Would You Shoot Someone Over A Melon?

*scratching head*

I don't quite understand the point of melon theft, unless it's simply the thrill.

Around here, they grow melons commercially. If you approach the foreman of whatever farm's harvesting a crop, they'll usually let you have as many melons as you want after they're done with the field. Only perfect melons go to market; the rest generally get plowed under. "Imperfect" often means dead ripe, or a flat spot, or bird pecked it -- still quite edible.

I have a neighbor who'd literally come home with pickup truck loads to feed to his livestock. He'd usually come over with one or two edible ones for us -- too ripe, flat spot, etc. Can't be sent to market, usually dead ripe, but yummy to eat.

A week after the harvest's done you can smell the leftover rotting melons at three or miles away that nobody wanted. It's such a waste. (We're downwind. Sigh.)

Maybe thieves just aren't bright enough to know you don't have to steal them? Just ask the farmer nicely. :-)

A while back I woke up from a dead sleep to see some people sneaking onto my property. It was about 2 in the morning, and knowing that there had been some stealing going on around the neighborhood I decided to grab the .22 revolver just in case and hid it in my coat pocket. I also tried grabbing a flashlight, but all of flashlights had dead batteries. I sneakily went outside to see who was there. Let me tell you, without a flashlight I was pretty nervous. My plan was to confront the trespassers and if they didn't respond then shoot in the air.

As I confronted the trespassers I found out that one of them was my brother and him and his friends were trying to pull a prank on me. I learned a few things, a good flashlight in my opinion is worth more than a gun when it boils down to having one or the other. Had I had a working flashlight (and my trusty bat) even if the trespassers had been the thieves I would have felt more at ease than with the revolver.

That being said I got batteries for all my flashlights after that in short order. Now as to the question of shooting someone over a melon, nope wouldn't do it. Depending on the situation I may ask them if they needed help. It seems to me any one stealing stuff like that probably isn't in the best of financial times. How ever I seen someone ripping off fuel or my generator or anything else that wasn't food (I had my radiator pile stolen one time) the perp would probably get a shot of rock salt in the behind or find the mean end of the bat and later getting a talking to by the police.

Back I think in the early eighties my friend's father once had his entire tank of diesel for his farm emptied. After a couple of times of this he decided to have the diesel tank filled with gas and the gas tank filled with diesel. The next time the thief came he didn't get too far. Turned out it was one of his neighbors who had just bought a brand new diesel pickup. My friend's father decided not to press charges, figured the ruined engine was a lesson enough for the thief. After that he never had any fuel stolen again.

if it was my farm you be dead with a pistol in your hand and 2 shots fired from it the only thing you would own is 6 feet of dirt

my dogs handle that stuff for me.....have shoes and pant legs to back it up...
and socks of course!

mc and co

I would only consider using deadly force if I felt threatened or I perceived a threat to my wife or one of my children or grandchildren...

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"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow the fields of those who don't."-Thomas Jefferson

If I own a gun and a farm I probably own a few other tools as well.
If I own live stock Im likely well versed in SSS
Whats one more body in the dirt?

It depends, I've seen some really, really nice melons.

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"Only the rocks [and really embarassing moments] live forever"

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands..." tick-tick-tick