HACKED BY CYBER-ATTACK - ALPERENBTN

[Hardhead]

I have been camping with others and by myself on PINS long before it was PINS and I have always carried a 9mm with me . In the 40 years of camping on Padre Island I have had only one actual encounter that had me ready to fire . 3 illegals came from the dunes about 8 years ago and they looked ruff. I chambered a shell and pointed and 2 ran the other asked for awa por favor awa, awa, I gave him a few bananas and a gallon of water and he was off. I have seen others many times but never been approched by any others. But these guys came into my marked territory about 2 am and I just happened to wake up to take a leak and I heard them mumbling. BUT I would much rather go thru the hassle of being searched and maybe a trip to jail than be without my protection. I do keep it unloaded and the clip in another area....UNTIL the sun goes down. better safe than sorry..... Now as for my pardner ....She has a concealed handgun permit and it is loaded and a 357 magnum make a bigger hole than my lil ole 9mm. But even a permit will get you hasseled by a officer. She knows ....They handcuffed her until all was verified to be valid.
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"24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?
I think not."
Hardhead / aka Garry Bujak

[BeachBum]

I think they were doing some sort of training excersizes because the had a large group of people in the parking lot pavillion with RV like vehicles and canopies. Large group of them standing around and talking. There was a chopper in the parking lot. SouthTXHunter was in the vehicle behind me. As soon as we hit the beach, we saw at least three different groups of 7 to 10 vehilces heading north. Some were marked border patrol and rangers. Most were unmarked border patrol with each vehicle had cages for housing illegals. I also saw another choppy heading north while down there. Never seen so many at on time. My guess is training.
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FISH ON!!,

BUM

Coastal Shark Fishing

[Rooster]

I've thought about takin my shotgun or down PINS when me and my buddies are gonna spend the night but, im only 16 would it still be legal for me to take it ? I mean im not gonna confront any illegals but if it comes down to it i want be the one with the firepower. As i understand you can carry a long gun ( Rifle or Shotgun) at any age as long as it has been given to you by a parent or guardian.
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If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles.
--Doug Larson

[Yakmon]

Everyone has their own tolerance level for fear. Some people won't go to the mall by themselves, with or without a gun. I say if you feel better about your odds with a gun, then take a gun. I travel and camp down the beach by myself with nothing but a load of fishing gear and a camera. I have never been bothered on the beach, and have seen very little "shady" activity down there. I have only been attacked on the beach twice - once by a green blacktip and another time by a stingray.

I think you have a lot more to fear from the natural inhabitants than the drug runners and illegal immigrants. Maybe I missed all of the posts where people have needed to use their guns to protect themselves, but it doesn't seem like too many people are assaulted on PINS, definitely no more than are assaulted in the surrounding cities. It would seem to me that the same people who don't go to the beach without a gun would be the people who don't go to the mall without a gun.

There are many ways to protect yourself on the beach, but the main thing you can do is to use good judgement. When people are afraid, they rarely make good decisions, so do whatever you can to keep yourself from being afraid. If that involves wearing stingray boots, slathering yourself with sunblock, carrying a firearm, camping with others, wearing your life jacket, keeping your meat cold, driving the speed limit, or kayaking in a pack, do what puts your mind at ease, but just remember, we all have different tolerance levels.

Enjoy the outdoors, and be safe.

Yakmon

[Mr. Champ]

I've wondered about that myself, safety on PINS. I agree with Yakmon, it all lies in your own perception of fear, and how you deal with it. I consider PINS an extremely safe place to visit. Personally, I would feel safer camping farther south, less traffic and a smaller population of people with 4x4s.

The so called immigrants and drug runners are really not looking for trouble. They have travelled a long way and are interested in doing everything in their power to not get caught. They want to draw in the least amount of attention possible. If someone had travelled this far to get away from their country, or is distributing huge loads of dope, the last thing they want to do is draw attention to themselves.

Truth to the matter, with our current technology and ability to pass the word on to many people over the internet, if there was an incident, we would all know about it immediately. As long as I have been on these message boards, I have never heard of one.

Enjoy the park, enjoy the lonliness.. Next time you are on a solo trip, drop your fear and check out your surroundings for once, it is an awesome place.

-Cheers-
Champ
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Everyone should believe in something.... I believe I'll have another.

[SurfRanger95]

. . . not really fear that spawned my original thread -- more an issue of situational awareness (or maybe 18 months in Iraq!! ). I am a firm believer in knowing the terrain before doing somethin unfamiliar. It has kept me alive so far and if something works, then I stick with it. I do appreciate and value everyone's advice and who knows, maybe I will run into some of y'all downrange and it will not be a slo trip ! I always have a few frosty cold beverages in the ole cooler and do not mind sharing!
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"I don't wanna live on that kind of island, no I don't wanna swim in a roped off sea. It's too much for me, too much for me; I gotta be where the wind and the water are free." -- Jimmy Buffet

"GUINESS IS GOOD FOR YOU!"

