Close one for my son this morning.
Oakie
Member Posts: 40,510 ✭✭✭✭
My phone rings at 6:30 this morning and I see it is my son. He never calls, unless it is an emergency, so right away I feel my adrenaline spike. What up??? He then tells me, He went camping alone last night in the pines, and is being tracked by a pack of yotes. He asked me to stay on the phone as he hiked out to his truck. He had walked in about two miles. They kept crossing in front of him , behind him and down both sides. I told him to just stop and start yelling and clapping at them. Didn't help, but he made it out without being attacked. He had me scared to death. I had this happen once while hunting, so I just shot one and the rest took off. He wasn't carrying and all he had was a knife. He said he isn't camping again without a gun. I guess not was my response. He just left our house and looked WIDE AWAKE. LOL.
Chris likes to camp and hike back in the pines. It is like our private playground. Sometimes we forget we have others that live back there, like bears and yotes. Oakie
Comments
Not even a BB gun in NJ.
Did he even tell anyone he was going and where? If not, that was the first mistake.
Glad it worked for him this time.
...State & National parks prohibit guns, but whenever I camp/camped alone I always have/had a handgun beside me...I'd rather pay a huge fine or get hauled to jail than have some nut job kill me, or not be able at least attempt to fend off a bear...in ANY park I've visited, I have never had a Ranger search me or my belongings, just don't give them a reason...I'd rather contend with a Ranger than a bear...
Coyotes are opportunist and will not chance getting hurt. If for some reason a coyote would try to attack a full grown man, a swift kick making contact will stop them, and the attack is over, but I just can’t picture that happening. Now a small child by it self, yes they would if the opportunity presented it self. I’ve been camping before were you weren’t suppose to have a gun, I just didn’t advertise I had one.
Glad your son was just a bit frighten and nothing else
Another reason I will never go to NJ democrats over ride the constitution
Just like up state NY I have heard and seen photos is a beautiful state but NYC overrides any thing common sense stands for
All the places that have no gun zones the people voting it in and supporting it should be a mandatory 2 week stay by them self, no matter if woods or neighborhood
See how they feel after the stay if still alive
In Arizona, our state and national parks prohibit shooting, but not having a gun if legally allowed to have one. Of course we are a gun friendly state
Experiences like that are why I quit eating mushrooms. Glad he’s ok.
I spent 20 years in law enforcement and being lied to many, many times. As far as to blindly following a stupid rule that might get me injured or dead, well you can guess what I would do.
I see a lot of people out in the backcountry. All are open carry, I prefer concealed carry.
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain
Oakie, your sons story gave me flashbacks from watching that Liam Neeson movie "The Grey" 😬
Only with wolves instead of coyotes.
Well that will teach him.
We have concealed carry license in NJ. It passed two years ago. We can NOT, as most states, Carry in a state park. We do anyway, we just don't advertise it, and the park police never question it.
Joe, I couldn't agree with you anymore!!!!!!! I told him before, I don't care that your 30 and live in your own house, let someone know where you are at. I still let my wife and friend know where I am at, when I go into those pine barons. They aren't no joke. I'm sure you guys out west, let someone know where your hunting or camping alone.
Today at noon, he applied for his carry class. Chris is way to ignorant of what can happen out there. I have been lost out there and in Upstate PA, for two days, both times. Thank God my dad taught me survival skills. I also had a weapon, but was scared out of my mind. It was not fun. Dad found me both time, because he knew the general direction I took in PA. When he found me in NJ, that was just dumb luck. I was ten miles from my truck. I was so scared, I didn't realize how far I had walked. I was only 18 at the time.
There are some great cell phone GPS aps out there now that will keep you from getting lost.
They work even without cell phone service. The key is to turn them on when you exit your vehicle.
I have 2 of them loaded on my phone. Both are subscription fee based but pretty cheap $30 to $60 for the year.
OnX Hunt, I have OnX Off Road that works the same as the Hunt version. This show property lines and property ownership (like a plat map).
Gaia GPS - same as OnX but shows even more in my opinion. A little more difficult to use than OnX
Both of these will leave a track behind you as you walk. Turning on airplane mode will save your battery. I even use them in my boat. Very handy to have in the dark with thick fog!!!
A Gaia Example from a trail ride in Arkansas:
I have those apps . I use them all the time. When I got lost, cell phones didn't exist. The problem with these apps though, are we have no cell phone connection, when in the pines. The trees block all cell phone reception. I have several GPS devices that do work sporadically in the pines. Now PA is a different story. I can get cell phone up in the game lands, but at my house I get nothing. We even have an old landline phone for emergencies.
You actually don't need cell phone service to use those apps, as long as the app is already downloaded to your phone. It helps if you have the area already on your phone while you have service - start out. Next time you are out, put your phone into airplane mode.
I recall having this huge brick of a GPS unit - 20 years ago. Now that works off your cell phone. Crazy huh!
Great info. I didn't know that airplane mode thing. I will try it Saturday when I head out. Thanks .
I'm pretty sure no one has mentioned, at the very least, a compass.......and its proper use.
A learned and valuable skill.😉
Being raised on a farm and then being a hiker, hunter and camper, after dealing with a pack of 5 feral dogs that were "sport killing" the neighbors sheep. Walking into that s**** sandwhich , taught me, I don't go more than 50 feet from my front door with out a side arm. That was 36 years ago. I can still see them in my minds eye today, just killing for the sake of killing.
Bless our DNR, we now have wolves and cougar here in SE WI.
Tell your son, there was angel on his shoulder that day.