Think you are safe?

[Dave]

This is as much information as I know about this story. A man who has a ranch in the middle of nowhere in northern Nevada some what near the Oregon line. He had dropped off his wife and daughters at a house they have in Winnemucca. I assuming so his daughters could go to school there (not an uncommon practice for ranchers in that area). He went back to the ranch. Found some men packing stuff out of his house. The story is when he confronted them one of them shot him with a 22 rifle "in the belly". He returned fire killing the shooter. He then drove himself several miles to a hunter camp to get help. They life flighted him to Reno.
My wife owned a ranch in this part of the world. She was a 2 hour drive to Winnemucca. Not sure exactly where his place is it has to be about 1 1/2 hour drive to town. And in this part of the world the ranches are 5-10 miles apart. And the story is he had to drive through a neighbors property to get to his ranch which puts him miles from the only paved road in that country.

 

[Mrcopier]

Illegals?

 

[Travlr]

This is as much information as I know about this story. A man who has a ranch in the middle of nowhere in northern Nevada some what near the Oregon line. He had dropped off his wife and daughters at a house they have in Winnemucca. I assuming so his daughters could go to school there (not an uncommon practice for ranchers in that area). He went back to the ranch. Found some men packing stuff out of his house. The story is when he confronted them one of them shot him with a 22 rifle "in the belly". He returned fire killing the shooter. He then drove himself several miles to a hunter camp to get help. They life flighted him to Reno.
My wife owned a ranch in this part of the world. She was a 2 hour drive to Winnemucca. Not sure exactly where his place is it has to be about 1 1/2 hour drive to town. And in this part of the world the ranches are 5-10 miles apart. And the story is he had to drive through a neighbors property to get to his ranch which puts him miles from the only paved road in that country.

Well that's tough. Might have been better to handle it differently but hindsight is 20/20.

Hope they caught the survivors...

 

[Ky hills]

That's awful. Unfortunately, I don't anybody is confidently safe anymore. Anybody has to be on guard, alert and aware of their surroundings at all times.

 

[kenny thomas]

Well that's tough. Might have been better to handle it differently but hindsight is 20/20.

Hope they caught the survivors...

How would it have been better to handle it differently? The thief shot him in the belly and he killed him. Only thing better would have been if he had killed them all.

 

[Travlr]

How would it have been better to handle it differently? The thief shot him in the belly and he killed him. Only thing better would have been if he had killed them all.

I suppose it depends on how far away he was when he saw them, and how his cell phone works. People doing that kind of thing in a remote location might have limited options on how they exit, beginning with the driveway into the place.

Maybe I'm relating it to my own place. I had a quarter mile of driveway and could see strange vehicles before I got home... which would put me on alert before I got to the house. I see someone loading my belongings into a truck and the truck won't be leaving under it's own power... and the local sheriff will already be on the way.

I have family in law enforcement and have always made it a point to meet and be friendly with the local cops. We pay them for this kind of thing.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Several years ago a farmer was woken up in the middle of the night by his dog barking. He went to see what was wrong and luckily he took his 1911 with him. Two guys had rolled their Jeep in the ditch. The farmer asked if they were okay and then told them he was going to call the police. They started beating the he!! out of him. Apparently they were running drugs. The farmer was able to pull his gun and shot & killed one of them. He was arrested and charged with manslaughter. He was later acquitted.

 

[TexasJerseyMilker]

Several years ago a farmer was woken up in the middle of the night by his dog barking. He went to see what was wrong and luckily he took his 1911 with him. Two guys had rolled their Jeep in the ditch. The farmer asked if they were okay and then told them he was going to call the police. They started beating the he!! out of him. Apparently they were running drugs. The farmer was able to pull his gun and shot & killed one of them. He was arrested and charged with manslaughter. He was later acquitted.

I asked my husband about this. What if we drove up to the gate and men were carrying out our stuff (and German Shepherd shot dead). He said he would back off and call the sheriff. LEOs maybe 15 minutes away. He was more concerned about me being out in the cow lot after dark with the milking and feeding and all. If someone came up to the gate and said we need some help is one thing. Someone just coming in the gate is another. Our gate is just like our front door.

What I always do is if a car is coming on the state highway I turn my headlanp off until they pass. If someone came to the gate our Germ Shep will go off and that changes the whole situation

 

[farmerjan]

How would it have been better to handle it differently? The thief shot him in the belly and he killed him. Only thing better would have been if he had killed them all.

Amen.

 

[SBMF 2015]

I asked my husband about this. What if we drove up to the gate and men were carrying out our stuff (and German Shepherd shot dead). He said he would back off and call the sheriff. LEOs maybe 15 minutes away. He was more concerned about me being out in the cow lot after dark with the milking and feeding and all. If someone came up to the gate and said we need some help is one thing. Someone just coming in the gate is another. Our gate is just like our front door.

What I always do is if a car is coming on the state highway I turn my headlanp off until they pass. If someone came to the gate our Germ Shep will go off and that changes the whole situation

Had a bachelor neighbor who never locked his doors. He had a young lady stop by and say she had a flat tire just down the road. The old guy went and helped her and while he did her boyfriend ransacked his house. Stole what ever he could grab.

Unfortunately this all reminds me of a joke;
A robber is in a guy's house when he comes home from a night out. The home owner shuts and locks the door behind him. The robber nervously asks "aren't you going to call the cops?" Why? Responds the home owner. Nobody else knows your here!

