I have not had any trouble but you never know.  When the kids were younger I would send in the dog(s), then if they came back, I would go in, then the kids.  Hubby worked 2 jobs.  Went to Paintballs since it would ID the theifs, it would not kill them (target practice for me), and the final thing is police around here do not want you to have a gun (they get nervous).  They did say - drag them in your house.  If the barn is part of your property why would I have to drag them to the house?  Never thought about rock salt.  Glad you are safe and they did not take anything else or hurt anything else.       

In the case of a bullet fired at a precisely vertical angle (something extremely difficult for a human being to duplicate), the bullet would tumble, lose its spin, and fall at a much slower speed due to terminal velocity and is therefore rendered less than lethal on impact.

Just because it isn't lethal doesn't mean it's not a danger.  I had an old appy mare that lost an eye to that "less than lethal impact".  The neighbours were shooting at birds over our pasture towards our house/barn.  You could hear the pellets hitting our roof.  I was putting the horses in the barn when the mare was hit.  I was standing next to her head putting on her halter when it hit her.

Never said it wasn't...

I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

We do what we have to around here to protect our property. It happens plenty here,and I haven't heard of anybody being killed yet,maybe hurting themselves pretty bad trying to get the hell out of there.

Well let's all get "scientific" about shooting off a gun.

We're born shooting guns here in Arkansas.When I said I 'didn't see what it would hurt' I didn't mean whoever is standing outside trying to steal something.Believe you me,I've fired a gun in the air before,yes,straight up in the air. Law enforcement here has a lot more on their hands than trying to arrest folks for illegally firing a gun up in the air.There sure is a hell of a lot of it that goes on,and I've never seen an officer arrest anybody for doing it.I've even called and complained about shooting going on in the cemetary and nearby,and no one has ever shown up to "arrest" anyone.It's not against the law to fire guns here.You should be here during hunting season,guns go off 24/7,in the air,straight up,straight down,hell who knows where and what and who is shooting at whatever? I don't even see a game/fish officer here,much less some county mounty looking to make an arrest. That might be against the law but they haven't heard of that law around here yet!If you don't think a shotgun is advisable,hell,I'll just get my 38 and do it!

What's the deal here? Everyone else can talk about doing it,but when I say something about it,it's jump my case time? This forum is starting to sound like YouTube.

Some people talk the talk but don't walk the walk. How many times have you heard some people say that they were going to do something, and never have? You may be one of the few people who have actually fired a gun in the air.

We have been very fortunate in our area with a lack of thievery and vandalism. I don't own a shot gun. But I have several target and varmint rifles and a few pistols. Right, wrong or indifferent, if someone messes with my belongings in my presence, he may be able to leave, but his visit will be regrettable.

Gard

What's the deal here? Everyone else can talk about doing it,but when I say something about it,it's jump my case time? This forum is starting to sound like YouTube.

Who's jumping your case?  I simply said that it can be a danger, I (Not a friend of a friend or a neighbour, I had this mare for 18yrs) had a mare lose an eye because of someone elses carelessness.  As I was standing next to her when it happened it could have very easily been MY eye that was ruined.   And yes I think that shooting in the air is careless because you have no idea of where that shot is comming down at.  Maybe the cops in your area don't care, maybe they are to busy, but when you or yours get hurt you will care.  And every state I have lived in has a law about shooting towards houses or with in so many feet of a housing area. 

The data I quoted was from the Mythbusters...

I also have no input as to whether YOUR local police will or will not enforce laws that may or may not be in your state...They said "Because of this potentiality, firing a gun into the air is illegal in MOST U.S. states, and even in the states where it is legal, it is NOT RECOMMENDED by the police."...No more, no less...

What you do in the privacy of your state is your concern...

Here it is within 200 ft.Not much.

If they are trying to steal something out of my yard that I've worked hard to pay for,I don't much give a crap where "that shot" is coming down at,to be honest with ya."Me and mine" won't be standing out in the yard when it happens.

We don't fire guns off indiscriminately but lots of others do,and it does no good to call anybody about it.

The data I quoted was from the Mythbusters...

I also have no input as to whether YOUR local police will or will not enforce laws that may or may not be in your state...They said "Because of this potentiality, firing a gun into the air is illegal in MOST U.S. states, and even in the states where it is legal, it is NOT RECOMMENDED by the police."...No more, no less...

What you do in the privacy of your state is your concern...

Well,then,OK,Paul!Our answer to this would be:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMs9NudasVI&feature=related

Just sneakin in to say.....

