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Fencing Deer Movement

Snail3496

Snail3496

Well-Known Member
First timer here:

This past spring '24 I encountered a situation where to discourage deer getting downwind of a permanent field blind, I ran a 75 yd strip of fencing across a section of my open field. Used 6ft T posts and woven wire fence. The top was around 5.5ft high, and left a ~10in gap on the bottom, thinking it would allow rabbits & fawns to get around without being trapped. Was put up solid and professional.

Worked like a charm for deer movement w/ no incidents all spring, summer, or fall.

That said, my biggest fear prior was having a deer get wrapped in it. It's now happened twice this late season. Not where they get stuck and die, but they mangle it up so I have to go replace sections and fix it. Just not good overall.

I see guys doing this, and always wonder if they are having the same problem but just not talking about it? Thought of maybe tying white ribbon or something along it so they see it better. Not really sure. Does anyone have any experience? The fence worked REALLY well, but don't want it to be an issue.
 
Hmmm...I have done some fencing on my place, mainly to create areas where I can keep the hordes out of food plots and have never had anything get stuck in the fence. Can you post a pic of the fence? Are they getting caught jumping it?

I have seen deer get their hind legs stuck when jumping a standard height fence. I have seen this in barbed wire, cattle panels and woven wire configurations from time to time. Basically, their back legs get caught through the vertical plane of the fence as they are jumping it. Then their momentum carries their body up and over the fence, with their back legs hopelessly stuck.
 
How far out of the way do they need to go to get around it? And is there a historical trail you cut off that has been there forever? I find deer will eventually learn to deal with a new fence (we build them for cattle all the time) but if you cut off a historical trail and they have to travel a long ways, sometimes they will try and use the old trail for a LONG time before they give it up.
 
Wi transplant said:
Let me guess but your ok with a row of hinge cut trees to funnel deer past a stand ?

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I wouldn't know. I hinge cut in bedding areas and I don't hunt in them.

Pure n simple, putting up a fence where deer HAVE to go to a certain spot to get through is BULLSHIT!.


Anybody can do that.
Be like draining a lake down to a small pond and thinking you are an awesome fisherman

But hey..., , if that's your shtick?
 
Daver said:
I have seen deer get their hind legs stuck when jumping a standard height fence. I have seen this in barbed wire, cattle panels and woven wire configurations from time to time. Basically, their back legs get caught through the vertical plane of the fence as they are jumping it. Then their momentum carries their body up and over the fence, with their back legs hopelessly stuck.
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I've found my share of the above trapped deer with the back leg spun in the fence. This year had a first. A fawn tried to jump through a woven wire fence about two feet up, got the head and front legs through but hips wouldn't fit through and back legs were off the ground. Found it about a month too late.
 
Bucksnbears said:
Pure n simple, putting up a fence where deer HAVE to go to a certain spot to get through is BULLSHIT!.
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Respect your stance and tend to agree, just not really applicable in this case. I'm trying get them to stay away from me!

I do like your draining the pond analogy though!
 
T_Max said:
How far out of the way do they need to go to get around it? And is there a historical trail you cut off that has been there forever? I find deer will eventually learn to deal with a new fence (we build them for cattle all the time) but if you cut off a historical trail and they have to travel a long ways, sometimes they will try and use the old trail for a LONG time before they give it up.
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40 yards max, and no there was never any major trail or movement through there, just a few stragglers that would get down wind at the end of the night.

They come from the timber to the SW/S, feed through naturally, and on to the wide open cut fields after dark. I am simply just wanting to get their natural momentum moving out and around me to the N/NE. Not trying to "pinch" them down to do anything.

Like I said, worked like an absolute charm all season, just trying to reduce any deer run-ins. If I had that many round bales or something more "natural", I'd absolutely do it!

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Putting up a man made fence to direct deer movement just plain ass sucks in my opinion. Just how far are we " hunters" gonna go?

Zero hunting/ woodsmanship involved. Wait for the right wind and go sit in the (funnel).
Not one bit sorry for venting my opinion on this topic and will lose all respect for anyone doing it.

What kind of fun anyone could get out this practice is beyond my compression?

I can't even watch that guy Bobby Kendalls channel anymore (whitetail group) because of the way the manipulate the ground they manage and sell to become the next greatest whitetail habitat.
F^*king fences!