[trace]

I fall into the camp of never having had a problem on PINS, but if I do I will have a weapon near at hand. My family and I have been going to PINS and camping anywhere from the 25 to the 50 several times a year for 7 years now. Although not a salty PINS veteran (although I would love to be, I live to far away). We have only had one incident when some peoples dogs almost bit one of my kids.

Trace

[Hotshoes]

Only thing you need to watch out for are the wild camels on PINS.

[SurfRanger95]

Yeah, heard about those @#!*$#@! camels -- even saw a photo of one down there. They make good shark bait?
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"I don't wanna live on that kind of island, no I don't wanna swim in a roped off sea. It's too much for me, too much for me; I gotta be where the wind and the water are free." -- Jimmy Buffet

"GUINESS IS GOOD FOR YOU!"

[Hotshoes]

You don't want one of them critters spitting in your eye.

[Big Ed]

In 30 plus years I have had 3 instances where I was uneasy. Often go by myself & spend the night sleeping in shell camper on the back of my truck. Once was about 5 miles South of Bob Hall Pier and at about 2 in the morning some guy is trotting down the beach (going North) yelling Murder, murder, murder over & over again. That was about 9-10 years ago, before I had a cell phone. The guy staggered right by my truck and never stopped. I was too damned chicken to stop him and ask what was wrong. I drove past him after I settled down (probably a mile or so down the beach) and called 911 from the first pay phone. Never saw anything about it in the paper. Second time was at the Mansfield Channel about 6 illegals (I assume) came up to me. It was during the day in the winter and no other vehicles were in sight. One guy kept saying "you take us to Corpus" and I kept saying I wasn't back going back yet. His English was very limited and I'm not sure whether his statement was a question or an order. I finally let him use my cell phone to call someone in Robstown that he said would come to get him. I was in my truck, never got out and when I got my phone back just drove away. In fact I drove all the way to Mustang Island and spent the night there and fished Mustang the next day.
Both instances had me really shook up at the time, but it didn't stop me from going back. The third time was at Little Shell and my wife and I were asleep in the camper shell. Someone starts banging on the side of my truck and scared the hell out of us. It was some kid (teenager) who said in a demanding and very drunk voice "come pull us out, we have 2 wheel drive and are stuck about a quarter of a mile south of here. We have to meet some one farther down the beach and we're late". I got out of my truck and was about twice this kids size. I told him in no uncertain terms that he was lucky he was still alive after banging on the side of my truck like that and then told him what he could do with his truck. He walked away without saying a word and I stayed awake the rest of the night. I've pulled a lot of folks out who were stuck in the past 30years, but I'll be damned if I'll help someone who demands help.

Big Ed
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Big Ed
San Antonio

[DonSchwirtlich]

My daughters are very involved in travel softball right now and that has kept me off the beach. In about 2-3 years, I will be back at PINS every or every other weekend like I had been for the previous 30 something years. Until the border is protected, I will do whatever I need to do to protect my family down there. No law setup to protect law enforcement officers is going to stop me from protecting my family. They want to come home everyday - so do I. I remember a law enforcement officer, I dont recall what branch, coming up to me in a very remote area of the Tonto National Forest in Arizona. I was a little worried when after some small talk he said "Sir, is that pistol loaded" referring to the pistol in my holster. I said "Yes sir". He said "Good, cause an unloaded gun out here is worth nothing." And he drove off.
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Don Schwirtlich

[Bluffer]

The immigrants wont pose a threat to you but the drug runners will. They wont hesitate to take you out (and they do have guns) if you get in the way of thier haul.
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Fish hard, fish the Bluff. Surrounded by water!
-A quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem-

[DonSchwirtlich]

I have given water and food many times to illegals - they always have been trying to just survive. Also, I know the drug runners carry weapons, thats why we should as well. We do not want these scum thinking that we are all helpless.

But again, my solution to the drug problem is pretty simple, everytime we capture a load of drugs, any kind, lace it with cyanide and let the drug runners take it and distribute it. After a few years of collecting the bodies, my bet is the users might fight something else to do with their time and money. I think its such a waste of time to go after the growers, just remove the demand one way or the other.
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Don Schwirtlich

[Bluffer]

To many Lawyers around to do that!
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Fish hard, fish the Bluff. Surrounded by water!
-A quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem-