High fence escapees

How often or what is the likelihood that game escapes from high-fenced ranches?

Fairly unlikely if they maintain the fences. But I have known 2 people that lost animals after a flood or the fence was damaged.

Flooding and wind storms causing trees and limbs to fall on fences. Also hogs can dig under a fence in low areas that rain washes out.
I've seen deer go under a fence that I couldn't have crawled under without difficulty, and that is even bucks with large antlers.
I've seen it, and still couldn't believe it.

I hunt near a high fence ranch, and so far this year have seen an axis buck on camera, axis doe with fawn and some kind of other exotic doe in person. So possible, but not super common. They do share a border with us at one point where there is a dry creek bed, and the fence there typically looks in need of repair, but havent seen a bunch of animals from their place. Have also seen some high fence bucks on their side of the fence but not seeing indications of those genetics in the deer herd around, so would assume escaped WT are fairly uncommon as well. Just my personal experience.

my cousin just had a buck shot off his 50 acres that had wire wrapped up in its antlers. Huge buck for the area and no doubt an escapee.

Several years ago I hunted on a place that was next to a high fenced 700 acre game ranch. We had some good deer and one 174" buck taken on our side of the fence.
The last year I hunted there right at the end of the season the ranch foreman who was taking care of, and running hunts on the ranch stopped by and told me the owner sold the place and that he had a week to clear out all his camper and equipment.
He told me he was going to leave all the gates around the ranch wide open for a week, and told me to feed the heck out of the road that ran alongside my place just outside his gate. He said he could only leave the gates open for a week and then he would shut them.
Unfortunately for me, I got onto another lease the following year.

The "Monster buck near Valley Mills" thread has some good pictures of a monster buck going under a fence that I would have to belly crawl to get under, and I have seen this myself several times. don k has them jumping into his place.
Deer escape from HFs all of the time.

Only deer a HF keep in are the ones that haven’t attempted to jump it.

The proliferation of free range exotic game in Texas should answer that question.

I have seen deer jump an 8' fence with room to spare.

It happens. It doesn’t happen much. If it did, they wouldn’t build them. That’s just logic/common sense.

For how much money people have invested inside a HF I doubt much escapes unless obvious damage to the fence. Still haven't see a video of a deer jumping a HF.

I shot a nice buck in S. Texas one time that had both shins from knee to hoof all skinned up. The rancher we leased from said he thought that buck had found a place on the adjoining high fence ranch that he could just barely clear. I guess that was some sort of plausible explanation.

I have personally seen, up close and personal, whitetail bucks easily jump an 8 foot high tensile fence. Not saying it’s common, but does happen. I have seen this twice.

If a man can high jump 8 feet I don't think a deer would have much problem if it needed to.

depends who you ask...

ask someone who owns a high fence ranch, and they'll tell you it's pretty rare.

ask someone who's pissed off at an oilfield company and they'll tell you it can happen if a gate's open for more than 4 seconds.

ask one of these people cramming the CWD agenda down everyone's throat, and they'll say 114% of all high fence deer escape and infect baby fawns and seals.

I'm in North Tx and we had a dang Axis walk across our front yard this summer!

I wasn't home but my wife got it on video and asked "Wth is this"?

I don't have a clue where it came from

So yeah, I bet it does occasionally happen

Earlier this season I watched a nice buck run through a small washout under a barbed wire fence as if the fence wasn't even there.

I've seen a 1.5 year old spike jump a HF with ease. They just have to have the proper motivation. Happens more often then you think.

Our neighbor thought they had a 170” get out. Sadly we’ve never seen him!

We have a 9ft fence and I've seen deer try to jump it without success. Can they clear a 9ft fence?...All things are possible I guess. I've jus never seen it in 27yrs. on this ranch

Mom took a pic of a moose in her yard in east Tx. two years ago. A fallow deer was running down hwy 80 last month. My friend passsed up a tagged non typ. that kept walking by him. I used to see stray exotics down south in the 90s. Highly unlikely. HAHAHAHA#!!!

