Anyone bring firearms with them on trips?

[BogusBlake]

I'm pretty much with the consensus- I pack when alone but not with a larger group. I've seen some folks out there who I know weren't hiking for fun.

I carry a Ruger Single Six .22 Mag. I'm like Will in thinking the bark will be worse than the bite for scaring off preditors. I transport it in a holster in the unlocked glove box. If I leave the truck, it goes on my hip.

Most times, I also stick my Marlin model 39A (lever action .22) behind the back seat in a case with a trigger lock. If I had to hunt some dinner, this would be a much more efficient tool.

I used to have a Henry AR-7 takedown .22 that lived in the locked toolbox of my old truck, but I sold that a while ago.

 

[maximumrob]

I never have carried a gun with me on a hiking trip unless I'm hunting. Otherwise, I carry a 6" fixed blade knife with me EVERY TIME we're hiking. Between the kah-nife and my pit bull, we can keep the wife safe except for the most extreme circumstances (assailant w/ gun, charging bear, wolf pack, etc), and neither will get me a ticket or a lecture from a park ranger.

I must admit, I have yet to even spot a wolf pack in any wilderness environment I've been in, such as KS, MO, AR, OK, or West TX. We've also not yet been assaulted by any creeps with guns, though I've occasionally heard banjos on some forays in to the Ozarks...

Now, if we lived in grizzly country, like CANADA, I'd be packing a Ruger Alaskan!

 

[kodiak1232003]

this is from Glacier national park's website:

Individuals are also reminded that firearms are NOT permitted anywhere in the park’s backcountry. Firearms brought through Glacier National Park must be unloaded, broken down (temporarily inoperable) cased, and stored out of sight and reach, with ammunition separated from weapons while in the park [36 C.F.R. 2.4(a)(3)].


"backcountry" means that if you hike out of a car-park, etc onto a trail...you aren't supposed to carry.

we car-camped in the very upper park and therefore were not in the "backcountry".

like i said, its bear country and i'd rather be prepared...:sunflower

just fyi...

 

[BajaTaco]

My hands are registered weapons. I have a concealed carry permit for the winter season.

:victory:

 

[stevenmd]

my pit bull

I bred them for about 18 years. Great breed. Don't have them anymore due to lack of time to do them proper. Best breed of dog I have ever owned. Very loyal, obedient, gentle, great with kids. Now I'm sad! I miss Miha and Rosie!

 

[Dave Bennett]

My hands are registered weapons. I have a concealed carry permit for the winter season.

:victory:

Nice.

 

[Martyn]

Have never felt the need to travel with a firearm, and I've been to some interesting places, Beirut, Libya, Namibia / South West, Zimbabwe, and South Africa when they were lit up like fireworks.

I have seen on many occasions what happens to people who pull a handgun and find the people they are confronting are slightly better armed with AK's. For some reason the thought of traveling armed seems to attract negative attention, while unarmed is disarming.

 

[Colorado Ron]

Dont usually find a need for one. If its wildlife, theres ways to avoid conflict. If its a person, and I need it that bad, I just take it from the guy pointing it at me!:gunt: :REOutArchery02:

 

[maximumrob]

I bred them for about 18 years. Great breed. Don't have them anymore due to lack of time to do them proper. Best breed of dog I have ever owned. Very loyal, obedient, gentle, great with kids. Now I'm sad! I miss Miha and Rosie!

Lexie is my jogging buddy, our hiking buddy, my wife's portable heater, a playmate for the cat, and the child that goes on road trips with us. She loves kids, women, and most men. She's confident when strangers approach us on walks (tailwags), but when she's alone with my wife, no human or animal is permitted to get near. She only has three drawbacks: 1) she only gets along with about a third of the dogs she meets (duh, she's a bulldog!), 2) pits are single coat dogs so they shiver in the mildest of weather, and 3) she can't be left outside alone in a yard because she can and will jump a 6' fence. We want her indoors with us anyway!

Funny thing is, we didn't trim her ears and very few people are even able to recognize a "horrible, vicious pit bull dog."

 

[robert]

I carry most of the time anyways so I feel kind of naked without it (not as naked as I do without a pocketknife though). It's just another tool to do a different job. Most of the time it's the same S&W642 I normally carry, occasionally it's something different.

I keep one of these in the truck for securing it if need be (places I can't carry).
http://www.center-of-mass.com/

I can't say as there's much walking on four legs that worries me, it's the drunk rednecks that I don't care for. I tend to travel alone most of the time and it's difficult to get far off the road on the east coast; rednecks seem to like to drive their monster mudslingers down the same roads to drink beer and create bonfires.

Yeah, I've been out the country where I couldn't carry too.

 

[DesertRose]

My hands are registered weapons. I have a concealed carry permit for the winter season.

:victory:

Jonathan says my elbows should be registered.

 

[DesertRose]

Have never felt the need to travel with a firearm, and I've been to some interesting places, Beirut, Libya, Namibia / South West, Zimbabwe, and South Africa when they were lit up like fireworks.

I have seen on many occasions what happens to people who pull a handgun and find the people they are confronting are slightly better armed with AK's. For some reason the thought of traveling armed seems to attract negative attention, while unarmed is disarming.

