open range question-storm coming

[Trigger Mike]

in the beginning of the movie a storm is coming so they decide to bed down the cattle and make camp on top of a hill. they leave the cattle in the valley. not far away are some woods. Wouldn't it have been smarter to make camp in the trees?

[Smoken D]

Lightning. Hitting trees will travel through the roots taking out a few of the cattle vs open range, one lightning strike hopefully only one cow. Trees like lightning rods

[Cat Brules]

Don't have to make sense, but it does here. No, it wouldn't be better. Why make for a stand of trees? Wouldn't be any drier there, have to drive to the trees to begin with, harder to spread out and get ready to roll again to leave, etc. Why complicate things? They should have prepared for rain better instead of just flopping down, but they didn't.

[Tascosa, SASS# 24838]

Lightning. Hitting trees will travel through the roots taking out a few of the cattle vs open range, one lightning strike hopefully only one cow. Trees like lightning rods

+1. Always scares the stuffing out of me when we pack in the mountains and there is a storm brewing. We stay away from the trees and ride in the valley. Safer. Trees are like lightening rods. And we came across enough lightening scored trees to stay away from them.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

camping on the top of a hill? Would anyone really do that?

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

You ever been in a flash flood on the top of a hill?

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

You ever been in a flash flood on the top of a hill?

No, but that's where the lightning hits, and lightning loves human bodies.

[Seldom Seen #16162]

Since they were under the canvas shelter they made they would not attract lightening. Most likely targets were either the horses they had tied up or the metal in the wagon.

[Utah Bob #35998]

No, but that's where the lightning hits, and lightning loves human bodies.

You camp down from the crest a ways so the hilltop is higher than your cranium.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Must always have a tall guy in the group.

[Charlie Whiskers]

When I was still in Minnesota; I was coming home from work one day and a thunderstorm came rolling through. I stopped at a 4 way stop and lightning hit a pretty big oak tree about 75 feet from where I was. BIG chunks of that tree exploded off of it and I ended up with broken side window on my company van. A chunk about the size of an axe handle came through it like it was butter. I had to go back to the house on that corner the next day to put his phone wire back up. His house had a hole in the roof where an even bigger chunk went through. Trees are not your friend in a T-storm

[Blackwater 53393]

Lost a big Appaloosa gelding to lightening.

 

Hit a tree and then hit him in the withers and ran down all four of his legs!!

Edited February 20, 2017 by Blackwater 53393

[Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663]

This is no joke or funny. After a near lightning strike, I saw a pulse acquisition radar, with no data or power cables connected, power itself up, panel lights lit up, and the antenna rotated backwards for about 3-5 seconds. After that lightning storm, we worked for four months before we had that HAWK system back up and operational.

 

Lightning can do some very strange, frightening, unexplainable things. I do believe in good, efficient, well grounded lightning rods.

 

 

Pulse Acquisition Radar (PAR)

Edited February 20, 2017 by Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663

[Guest Grass Range #51406]

Single trees are lightning rods. Lots of trees are a safe place to be. Riding with a friend in the open lightning hit barbed wire fence, his saddle horn, his belt buckle, unhorsed him, no permanent damage.

[Buffalo Creek Law Dog]

We had a neighbour a few years back, who was out checking the cattle when she was hit by lightening while on horseback, both killed.

[Tennessee Stud]

You camp down from the crest a ways so the hilltop is higher than your cranium.

 

^

This...

 

Few years ago... me and a pard were canoeing down Duck River... got out and was wadin' the river... traversin' over a shallow place (shoal)... to get on the other side of it. 'Bout a mile away... a storm was comin'. Then... all the sudden-like... felt like I just got tazed. Was totally shook by the shock. Looked over... and Willie was down in the water. He stood up and said... "Did your eyes start seein' white?" (In private... I laughed at that question later...)

 

He was serious... didn't even know he had been struck by lightning. Lightnin' bout a mile away that ran all the down the river to us.

 

Here is a picture taken on that very day... had my left eye back then.

 

 

ts

[Chalktaw A Toka, #27377L]

When I was still ranching in New Mexico with my Grandfather we watched a storm come up from the south and there was a ton of lightening. Next morning we found 200 head dead by the fence line. Just about 300 yard away was a smoking fence pole..... nope don't like lightening.

 

Toke