Page 5 of 5 FirstFirst ... 345
Results 41 to 47 of 47

Thread: Rural folks - School me on homesteading safety

  1. #41
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    The Sticks, TN
    Posts
    4,161
    Feedback Score
    6 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by utahjeepr View Post
    Not to nitpick on Euro or anyone else, but 20 is a might small. I ain't much better, but just saying. Florida has like, let me google it, yeah... zero good natural backstops in the entire state. 20 isn't much range even if you do build one. Its Euro's money. Go big or go home!��
    I thought he was in Canada now and his 20 acres is on the edge of the Rockies and a vast wilderness .
    Last edited by flenna; 02-28-21 at 05:16.
    Philippians 2:10-11

    To argue with a person who renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead. ~ Thomas Paine

    “The greatest conspiracy theory is the notion that your government cares about you”- unknown.

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Inland Northwest
    Posts
    1,356
    Feedback Score
    30 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by Ironman8 View Post
    This x1000. Read this at least a few times and digest it.

    These concentric rings and layers of security sound good on paper but you’ll likely be turning that sh*t off due to wildlife tripping sensors all day. Secure your house like you normally would. Maybe a driveway sensor if you have a longer driveway. Perimeter fencing is good if you can afford it. Manual gate, or electric if you must. Like I said before, most people in the country are good people that are more like minded than not. Just know your neighbors and surrounding area.
    After contemplation and in being in the OP’s shoes more or less, the above two posters are absolutely correct. I have ten wooded acres, my house is not visible from the road, I have large dogs which reliably bark at vehicles in the driveway and the few people walking at the back property line (on their own property), motion-activated cameras and lights near the house, trail cams throughout the property, I know my neighbors and their vehicles, I have a great wood stove with several years worth of firewood and a propane backup and a generator for my freezers full of pork and elk. The only thing things I really wish for are a tractor and a well (hit or miss around here).

    Where I live, trespassing on others land is not common. The culture is one of being very cognizant of one’s own and others property lines. Also, we are blessed with an abundance of public land.

    I garden, keep hens and raise hogs more out of amusement than anything else.

  3. #43
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Eastern Colorado
    Posts
    156
    Feedback Score
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by ubet View Post
    And what are you protecting livestock from? You think someone is going to come steal cows? Not going to happen unless the world goes really sideways then all the electric doodads won’t work very long anyways.
    Mayberry is a myth. Every crime that happens in the city happens in small towns and unincorporated rural areas.

    Kidnappings, murders, domestic abuse, theft... sometimes more often due to thin law enforcement coverage and extended response times.

    The rural county I used to work in, we knew certain people had probably been murdered... or worse... “Joe? Haven’t seen him in a while. Must have moved on...”. We were popular for suicides and as a dumping ground, too... drive your latest corpse up from the city and maybe some hikers will find it in 20 years.

    Rustling is an enormous problem in rural America. A trailer can scoop up two or three dozen head and they will be sold and butchered before the rancher knows they are gone. Rustling costs ranchers millions annually in Colorado alone.

    Not just a problem for ranchers, either. Your one cow or six to eight goats will feed a frugal family for a year. Bessie disappears all the time.
    Last edited by tanksoldier; 03-01-21 at 23:52.
    "I am a Soldier. I fight where I'm told and I win where I fight." GEN George S. Patton, Jr.

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Apr 2021
    Posts
    2
    Feedback Score
    0
    I don't know my neighbors very well and I wish I had put a fence around my house earlier. Although I live far away from the city itself, I still feel uncomfortable with my neighbors because I don't trust people. Since I installed the high fence, I no longer worried about it and now the dog soedei will not come into my backyard and do his business and will not have a view of my house and yard from the street and my neighbors. I made the right decision by ordering at https://www.walshlandscaping.co.uk/services/fencing-contractors-maidenhead-ascot / a beautiful and high fence that completely surrounds my house.
    Last edited by Martinzo; 04-06-21 at 13:21.

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    IN
    Posts
    1,790
    Feedback Score
    17 (100%)
    I have 80 acres, not our main property so I’m only their occasionally. Get to know your neighbors, they can be a nice asset. I have trail cams up and have caught people on our property that shouldn’t be there, mostly coon hunters without permission. I also overtly carry when on the property and riding around, actually Mike Glover had a nice post about this on this instagram.

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Sin City
    Posts
    1,814
    Feedback Score
    22 (100%)
    Interesting thread. I’ve been looking at doing something similar in the future. TX or TN are likely destinations with 20-30 acres the goal. I have noticed with that size of a lot, depending on how far you want to shoot, the shape of the lot, location of yours and the neighbors dwelling seems critical. Can’t speak to the other stuff but keeping it simple seems prudent.

  7. #47
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Past the second cattle guard, at the end of the gravel road
    Posts
    416
    Feedback Score
    21 (100%)
    Meth heads are in every rural county and are watching for their next smash and grab.
    Anything that can be seen from the county road is a target.
    It’s sickening how much crime they cause in our rural Texas County.

    Get an automatic entrance gate, solar powered, one with a garage door type opener and automatic sensor.
    I have a hinged 2 “ pipe gate in front of the automatic gate that gets locked when we leave for extended periods. 30 foot of concreted-in drill stem pipe fence at the entrance.
    SOBs will have to work a bit to get in and most aren’t that committed and go to softer targets.

    Go to local functions, donate to all the youth groups, make good with the neighbors. It may take 15 years to become part of the community but participating makes it quicker. The people you meet will be also watching your place in a good way. I sure do.

    Learn how to repair your water well, as a minimum, understand how your pump pressure switch works.
    Single ply toilet paper for the septic tank. Scott Comfort Plus is preferred.
    Get a generator. Preferably propane powered with 500 gallon tank vs. gasoline.
    Wood stove is good to have, in the Texas February super Freeze & big Blackout was sure glad we had it.

    FYI on property taxes. Your land may have been previously taxed at an Agricultural rate- real cheap.
    You apparently won’t be filing a Schedule F or have other agricultural exemptions- so expect a big property tax bill.
    Rural County tax appraisal districts are quick to pick up land status changes.
    I think it takes seven years to restore Ag exemptions ( once lost) in Texas

    I’ve lived in the country most of my life. 30 minutes from fast food and a grocery store.
    Can take a leak outside whenever, wherever.
    Literally shoot full auto including my belt-fed 30 steps from the house.
    Last edited by Ready.Fire.Aim; 04-06-21 at 08:54.
    "Jill, if there's ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony ... take that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house,.." VP Joe Biden Feb 19, 2013

Page 5 of 5 FirstFirst ... 345

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •