the two-legged predator

C

c12ashhh

Joined
May 11, 2007
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so often times there are posts about what knife / firearm / pepper spray to fend off beasts of the four-legged variety, ie mountain lions, bears, etc. then there are those who point out that it's more probable to run into trouble with a menacing two-legged human than the four-legged predators.

what i'm curious about is every time i forage into the wilderness, it's nice and quiet, not much drama at all. very uninteractive encounters with any wildlife and human-life. generally, when i think about negative human interaction, it occurs in urban settings. so what have your guys' bad experiences with humans in the wilderness been? i'd always thought those you run into in the wilderness are generally like-minded people, out to enjoy nature and such.

anybody have any stories to share? four-legged beast encounter stories are welcome as well.
 
I've been shot at before. Don't know if it was accidental or intentional, I strongly think it was the latter. I had my survival 22 with me and made it known that I was not pleased. It ended there.

I also have been tracked by 2 feral dogs. I had to shoot towards them to fend them off, they were agressively following me.

Other than that, it's always been pleasant in the woods.
 
Camping on the Green River in Wyoming one night there was a truck with a couple of guys driving back and forth on the dirt road we were camping on. Every time they drove by us they would stop and shout out Yeahooo, peal out and drive down the road. They went back and forth a few times. It was late at night and we were around the campfire with my .45 in my lap. Sure felt good to have my 1911.
 
Well. I was out walking one night star watching and wandered down to a nearby creek and wild area that backs on our property. It was pretty dark but I saw a car parked there. Kids necking I figured. Walk on by. Give 'em some room. Be cool.
Wrong.
I see a guy leaning against the car. Beer cans. Drunk.
Then I see he has a rifle.
Walk quietly. Don't wake him or startle him.
Wrong again.
Then I see he has 'popped the top' on more than a few brews.
Then I had to go call the sheriff and had a slew of officers to deal with.
Worst part was, that was the first time my wife's sister had visited from Germany. Neither one of them was real pleased....
There was a nasty brown stain in the dirt till it got rained out.

Other than that, I have never had any real trouble. I lived way back in a ranch near Wimberley (Texas). Wild dogs used to come around until I fired a few 22 rounds at 'em. Got treed (on a huge rock) by a bull. Had to wait that one out. Most people are noisy and smelly (cigarettes can be smelled forever) and thus I usually go around them without them ever knowing I am there.
Like you said, all my worst encounters happened in urban settings.
 
Been tagged by coyotes while bow hunting small game. There were a few of them I think and I was hunkered down in tall grass waiting for a shot on a ground squirrel. As I started to rise to draw and release the arrow, the mangy yotes started playing tag team with me. One would run in and actually bump me, while the others kept me busy by running at me from the front. Then they swapped and the one that bumped me came in close and snarling a yote snarl and growling, the other two crept in. I had a sidearm with me and discharged a round and they split.

Another time some hunting pards of mine and I were scouting X8 in the Sierra Mtns for the upcoming deer season. We ran into a group of Mexicans doing some poaching. One shooter had a scoped rifle aimed at us as we approached (we were carrying our bows), but it was too late for us to do an about face, so we walked past them and left them alone for the time being. After passing where they were, we noticed 3 does hanging from the trees and later, after the ranger arrived that we called, we found another doe that had been gut shot with a .22.

Another time, I was doing some roving and was approached by a small pack of dogs. They were dogs from a nearby trailer park that ran together in the wilderness area near the dam. I had a sidearm, my .45acp, loaded with Winchester Black Talon rounds. I didn't use it, cause it was easier to stick the leader as he charged in, drawing blood and sending them all packing. Been face to face with with dogs on a few occassions and it isn't any fun. A sidearm is a handy thing to have when you are alone.

For 2 leggeds, I figure that the sidearm is your best choice, as most encounters will be up close and personal.
 
one of those moments you KNOW whats going on , even tho there is nothing but vibes and gut feeling to say so

we parked up at Noble Falls just out of Perth , WA . Steak cooking , yabbie traps set , sun on its way down .

THree cars pulled into the campsite , full of men in black shirts , tattoo covered , faces with all the marks of brawlers , and pretty girls , Id guess around 15 - 18

initaly , there was no problem , they went swimming . I checked the traps , collected my yabbies , served up my steak .

the other party returned , mostly naked , very frisky , with an air of agro among them .

I put the water on to boil for the yabbies , and begin eating .

I heard the girls talking about wantng to see a real fight , but then they began messing dancing to annoying music from their car radio , and doing an amlost x rated floor show with each other .

I knew that they wanted their men jealous if I looked , there old follow the challenge "youre perving on our girls" or similar , and the fight the girls wanted to see ... gut feeling and vibe , but this was how it was looking to play out ...

My steak was tough , I used the opinel on my belt to cut it , just slipped it from its pouch , flicked it open , sliced up the steak , then I felt myself being watched , I turned around as I wiped the blade and flicked the knife shut .

I was being watched , one of the older guys of the group was watching me staring at me , he just nodded , I nodded back and sheathed my knife , he nodded again and began getting his group together .

