How would you respond?

[Moo 2 Drvr]

Here is a hypothetical:

You are hunting alone in a state or national forest (large property). You have a shotgun with small game loads, say 5 shot, buckshot and a few slugs. You also have your concealed carry handgun. You are two to three miles from your truck. You haven't seen anyone in the last several hours.

As you walk out of the trees into a small clearing, you spot a small shack 20 yards away. There is a strong chemical smell coming from the shack. You believe it is a meth lab. Before you can take three more steps four guys come out from behind the shed armed with AR-15s and openly carrying side arms as well. They are walking toward you but spreading out as the move as if they want to encircle you. What do you do?

Note: Your mother cannot help you here!

 

[gfpd707]

Say Hello and ask if the are refinishing furniture. (the smell)
Meth heads would have sold the guns for more meth.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

I walked into an unattended marijuana field several years ago while scouting potential hunting areas in the Olympic National Forest in Washington state. I was traveling on a game trail along the edge of a clearcut when I noticed an unusually dark green shrub that looked almost like a Christmas tree directly in front of me. It was unusual and it captured my attention as I continued walking towards it. Then I noticed what appeared to be a shallow irrigation trench around it and I thought to myself, "Gee, it seems as if someone is taking care of that little bush." As I neared I suddenly recognized its distinctive leaves. I stopped, as I absorbed the significance of what I'd just seen. Then I quickly scanned the immediate area to see if there was anybody else nearby. As I did so, I suddenly became very aware that I was standing in the middle of a pot field. The plants just seemed to appear everywhere (it was the equivalent of a visual "bing, bing, bing..." kind of thing as they "popped out" from the rest of the vegetation).

I immedately turned around and headed back in the direction I came from. It was late afternoon anyhow, so I just hiked down to my Jeep and drove to the local General Store in Quilcene where I could use a pay phone to report my find to the Sheriff. A deputy responded and followed me up to the location, where he took a few photos for the regional drug task force. The plants were ripped out of the ground the next day by deputies.

I was armed with an AR-15 at the time when I stumbled into the field. I'd been menaced by a pack of dogs when I was out hiking by myself as a teenager. I was unarmed then. I swore I'd never take to the boonies again without a gun.

Now to address the poster's question, I'd just turn around and "bravely run away" like my hair was on fire, to create as much distance from these guys as I can and not stop until I felt I was no longer in danger.

 

[smince]

Squeal like Ned Beatty?

I was rabbit hunting once and came across a still. Turned and went another direction and found a pot field a few hundred yards that direction.

Moral: find another place to hunt.

 

[308win]

I must lead a very mundane life. I have never stumbled across a pot field, still, meth lab, chop shop, etc., etc. I have never been mugged, heldup, assulted, shot, stabbed, etc.; never been in a gun fight, bar brawl, etc. (have been a victim of identity theft/credit fraud).

 

[brassdog]

Run boy! Run!!

If you're scouting in the woods by yourself you should be sticking to the shadows, moving as slowly as possible.

Always let people know where you're going and when you're coming back. Write out your plan, copy it and give one to your wife, best friend... and the other to keep in your vehicle.

Seriously...You are screwed!

 

[mljdeckard]

A couple of things.

This is unlikely for a couple of reasons. Meth labs are rare in the very desolate wilderness, they are usually in town, because it's easier to find an abandoned building to cook meth in than to build one out in the sticks these days. Meth requires more resources, like electricity to cook. If you are cooking it in the great outdoors, you need to bring a generator. It also requires a certain amount of man-labor, as opposed to POT, which requires a little setup, will grow just about anywhere, and requires very little day-to-day labor. It is much more likely you will stumble onto a pot grow, with no one there, either because they weren't there in the first place, or because there was one guy there who bugged out when he heard you coming.

I started a thread in here this summer about the 'growing' pot problem in Utah, and one thing these grows had in common was that no one was there. What I STRONGLY suspect, is that they conspire with sheep herders of A COMMON ETHNICITY who tend sheep in the same hills, OR (here's where I get in trouble,) they ARE the sheep farmers too. (Oh yeah, I said it.) They don't sit on the grow regularly at all, they pay the sheep farmer to check their water lines twice a week. (That's how I would do it.)

