point possibly with my folks.I want to hunt deer,bison,elk,exotics,hogs,doves, and rabbits on it.I dont want to go out west somewhere like Raton,New Mexico or Wyoming to hunt elk or to Africa or India to hunt exotics so I just want to stock some elk/bison and exotics on my land.So whats the smallest amount of land I would need for a small number of elk bison and exotics on my land???I want to do this so I can hunt year round when its not deer season. Im not trying to offend anybody.Hunting is a Texas tradition.Thanks in advance.

I'm an oilman too and happen to own a good bit of land.

Are you looking for a personal menagerie for canned hunting? If so and assuming someone is tending the land and game you won't need much land. And this kind of hunting is outside my idea of Texas tradition.

If instead you are looking to run game on land large enough to offer challenging hunts including exotics and elk you will need several sections of land at a minimum. FWIIW free ranging elk in Texas only works in a few areas. As you mentioned Africa and India, Aoudad and Nilgai do very well across much of Texas especially to the south and west into Mexico.

If you are thinking about the former I'd urge you to take a pass. Shooting not quite penned elk etc. isn't hunting.

[C24L]

Originally Posted by EDS_

I'm an oilman too and happen to own a good bit of land.

Are you looking for a personal menagerie for canned hunting? If so and assuming someone is tending the land and game you won't need much land. And this kind of hunting is outside my idea of Texas tradition.

If instead you are looking to run game on land large enough to offer challenging hunts including exotics and elk you will need several sections of land at a minimum. FWIIW free ranging elk in Texas only works in a few areas. As you mentioned Africa and India, Aoudad and Nilgai do very well across much of Texas especially to the south and west into Mexico.

If you are thinking about the former I'd urge you to take a pass. Shooting not quite penned elk etc. isn't hunting.

Im looking to buy several sections in the future once i get overrides,EDS.I dont want canned hunts.

[ChristieP]

In order to have elk or exotics on your land, you're going to need to have high fences. Otherwise, those animals will just jump out and leave. I have no idea what the grazing requirements are, but since they are so big, I would guess it would be close to a horse?

Bison have about the same grazing requirements as cattle. They also have tougher hide than cattle, so you'd need better fences.

[C24L]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

In order to have elk or exotics on your land, you're going to need to have high fences. Otherwise, those animals will just jump out and leave. I have no idea what the grazing requirements are, but since they are so big, I would guess it would be close to a horse?

Bison have about the same grazing requirements as cattle. They also have tougher hide than cattle, so you'd need better fences.

Thanks for the info and tips Christie.

[C24L]

Originally Posted by EDS_

I'm an oilman too and happen to own a good bit of land.

Are you looking for a personal menagerie for canned hunting? If so and assuming someone is tending the land and game you won't need much land. And this kind of hunting is outside my idea of Texas tradition.

If instead you are looking to run game on land large enough to offer challenging hunts including exotics and elk you will need several sections of land at a minimum. FWIIW free ranging elk in Texas only works in a few areas. As you mentioned Africa and India, Aoudad and Nilgai do very well across much of Texas especially to the south and west into Mexico.

If you are thinking about the former I'd urge you to take a pass. Shooting not quite penned elk etc. isn't hunting.

would 1600 acres do,EDS?

[lonestar2007]

Originally Posted by EDS_

And this kind of hunting is outside my idea of Texas tradition.

Shooting not quite penned elk etc. isn't hunting.

I'm in total agreement with you on this.

[Treasurevalley92]

I would imagine that i would be hard to hunt Elk in Texas and not have it be a "Canned Hunt" Lote of people have domestic herds of them in alot of places.

If you want to hunt them, why not go west and hunt them in the wild?

[C24L]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

I would imagine that i would be hard to hunt Elk in Texas and not have it be a "Canned Hunt" Lote of people have domestic herds of them in alot of places.

If you want to hunt them, why not go west and hunt them in the wild?

I dont feel that I am a good enough shot to make a 500 yard shot across a canyon.Also, I would rather use a .30-06 than a .300 win mag if at all possible.Also, I dont want to ride horses and hike all over the place in the mountains of New Mexico. I like that elk hunting in Texas has better climate and there's no season for them here meaning you can hunt them year round.Hunting in Texas would be cheaper.

[lonestar2007]

Originally Posted by C24L

I dont feel that I am a good enough shot to make a 500 yard shot across a canyon.Also, I would rather use a .30-06 than a .300 win mag if at all possible.Also, I dont want to ride horses and hike all over the place in the mountains of New Mexico. I like that elk hunting in Texas has better climate and there's no season for them here meaning you can hunt them year round.Hunting in Texas would be cheaper.

Not trying to be mean but I'd advise you to think before you speak. First off, I couldn't even begin to make a wild guess at how many elk/deer have been killed with a 30-06 but you can bet your sweet ass the numbers are high.

As to expense, you say "Im looking to buy several sections in the future" so you can hunt year around on your own private stocked land and turn right around and say "Hunting in Texas would be cheaper". Well, it might be more convenient for you, but cheaper? lol I don't think so.

As to Texas having a better climate, who in hell wants to hunt deer/elk in 80-90 degree weather, tromping through woods in t-shirt and shorts sweating like a pig?

You certainly don't have to ride a horse or hike all over the place to hunt deer/elk in the mountains. We hunted for years in CO and never took our horses with us. Take a jeep, drive in, make camp and if you can't walk out far enough to find a good spot, I'd say you don't need to be hunting in the first place. You want the canned hunts which IMO is basically for people who really don't want to hunt, they just want to shoot and kill an animal. World of difference here.

But it's fun to talk about buying several sections of land, talk about hunting exotic animals along with elk/deer, etc. on your big private owned hunting ranch, isn't it?