I guess I've never seen any "little stuff" that concern me enough to make me carry a firearm. There are lots of more important things to worry about on my farm. Like black bear, mountain lions, bobcats, and two legged skunks - those are the reasons I carry. BTW my farm looks like this or at least the swamp part does:
There's also lots of hills and bottom land. And lots of wildlife. Elk are moving in now along with wild hogs. But a main concern is that creek I'm crossing runs up to a "land deal for you" type place where lots of people who couldn't afford something really nice were made all sorts of insane promises about development and they were sold tiny little lots where they parked their tiny little campers and built their ratty little "camps". Those people decided that since they didn't get what they paid for that they should be allowed to use my farm to hunt. For years we averaged tearing down 15-20 deer stands a year. The game warden finally got through to the bozos that they couldn't just show up on our land and hunt. And wow what a fun bunch they were. They set up 50 yards from the barn with a high power rifle not even noticing that the house my cousin still lives in was right on the other side of that barn. And they didn't much like losing their expensive deer stands either. And they didn't like losing their private ATV trails that just happened to be on our land. And they didn't like losing their private "gardening" areas either. It was practically a range war for 20 years there. It hasn't gotten a whole lot better to be honest.
I don't set foot on the farm now without the firepower to handle the above stated wild critters AND the loco "something for nothing" crowd that wanted to steal what we've worked to keep for 150 years.
So at the very least I'm packing a .44 mag for bear duty although I really don't expect trouble but you just never know. My S&W 629 has a 8.5" barrel so it's good for about 175 yards of accuracy with me shooting it. I also often carry a 12 ga. loaded with slugs usually or an SKS. Sorry all you guys that like the 30-30 as a defensive round. I don't think it's in the same league as the 7.62 x 39 from an SKS. Semi-auto trumps the heck out of a lever gun. Now if I was dealing with brown bear I could well choose a heavy lever gun with a bear size cartridge capacity. But give me the suppressing fire capability of a semi-auto every time when dealing with my "neighbors". I haven't even gotten into the story of my other neighbor who tried to force a right of way across our property so he could create "Something For Nothing City II".
It's a hard cruel world friends. I used to carry a .22 just for plinking fun when I grew up on that farm. But times have changed. From the bear invasion to the skunk invasion there is lots of need for a much more effective weapon now. We knew all our neighbors at one time and we all respected each other's boundaries but wow has that ever changed.
BTW anyone who tells you there's no reason for a long range rifle for SD should move in with my cousin for a while. The "neighbors" rained a few rounds through his roof from about 300 yards away because of a confrontation over ATV trails. Trust me, I'm not going to hide under a rock while they shoot at me. I'm gonna shoot back with a rifle that will knock their eyeballs out at that distance.
The bottom line is I take several weapons with me when I go to the farm and I rarely get too far away from the truck where I have that variety of firepower. Sometimes I take the ATV around or I go for a hike and I'll pick one weapon or another. My .44 mag really seems to be an excellent choice. It's hard to even find enough open space to shoot more than 175 yards anyway. It ain't like it was when I was a kid and we worked that farm like crazy.
) I can't buy full auto stuff without a big hassle so semi-auto will just have to do. And IMO the SKS is superior as a semi-auto rifle. YMMV as always but I think a modwern rifle is a better choice when you have to face what I face on my farm.
