Popup FWC traveling and guns

[robert]

If you're going into Canada forget the handgun and pick up a shotgun. Mossberg vs. Remington is kinda like Chevy vs. Ford. I like both but the Remington's trigger guard safety is easier to use if you ever ever want a pistol grip stock. I would avoid a plain pistol grip without the stock, just too hard to shoot well- contrary to popular myth, you really do need to aim a shotgun. For bears I'd rather carry bear spray anyways. Another option that doesn't raise many eyebrows is a lever action rifle in a pistol caliber; my grandfather carried a .357 lever gun in his camper when he traveled but you can get them in .45, .44 and .454 too. Quick handling and powerful and it held more rounds than a revolver. If you want a handgun for self defense get whatever you are comfortable with but large guns can be a pain to lug around while backpacking.

 

[matt s]

I try to stay out of the Bear vs gun stuff as I really think people overreact. I do carry in bear country but only once have felt threatened in many years of bear encounters (I spend quite a bit of time with them as a photographer). That was this summer with a brown bear that wouldn't back off and pushed us about a mile upstream and followed us across the stream a couple times in our attempts to get out of his way. When he got to within 30-40 yards and still coming I took the hammer strap off. That's as far as I've ever felt the need to unholster with a bear. Luckily for all he finally decided to let us cross the river one more time without following.

I only posted to say for those that doubt the handgun go to adn.com (our local rag) and type "bear killed handgun" into the search and start reading. Every summer bears are brought down here with handguns of various sizes. Personally I think many of the "defense" situations are questionable, but that's my take, to each their own.

I am NOT arguing that a handgun is the best choice. It absolutely is not. a 45-70 rifle or a shotgun is generally considered the best route.


Food for thought, YMMV.

 

[CJCA]

CJCA,
I think you are right on target with your post so to speak. I think the .357 is most likely what I am going to go with to keep in my camper. If I decide to venture to northern territories I will consider a 12 gauge but will most likely stick to bear spray while I am hiking in bear country. I am headed through Eureka on my trip, do you have any suggestions on good places to camp there or some must see spots before I venture out?

Sure, but I am at the moment taking 10 days doing another different west to east California - Nevada – Utah backroads trip with as much dirt road sans pavement as possible. Currently posting from a NV desert summit with an air card and netbook. A bit crude, but I do get Internet access here and there in the desert. No complaints.
For now I can copy and paste a recent post (July I believe) from the S&W Forum……

With four days, and returning for nightly stays in a Eureka hotel, you will be busy with your itinerary.

Visiting the Lost Coast will be an all day affair as it is slow driving with lots of twists & curves. It is a beautiful drive along Mattole Road, starting in Ferndale, then along the coast and then through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, ending up back on 101 near Redcrest. Pack a lunch as snack shacks are few and far between after you leave Ferndale. You can drive further south along the Lost Coast, down to Shelter Cove, but it would be a VERY LONG DAY – too much driving time in too short a period of time.

Avenue of the Giants is impressive and one could easily spend the better part of a day in the area.

Ferndale is a quaint old Victorian style town that you could also easily spend a day at.

Old Town Eureka is good for a day’s touring also. A horse drawn carriage is available for hire for a guided tour of Old Town.

For a tour of Humboldt Bay, a boat tour on the Madaket is available, mooring on the east side of Humboldt Bay Marina. The Madaket boasts: Enjoy a beverage from the smallest licensed bar in the State of California while taking in the sights and sounds of the waterfront during this relaxing slow paced cruise. Humboldt Bay Harbor Cruise Motor Vessel MADAKET

Also check out 101 Things To Do In Humboldt 101 Things To Do Humboldt County | Your Guide to Activities, Entertainment, Dining, Lodging, and More


For dining:

Breakfast –
Chalet House of Omelettes in Eureka – never a disappointment.

Mexican –
La Costa in Fortuna. A hole in the wall, but probably Humboldt’s best Mex.

Burgers –
Surfside Burger Shack on 5th in Eureka, pricey but good

No Brand Burger Stand in Ferndale (on the way to the Lost Coast) a true hole in the wall shack, but good burgers.