It felt like he thought I was too much risk for the game to play out like it was going to , so he called a stop to it and they moved on .

Gut feeling and vibes , but it was serious / scary at the time

Noble falls isnt exactly wilderness , but its a bit bush , out of the way and there is no law to come running to help when things get ugly . Ive been a bouncer cum barman for enough years to know to rely on my gut when things are tense like that .
 
I live in a very rural area (Maine). Unfortunately, opiate abuse has become an epidemic here, and many of the back roads that I frequennt have also become the haunts of drug users. Several times I have encountered what I believe to have been drug use/transactions taking place. Now the local dirt bags know who I am and wouldn't ever fool with me, but my concern is that if I were to come upon a situation where the players were from out of the area, there could be trouble. That's the primary reason I carry a firearm in the woods when I'm not hunting. Thankfully, one of my favorite areas has been saved by the beavers, who built a dam that washed out the access road. Once I cross the stream, the woods are mine.
 
I as camping in a National Park in Victoria (Australia). This park only allowed camping at defined sites. The park was located within 20-30K of some small towns, we are not talking the outback here, about 150K outside of Melbourne.

It was about 9pm when a dozen Utes (pick up trucks) arrived, with spot lights all over them and a load of drunk late teen to 20 somethings hagning out the windows, with music bagning out.

At the time I was there, there where also a few families setup, with small kids.

The new "gang" then parked their trucks in a circle, facing in with all the lights they had on and started to pull old wodden pallets off the back of their Utes. These where then piled in the middle of their circle, stacked about 3-4 meters high, where they then used petrol to light it all up.

The flames where reaching above the tree canopy, with embers flying all over the woods.

The noise, language and behaviour they where using from this point on, was used to drive out us other campers. I was in a wooded area, just outside of the flat land used for camping, as I was using a tarp and hammock setup. By the time the drunks had got around to looking who was owner of the car with no tent next to it (me), the police arrived.

It went to court and they all got off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

What's the point of a police state, if they don't deal with the dicks like this?
 
heh, alot of the time im just paronoid, Im allways expecting the worst from everyone, alot of the time you get the folks who have questions like "oh, so where are you guys headed" or "have a great time" something like that. All I do is give loose anwsures, like, "ohh geeze, I dont even know where im going" and give a little chuckle. I find when keeping eye contact with people your not sure of, Like if im walking or hiking with my girlfriend and someone stops us to chat that I, or we dont know, especially at night, I can un fortunatly say im not the friendlyest person, theres just too much crap around to get all nice with strangers, I keep my distance, and let them know im not in the mood for any chat chat.
 
There was a fellow in this area who was squirrel hunting and came across two men who seemed very much out of place. They were murderers who had just buried their victim !!!
 
I occasionally go for long hikes in a local nature preserve and sometimes run into kids staking out places to have 'pit-parties'. These parties usually involve an irresponsibly large fire, underage drinking, and litter in the stream. A couple weeks ago I ran into two such teenagers toting skateboards and talking about how they were going to put a keg in the stream to keep it cold. I was just a few feet off the path, dressed in a 'digital camo' bandana on my head, a longlseeve generic camo shirt, and brown cargo shorts. I know the outfit sounds silly but I like to be at least mildly inconspicuous to avoid two-legged critters in the woods as best I can without walking around in a ghillie suit. ;)
Anyway, they walk by me without noticing me and begin heaving large rocks into the stream about 20 feet away from me. It's about this time that one of them turns around in search of more rocks and happens to look directly at me and taps his companion on the shoulder, pointing in my direction. They both stop and one of them starts to say "Hey, yo!" as I stand up, retrieve my VTAC from a rotten log, wipe off the spike, and replace it in it's sheath. I think it was about this time that they realized I wasn't a kid and I wasn't in the mood for punks trashing the woods I enjoy. Unfortunately, our little encounter did nothing to dissuade them from partying. There was a 6-8 foot circle of scorched logs and earth, singed branches about 10-15 feet above their fire, and litter everywhere when I returned the other day. A buddy of mine suggested we buy a gorilla suit and wait in the woods for a party to show up some night and just run around the perimiter grunting.
 
Fonly said:
heh, alot of the time im just paronoid, Im allways expecting the worst from everyone, alot of the time you get the folks who have questions like "oh, so where are you guys headed" or "have a great time" something like that. All I do is give loose anwsures, like, "ohh geeze, I dont even know where im going" and give a little chuckle. I find when keeping eye contact with people your not sure of, Like if im walking or hiking with my girlfriend and someone stops us to chat that I, or we dont know, especially at night, I can un fortunatly say im not the friendlyest person, theres just too much crap around to get all nice with strangers, I keep my distance, and let them know im not in the mood for any chat chat.
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I drove night shift taxi to get through university and you would not BELIEVE some of the crap that I saw/smelled/heard etc. Some things you wish you hadn't seen because it is so depressing. You need a license to own a dog but any jackass can have kids. Zero parenting skills, zero social etiquette and or general life skills, I've pretty much seen it all. I tend to gravitate toward individuals with post secondary education because they generally aren't as crude and selfish, they tend to be "enlightened". I pack a folder in the city and a larger blade/Axe in the bush. I trust no one until I've had plenty of time to see what they are made of. I do not have a criminal record and I'm not an inherently violent person. I do know and believe that bad things can and do happen to good people, so I watch my back and loosen up only when trust is earned. In the city or bush I will be casually sociable, but life has hardened me and trust is a slow process. On the flip side I tend to make life long friendships when I meet good people.

