I too enjoy still hunting alone, and when I do it, I have my compass, cell phone, knife, hand gun, etc. with me. It would be very easy to get tangled up out there, slip and break a leg. I don't worry too much about nearby loony hunters. If they're on my land, a simple call to DNR removes them. Our locals, for the most part, respect Patty and me, and won't bother us. The very few that don't or won't also know we are armed and dangerous, backed up by a man eating dog......He's not, really. He's just a big friendly mutt among friends, but death on strangers. If ya get introduced as Uncle or Auntie Blank or so and so, he's fine. If ya don't get introduced, ya better be ready to climb something. He's 90 lbs. of Great Dane, Boxer and Pit Bull. I never felt I had a need for a "guard dog", and I don't, even now. I inherited this dog, and that is what he does......well.
Patty, among her many skills as a contracts administrator, shoots black powder, modern centerfire, throws a knife and tomahawk, and is deadly with a long bow. She's of the Ponca Tribe, Nebraska. She has an unfounded reputation locally of having shot a running deer with her longbow at 100 yards.....It never happened,....35 perhaps.
When we first bought our 120 acres, we ran into trespassers who usually claimed they didn't know it was private, or gave us the "My Grandfather hunted here" routine. We explained, patiently, that they were on private property and we had several rifle ranges, and they could be downrange of a bullet at any time and we suggested they stay clear.....for their own welfare. We usually garnished the suggestion with a few heavy rounds into the berm. They all scampered and to the best of my knowledge, none have returned.
We enjoy the serenity of the woods, hunting or not. We enjoy watching the squirrels and Chicadees while we sit, and the Blue Jay that comes in to start a ruckus. The privacy, peace and serenity is what it is all about....the venison is secondary.
Pete