In those situations, Martyn, it is not remotely smart to be armed! I don't know about Lebanon, Libya, or south Africa, but Nairobi is such an awful place, especially for a woman. You have to be really careful driving around the city - try not to come to complete stops, keep the doors locked, and if possible have a guard with you. At the place where I stay, out off the Magadi Road south of Karen, there are armed (AKs), drugged-out gangs that do the usual rob, rape, and pillage, so our homes are fortresses. Everyone wears panic buttons around chains on their necks and the homeowners pay for a private security checkpoint and radio relay. I hate it because I feel so helpless. A friend is suggesting I learn Krav Maga, but really - a 120 lb woman against 4-6 or more armed druggies hell-bent for no good?

Anyway, I solve the problem by not staying there if I can help it, preferring to camp in the bush! I always feel safer out with four-legged critters and our Maasai friends as guards (out where they still carry their spears). Seriously, nobody likes to mess with those guys.

At home and when travelling in the US I do carry - I have a CCW for my HKP7. Why? When I've been out alone hiking, twice I've been confronted by (real) bad guys and once had to pull my weapon, which I absolutely am sure saved me from bad intent (real bad). When it's legal and the situation warrants, I prefer to carry - I am not going to be a victim.

At home, we've got a shotgun and buckshot. Why? We have no neighbors, the sheriff takes 30 min to an hour to get to us, and that's if we have phone reception at the time. I feel much much safer here than in any town, but if there is trouble (we do live in high-alert drug trafficking area), I don't want to be a victim. Druggies running from border patrol have hurt and terrorized more than a few folks down in the valley.

Important takehome lesson, though: NO ONE should carry unless they are willing to shoot/kill someone. A gun shouldn't be thought of as something to "just to scare someone off" with, because as Martyn says, it can lead to worse things and if you're not willng/prepared to step over that line, it's always bad news. When I pulled mine and told the guy who had followed me onto the trail (and who had taken off his clothes and made his intentions clear) to back off NOW or I'd shoot him, I wasn't kidding and he knew it - he took off (which later was funny, seeing a naked guy running through the San Pedro River).

Just something to think about.

 

[Skillet]

For some reason the thought of traveling armed seems to attract negative attention, while unarmed is disarming.

I have heard this sentiment before and it needs some splainin'.

If you travel with a firearm, and you brandish it or always have it where others can see it, then I agree, a controversial item like a gun can bring on some "negative attention".

However, if you carry a gun for emergencies (bears, meth addict gold miners in the Plumas, etc) and you keep it private, how can it possibly bring on negative attention?

I was traveling with someone a while back and somehow it came up that there was a pistol locked in the back. His reaction was that I was just asking for trouble with that thing. As if its very existence was some sort of "negative juju".

Is this a metaphysical karma laden thing? What am I missing?

Granted, if you are sitting in a populated campground flashing your piece, things can unravel.

 

[Martyn]

I have heard this sentiment before and it needs some splainin'.

If you travel with a firearm, and you brandish it or always have it where others can see it, then I agree, a controversial item like a gun can bring on some "negative attention".

However, if you carry a gun for emergencies (bears, meth addict gold miners in the Plumas, etc) and you keep it private, how can it possibly bring on negative attention?

I was traveling with someone a while back and somehow it came up that there was a pistol locked in the back. His reaction was that I was just asking for trouble with that thing. As if its very existence was some sort of "negative juju".

Is this a metaphysical karma laden thing? What am I missing?

Granted, if you are sitting in a populated campground flashing your piece, things can unravel.

I think "Karma Laden" and "negative juju" explain the situation exactly

I gain my experience from traveling the same road as others and having a positive experience, while others who are armed travel the road and experience violence. It has happened many times and I don't have a scientific explanation just a feeling of why it happens.

The essence of the argument for me revolves around the attitude and thought process that some who is armed has. Even when the weapon is concealed or locked in the trunk the person behaves slightly differently when placed in a situation where they start to feel uncomfortable or threatened. I think the other party or the group sense or see this and their reaction is also different. It as if on meeting the hairs on the back of both groups start to raise, both get aggressive or protective and the situation turns negative.

In contrast an unarmed person meeting another person or group may portray themselves as friendly, interested, or disinterested and just pass through.

I don't mean to imply that this works in every situation, but it may in fact get you out of most situations before they ever become a problem, or become violent.

Rosann brings up a situation where the other party obviously had bad intent and portraying herself as friendly, interested, or disinterested would not have been the best thing to do.

Rosann also bring up the very serious statement of not drawing your weapon unless you are willing to use it with deadly force. Having been placed in this situation many years ago and having that experience change me for the rest of my life I choose not to carry a weapon.

 

[xcmountain80]

I was raised to be nice until you can't anymore. We always drove for our vacations whether to the FL keys , or snow skiing in WV, and lets not forget the trip from FL to Washington. So needless to say, I became a driver too. I also am the type to be prepared for the worst, always! I have a concealed weapons permit and carry when I travel. I also mountain bike in remote areas and carry. I have never had to pull my weapon thank goodness. I dont want to harm anyone, but if it's me or them sorry looks like I make the news. As far as do I have it on offroad trips? Yes. Same rules apply offroad as they do in the open sea, have you ever seen a pirate? You better hope your more heavily armed and in a faster boat. No one but you is going to help you and it is the same in the middle of no where offroad. And for goodness sakes people don't flash it around, that isn't a good idea at all and does invite the unwanted attention. As my rule goes DONT PULL IT UNLESS YOUR GOING TO USE IT PERIOD!

Aaron