Trust a stranger in the bush? No, why would I? It's a stranger.
 
I had just moved to WV. from Tx and was walking my twp dogs on a trail behind a trout lake, when I got to a smal pound in the hils my big airdale Briar alerted on some thing he was about 15 ft in frfont of me I heard a shot from the ridge and then one from realy close Briar spun around and ran to my fet and dropped dead at my feet . I started yelling to stop shooting you have killed my dog. Alot of stuff was runing through my head #1 was that I was unarmed #2 was that I had a heart condition that had not been fixed yet and #3 was that I was woried that they would shoot my other dog. I was unarmed at the time because I was waiting for my CCW to transfer from Tx.
I never found out who shot my dog and if I was armed you might have heard about it. The cops were oh well and when I reminded them that this was a no hunting area and that people walk their dogs and kids here fairly often and that the person who shot had to shot in my direction to hit him. I think it was a poacher or some one guarding a weed patch cops said oh well.
 
In the local hills it's not uncommon to run into gang members who hang out and drink up there. Lots of graffitti and litter around too. I try and skirt the trails by the trailhead, they don't hike up very far so avoidance seems to work. When I do cross paths with them, I just nod a greeting and walk on by.
Once there was a large group of them, and they all stopped talking and watched me, that was a tense moment but nothing came of it. (I did take a different trail back out though)
 
I rarely see people in the woods I walk in but I do find piles of used douches and spit rags from the whore who works the adjoining highway,discarded tires (to avoid the $5 disposal fee) and empty bags of miracle grow which lead to pot patches complete with fish hook and razor blade booby traps. I remove the traps I find but they get replaced frequently. None of them are deadly but could seriously hurt or maim someone.
 
I rarely see anyone at all while outdoors. In my experience, once beyond easy vehicle access, there's rarely a reason to worry.

But I do follow basic outdoor etiquette that also serves as personal protection. For example, I never set my tent where it can be seen from the hiking trail or road.

-Bob
 
There has been the "Redwood Curtain" in Northern California" since the late sixties. It began (the myth at least) with Viet Nam vets living in the woods after burning out. There is a simular area in Washington east of Seattle of second growth timberlands where men with small disability checks live in makeshift shelters and venture into town to get their checks and supplies. It has collected a zoo of mental cases, etc, to the point where the local county LEOS won't go in without a backup. I'm sure there are rural areas around the country like that.

Once in a while I'll see one of these guys while driving a logging road and there's never been a problem, but it makes you wonder.

The only time I've had a real scary incedent was in the early seventies in a campground. I was camping with a hgh school buddy and we had a campfire going. Three guys showed up and shared the fire with us, all high on mescaline and beer. They were being cool, but one guy went to their car and got a shotgun, sat down at the fire and went to sleep hugging the scatter gun. This made us all pretty nervous, but he passed out soon and one of his buddies retreived the gun, which turned out to be empty. The guy had recently returned from Nam and just didn't feel comfortable around the fire without a weapon (his buddies explained). I thought for sure the guy was going to start halucinating and taking random shots.

Other than that, the local state parks are like a free form honkey tonk on the weekends. I don't bother using them any longer.
 
My wife and I were on a camping trip in Montana. We never stay at hotels or motels, we just car camp all the way there and back. While driving home from glacier lake. We stopped at a campsite, unloaded our truck and set up camp. We saw one tent, kind of large and some kids. Everything looked just fine. The kids were friendly. Then the father came over to talk to us and I got this feeling that they were actually living there and there was lots of creepiness is his behavior. I looked at my wife and didn't have to say much we literally collapsed our full tent and put in the bed of the pick up and drove to the nearest campsite.
 
upnorth said:
I drove night shift taxi to get through university and you would not BELIEVE some of the crap that I saw/smelled/heard etc. Some things you wish you hadn't seen because it is so depressing. You need a license to own a dog but any jackass can have kids. Zero parenting skills, zero social etiquette and or general life skills, I've pretty much seen it all. I tend to gravitate toward individuals with post secondary education because they generally aren't as crude and selfish, they tend to be "enlightened". I pack a folder in the city and a larger blade/Axe in the bush. I trust no one until I've had plenty of time to see what they are made of. I do not have a criminal record and I'm not an inherently violent person. I do know and believe that bad things can and do happen to good people, so I watch my back and loosen up only when trust is earned. In the city or bush I will be casually sociable, but life has hardened me and trust is a slow process. On the flip side I tend to make life long friendships when I meet good people.

Trust a stranger in the bush? No, why would I? It's a stranger.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:, couldn't have said it better.
 
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