 

[simme]

Some bits and pieces from a google search. Info in "quotes" copied and pasted here. First a Reno TV station news report. Then some info on a hunting forum that seems to be from friends of the 2 guys or at least people with additional knowledge.

"WINNEMUCCA, Nev. (KOLO) - The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office is releasing new information about a shooting near Winnemucca that sent a rancher to the hospital.
They say the shooting happened Sunday night at 8290 Jackson Creek Ranch northwest of Winnemucca.
Police say the homeowner, William Delong and another man, identified as Ravyn Fairchild, were involved in a struggle. During the struggle, Delong and Fairchild fired a single shot at each other, resulting in both suffering gunshot wounds.
Delong was transported to Reno via air ambulance while Fairchild was found dead near a car in front of the residence.
Police say that at this time, they believe neither Delong nor Fairchild knew each other.
Copyright 2024 KOLO. All rights reserved."

Then some info copied from a hunting forum:

"Ok. So Sunday Will left Katie and the kids in Winnemucca and went to the ranch. When he pulled into the yard he caught a guy going through his ranch pickup. He got out and approached and the guy shot him with a .22. Probably Will's from pickup. Will had a larger caliber pistol he had just purchased either on him are in the pickup. He returned fire. The guy fled into the field but subsequently died. Will got back in his pickup and drove to where they have cell service. He was flown to Reno, operated on, put in an induced coma, has fluid that is a concern having to do with his lungs. It has all been on the down low because of investigation at request of family. Earlier that day some hunters camped near the ranch had been threatened by the man and they had successfully run him off. He was throwing rocks at them or he tried to hit one of them in the head with a rock. I am a little unclear on this part."

Then a response on that same hunting forum concerning the original shooter who was killed:
"Raven was not a tweaker. He was a beloved member of a family. He was a recent college graduate with a degree in cyber security. He was there to visit family and make some extra money while looking for his first real job and start his adult life. He spent time taking care of people, including his sick grandpa and always had a smile. He grew up without a mom and took care of two younger sisters that he was fiercely proud of. He went camping and made some bad decisions regarding taking drugs he could not handle. This horrible incident changed lives forever. Two families broken. Horrible story of consequences for all the decisions we make in life. Be careful out there. Take care of yourself and your friends. Say no to drugs, always. RIP Raven you are so loved. I'm so sorry this is how it had to end for such a good person that always made the right decisions, until now."

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

How would it have been better to handle it differently? The thief shot him in the belly and he killed him. Only thing better would have been if he had killed them all.

That shot to the belly was sheer luck it didn't kill him. An inch in any direction and the outcome could have been 2 dead.

Someone can have all my stuff if they want. Nothing I own is worth dieing over.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Someone can have all my stuff if they want. Nothing I own is worth dieing over.

No but my family sure is.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

But from what I read his family wasn't home....

He nearly died defending what? A 70" TV, gun collection, jewelry?

 

[kenny thomas]

That shot to the belly was sheer luck it didn't kill him. An inch in any direction and the outcome could have been 2 dead.

Someone can have all my stuff if they want. Nothing I own is worth dieing over.

Difference in our age i guess means a difference in how i think. I catch someone stealing im not backing down, period.
Here if you call 911 they might be there in an hour. And im less than 10 miles from town. Plus if they caught them i might or might not get my property back. Plus they might get a slap on the hand.

 

[Lucky]

I'd stop when I saw them and call LEOs. Then I'd do my best to prepare for whatever comes next. Might be 30-60 minutes before law arrives here. Last year we waited nearly 3 hours for an ambulance.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Have a neighbor/friend who teachs gun safety and training names Fred.

He had a son who walked up on someone trying to steal his 1996 chevy corsica. Bad guy A stopped at gun point, bad guy B came around a corner and shot the son 6 times in the back.

So Fred will tell you all about how he lost his son to a $2500 car. He has no other kids, no grandchildren, but he does still own a nearly mint condition POS chevy corsica....

So yeah unless my family is in danger, someone can steal everything have. My crap isn't worth potentially not seeing my children grow up.

If no deputy is on duty it maybe 12 hours until a sheriff shows up here.

 

[Dave]

The story I got from a neighboring rancher said pulled in, asked what is going on here, got shot, and returned fire. Nothing about a struggle. Having never been there to that ranch I have no idea of the lay out of this place. Pretty easy to be right on top of them before you see them. And it was at night so if they didn't have any lights on that would be one more reason to be on top of them before you realize they were there. Calling LEO first it is questionable having service. And if you did have service, on a Sunday evening any deputy on duty could easily be 2 hours away. I am unsure about Humboltd county. But this county is similar in size and population to Baker County where I live. We have a total of 8 deputies. This county is bigger than several small states. How many are on duty and how far away are they? And when I said this is the middle of nowhere I wasn't telling stories. This is some of the most desolate country in the entire USA.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

It sounds like if he had not been able to return fire he would be dead.
Most ranchers I know would not open fire on someone without a good reason.
Being shot in the stomach(?) seems like a pretty good reason.

 

[Texas G@l]

How would it have been better to handle it differently? The thief shot him in the belly and he killed him. Only thing better would have been if he had killed them all.

My thoughts exactly!!