baymule
Sustainability Master
I never in my whole life ever heard of ANYBODY using 20’ post spacing.
Barb Wire - any words of wisdom?
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Hinotori
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I don't think I've ever seen a 20' spacing on any fence. That's asking for droop.
Hinotori
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I'm from an area with open range. You have to fence your own place to keep the cattle OUT. Pretty much everyone used electric fences by the 80s. Even up in the mountains my parents have to run a wire on top of the wood fence or the cows destroy it.
farmerjan
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20 ft post spacing is not uncommon here for high tensile fencing if it is put in right and stretched right. It is not as good for woven wire but for straight wire. Most smooth high tensile has a ratchet for the wire and every so often the farmer will go along and tighten the ratchet a few turns.... kinda like a ratchet strap like you put on a heavy load....they are usually all in the same general spot... within a post or 2,,, normally near a brace post section... and installed on every wire. I don't know if they ever use them on barbed high tensile wire. Posts that far apart are mostly all wooden... They usually also have at least 2-3 wires put up with insulators so it can be electrified. I think smooth high tensile is about the worst I have ever dealt with; if it is not electrified, any/every animal will put their head inbetween and as they lean it will stretch... that is what high tensile is for... to stretch and then "spring back" so the wire stays tight. The barbed will be a much better deterent but it will still have some give... The whole idea when they first came out with high tensile was so that something didn't ruin the fence if a tree fell on it or something... it would bounce back into shape. It makes good electric semi-permanent fence.. you don't move high tensile to rotational graze... and I know people that use just 1 strand... but it is HOT.....
farmerjan
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Va used to be an all "fence out" state... open range so to speak. Now we are about half and half....it is left up to county governments pretty much.
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CrealCritter
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I don't know about those ratcheting dodads. Trying to tighten a fence that's clipped to t-posts. It would seem to me you would just be bending the t-posts. I guess if there was a t-post clip that allowed the wire to slide it would be ok. But the conventional way of clipping the wire tight on the t-post I don't see how the ratchets could work. Especially with something like barb wire. Smooth wire might even be problematic. IDK I'm a green horn so it's just me thinking out loud. Smooth wire on wood posts and not driving the staples home I could see working but what a pain and expense that would be setting all those wood posts.
Jesus is Lord and Christ
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farmerjan
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When they use the smooth high tensile wire, instead of T-posts every so often, they use a wood stick that looks like a "yardstick" from a distance... it has grooves in it to keep the wires spaced and when they tighten the ratchets it just sorta pulls the wire through... NO , I am NOT a fan... and yeah, the ones that use t-posts along, do not tighten the wire clips.... and the staples in the wood posts are not pounded in tight. Using a wood post every 20-30 feet is not that big a deal to the guys that do this for a living and have post drivers. Drivers are the much preferred way to set posts as they are much tighter in the ground. It takes several months for a dug post to get tight as the ground settles in around the post.
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CrealCritter
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I seen a fence like that... It has springs on the corner posts also. I'll try and remember to snap a picture. It's a strange looking fence.
Jesus is Lord and Christ
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CrealCritter
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Alaskan
Almost Self-Reliant
For dealing with barbed wire fence... I liked to double up. One pair of doeskin gloves (they are like painted on gloves, and act as a callous, so if you are doing the weekend warrior thing you don't get huge blisters), and then a pair of thick bull hide gloves over.
With that combination I could grab the wire, pull it, etc, and the only issue was if I was stupid enough to let it twist around my legs.
Talking of.. . don't wear your Muck boots. For this you want proper working leather cowboy boots. The boots will better protect your feet and lower legs. The smooth leather will not catch up on the barbs as readily as muck boots.
With that combination I could grab the wire, pull it, etc, and the only issue was if I was stupid enough to let it twist around my legs.
Talking of.. . don't wear your Muck boots. For this you want proper working leather cowboy boots. The boots will better protect your feet and lower legs. The smooth leather will not catch up on the barbs as readily as muck boots.
