Not saying that this is how you got your bucks. I know from information that you do hunt a lot on a lot of different areas and able to get the opportunity to get some nice harvests.
I had some acquaintances that I hunted with for years from my hometown. Many years in and around the NY/PA area ELDRED, OLEAN, PORTVILE and got some nice white tail bucks over 20 years on 2,000 acres.
They went to Saskatchewan almost every year when they had $$$$$ to spend. They would get BIG Bucks like yours for BIG $$$$$$. When they got to the Lodge, they would enter the "Grand Trophy Room". It had all the Bucks pictures with a price tag and which heated Shooting House and feeder to get the buck you wanted. They actually filmed the guides feeding corn and alpha hay to the bucks in front of the heated shooting houses. The Bucks were Micro Chipped and can see where they were at any given feeding station from Chip Readers.
I have hunted whitetails from northern sask. to the southern tip of Texas and everywhere in between. High fence sometimes but mostly low fence. There are some VERY good high fence hunting ranches. If you prefer not to use that term, no issues from me. The best high fence ranches are every bit as challenging to hunt as any low fence property.
The bad high fence ranches are very bad and usually what people refer to.
have no desire to try to change your opinion, no need to as i agree with most of what you say. I can only say i hunted with Jason and Dean for 6 years in a row. During those 6 years, never once did i see a buck multiple times on a hunt. Meaning, if you saw a buck you liked, you better kill him right then because you would likely not get another chance at him for that week, even knowing where on the ranch he hung out.
They would send game cam pics every year and only one year did i see and harvest the deer i saw previously on the game cam pics, which were nearly always at night time.
As far as baiting deer, its perfectly legal for everyone in Sask. Canada to bait deer. Its legal there, at least it was all while i hunted there.
Micro chipping deer is totally wrong in my opinion, hormone treatments are terrible in my opinion as well. Only thing done to the deer at northern giants ranch is a high quality genetic management program and supplemental alfalpha pellets at feeders. I harvested 8 bucks with them. Witnessed 6-7 more harvests personally and only 1 of those was shot off a feeder stand location.
I have never been anything but 100% honest with posting about every deer i have ever taken, low or high fence. I have only endorsed top quality highfence ranches.
Conversely, i have hunted WILD low fence properties and had the same deer walk out night after night, no fear of vehicles in any way, staying out in open fields all hours of the day, far easier hunts then northern giants ranch hunts. So to say low fence is the only right way to get a challenging hunt is also not true.
Painting all high fence hunts with a single stroke is not a well educated point of view.
Also, knowing what i do about the unethical introduction of SUPER deer genetics into most midwest "Low fence" deer populations, calling that ethical is very hard to swallow. It happens, it happens a lot in many states. And then those that hunt there and make prophit on hunting videos where they constantly chant ONLY LOW FENCE is insulting and laughable to those that know what has really happened to whitetail herds in America over the past 30 years.
I have no problem with good high fence or good low fence hunts, just be honest all around.