Ripp:

Leave my good old Texans alone!

You are however right in that they like it convenient. Deer hunting in Texas means generally shooting them at an automatic feeder. It's timed, so that you go there just before it throws, then the deer come within 5 minutes and get shot. On top of it, the feeders are usually placed only 60 yards away from the stand, which does not make for very difficult shooting. Texas has its share of crack shots, of course, but many, especially older guys, have never done a different kind of hunting. Partly its also because of terrain: The Hill Country, as well as Southern Texas is very thick brushland, often you do not even have a clearing that's wider then 60 yards (apart from open pastures). It's of course different in beanfield country or out in the Rockies. I know Montana, by the way, almost ended up buying a ranch in the Bitterroot Valley.

Well, I bought one in Texas instead, about 15 years ago. First thing I did there was to move the feeders away from the blinds and to replace most of them with free-choice feeders where I did not allow anyone to hunt. Some of my friends, and especially my ranchhand (whom I allow hunting and fishing there) were not so pleased. They simply felt not comfortable shooting beyond 60 yards. Once my friends got into Pronghorn shooting, however, the game changed for them and they became long-range shooters (me, too - took some nice ones in the Texas Panhandle area).