Had a guy tell me I'd have to hunt along time to kill a buck like he did. 180 in. HF stray with a tag in it's ear. He corned it up to his back yard. 1% of HF animals dont live in the fence.

I've witnessed a mature buck clear a high fence. Took him about 8 tries and he was bleeding by the I've he made it. He really wanted that doe....

When the economy crashed in the late 80's many ranch owners let their exotics out of high fences as the banks were forclosing. Also many places that weren't maintained well under bank ownership. Wouldn't be surprised if there was some of that in 2008 as well, though not as likely as it was in the 80's.

The late 80's are why you see so many free range exotics in the hill country.

I've seen a buck stand flat footed (not running) next to an 8' high fence and clear the fence with ease. He didn't exactly stick the landing, but I'd have given him a 4 for degree of difficulty.
This is the internet and you can claim anything, but everything I write about deer clearing a high fence or going under it are the truth that I personally witnessed.

I would think that’s getting close to max. Most the high fences out there aren’t even 8’, big chunk are 7.5

And like the fence down the road, some are 6ft.
Everyone claims that they see deer jump that 8ft fence all of the time.

A deer has to have a reason to jump a high fence, or even attempt to jump one.
The number one reason is fright and the number two reason is a hot doe on the other side.
I've watched a buck make several attempts to get at a doe, and I've seen them sail over a high fence running from dogs.

Deer jump high fences all the time...I have seen film from a car driving down a road and jumped deer outside the fence ...they ran along side the road and all jumped back in the fenced area. It was neat to see so many jump a fence that high...rest assured they can and do jump 8 ft. fences.

My son and I were driving a polaris checking the HF line for my X BIL when a doe bolted from our left and tried to jump the 8’ fence. She made it about 4/5 of the way up and slammed into the fence, the fence bowed and then sling shotted her backwards, wild to watch

So, i wonder how much more a 9' fence is than a standard 8'? (per roll or per mile)

Most HF is actually two 4’ roles with an over lap. Now the newer stuff is 8’ single piece, but it’s expensive

Please post video

I've seen video of a deer getting over an 8' fence but they didn't cleanly jump it; they kind of climbed over the top portion. If anyone has video of a whitetail cleanly jumping an 8' fence I'd like to see it.

Don K's fence is only 6'6" IIRC.

Don't know how high, but the big buck clearly jumped without much effort and probably would have cleared a taller fence without much effort and a running start.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPr0noR9Faw

It's not that they can't jump the fence, it's the landing they don't like.

Simple.....it makes pen shooters feel less horrible if they believe deer can jump in and out of their pens.

The best leases I've ever had (3) were adjoining a high fenced ranch.
That is usually a deal killer for most, but not me!

Not a high fence. It's like the black panther everyone has seen one but for some reason they can't get video evidence

doesn't bother me in the least bit to think a deer can't jump out of a high fence. why would I spend the money for something that doesn't work just so some "cain't eat dem horns" type of guy next door can shoot all the 3 year old bucks that go under his feeder?

if everyone had the same train of thought as people who hunt high fence, then there wouldn't even be a need for high fence.

Nailed it!!! I like that post!!

Or they don’t have to rely on setting up on and hunting others fencelines, thus what would need to be random dash cam...

Agreed. Never gonna happen, but agreed. Most people rationalize shooting young bucks by saying "if I don't, someone else will", not realizing they are the "someone else", and are creating a self fulfilling prophecy.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, I met a forum member in Jourdanton for a gun trade. On the way back home, a low fence ranch SE of Campbellton, east of I37, along FM 1099 got a super buck, a live buck, on account of me! My dad and I were driving, and this monster came over an 8' fence and splatted into the middle of the FM out of a cartwheel! He was a heavy horn 12 because of long, double brow tines, probably 20" inside. Both my dad and I were speechless as I applied emergency breaking to a stop. He landed and skidded across the ground immediately in front of us. He panicked, got up, and hit the 8' fence on the other side of the road getting his antlers & legs hung up, but fell back down on the ground after a struggle. He bolted east along the FM & hit the fence three more times with the same results. He was pretty tired at that point so he let me walk him down the road with my dad's minivan about a mile to the first low fence!

