Time to do some thumping

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2,369
Well it looks like I will be camping out tonight. Some low-life hoodlums decided to drive up into our fields and spin them all up with 4 x 4 picks ups doing doughnuts and whatnot. Its been raining here lately so the ruts are deep and they flung rocks and sod everywhere and in about 20 different spots. I am sure its not hunters but rather some young kids out raising Holy Ruckus. Still I'll be waiting to see if they come back.

This does not sound like a big deal but as deep as the ruts are that means either rotertilling the spots and reseeding with clover/grass/ alphalpha or land plowing it up. I am not happy in any case. That will cost a lot in diesel fuel money to do and says nothing about if their wild driving kicks up a rock that ends up going through the silage chopper. The last rock that did that cost 40,000 dollars. Those knives can handle tons of silage but a one pound rock does some serious damage.

These jerks have done this to three farms around here that I know of so it will be a race to see who gets to them first...the farmers or the cops (assuming some other farmers have called the cops that is). I don't rat on my neighbors but like to tend to matters myself. More personal that way. Anyway if the kids are lucky the cops and court will get to them first. If us farmers do...well it will be painful. Literally. Around here if someone messes with the farmers, the people are made examples of. Nothing personal really, I raised ruckus myself when I was a kid, but had to pay for it when I did it. They will one way or the other.

(I'll try and get pics later on today).
 
go getum tiger

no the feelun and wish i wer closer have dun just what your up to when iwas a tad yopunger the bad guys ended up inthe drainege ditch and then spent the night in jail till daddy got them out. they had ball bats and a 22 rifle in the back seat.
 
I agree. Better to take care of them yourself as our so called justice system is just about disfunctional any more. Hope that you get them before Hurricane Noel gets up there this weekend.
 
Travis, there is nothing more frustrating than the idiots that think all farmground is their playground, be it 4X4's, four wheelers, hunters, fishermen, etc... But please, please remember the times you are talking about spending with your children, well one rash decision and those idiots will own your farm! Be careful, document with pictures (of them in the act, ie: a buck cam) and first talk with parents, no satisfaction, contact the DA, go directly to the DA.
 
spike strips........4 flat tires take a while to get fixed, chances are the vehicle will be on your property in the morning just waiting for your assistance:rolleyes:
 
I like Tod's idea...that way you don't have to do the "stakeout" either. I know it's getting cold up there at night now, right? :D
 
I like Tod's idea...that way you don't have to do the "stakeout" either. I know it's getting cold up there at night now, right? :D

Naaa, its not too bad...averaging about 25º at night. With Noel coming though we do have high winds and heavy rains predicted for tomorrow, supposed to hit something like 55 mph winds tomorrow afternoon.

In all honesty the damage was not as bad as I thought it was. In full daylight the ruts were not as deep as I thought they were. I "plugged" the access roads to our fields with logs. The farmers are "spreading" (putting down manure) so they have to be able to move the logs if need be. Still if they had spread manure a few days ago those pranksters would not be playing in the field so gleefully.:)

I gotta say we do have some pretty good hunters on us. They called up right quick and told us what kind of car it was and what and where they were doing it. The hunters around here get a bad reputation, but 9 out of 10 of them are pretty good. They tend to keep an eye on the place because it keeps their favorite hunting grounds available. Plus they don't want to get blamed.

Right or wrong I did call the state police and let them know what was going on. I hate to rat on anyone but if the kids are doing more than one farm, it probably does not hurt to have the police know its occurring and if they see someone raising ruckus in a field they won't be so apt to let them off with a warning.

As for the Spike Strip...yeah I wish that would work, but as I said the farmers who rent (well supposed to rent...no rent money for going on 4 years now) well are suppose to rent my fields, need to spread their cow manure to fertilize the fields before their manure pile freezes. They would end up hitting the spikes and ruin some expensive truck and tractor tires. Around here a 100 dollar bill at the local teen hangout typically gets you the names in a matter of hours. Then its little field trip to see Johnny and have a little chat with him.
 
Behavior like that tends to escalate. One day they may decide to start burning barns or challenging people. I would notify the law and stay up with a rifle. Heavy damage to their truck would unlikely go unreported and they would learn a lesson. Sorry to hear it happened to you. Now, I'm reminded why I have four loaded firearms near at hand around the house at all times.
 
Travis

I'm sorry you're having problems and hope that you will be able to LAWFULLY take care of them. I am very disturbed with the tone that this thread has taken, this is far less "Family Friendly" than another good spirited (I thought) thread that was pulled. I am not questioning the moderators' decision, but just pointing out that we need to be careful what we say here and I don't think this is a "friendly" thread.

Jay
 
Gentle Reminder

Just a reminder folks, we -- myself included -- are walking a fine line as far as promoting a potentially illegal act, which is probably best left unsaid on a family-friendly forum. Although a number of us share the same sentiments, it's still a good idea to keep them to ourselves here. ;)

[Edited to add] Jay, you beat me to it.
 
A family story of a hunter & shooting.

We had an incident with a hunter back when I was about 14. We lived in a game preserve area NO HUNTING ALLOWED.

