35-point monster whitetail buck shot by hunter near San Angelo, Texas

This monster 35(ish)-point whitetail buck was harvested from a high-fenced hunting area near San Angelo, Texas. This monster 35(ish)-point whitetail buck was harvested from a high-fenced hunting area near San Angelo, Texas. Photo: Don Boyd Photo: Don Boyd Image 1 of / 83 Caption Close 35-point monster whitetail buck shot by hunter near San Angelo, Texas 1 / 83 Back to Gallery

If you're ever driving down a West Texas backroad and find yourself wondering what the locals are hiding behind those 10-foot fences, here's your answer.

While dropping off what, in comparison, was a measly spike deer this week at J's Wild Game Processing in San Angelo, a devoted reader (aka, the author of this post's dear ol' dad) snapped and shared photos of a monster buck that also had been dropped off for processing.

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Sizing up the deer's antlers from the photos alone presents a bit of an optical illusion, with one angle presenting one point count and another photo presenting something different. But by our best count using the old standard of "anything long enough to hang a ring off of counts as a point," the deer has 35 points (feel free to try your own count and post in the comments below if you get something different).

While the buck may look like a behemoth to to folks used to seeing your standard-sized Bambi on the side of the highway, Jack Graves of J's Wild Game Processing said his locker plant has seen about 100 deer of about that size since October.

Most if not all come from high-fenced, managed hunting ranches where a combination of feedin' and breedin' creates monster deer crops and monster profits for a unique cottage industry.

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Individual breeding bucks have been known to sell for as high as almost a half-million dollars, while semen straws alone can go for $18,000 or more.

Like security gates to a secret government laboratory, those high fences keep the ranchers' investment safely protected inside.

So, if you want to shoot a deer like this one, you're going to have to shell out some big bucks.