I don't, haven't, but think I probably should. Mountain Lion probably the biggest threat but I do worry about stumbling into a pot field. I've had a couple of encounters with gun toting landowners (the kind telling you to get lost). I'm not sure what effect my having one also would have.
Utah is considering becoming a constitutional carry state. If that happens I wouldn't need a concealed carry permit. I don't have one and don't really want to register for one but its way popular these days. One of our towns made the national news last month buy debating whether to make it mandatory that every home have a gun in town. They also chipped in and paid for all the teachers to get concealed carry permits. With a permit teachers can carry in public schools. My wife has a permit.
The Utah Sheriff's Association sent a letter to the President stating between the lines that they would arrest any federal agent that tried to take any weapons away from Utah citizens. Every sheriff except for Salt Lake County was on board.
Maybe I live in the real thick of it. The newspaper article on the subject said my county is the reddest county in the reddest state in the nation. It might be true as the blue party doesn't even field candidates in county elections. I know there is lot of weapons including AK's and AR's in the valley. On second thought maybe I better start carrying!
I'm with you on that one. Of course if I done the right thing and lost about 40 pounds I could carry an AR, sniper rifle, handgun and some ammo.
I still remember how heavy an M16 was at the end of the long runs during basic training. Just wanted to throw it off to the side of the road. We never had any ammo anyway so what good was it. I suppose you could hit somebody with it! Just seven pounds the drill Sargent bragged but they didn't have one on them, felt like 50.
> ..Just seven pounds the drill Sargent bragged but they didn't have one on them, felt like 50.
Ouch. That reminds me of a basic training story from Ft. Benning. We had camped out in the field at a bivouc site and were road marching back in the next day ( 12 miles). Two Drill Seargents stayed the night with us and all of the others drove out in their personal vehicles the next morning. There were pretty decent facilities at the camp site, meaning several stalls and urinals. There was a young private talking to another private at the urinal and made the observation that "That GD Murdock didnt even bring a ruck sack!"
What that young private did not know was that Drill Seargent Stinson was in the next stall and was really good buddies with Drill Seargent Murdock.
That young private started at the back of the column and would have to double time to the front, get down and do push ups until the entire platoon passed, get up and run to the front and get back down and do it again. This went on for the first two miles of the road march.
Yes sir. You just brought back a memory of that GD Murdock 😀
:good: 😛
Never
except sometimes during deer season.
(no grizzles or mountain lions around here. I'm trying to minimize both weight and shooting my foot)
" Mountain Lion probably the biggest threat .."
There are some big cat around here on some of the more rural jobs. This is S.E. Texas, and there is a lot of brush. I watch my house cats attack, see how fast they are, add a couple hundred pounds and do some quick math, then realize I really don't stand a chance even if I did have a firearm.
ALWAYS
Last ten years due to encounters with Cats and Bears.
Changed over to a Taurus Judge in the field so I don't have to aim, just point and shoot. Cats are so quick and SILENT you have to rely on smell and eyesight. Client policy makes no difference to me. I work alone, in remote areas where it is a necessity. I have carried concealed with a permit for over 15 years and know, along with hope and prayer, I will never have to use it.
Pablo
"Cats are so quick and SILENT you have to rely on smell and eyesight."
Amazing!
I have the standard model. Sweet shooter and gobbles up any 9mm ammo
Yeah it will eat anything. I like that one so much that I went and bought big brother, the SR40c, yesterday.
The biggest threat here are wild pigs and wild dogs. There are far more encounters with coyotes, but they haul butt the second they are aware of humans.
If a wild pig is by him (or her)self they will do the same. If they stand their ground and snort at you, they are calling in backup. If they are with a group closeby, they will investigate.
If you ever see a wild pig closing in on you, know there are more you may not see.
I have come to the conclusion that pepper spray, for me, is more likely to cause a positive outcome in an encounter with dogs or wildlife.
Also, my company has a policy against carry of firearms at work. Besides, I can't imagine it not being a real bother.
(Unless you need it, I guess.)
As far as animal people, I am a sheep when at work, I guess.
Sometimes; when in very rural places since I mostly work alone. I'm talking half a mile or more from anything or anyone, although less than that distance doesn't mean you're 100% safe from a threat.