We saw a hunter with orange vest & hat pushing the barb wire down to come through our property my Dad stepped outside out shop & hollered up to the guy that this is private property & a game preserve area no hunting allowed. We looked out about 45 minutes later & there he was again & Dad chased him off again & then looked over at me & said you know I think he'll be back & went & got the old (1893) Winchester 30/30 & set it inside the open 10' wide end shop doors. Sure enough about an hour later here he came again. Dad just stepped outside the doors & levered the rifle & fired 1 shot in the air & hollered up to him the next shot was for him. We never saw him again. I don't really believe Dad would have shot anyone unless they pointed a gun at him. But the scare tactic worked & thats all he wanted to happen anyway. That was 41 years ago & things were a little different then..

I have seen Dad from time to time over the years shoot some pretty small targets. One time comes to mind when we had some black birds dive bombing a little 5 pound Pomeranian this had gone on for about 3 days & the dog was getting a little afraid to go outside. Dad said I've had enough of this & went in & got the 22 rifle came out & fired 3 shots a different birds flying & 3 dead birds 1 in the front yard one on the rood & one in the back yard. The birds got smart real quick & left the dog alone.

I had heard several times of how my Dad's oldest brother 91 years old now days got a little upset with him when they were kids & busted the stock out of his BB rifle because he hit everything he shot at. Up to that point all three boys each had a BB rifle.

Back in 1976 Dad & I heard a gun firing & my oldest Uncle lived right across the road so Dad said lets go see what my crazy Brother is up to. So we went across the road & around behind my Uncle's house to find him shooting a hand gun something smaller that a 38 cal at some cans & small milk cartons set out in his empty garden ( it was about November when the garden would be empty). Dad ask what he was doing & he said just target practice but there is something wrong with this gun. Dad said reload it & let me try. ( I had never in my life seen my Dad shoot anything but a rifle) My Uncle handed the gun to my Dad & Dad fired 4 or 5 shots hitting a can or carton with each shot & looked at my Uncle & said theres nothing wrong with this gun. My Uncle replied You ain't changed a bit!!! Thus confirming everything I had always heard. I fully believe Dad was what I've heard called a natural shot.

I hope you catch the donut holes.
 
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Well, I know for myself that I would not shoot anyone unless I was in fear for my life or that of one of my family members. But it is frustrating. We used to be plagued by snowmobiles all night long driving through the property every time it snowed. I called the cops and had a trooper visit me so I could ask him what I could or could not do to stay within the law. The answer is, nothing.

His advice to me was to call the cops every time I saw someone riding on my property, and they would respond. If the person was still there, they would arrest him. Right. In the time it takes the police to show up here, even for an emergency, a person could drag a snowmobile across my property and off the other side. Doing things the legal way gets people absolutely nowhere. The system is set up to cater to irresponsible, inconsiderate, morons.

In years gone by, things were harsher for people who did not abide by the conventions of society. Now we are stuck with a whole class of people who have no conventions, no sense of right, and no way to learn it, because they are insulated by the system. Personally, I think it would be just fine to be able to shoot up someone's vehicle for trespassing. They might learn something from it. And if they didn't, there is always the next level where someone else can learn from their mistake.

Now, these sentiments might not be considered family friendly, but I think they are. They are friendly to my family, and to the families of those who believe in a responsible and polite society. I don't think being harsh regarding inconsiderate, criminally destructive, people is unfriendly, unless one happens to be in that category. And I think a lot of the sentiments voiced in this thread are a symptom of the same frustration that I feel, and I think Travis is feeling. These people are raised to do whatever they want, and they know the system is on their side if it comes to trouble. Sure once in a while someone gets caught, but for the most part they get away with it, and then go on to raise a whole 'nother batch of morons.

Travis Johnson said:
I raised ruckus myself when I was a kid, but had to pay for it when I did it.

So did I. My children used to remind me of that when they were about to be punished. I would hear, "Daddy, you weren't so good when you were our age, and you did lots of bad things". I would say, "You are right, and I had to suffer the consequences for my actions, just like you are about to do". :D

Bill
 
Travis,
I hope that things are resolved peacefully,

I live in a rural area, and while our 'spread' isn't nearly as large as a farm, but there was a time when a teenage thug decided to run his snowmobile through our yard, and then his four wheeler when things melted. It got to the point where I was extremely worried about the safty of my kids playing in the yard.

Calls to the state police and the sherrifs were rather pointless, as it turns out, the thug in question was the son of a trooper. I

In the end, I simply cluttered up the yard with large kids toys, benches and such, and eventually he stopped cutting through the yards.

And as a Moderator,
I hope we can keep it family friendly and w/out any escalation into more 'creative' and extreme solutions.
 
We had a housing jobsite that kids used to hang out around at night.

There was an 800 foot driveway and the house was out of view from the road. There was a cattle gate across the driveway about 2/3rds of the way in. It was 2-1/2" round tubing.

One friday as I was leaving I closed the gate.

On Monday I was at another site, and the boss asked "who closed the gate on Bliss Rd?"

I admitted that I did. Apparantly someone came down the driveway at speed over the weekend and probably got 3 feet of the hood thru the fence before the car came to a stop.

The boss never heard anything from the person who hit the fence. They weren't even mad at me for closing the gate.

I wonder how junior explained that to Daddy?

I agree that we are losing the battle - kids today expect to be given a lot. I had a 13 year old car in 1983. Today teenagers are driving NEW BMW's and Lexus'. I can't afford these cars at 42. How the heck are they driving them? Mommy and Daddy!

Cheers

Jim
 
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