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I wouldn't worry about it if you're white. You might get the gun pointed at you, but the trigger won't get pulled.
If you aren't white I'd try to find another job.
What a crock! Personally, I would worry about it no matter the color. Most gun owners are smart enough to assess the situation before pulling a gun on someone, but there is no accounting for the paranoid people. I've actually seen some true crime shows about people posing as utility workers to gain access to the property, so I'm sure there will be some who worry about that type of stuff. A few years ago I would have said there was nothing to worry about, but these days people are jumpy and paranoid to the extreme, including police. It seems that people have a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later.
I spend a fair amount of time in Texas, your fears are unfounded
Sure, there are guns in Texas and slightly different laws, but I've never read about a electric company worker in Texas getting shot. Unless you do something monumentally stupid, you aren't any more at risk than you were in your old state.
Personally, I wouldn't be worried about law-abiding folk with rifles. You should worry about running across a grow-op or meth lab. Those folk are truly paranoid, and don't much care what is or isn't legal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadWarrior12
In thinking about it, my neighbor at the Boerne property has the utility easement on the East side of his property, that's where he usually puts his bull. The hell with the guns he's got, I'd worry more about the 1-ton animal that can do 30MPH.
And a high-vis vest is not going to make things any better in this situation.
OP isn't talking about reading meters. He's talking about hopping a locked fence to access a different part of the property to inspect/work on the lines/poles installed on private property (within a utility easement).
This is where things get dicey in places like Texas, particularly in South TX. You couldn't pay me enough to do this on a regular basis - if my employer told me to leave a tag on the gate and just jump the fence, I'd laugh so hard I'd probably bruise a rib.
Not really a thread drift, I think it's totally germane to the OP's concerns. If I was out on my property in Boerne with my daughters playing outdoors and I saw some rando climbing the fence, he'd have a .45 cal 1911 in his face and a former MP K-9 on his ass really quickly.
In thinking about it, my neighbor at the Boerne property has the utility easement on the East side of his property, that's where he usually puts his bull. The hell with the guns he's got, I'd worry more about the 1-ton animal that can do 30MPH.
Quote:
Originally Posted by veuvegirl
Here I was thinks about a dog, wow a bull!!
Lol, I thought the same thing until I read your post, Veuvegirl.
"Puts his bull" sure looks a lot like "his pit bull" if one is reading fast. Or maybe dyslexic getting I am.....
My brother near SA has a next door neighbor whose huge property is surrounded by an 8' game fence = no access unless you go to the main gate. The house is miles from that gate and you are going to be wandering around. My brother has one way in and lots of dogs to let him know if anyone comes onto his property. If the hounds start howling he can look down the road and check out who is on the property. He is cool about that stuff and you won't be near his house if checking out a power line. If you come up to the house you will be confronted. Not necessarily with a firearm in your face but most people have no business walking around unannounced on someone's ranch in the hills, no matter what clothes/vest you are wearing.
Does the OP think only Texans have firearms? I would be wary of walking on any property unannounced in any state. It's not the job - it's your employer.
What I would worry about in Texas is eating their RICE, which has significantly high levels of arsenic!
Seriously, Consumer Reports tested a lot of rice and recommends California rice, as well as rice from India and Pakistan for containing significantly less arsenic. In particular, they like California basmati rice and sushi rice (which is also called pearl rice).
To the OP: We Texans are friendly folks, but we're real particular about our private property.
You haven't had a gun pulled on you so far; don't continue to push your luck. If a gate is locked, you'd best not jump the fence. Do you think the landowner wants to keep everyone except you off of his/her property?
The power company should have their own locks on rural gates (after all, the linemen have to be able to access the lines & such); have your supervisor get you the keys/combinations for these locks from the client.
Also, I second the earlier comment about your life being jeopardized if you stumble upon a marijuana growing operation or a meth lab. And I'd also add "stash house" to that list.
What a crock! Personally, I would worry about it no matter the color. Most gun owners are smart enough to assess the situation before pulling a gun on someone, but there is no accounting for the paranoid people. I've actually seen some true crime shows about people posing as utility workers to gain access to the property, so I'm sure there will be some who worry about that type of stuff. A few years ago I would have said there was nothing to worry about, but these days people are jumpy and paranoid to the extreme, including police. It seems that people have a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later.
ESPECIALLY those of us with CHL. LEO is VERY happy when they pull someone over that states to them (with both hands on the wheel of course) I have a CHL, my weapon is located (fill in the blank). They KNOW they are dealing with someone that KNOWS and RESPECTS the rules here in Texas! They immediately know this person #1, has had a background check, #2, has no felonies, #3 is probably as anal as they are about the law.
I think our OP just needs to learn more about the attitude toward firearms in general that many of us who grew up in rural areas hold.
First, gun ownership in rural areas is linked to sport hunting. But here in Pennsylvania and many other states, a young man can't get a hunting license until he completes a mandatory hunter-safety course similar to Driver's Ed in high school. Not sure if this is the case in Texas as yet, but sooner or later, it likely will be -- responsible gun owners don't oppose education, only the possibility of gun confiscation.
It's also worth noting that one of the reasons American soldiers have acquitted themselves well in combat is that a lot of them don't have to be trained in marksmanship after joining the military.
Personally, I don't own a firearm, and have never fired anything bigger than a .22 small-caliber rifle -- that as part of a college Phys Ed program. I have a spinal deformity that has left my body "out of plumb", so I'll never be a good shot. But I'm very glad that many of the people I live and work with are familiar with one of the tools that, along with the private auto, the telephone, and the personal computer, are going to keep it hard for Big Bother to get too big.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 12-31-2014 at 04:11 AM..
What I would worry about in Texas is eating their RICE, which has significantly high levels of arsenic!
Seriously, Consumer Reports tested a lot of rice and recommends California rice, as well as rice from India and Pakistan for containing significantly less arsenic. In particular, they like California basmati rice and sushi rice (which is also called pearl rice).
You foreigners (i.e. Californians) are so funny.
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I spend a fair amount of time in Texas, your fears are unfounded
