Well.. the cop-hunter guys weren't planning to hunt this year, but on a whim some of them took off to go to the farm. One of them keeps his ATV chained up there in the garage so they can go tooling about on the farm from one end to the other.
Some red necked creep(s) broke into the farm... again. They stole the ATV and the old plows. 1 was an ancient tractor plow that was Emerson's.. the other was a really old horse plow.
I don't know the extent of the damage.. and this is the last straw. The local police of course are worthless. Never in the past have they located anything that was stolen before.. ever. I don't think they could find their ass with both hands and a map. They were jerks to the Chicago cops to boot.
Now the joys of a small town is everyone knows everyone.. what sucks about a small town is that everyone knows everything about everyone. I'm not even there.. and already I have more than a small clue who may have done it.
While I have never been inclined to own a firearm.. that may change. My sister's husband is a cop.. and I may see if he will provide training for my daughter. Before it even is a possibility, she would need to learn.
In my family, my sisters and I all have a knack for shooting, moving targets in particular. The extent of our hunting was clay pigeons and straw bales for archery. My maternal biological grandfather was an avid hunter, so when me and my next younger sister were holding our own skeet shooting when we were 7 & 8 years old.. she was quite proud.
While it is fun to do.. we've never had any interest beyond very infrequent recreation. Personally, I liked archery better.. and got some sort of pin for it in a small competition. Fencing was extremely fun.. and painful.
Anyways.. I will be putting up signs on the farm for the first few years. In my evil sense of humor, this is what 2 of them are..
" Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again."
" I aim to sterilize."
When people daydream about being on a rural farm.. somehow I don't think it occurs to many how much of a sitting target you can be. Our farm has been burglarized roughly a dozen times. I am a little scared by that.. but a whole lot more angry.
It is a small town.. the few that know me from when I was a kid still think of me as a hot head with a strong willingness to strike back. My husband is the even tempered, level headed, almost impossible to rile up kinda guy.. and I am the complete and total opposite. I have no qualms about sticking up for what is right.. and never been one to stand on the side lines when something wrong is being done. The temper I was known for was demonstrated a few times when I saw "good ol' boys" abusing horses. One was a "trainer" that was almost 18.. he had a young horse twitched and was hitting it.. "teaching it a lesson".. I decked him. Then I called the owner and the vet.. and camped at the stables that night making sure that Steve didn't return.
People with no morals suck.
Oh well.. here's to hoping we get out there the 1st week of November!
My personal favorite is..
ReplyDelete"if you can read this your within range"
You need a gun regardless. At the minimum a shotgun and a rifle IMO. There is a multitude of scenarios for needing either type on a farm regardless of thieves.
As for the thieves I am sure once your around full time they won't bother you again.
Good luck and god speed with the move.
lol I'll post one saying that too! love it!
ReplyDeleteI'm just a bit steamed. When someone breaks into a place, especially repeatedly, it is difficult to feel safe. I know it will stop when we are out there full time.
Train the kid first on safety, and then we'll start shopping. I agree that they are needed on a farm, especially one as rural as where we'll be (with all of the deer.. the coyotes have as well increased in numbers.)
We don't mind shroom hunters/ foragers.. when they ask. It's the thieves, vandals and unauthorized hunters that are a serious problem. Any time someone you don't know roams your property and they are armed.. not cool. With several dozen fat happy deer always milling around, shooting fish in a barrel is more challenging.