Deer proofing

[JamesRolls5.0]

Hey guys
Well I often drive up and down upstate NY I almost always seen deer on the way up to my house , there have been a few near misses with a couple by either family members or friends since the roads are forest on each side
I once hit what I still believe was a small beaver and it got stuck in the wheel well
Anyways what would be a good bumper / brush guard that could take a whack in to a medium to large size deer or other larger game at 50mph (I once seen a small bear run across the road )
Not saying I want to plow over Bambi but worst case I just wanna be prepared

 

[OffTrac]

I believe in Westin's products. Mainly through successful "testing" of their products.

 

[JamesRolls5.0]

"testing" lol

Anyway
Is yours just bolted on or did you have it welded on?
And if not , should I get it welded on ? Like Would that be beneficial or just useless ?

Thanks

 

[sport97]

A push bar could help, but think about it, if the deer bent it back it would smash the hood, headlights and grill and possibly cause more damage. I had a westin safari bar, if their push bars mount like they do it won't do much. I had someone stand on mine and it shifted and had to be put back in place. If you really want to protect the front i'd go with a new bumper with a guard welded to it. There is a vendor on here that sells bumpers.

 

[Blee1099]

A full wrap brush guard can probably reduce the amount of damage but not make it 100% bulletproof just based on size and speeds.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Agreed- you might have a bad-ass bar, and still miss!

 

[OffTrac]

Bolted on both mine and the wife's.

A Westin saved the front end of my wife's Tahoe when I put it into a cement wall. I don't buy into the "it'll cause more damage" theory. The only damage besides to the brush guard was a small ding on the front center of the hood. The guard more than paid for itself by just saving the HIDs. Bought another one the next day and one for my Sport Trac a couple weeks later. I have pictures of the damaged brush guard I can post later and I could get a picture of the damage to the Tahoe for any non-believers.

 

[wood1]

Bolted on both mine and the wife's.

A Westin saved the front end of my wife's Tahoe when I put it into a cement wall. I don't buy into the "it'll cause more damage" theory. The only damage besides to the brush guard was a small ding on the front center of the hood. The guard more than paid for itself by just saving the HIDs. Bought another one the next day and one for my Sport Trac a couple weeks later. I have pictures of the damaged brush guard I can post later and I could get a picture of the damage to the Tahoe for any non-believers.

Let's see it carnage pics!

How'd you smoke a cement wall?

 

[sport97]

Bolted on both mine and the wife's.

I don't buy into the "it'll cause more damage" theory.

I tend to agree, I thought I'd throw that idea out there though. The brush guards must use better mounts than the safari bar because it's pretty lame how weakly it mounts. I can get pictures since it is now laying in a rusted together pile in my garage(I hate rock salt!)

 

[JohnnyO]

Snowplow. Just leave it on all the time. You're in Upstate NY anyway.

(In the interest of full disclosure, my ex and kids lived in Watertown, NY and for 10 years I made regular trips between home and there or parts in between to pick up and drop off my kids. Been in more than a few whiteout blizzards. Once did a 45 mph 360* on the Thruway in my Lincoln, kept it on the road, and motored on.)

 

[OffTrac]

Well, I don't have photos of the Tahoe but you have to look for it to notice. I was afraid to get out of the truck to see the damage.

Ya see, what had happened was...exit ramp, merging into traffic last minute because I didn't realize it was my exit, too fast, circular downhill ramp, rain, inside of loop was a cement wall without Auto 4wd on. When I realized I was hitting something be it a wall or another vehicle I just straightened it out to hit the wall as square with the front as possible, hit dead on front center (as planned, lol), did a 360 and stopped facing the correct direction inside the shoulder so traffic could pass.

Here's pictures of the Westin Sportsman after removed.

Still laying in the barn for scrap metal projects.

 

[wood1]

Yikes, sounds like you got off easy.

 

[Karpiel73]

These were taken in Feb. 2008 after I hit a deer. Its just a light bar but I think it saved alot of my front end. I hit it going about 40 mph. Insurance covered the entire repair, except the bar because me and a friend made it.

 

[JamesRolls5.0]

Glad to read everyone was okay with their own events

Anyone ever try ARB bumpers ?

Saw one on a truck that said " Meat plow" I got a kick out of it

 

[OffTrac]

I looked into ARB bumpers. They don't make one for Explorers, but I'd love to have one. I'm sure one could be made to fit with a little work, though.

 

[Karpiel73]

Arb bumpers are nice. You'd probably have to work on the suspension thought because they have to be heavy. In 2007 I was looking at the 08' F250s and the dealership suggested the snow plow prep package if I wanted to upgrade to an HD front bumper.

 

[JamesRolls5.0]

Oh dang that sucks like a bucket of ticks
I may just go with a nice brush guard then
They seem like the realistic top choice for me

On a side note :
Kinda curious - why is it called a "brush" guard?

 

[Lacky01]

On a side note :
Kinda curious - why is it called a "brush" guard?

To keep the *brush*, bushes, tree branches, and bicyclists arms from scratchin up the paint too bad

 

[OffTrac]

Works for pushing down brush and even some smaller trees when the trail is, well, less than a trail. Use mine all the time to keep pushing through without worrying about the brush scraping me up too bad. I don't always have the Polaris Ranger available.

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Check out Iron Bull Bumpers. I may have to save my pennies and have them make one for my Sport Trac. I really like the BLACK OPS cut out in the bumper.

http://www.ironbullbumpers.com/

I think it would look sweet on my ST, especailly when I do my SAS, SOA.