Real Southern Men Ought to Know Better

While I neither agree with the premise of this article nor the silly nod to racism at the conclusion (obviously a feeble attempt to take the "moral high-ground" in the essay).

I do agree that trespassing hunters are a problem.

A Hartsville resident that owns 378 acres that he purchased for his family's hunting pleasure describes it thusly -

"I don't feel that any landowner should have to turn over use of his property to any group simply to provide them a place to hunt," said Moyd. "It seems a crime that a man can buy land, develop it for wildlife enhancement, and then have hunters who use dogs to track wildlife take over."

"We have put up 'No Trespassing' signs and hunters continue to commit acts of violence; local law enforcement is helping them.

He is absolutely correct - if you do not know where you are in the woods or if you are incapable of reading a "No Trespassing" sign you have no business hunting at all.

As a child and young man I spent most of the year (when I was not living in some foreign land with my daddy thanks to Uncle Sam) tromping across the depth and breadth of my family farm - always with my trusty .22 and one or two of my dogs. This was boys' fun - it was my family's land. During deer season, my fun and frolic always came to an end. You simply never knew who might be out there.

When I became a teenager I took much of my childhood frustration out on these trespassers - I did things that were downright un-Christian and I suppose I ought to be sorry for that. I am not, though. More than one repeat offender came back from hunting on our land to find the truck he had parked on our land "tampered with", and one particularly mean and nasty SOB will never forget the day my cousins and I ambushed him (he had actually drew down on me the week prior after being warned numerous times not to come back).

That is and was my land - these interlopers did not and do not belong there. Few things make me angrier than another man invading my world - be he someone from the government or a law-breaking "neighbor".

The way I figure it, dogs on my land come there at my pleasure - if they are unruly I will shoot them. My place is large enough and far enough away from other folks to prevent pets from coming over. In actuality the same goes for men (any man) walking around on my property with a gun - hunting season or not.

I have spent over 20 years of my life in uniform in service to this nation supposedly defending our rights and freedoms. I have no intention of giving up any of those rights on my own land.

Hunters, if you are real men and follow in the truest of Southern traditions you should consider the egregious error of disrespecting another man's property. If you willfully violate such you are no better than criminal scum - and should be treated as such.