I don't know about that. I suppose it depends on how old you are: my great-grandfather likely had to deal with bootleggers (he was a cop during/prior to WWII), and I know my great-uncle did (he was a Park Ranger back when they regularly had to deal with violent poachers and bootleggers - 20s and 30s).
I'd personally be more worried about meth cook sites than pot. Meth takes less time and less area, so it'd be easier to "stumble upon" when there's an armed guard or booby trap. With regard to outdoor safety, at least a lot of the small-time stuff is being done with the "2 liter bottle" approach than w/ the more environmentally dangerous cook site.
Depending on where in the country we're talking about, pot is a different story. I'd not generally be concerned in (say) WA or CA, because everyone there smokes it and/or grows it. I'd avoid it if I found it, but I'd not be all too concerned w/ being shot. Still, going armed is the best policy.
I've stumbled upon a pot grow before, and I've got a friend who stumbled upon (on a back mountain bike trail) a mushroom grow of some sort (he just narrowly avoided running into a tree felled across the trail which had the branches cut off like punjee sticks). I suspect he'd have found a lot more than mushrooms had he bothered looking.
Honestly, I do think these grow operations pose a significant concern to us outdoor-oriented shooters. Generally speaking, I've always felt more at ease in nature than I do in the city (I'm a big city cop, and I spend a lot of time backpacking in the wilderness on my weekends -- so both environments are intimately familiar to me).
The news articles didn't give the exact location of this large operation that was just discovered around here, but the general area where it was found is in an area of forest that I often frequent myself!
Personally, I'm always armed wherever I am, but I'll admit to the fact that my guard is often a bit lower when I'm off in the mountains, away from areas where I'd otherwise expect to run into humans. These stories serve as a reminder to be always vigilant, regardless of your location... I'd sure hate to accidentally stumble onto one of these operations while under-armed!
Pot growers are very defensive of their fields and will booby trap as well as stake them out if they think their going to be ripped off.
He investigated a case where one "partner" tried to go do an early harvest and the others found out about it.... caught him.... chained him to a tree... came back three days later and threw his body in a hole and then used a skidder to bury him with a jumbo boulder....
My BIL was involved with digging up the body and the forensic evidence, as well as witness testimony showed that the guy was actually burried alive... and they knew it.
The "problem solver" who was brought up from NH to "fix the problem" got off.....
How's that make you feel? Knowing this guy is still out there.... probably doing the same things.
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