Some of my earliest memories as a kid involve helping my dad during the summer with his vegetable gardens. Now I’m not exactly sure how much help I was providing as a seven year old kid but I always seemed to make it back to the house covered in dirt, so maybe it looked like I had done something. While I can remember bits and pieces of helping dad in his gardens, one summer really sticks out because dad was having a hard time keeping deer out long enough for his vegetables to take off. This ultimately caused him to install a roughly 6 foot fence, made of chicken wire, around the garden.
While I might not remember everything that transpired back then, I do remember dad and I working on that deer barrier for what seemed like an eternity. Once complete, we both thought we had solved the problem of deer damage in the garden and boy we’re we wrong.
One afternoon, a few days after putting up the fence, I was getting my stuff together to leave the house for baseball practice and I see my dad leaned up against a tree in the back yard looking down towards the garden. He was my ride to practice so I walked over to see what he was looking at. Needless to say, this was the moment we realized our fence didn’t do much good. As we stood there, we watched three does walk up towards the fence and jump almost effortlessly into the garden.
To be completely honest, after that, I didn’t put much thought into how high a whitetail deer can jump. Maybe I got busy with baseball or just focused on things more interesting to a seven year old kid. It wasn’t until I started seriously hunting whitetails as I got older that the question reentered by head. So, exactly how high can a deer jump?
How High Can Whitetail Deer Jump
To be completely honest, I’m not a whitetail biologist nor did I take any college classes pertaining to whitetail deer. My knowledge about deer comes strictly from the 20+ years I’ve spent hunting them. So to answer the question, how high can deer jump, I had to do a little research.
While my experience with dad and the garden proves that deer can easily clear a six foot fence, I was surprised by just how high deer can jump when I started my research. The overall consensus of whitetail biologist and experts is that an adult deer can clear a 7 foot fence from a stationary position and reach heights up to 12 foot with a running start.
What This Means for Deer Fence Height
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission notes that you would need, at a minimum, 8 foot fence, made of materials like chain-link or chicken wire, to have an effective deer barrier long term. They also noted that shorter fences, approximately 4 foot can effectively reduce deer damage when used in small areas, like around a single tree or shrubs.
I know your probably thinking why the recommended deer fence height starts at 8 foot when we’ve just discussed that a whitetail can reach a vertical jump of 12 foot with a running start. While deer can jump higher than 8 foot, research has shown that they will very rarely attempt to clear something this tall, generally only in situations where they are being chased by a predator or potential danger.
How Far Can a Deer Jump
The vertical height a whitetail can jump is only half the story. A whitetail deer’s jumping ability is also pretty impressive when it comes to horizontal distance. Generally, deer can reach distances of roughly fifteen to sixteen feet in a single leap and up to twenty-five to thirty feet with a running start.
Taking Horizontal Distance into Consideration for a Deer Fence
To accommodate for the horizontal distance deer can jump and in situations where a extremely tall fence is not an option, double fencing could be the ticket to keeping deer out of a particular area. This method involves using two fences, generally not as high, to deter deer. The two fences are spaced such that a deer sees he could easily clear one fence but the second barrier acts as the deterrent due to a deer’s vision lacking great depth perception.
Anatomy Behind the Whitetails Jump
A deer’s ability to jump high and far starts with their body design. Their strong hindquarters are designed for explosive strength which aids in making a quick exit once a potential predator is detected.
If you bow hunt whitetails, you may have noticed this explosive, almost spring board like strength, when a deer goes to “duck your arrow”. This arrow ducking phenomenon, is not so much that the deer is trying to duck your shot, it’s their reaction to the noise your bow makes when it goes off. The deer hear the unfamiliar sound, causing them to drop, compressing the “springs” of their back legs, to explode out for a speedy exit.
Implications for Hunters and Whitetail Management
When I used to hear the phrase deer fence, my mind automatically went to high fencing deer. I’d never really considered how a fence or barrier could be useful to the average hunter on their property. So, why exactly should hunters and wildlife managers have a basic understanding of how high and far deer can jump and what applications could a deer fence, not a high fence, be used when managing deer on a property? The two applications that stand out the most in my experience are protecting crops/food plots and directing deer movement.
Protecting Crops and Food Plots
In areas with high deer densities, a temporary deer fence can be a great way to ensure that crops or food plots are not over browsed before the season opens. A temporary electric fence can work great in these scenarios. While this type of deer fence will not keep every deer out, it works well enough to get crops or food plots to maturity.
Directing Deer Movement
Have you ever hunted a property and wished their was some way you could direct the deer trails slightly in a certain direction? A fence could help you do just that. Deer are creatures that like to take the path of least resistance as long as they feel safe doing so. A strategically placed fence or barrier, like fallen trees, could aid in shifting the deer movement to your favor.
Final Thoughts
While understanding just how high or far deer can jump may not cross the minds of most hunters, it can be a beneficial piece of information for hunters looking to improve their piece of ground for hunting. Afterall, you never know what piece of information, no matter how insignificant it might seem, could give you the advantage on the buck of a life time.