What happened to the tall tree and short rope idea?

Taint legal, but it is effective. Especially if they just "hang around" a while.

I sure hope folks are careful of their neighbors though.

Steve

I think you are just being to touchy.  Just becuase I quoted a line from your post doesn't mean I was speaking specifically to you.  Several others were talking about shooting and I was trying to remind them of possible outcomes.  I'll just ignore your posts for now on so you won't continue to think that I am picking on you.

Ooookay,that sounds like a deal.And to be fair,here's a vid  for you,too,Terri:The scenery looks like it was filmed in your neck of the woods,plus,the leather pants aren't so bad,either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upenR6n7xWY

Thieves Target Farm Diesel Supplies...
By BETSY BLANEY,AP
Posted: 2008-06-26 12:59:16
LORENZO, Texas (June 26) - With the price of diesel skyrocketing, farmers and ranchers around the country are being targeted by ne'er-do-wells armed with syphon hoses and pumps.
Thieves are taking aim at ranchers and farmers, syphoning gas and stealing tanks as diesel fuel prices soar. The cost of farm diesel is less than the diesel used by truckers and the general public, and thieves either sell it or use it themselves. Some diesel thieves sometimes even use pumps built into vans that roam wide-open fields at night.

Sheldon Wilder, who owns a cotton gin 30 miles east of Memphis, Tenn., has endured worse already. Twice in two weeks, he had diesel drained from saddlebag tanks on a truck at his gin. The second time the thieves left the hoses loose and what diesel they didn't steal drained out onto the ground.

"You get irritated, but that's life," he said of the combined 300 gallons taken in the thefts. "It's just people who want some money."

Western Texas cotton producer Mark Schoepf said that with the price of diesel above $4.15 a gallon, he's decided to protect his investment. He recently bought 10 padlocks to affix to tanks that fuel the diesel motors irrigating his fields.

Many of those tanks are visible from a highway bordering his fields, making them easy targets.

"Before, we've never kept them locked," said Schoepf, who is able to store up to 5,000 gallons to fuel his farming operation east of Lubbock. "With diesel prices that high, somebody's going to try to get it."

Schoepf isn't alone. As more motorists buy locking gas caps for their vehicles, farmers and ranchers are also having to take steps to protect their fuel.

The cost of farm diesel is less than the diesel used by truckers and the general public, and thieves either sell it or use it themselves. Some diesel thieves sometimes even use pumps built into vans that roam wide-open fields at night.

"If they're out there in the middle of the night, they're up to no good," said Steve Riley, who works at Crosby County Fuel Association. "It's going to get worse."

Wilder said there is a quasi-black market for diesel that tempts some looking to save a buck or two.

"You'd probably buy it because it'd be a good deal," he said. "A lot of people are hurting. Their purchasing power has been eaten up by the price of gas and food."

Some farmers have had their entire tanks stolen and later found them elsewhere - empty.

Diesel designated for non-highway purposes costs about 60 cents per gallon less and contains a red dye that distinguishes it from regular diesel fuel.

Red-dye diesel can be used in agricultural equipment, such as tractors or combines, and on farms or ranches, which includes feedlots, dairy, poultry and timber operations, and commercial orchards and nurseries. A home garden does not qualify.

The Internal Revenue Service does random, periodic checks for illegal use of the red-dyed diesel at weigh stations across the country, spokesman Clay Sanford said. He said he couldn't confirm or deny whether the agency has stepped up checks.

The federal penalty for using the off-highway diesel on public roadways is the greater of $1,000 or $10 per gallon of the fuel involved. Penalties increase after the first violation.

In Texas, enforcement is handled by the state comptroller's office, which also does random checks at weigh stations. If caught, violators face misdemeanor charges, comptroller spokesman Allen Spelce said. From Sept. 1 through May, the state collected about $41,000 in fines, he said.

Regular diesel is also getting ripped off. In May, a small, rural school district near Waco was hit by a diesel thief who absconded with about 260 gallons, Hallsburg schools superintendent Kent Reynolds said.

Last week, about 700 gallons of diesel fuel was stolen from trucks from two neighboring business in Royalton, Minn. And on Monday, a man was arrested and accused of pumping diesel out of a Salem, Ore., gas station and into a truck and trailer capable holding 1,000 gallons.

With last year's fuel bill on the farm at $38,647 (this  was in 07) would it be permissable to fire off a gun  in the air if we happen to catch them trying to steal it?

Might not be permissable,but,I believe it would be UNDERSTANDABLE.