High fence and game fence

High fence, also called game fence or deer fence, is tall woven wire stretched on posts and braced corners. Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine describes high fences as seven to eight feet tall. The NRCS Texas fence specification lists 96 inches for deer fencing.

The wire is usually fixed-knot woven wire. A separate wire wraps each joint, so the mesh holds its shape under pressure. One common spec is sold as 2096-6: 20 horizontal wires, 96 inches tall, vertical stays every 6 inches, in 12.5-gauge high-tensile wire. Other heights and spacings are out there, and we'll go over the options for your place.

Tall wire stretched tight puts everything on the corners, the ends, and how well the bottom fits the ground. That's where most of the work goes.

Landowners put up high fence to manage deer and exotics, keep game in or out of part of a place, or protect a pasture, food plot, or orchard. TPW Magazine lists the common management reasons as letting bucks mature, controlling harvest, and improving habitat.

How tall you fence your own land is up to you. TPW Magazine notes that landowners have the right to build a fence of any height and that no state agency regulates fence height on private land. It also points out that native deer behind a high fence are still the public's wildlife. Rules on owning or moving exotics and deer are a separate matter. We build the fence; those questions go to the agencies that handle them.

We're based in Weatherford and work from Fort Worth west to Abilene and south to Waco. We build high fence in every town we serve. See the list below or service areas.

First call: how much of the place to fence, whether that's the whole perimeter, one pasture, or a smaller trap. Second: height, usually 7 or 8 feet, and the wire spec. Tighter stay spacing and more horizontal wires make a stiffer mesh, especially low on the fence.

Game get under at draws, creeks, and low spots. Each one needs its own fix: a water gap at a creek, extra wire or an apron at a dip, or a short panel where the ground drops. We find them when we walk the line.

High-tensile woven wire stretched 7 to 8 feet tall pulls hard on every end, so corners, ends, and gate posts are heavy pipe with brace assemblies. Line posts carry the wire between them. The NRCS Texas fence standard (2021) calls for posts buried at least 3 feet, deeper in sandy or wet ground.

The wire comes in long rolls. We stretch it from braced end to braced end, then tie it to every line post, and splices get made with the wire tight. Posts, braces, and wire get spec'd with you before the job is priced.

First we walk the line with you and mark corners, gates, draws, and the trees that need to come out. A high fence line has to be clear and wide enough to work along, and to keep limbs off the wire later. Our fence-line clearing is mechanical: mulching, dozing, and grubbing.

Next the corners and ends go in and get braced. Line posts get set, the wire gets rolled out, stretched, and tied off, and the gates get hung. Low spots and creek crossings get finished last. Timing depends on footage, ground, clearing, and weather, and you'll get a schedule with the quote.

To see the two fences side by side, read high fence vs barbed wire.

High fence gates are tall to match the fence and hang on braced posts. We build ranch gates and entries, and the entry on a game place can carry an opener like any other.

High fence often meets other fence: pipe fence along the road and the house, a pipe top rail over wire on the front pasture, barbed wire on a neighbor's line, or pipe pens for working stock. Each joint gets a braced post so neither fence pulls the other down.

Check the line after storms and high water. Trees across the wire and washouts under it at the draws are the usual trouble, and a gap at the bottom is all a deer or hog needs.

We re-stretch and splice wire, replace posts, rebuild washed-out low spots, and re-hang gates. See fence repair and rebuilds.