Having said that, I take the problem very seriously. I have no illusions about the easy-going nature of pot farmers. No matter how easy-going they are, the market is run and controlled by killers. SOMEWHERE in the process, is a guy who will just as easily kill you as look at you. FOR THIS REASON, I am seldom if ever ALONE in the woods to begin with. When I hunt, I like going with friends or family members in the first place. Experience around the world in places ranging from paradise to very dangerous has engendered appreciation for the buddy system. It's a lot harder to murder and explain away more than one victim. I am ALWAYS armed when outdoors, at least with a sidearm, and usually with an SKS or AR. Pot grows in some counties here have rewards of $100 PER PLANT. They have paid rewards of a few thousand dollars this year.

Odds of finding a meth lab instead of a pot grow, with people who sit on it regularly, who are inclined towards violence are small. BUT, if it happened as you described it, I would act stupid, not say a word about the pot, pretend they were fellow hunters or sheep farmers, and keep on walking. I would get to cover as soon as I possibly could without arousing suspicion. If I'm within cell range, I call. If I'm close to a vehicle, I go for it. If I'm not, I dig in a defensive position on the high ground.

 

[ChefKristian]

Meth heads would have sold the guns for more meth.

That is such a blanketed statement... Not all people that manufacture drugs, use the drugs. People that manufacture and distribute drugs are sometimes heavily armed to protect their "goods." If this is your logic, then there would not ever be drug involved murders...

It isn't a matter of how likely the situation is or isn't...

In this hypothetical situation, the best option would be to play dumb and ask how the hunting is in the area. The absolute worse thing you could have done was walk "TOWARD" the shack... 60 feet is a very short distance for them to travel, and fleeing in unfamiliar territory is a lose/ lose situation. I would imagine that if they do, in fact, intend on doing harm, you would not have had the opportunity to assess the situation, as they would have already opened fire on you.

 

[JoeSlomo]

4 to 1?


Get the hell out of there...

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

a good run beats a bad stand

 

[mljdeckard]

And I will echo what chef said. I absolutely would not assume that just because someone is cooking meth they are also USING meth.

 

[msb45]

Run for it. If you're encircled and outnumbered it's the same situation as Custer. Highly unlikely scenario, but may be an instance where forgetting some buckshot in your hunting vest may be a lucky break.

 

[Moo 2 Drvr]

Maybe I should clarify a few things. It doesn't matter whether it is a meth lab or a pot field. Same difference as far as I am concerned. The point is that four armed guys begin to approach you and you have no idea whether they intend to harm you or not. They are too close to run from without risking a bullet in the back. If you do nothing, they will likely surround you and you will not be able to defend yourself.

What I was hoping for was some thoughts on how you could challenge them to stop/stay away without risking them justifiably shooting you in self defense.

 

[mljdeckard]

Like I say, I would act like they were doing what I was doing, say nothing about the drugs, and avoid violence entirely. I'm fast, but I'm not THAT fast.

 

[Grey_Mana]

Easy, take their guns away and use their own guns against them. Or shoot them all instantly and fatally.

Those 4 guys apparently have their guns for self-defense, and the MSM has taught me that anyone hoping to defend themselves with a gun won't have time to use it, and will have it taken away.

 

[critter]

I have been quite near a pot field when the FDA folks showed up to raid it in full combat gear. Ended my deer hunting in that area POST HASTE!

I have a friend who is a forester for a large timber company. I was with him one time when a young man asked him if he ever found any pot growing operations in the woods. He replied in the affirmative and said his biggest SINGLE DAY was ELEVEN pot plots!

 

[W.E.G.]

MS Paint or it didn't happen!

 

[hso]

Run

You don't challenge 4 guys with semiauto rifles if you suspect they're defending an illegal operation.

Leave the Rambo stuff to the movies.

 

[Fred Fuller]

I think that about covers this one.

lpl