Blackbuck ... fences or no fences ... Anyone know?

[unregistered]

I have heard that Texas has one of the only huntable populations of Blackbuck left in the world, and that some of these are free ranging. When I tried to look this up on the net I found the terms free range, low fence, and high fence all used in association with Blackbuck hunts. So my question is what exactly do they all mean? What is the difference between a small fence and a high one? Can the Blackbuck come and go as they please? And are free range Blackbuck actually free range populations on public land or does the term free range mean something different in relation to Blackbuck? Any help would be appreciated.

[Danny Rowan]

A low fence means the blackbuck can come and go as they please. High fence they cannot get out. Most ranches are fenced cause they raise cattle or sheep as well so free range will have low fence,imo.

Danny

[billy shipp]

I've lived in and hunted the Texas Hill Country where Blackbuck are abundant, And I've yet to see a Blackbuck jump a fence.

[wingman]

Blackbuck antelope are not native to Texas but occur in several counties, Edwards county may have the most but dont quote me. And yes they are predominantly found behind high fenced ranches but free ranging populations are also common, A friends ranch in Sutton Cty. comes to mind, it is not high fenced and he has taken several Blackbuck off his property. I cant imagine finding them on public land, but who knows.

[unregistered]

Thank you all for the replies. Have any of you hunted Blackbuck? And any recomendations on ranches with low fences?

[sidebuster]

In Texas if its high fenced then it was to keep the the  population of deer in and any exotics the ownere got free from an exotic jumping the fence or exotics the owner  bought.  High fence is made only for wild game and exotics.  You do not need high fence for cattle.  

In Texas if the exotic is in your high fence area it legally belongs to you.  However if it gets out of a high fence area then it legally does not belong to anyone.  If  someone else kills the blackbuck after it gets out of a high fence area then the original owner cannot say that you killed his blackbuck.  If the owner of the land that the exotic escaped to high fences his area then the exotic belongs to him.

Of course this is not true of white tail deer.  All game animanls belong to the state and not the land owners.

[shikari]

If I am not mistaken Hawai has a black buck population as well as chital.They are great game to hunt can't say i enjoy the tast of blackbuck as much as chital,never hunted either in the U.S.Though I did hunt them in India with a rifle.

[Rick McGowan]

Low fences are just for cattle, who most of the time are to lazy to jump over them. Lots of smaller animals, like pronghorns can jump over them, but nearly always crawl under them, low fences are going to be no hinderance to blackbuck either way. Some of the ranches in TX are so big anyway, even if they have a high perimeter fence animals in the center may never see it and from what I have seen in Australia, and Africa, even the high fences only keep in the animals that don't want to make the effort to get to the other side. I watched a rusa stag jump an 8' fence everyday in both directions to a water hole, when he could have walked 50 yards to the open gate.

[Izzy]

Argentina has a mess of them if youve got a hankerin to travel way down south.