I recorded this video about a month ago, but am just now getting it online. While out on a trail run, I may have received a death threat…or maybe it was just a friendly warning. Here’s the story:
I just got in from a run where I may have received a death threat.
I was out on some trails and I came upon a man in camouflage, sitting on an ATV off to the side of the trees. So I waved and said good evening to him.
His response was, “Watch out for the deer.”
Now, you can take that one of three ways.
Maybe he just was worried that there might be some deer out there that might have wanted to trample me; not the most outlandish idea, I have had a friend that was chased by a buck before.
The next way that he might have taken it, and if you are a cynic this is what your might think, was that given that hunting season hasn’t started, maybe he was warning me, “Hey! If I had better luck poaching, then I might have had to have shot you.” I don’t think that’s what he meant, but it’s possible.
The third and most likely explanation is that he was just warning me that hunting season is just around the corner, and even though I was running after the sun went down, accidents can happen in the woods. So that can be either a more threatening statement, or it could have just been a friendly warning; who knows?
Either way, it’s a good thing to bear in mind:
Know what the local hunting laws are in your area.
If necessary, you might want to avoid certain trails during hunting season. So, just make yourself aware, and be safe out there. If you take a look at this link right here, if you go there, you can see some general safety tips on running during hunting season as well as get a link to where you can see what all of the laws are in your individual state.
With hunting season starting this weekend here in Maine, I’ve avoided that stretch of trail for the past month and will be changing up where I go for my weekend runs for the next month or month and a half.
Here are the links you might want to check out before heading out for your next run:
Just to be clear based on a few emails I’ve gotten:
I agree that it’s a ridiculous and unlikely stretch that I was actually being threatened (I tried to make that clear in the video but must not have done a very good job.)
While he definitely didn’t say it in a way that makes me think I should keep my eyes out and I might see some deer (and I do see them back there quite often) -- it was said in a tone of voice that was a warning, which is why I was confused and spent the rest of the run trying to figure out exactly what the guy was trying to tell me.
That said, I figure it’s safer to wait for the snow (especially now that hunting season is about to start so I wouldn’t be back there anyway.) And I didn’t think to look if he had a gun with him or not; I’ve had a gun pointed at me (and been told point blank that I was going to be shot) while out running and it definitely wasn’t the same situation as that. (In that case, I was in college and a guy had put no trespassing signs up on a public path and made it clear he didn’t want us there. Of course, he didn’t believe us that we didn’t see the signs despite the fact that they all faced away from the trail head we had just come out of and the only way we could have seen them was if we turned around while we were running. We never ran that trail in the other direction as it was a warmup loop we used to get to a park where we did repeats.)
It just seemed odd, and seemed like a good way to remind people to be careful out there. Most of the hunters I know are very careful and provide a useful service, but accidents can happen, especially if you don’t take simple precautions.
I started my running in the UK where hunting doesn’t really happen all that much so must say that when I was running round the woods in Vermont and returned to tell the family who I was staying with where I had been and saw how white they went it started to scare me too!
It had just never crossed my mind but now I stick to certain areas.
Yeah, it all depends on the time of year. This time of year, you definitely need to be careful. I don’t worry as much during archery or muzzle loading season, but rifle season I tend to avoid the woods unless I’m in an area where hunting isn’t allowed, it’s the middle of the night, or it’s Sunday (which in Maine is off limits for hunters.)
Just to be clear based on a few emails I’ve gotten:
I agree that it’s a ridiculous and unlikely stretch that I was actually being threatened (I tried to make that clear in the video but must not have done a very good job.)
While he definitely didn’t say it in a way that makes me think I should keep my eyes out and I might see some deer (and I do see them back there quite often) -- it was said in a tone of voice that was a warning, which is why I was confused and spent the rest of the run trying to figure out exactly what the guy was trying to tell me.
That said, I figure it’s safer to wait for the snow (especially now that hunting season is about to start so I wouldn’t be back there anyway.) And I didn’t think to look if he had a gun with him or not; I’ve had a gun pointed at me (and been told point blank that I was going to be shot) while out running and it definitely wasn’t the same situation as that. (In that case, I was in college and a guy had put no trespassing signs up on a public path and made it clear he didn’t want us there. Of course, he didn’t believe us that we didn’t see the signs despite the fact that they all faced away from the trail head we had just come out of and the only way we could have seen them was if we turned around while we were running. We never ran that trail in the other direction as it was a warmup loop we used to get to a park where we did repeats.)
It just seemed odd, and seemed like a good way to remind people to be careful out there. Most of the hunters I know are very careful and provide a useful service, but accidents can happen, especially if you don’t take simple precautions.
I started my running in the UK where hunting doesn’t really happen all that much so must say that when I was running round the woods in Vermont and returned to tell the family who I was staying with where I had been and saw how white they went it started to scare me too!
It had just never crossed my mind but now I stick to certain areas.
Yeah, it all depends on the time of year. This time of year, you definitely need to be careful. I don’t worry as much during archery or muzzle loading season, but rifle season I tend to avoid the woods unless I’m in an area where hunting isn’t allowed, it’s the middle of the night, or it’s Sunday (which in Maine is off limits for hunters.)