You're welcome low fenced fellows! Several times in my life both on the inside and outside of a high fence, I have seen whitetails clear them with little effort. If the have a good gauge on the top and want over bad enough, they can do it.

I saw the film my nephew had on his phone...the film was from a deputy on patrol in south central Tx. I wish I had that film, by the way ...have ya seen the photo of a racoon on a wild hogs back to help him reach a feeder? That came from my other nephew and made country wide fame.
I guess you could say I am famous by blood kin...lol
I used to drive south of Campbelton, driving from Uvalde to Ingleside on county road 140. Saw many deer and some real big.

Hey fish, I've seen the bronco busting coon!

Some deer are more resourceful than others

That deer could easily clear a 20' fence. Spend your money it does no good!

I hit one in a datsun 210 going almost 80. Did the same thing. It was strange to see a deer flying like a boomarang 30 feet in the air all the way to the fence row. Car was done body wise.

And it's also very common for a pack of dogs to get into a high fence area and kill a bunch of deer because they cannot, or will not jump over the fence. What percentage of the animals behind an 8 fence are able to jump out of it? In South Africa, I saw a group of kudu cows jump over a fence that where eating along the side of the road. As we drove up on them, they all jumped into the high fence area. Then as we drove by them, we saw them jump back out again to eat what was in the ditches along the road.

Several years back I was hunting on one of my leases that bordered a high fence ranch and it had a bad feral dog problem. There was a large group of dogs of various sizes and the leader of the pack was a big German Shepherd, and another was some kind of pit bull mix.
You could hear them from hundreds of yards away chasing deer and I witnessed two mature bucks clear an 8' fence with plenty to spare and they were going from my place jumping into the high fenced ranch to escape the dogs.
Before the season I had them growling and approaching me in an aggressive manner, causing me to have to frantically look for a BF stick, so after that encounter, I never went there without a rifle in my hand or nearby. Wild feral dogs are the worst, and are not afraid of humans.
What happened to those dogs, I don't know?

I've only ever seen one deer clear an 8' fence, seen a bunch failing at it though. I did see an Eland clear a 7' fence flat footed in Africa once, still cant believe something that size getting that much ups.

Hunted a lowfence place for years that bordered a HF property. After a big rain there was always an influx of new exotics to see. I don't doubt some deer can jump a fence, but I don't think they often do without being pressured etc.

I've been around a few high fences, I don't know anything about jumpers, never witnessed a whitetail make it over even a 7' fence.
Not saying they can't, just I haven't seen it.

I have seen pigs, armadillos, skunks, dogs & coyotes dig under and leave a big enough gap for deer to get out.
High fences are just as prone to failure as any other fence, wash outs, poorly engineered water gaps, loose / sandy soil, tree / limb fall & cut on purpose.

There are a few HF places near our place in Blanco county, it isn't at all unusual to see escapee's wondering around very near to them.

There is a HF place about 4-5 miles from our place in Young county, if you drive down the road it is on it isn't unusual to see escapee's very near to it.
Never saw one on our place.

Last year I talked to a neighbor who told me he killed a doe with an ear tag.
He said he didn't notice the tag until after he shot, and he saw something flopping around on the side of the does head as she ran off.
I told him it was mine if it had a number 29 on it. He stuttered and said, man I'm sorry, if I.....I said "nawh....I've been seeing that doe off and on, and I had her up close enough to see the number, and I'm just pulling your leg.

