Hello my friend and welcome back again! While talking to a friend of mine the other day, the subject of fences came up and it got me thinking. Just what is the best fence to use at your retreat and why? This is going to be the subject of today’s post, so grab a cup of coffee and set a while so we can visit.
Just what is the best kind of fencing to use to secure your compound? While I’m sure many people have their own idea about what is best, in today’s post, I will share my thoughts on the subject. If we look at history, we find that the most common fence type to keep out invading forces was rock or stone fences. These have been used all down through history dating back thousands of years and were usually quite large. If however, you are trying to fence in a large area, such as 50 acres or more, this quickly becomes labor and cost intensive. So much so that it puts its cost out of reach for most of us. So what other options are available? Believe me when I say there are many. The thing to consider, is just what purpose you want the fence to serve. Are you trying to keep livestock in or are you trying to keep Raiders and the walking dead out? This is key to determine the best fence for your needs.
If all you want to do is keep your livestock in a pasture, then an everyday barbed wire fence will do. But if you are trying to keep predators out (two and four-legged types) then you will want to use something else. Back in the olden days, they knew that they could not put up a large fence around their property to include the pasture land, so they used a simple fence for the pastures and a fortified fence to protect the living and working areas. This is what we would call Castles today, but to many that lived in that time, it was simply a necessity to protect themselves.
When deciding exactly what kind of protective fence to use to protect your retreat, you will need to think tactically. By this, I mean that you will need to consider the lay of the land and how you could best use it to your advantage to help make your fence even harder to scale or break through. Things like steep drop offs and natural walls that could increase the likely hood of an attacker not being able to breach your fence with vehicle of some kind. A good question to ask yourself is whether or not the fence gives YOU a tactical advantage and not them. I have seen retreats that were surrounded by berms that were close to wooded areas that would actually give attackers great cover, while offering no advantage to the occupants. The owner just assumed that having a berm there would deter people from attacking. Let me say this very clearly: Berms do NOT make a good fence under any situation! They provide cover for raiders to attack from without exposing themselves. Not good!
So what would make a really good fence? Like I said, stone is the best, but short of that I would go with a good wrought iron fence with razor wire or barbed wire at the top. Why? Because you can’t cut it with a pair of bolt cutters or climb it without making any noise. Another option would be two chain link fences spaced ten feet apart from each other and razor or barbed wire at the top. I would make these at least eight feet high with poles that have been securely cemented deep into the ground. While it can still be cut, if you have guard towers or cameras placed where the entire fence can be seen at all times, you can minimize the risk somewhat. While there are still many other viable choices out there such as sheet metal fences that would also work, I just don’t personally feel that they would perform as well.
Other things to consider are items like gates and how you secure them. You could have a solid steel gate and if you use a lock and chain to secure it, then you have nothing at all. A good pair of bolt cutters will have it open in short order and provide little protection to your compound. You need to remember that your gate is usually the weakest point in your fencing so it only makes sense to fortify it with as much strength as possible. When people see it, they should instantly know that under no circumstances attempt to enter by force. It needs to be as intimidating as possible so they will want to look for easier prey and leave you and yours alone. There may only be one person inside, but if they think that it houses a large number of fierce fighters, then you will have the advantage and they will in all likely hood go looking for easier pickings.
Well, I guess that is it for today and I hope I have given you some new food for thought. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared!
-The Sargent-
Sarge,funny thing I was just thinking about my fence. Its a 6 foot wooden privacy fence, but was thinking, barbedwire on the inside between the 4 by 4s, and nails at the top of the gates facing in so if someone was to try to climb over they would get cut or stuck between the fence and the barbedwire. Could also use nail boards on the inside and battery powered motion alarms and electrical motion detectors with lights. Thoughts???
I’ve been thinking of putting up fencing lately myself. I am leaning toward goat type fencing with 1 or 2 strands of barbed wire on top because it is not out of the ordinary where I live. I have read that the homes with good security fences during the Bosnia war were some of the first to be taken by gangs of looters because they screamed I have something worth taking. I myself have been part of a readiness drill many years ago where we (6 Marines) quietly went over a double set of large chain link fences with razor wire on top, opened the back gate and took the compound. Obviously none of us should be worrying about Marines taking our homes, but the point is that all fences can be breached, and the greater perceived reward will bring greater efforts to do so. My goal with fencing is to slow down or more importantly funnel intruders to an area that I want them to attempt to enter from.
Good stuff, and thanks for bringing up another important subject.