Whitetail Wizard

The most obvious problem is having a heavy blow push a big tree down across our 10-foot fence. Not only are deer fences expensive to repair, but any deer that may escape over the fallen wire represents a potential loss.

Deer could jump into the enclosure as well, which could present even more serious problems if we were located in the TB area of the northeastern Lower Peninsula. My deer are TB-free, and I suspect the deer outside of my fence are as well, but I wouldn’t want to take the chance of an infected deer getting inside my fence to mix with my herd.

During periods of high winds, we organize a loose group of people who take turns riding the fence line. A road surrounds the ranch inside the fence, and what we used to call the Pollington Expressway gives us access to all of the fence.

It reminds me somewhat of old-time cowboys riding the range, and keeping the cattle herd from stampeding during a lightning storm. I’ve never seen whitetails run from lightning and thunder, but our riding the fence is much the same thing. We try to forestall any major problems.

We have a chain-saw and a cell phone with us. Those not riding the ranch in search of breaks in the fence try to sleep, but shuteye comes hard during a strong windstorm. It seems that we only half-sleep, and the rest of the time we sleep with one ear uncovered in hopes of knowing whether the wind velocity is picking up.

Over two decades we have removed most of the old and dead trees within range of the fence but that doesn’t prevent the wind from uprooting a nearby healthy tree.

The deer never seem to try to escape when we’ve had a portion of a fence get knocked down, and I suspect they know the dangers of getting fence-hung. A fence that goes down with five feet still standing could lead to fence hanging. A trailing leg or antlers that hang in the fence will flip the deer over, and the result eventually leads to a dead deer.

Deer seem to recognize the problem of trying to jump both the fallen tree and that portion of wife fence that goes down. It’s difficult to know is some manage to get free, and if they do, more power to them.

Our job is to have someone riding the ranch roads (those that are passable), and make certain we quickly find the downed tree, get it cut up and dragged off the fence, and re-string the wire properly.

Deer seldom try to jump the fence these days. The first year or so we’d have a few bucks try to jump out. I remember one buck that tried three times while I watched from a distance.

He would back up about 50 yards, get a good running start and launch himself into the air. That buck hit about nine feet up the fence, and fell back down. He backed up again, took off and hit a bit lower. He was only about seven feet off the ground on his last try. He finally gave up.

The fence is patrolled on a regular basis, and it keeps my deer inside and the state’s deer outside, and as an extra bonus, no one tries to sneak in anymore. Those that tried it found themselves in serious trouble in court. I don’t take kindly to trespassers.

Part of the responsibility of keeping deer inside the fence is solved by keeping deer numbers low. One of my first mistakes after I enclosed my land was not controlling doe numbers. Antlerless deer became too plentiful, and that led to smaller bucks, and it took me a year or two to recognize the problem.

Now, our major worry are very windy nights like tonight. Some of us may not get much sleep, but we will ride our fence line, handle whatever problem the wind deals us, and come morning our fences will still be intact.

And that is of vital importance to a deer rancher.—The Whitetail Wizard