I know that they have Wild Hogs that have escaped from the hunting ranch up in Maine lol. They also have them escape from a place in SW New Hampshire and you can get permission to shoot them. When I was staying across from the Rose River in Virginia, I seen a huge Elk walk right by the window of the modern day yurt cabin that we were staying in. I thought I was see8ng things at first and then thought that it must have escaped from some local hunting ranch, but I looked up Virginia Elk on the internet and found out that they released a bunch of Rocky Mountain Elk in to the area. Last I read that they only take two deer tags to hunt one too with no lottery system for them. Later on the next morning, we seen a small herd of them on the side of the mountain where the power lines ran up.

Here’s a link so you all don’t think that I am senile and crazy lol.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/elk...17a43b2370.html

You can't keep people behind a wall or fence with watch towers and guards, so does anyone really think a double wire fence will keep an animal in if they really want out?

The ranch I hunt has a 8.5' fence with 1.5' laid flat for grass to grow through. supposed to keep animals from digging under but that doesn't work. Never seen a deer jump the fence but have see a few try. A 3.5yo doe was running from a buck and tried it. her front legs made it over but the body and back half didn't. Fence acts like a trampoline. She shot back 20'. Its was funny and violent at the same time. Our biggest problems are water gaps.in heavy rain years is a constant issue keeping them clear and closed.
I'm not aware if any of the deer have gotten out but I bet a few have.

My FIL watched an 8 point jump from our place onto a neighboring high fence zoo pasture. Man I bet he was confused when he looked around and saw a bunch of African animals running around.

I was at a Texas Trophy Hunters show in San Antonio a few years back and a guide had a booth set up with film of a buck clearing a 12' fence. What had happened was a helicopter was doing a survey on a high fence ranch and was chasing the buck. The buck was a mature "trophy" sized buck and he just cleared the fence. I saw it with my own eyes and that fence was tall. I've heard that when deer are pressured or if a buck really wants to get to a doe, then a full sized deer can easily clear an 8' fence. If not pressured then the deer will not normally want to jump an 8' fence. Some deer are like dogs. Some dogs like to jump out of yards and some dogs just stay put.

Was there a big 12 foot measuring stick next to the fence?

Well of course, no hunter ever lies about distance, kinda like fishermen & weight.

There were 3 men standing next to fence where the buck jumped it. The fence was twice their height. The guide was even remarking that he has never seen a buck jump a 12' fence till now.

I would be hesitant to call anyone a liar. I have family near Vernon with 5 acres high fenced with an orchard inside the fence. Most mornings when the fruit is ripe and falling off the trees, she has to go out and run 4-5 doe out. She says they will jump in but won’t jump out.

While it is obvious most deer won’t/can’t/don’t jump a high fence, doesn’t mean they can’t. Hell, a mule can jump 6’ and I’m pretty sure a deer can jump higher than a mule...

Sorry, my previous post was meant as more of a joke, like fishermen & weight, didn't intend for anyone to take it seriously or as I was calling anyone a liar.

Spooked a big buck once that jumped an 8' his hind hoofs caught the top of it though and he did a full front flip in mid air right in front of me.

Shush now!....Everyone knows it's a myth that a deer can jump a high fence.

I saw that buck at the processor....absolute giant of a deer.

Who said that they can’t? Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see anyone say that. So many people are up in arms about something that is claimed by zero to very few people.

. We have 6' pipe corrals in our working pens, more than once over the many years have had cattle/bulls jump out without touching a rail. Just depends on how worked up they are. Deer do appear to be more athletic than Brangus cattle.

That’s one person, and he didn’t say that it doesn’t happen. He did infer that, I believe, but an inference is little to go by. He could also be inferring that it doesn’t happen often enough to use as an argument.

I'm pretty sure most who read and posted on this thread understand what he meant. I'm impressed that members didn't turn this into a high fence trolling thread and kept the discussion going without throwing insults back and forth like we usually see until the thread gets locked.

Killing an animal is a very emotional experience for most humans. When others criticize that experience emotions run high, as should be expected. Well done members keeping emotions in check and keeping the discussion civil.

All past posts are public record/except those moved to mod section. His past content, is very elucidative on his intent.