Here the worst threat is the occasional migrating cougar, or black bear. Cougar are ambush hunters, and while attacks on humans in this state haven't happened yet, I don't want to be the first. I've come across a cougar kill, and I'm sure the cat wasn't far away, but on that occasion I had another surveyor along. The other time we were playing "cat and mouse" but I wasn't alone that time either. I'd have felt a lot better armed.
I've run into black bear a few times, and I have to say they usually go the other way. But, animal behavior being what it is, you can't always count on that. I'm convinced that the tragic cougar attacks in California are a result of their not being hunted and so losing their fear of humans.
Dog packs are bad, and so are hogs, both rare around here.
We do have timber wolves here, and the same can be said for them. They are top predators, and when we are in the woods, we are not hunting and alert, but are usually looking for evidence, going through paperwork, operating equipment, or otherwise not paying attention to your surroundings, we are more vulnerable than others out there. Think about it. Don't talk about "we have less of a chance of being attacked than being struck by lightning" or some such; we all take precautions against that. Being math guys, we recognize the fallacy of that - the rest of the 99% are guys sitting on the couch or sitting at a desk talking smart. Alert hunters with or without dogs, farmers with a dog and tractor, hikers in a group - all are much safer than we are.
So, the down side of carrying for me is the weight, and the up side is less to worry about in terms of personal safety. Since I don't have a problem with a few extra pounds, that's not a factor. It's that simple.
So far, I have to say, I've carried maybe 2% of the time I'm in the field, or even less than that. I prefer a shoulder holster to an open carry (hip) holster, being more comfortable.
> So as not to hijack Nate's meth thread...
>
> Do you carry in the field for purposes of defending yourself from pot patch proprietors, wild animals, etc.?
> Can you think of other reasons to carry?
Our company policy is no firearms. That being said, in the past, with another employer, I always kept a handgun on my person in shady or rural areas. Go ahead and get a concealed carry permit and check your state laws.
42" razor sharp bush hook, no fear of death and a good life insurance policy is all I carry. I think a gun would likely be more reason to get shot by some paranoid pot grower than appearing to be the harmless surveyor I really am.
I carry my 9mm when I am in Urban Areas, but the real reason nobody even thinks about messing with me must be the long rusty MACHETE that I carry on my side. You just DON'T mess with a guy with a MACHETE!
Would if I could, but not allowed on college campuses ... so far, anyway.
Seriously....A sheriff arresting a Federal Law Enforcement officer for taking away the firearms of any Utah citizen?
Utah doesn't have any Federal Criminals?
Does being a Utah citizen make you immune to the laws of the United States?
This sounds like a Brigham Young rant.....
Please............
Utah Sheriff's Letter to Presedent
Depends. If you do as your common sense would normally dictate and decide to leave without further argument once things were beginning to look like they might get out of hand, and the landowner assaulted you or otherwise presented an imminent threat to your life or well being as you were trying to leave, it would be self defense.
The problem would be being able to show that if there are no unbiased witnesses present.
When one carries, one becomes less likely to allow themselves to be drawn into potentially violent confrontations exactly because of the potential consequences of a gun fight. Even if you come out unharmed and the shooting is later determined to have been justified, it will be expensive and nerve-wracking going through the process of the investigation and probable legal defense. Even after you are cleared by the DA, you may still face a civil suit by the person you shot or that person's family.
For those who are simply upset that you are going to move their property line, or be a part of the process of taking some of their land for a road, etc., leaving without any argument almost always heads off a violent conflict. With this, you can get law enforcement to come back with you at a later time if your state has a right of entry and it is in a portion of the code that law enforcement agencies have authority to enforce.
The person who is going to attack you even as you try to leave is almost certainly also involved in some other illegal activity on the property (meth lab, pot garden, chop shop, etc.), or is high on something powerful. The need to protect yourself with a firearm in these situations is why a person would want to carry. If you were involved in a shooting in this kind of situation, the other illegal activity and/or drug use would come to light in the ensuing investigation and would be a strong point in your favor as far as clearing the shooting as self defense and in heading off a potential civil suit.