Truly sickening.
Wi Transplant, are you OK with this practice?
 
Bucksnbears said:
Putting up a man made fence to direct deer movement just plain ass sucks in my opinion. Just how far are we " hunters" gonna go?

Zero hunting/ woodsmanship involved. Wait for the right wind and go sit in the (funnel).
Not one bit sorry for venting my opinion on this topic and will lose all respect for anyone doing it.

What kind of fun anyone could get out this practice is beyond my compression?

I can't even watch that guy Bobby Kendalls channel anymore (whitetail group) because of the way the manipulate the ground they manage and sell to become the next greatest whitetail habitat.
F^*king fences!

Truly sickening.
Wi Transplant, are you OK with this practice?
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I don't necessarily agree with adding fences to dictate deer movement but why one earth do you care enough to jump his ass on here? Or that others have to agree with you?

Maybe I think you adding smoke to your clothes, shooting coyotes from your porch, adding rubbing posts, planting food plots, cutting trees down to dictate where deer bed is wrong. So what. Everyone has the line in the sand for them. Clearly this is one for you but that doesn't mean it has to be for the OP or anyone else.

It's ok to disagree. It really doesn't matter.

As for Bobby Kendall -I would bet that 95% of hunters that consistently kill really big deer on private land are doing the exact same thing. They just aren't videoing it and putting it on youtube.
 
Bucksnbears said:
Putting up a man made fence to direct deer movement just plain ass sucks in my opinion. Just how far are we " hunters" gonna go?

Zero hunting/ woodsmanship involved. Wait for the right wind and go sit in the (funnel).
Not one bit sorry for venting my opinion on this topic and will lose all respect for anyone doing it.

What kind of fun anyone could get out this practice is beyond my compression?

I can't even watch that guy Bobby Kendalls channel anymore (whitetail group) because of the way the manipulate the ground they manage and sell to become the next greatest whitetail habitat.
F^*king fences!

Truly sickening.
Wi Transplant, are you OK with this practice?
Click to expand...
Just gonna let you keep talking!!

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk
 
In my opinion killing mature bucks isn't hard enough and manipulating deer movement makes it that much easier..Technology, manipulating deer movement, etc are some of the reasons why old, giants are very rare today.
 
If you want to spend every morning checking fence, put a strand of hot wire 4-6" above the woven wire fence. The deer WILL spin it down into the fence EVERY night. Needs to be six inches below the top on the side of the fence holding the livestock.
 
Snail3496 said:
40 yards max, and no there was never any major trail or movement through there, just a few stragglers that would get down wind at the end of the night.

They come from the timber to the SW/S, feed through naturally, and on to the wide open cut fields after dark. I am simply just wanting to get their natural momentum moving out and around me to the N/NE. Not trying to "pinch" them down to do anything.

Like I said, worked like an absolute charm all season, just trying to reduce any deer run-ins. If I had that many round bales or something more "natural", I'd absolutely do it!

View attachment 129242
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Yeah, I see no reason for them to be doing that. Just dumb deer it seems. :p Natural selection should sort that out eventually... Haha!
 
Well I certainly see nothing wrong with the fence idea and frankly the one guy that wants to make a big deal out it seems to just be looking for an argument.... Back to your dilemma. What about cutting trees/cedars and putting them up against the fence. This will almost act as a buffer from walking area to fence thus forcing them around it. Make it thick enough they wont attempt to walk through it either.
 
Bucksnbears said:
I wouldn't know. I hinge cut in bedding areas and I don't hunt in them.

Pure n simple, putting up a fence where deer HAVE to go to a certain spot to get through is BULLSHIT!.


Anybody can do that.
Be like draining a lake down to a small pond and thinking you are an awesome fisherman

But hey..., , if that's your shtick?
Click to expand...
Like using cell cams to real time track deer activity.
 
One guy builds fences and the other plants shit to feed starving deer in order for them to kill them easier. None of us our saints!! I don’t think anybody should make the claim that their way of slaughtering the game that’s ours is more righteous than the next! Haha. Don't feel bad that some deem your way of killing them is less humane than yours. We all do things that are to our advantage in one way or another.
 
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