Dinner –
Abbruzi’s in Arcata is very good, Italian food is the mainstay, but the menu is varied enough with beef & seafood to suit most.

Bear River Casino in Loleta isn’t bad for dinner and not too spendy. Check online for their latest offerings.

The Sunset Room at Cher Ae Casino in Trinidad has a good dinner offering, with a great view of the coast, though the acoustics aren’t good and it can get noisy.

Moonstone Grill for dinner between McKinleyville and Trinidad. It’s quiet, romantic and has a great view of the ocean surf.

One place I have been meaning to try is the AA Bar & Grill on 4th in Eureka. It doesn’t look too appealing from the outside, but it has been voted Humboldt’s best for steaks. All patrons I have spoken to have given it 2 thumbs up. It’s right across the street from the jail and courthouse, and popular with the “Legal Justice Crowd”.

Humboldt County has tons of restaurants, so there are plenty of eateries to roll the dice with. The ones I listed above I don’t hesitate to recommend. One I wouldn’t bother with is the Samoa Cookhouse (mediocre food) other than to view their collection of logging history artifacts.

You can check out most of Humboldt restaurants at North Coast Dining Guide

Well, that ought to keep you occupied for 4 days. The weather here on the coast in August is quite mild, rarely getting above the mid 70°s. Heading inland it warms up quick. Have fun!

I can give you better info when back in Eureka. PM me and I’ll get back to you when I get back home..

 

[2025 deleted member]

So someone doesn't have the gusto to hunker down stay calm and fire a few lethal rounds at a bear, yet that same nervous person will stand their ground and spray some mace, hoping that the wind os going the right direction? I am sorry but I will take my chances every time with my 1911 vs. a can of mace. But thats just me.

To state the obvious, hunters regularly and successfully harvest bears with a handgun when they are the hunters and not the hunted. Even elephant have been harvested with a handgun. With that said.....

For aggressive bear protection, blacks or grizzly, forget about a handgun unless you are an accomplished shooter with nerve. Flinch once or twice and you are done. The verified documentation of stopping a charging bear with a handgun are very rare. I only recall one specifically with a .357 that was verified with video by Fish & Wildlife in Alaska and it took all six to do it. There are other incidents, but not many. The odds are greatly in favor of the charging bear when the average hiker is armed with a handgun. The one advantage of carrying a handgun for bear is that you may (falsely) feel secure enough that a bear senses you are not frightened and leaves you be. Bears don't naturally go looking for trouble.

Picture a large mama bear who feels her cubs are threatened and charges. She comes at you at 30 mph from 40 yards away. You have only a few seconds to react, aim and shoot accurately. Under those circumstances, it takes a cool head to react effectively with a long gun, let alone a handgun.

A 12 gauge or large caliber center fire rifle is what the average woodsman needs if one is determined to draw down on an attacking bear. A long gun is 10x easier to shoot accurately and can be employed nearly as fast as a handgun when shoulder carried upside down. Google African Carry.

If it came down to me facing a large and angry bear with a 9mm / 357 handgun or bear spray, I would choose bear spray. The best bear protection is to be aware of your environment and act accordingly. On the rare occasions I armed myself for bear protection (Alaska), it was a 338 Magnum Winchester or 45-70 Marlin rifle.

Guns and bears are an entertaining and opinionated topic, but bear attacks are uncommon. You have much more to fear from 2 legged animals. For these bipeds a handgun is appropriate as the sight of one is quite discouraging to them and usually enough to make them look for easier prey.

Regarding B.C., check with Canadian authorities in advance as there are a few hoops to jump through to get a long gun into Canada legally.

 

[robert]

If you're going to carry a 1911 you can always upgrade the barrel and recoil springs and shoot .45 Super or 460 Rowland. The 460 gets you up into 41Mag range although I wouldn't want to shoot a lot of it it.

 

[762X39]

This thread is timely and funny to me. We just got back from a week in Temagami (grouse hunt ) and I encountered 1 bear on the trail (Ruger 1022 carried muzzle down while hunting) while we encountered a bear 2 evenings in a row at our trailer about 5:00am on his morning stroll for easy pickings. The bear kept banging into our trailer looking for something under it. It's funny that he didn't turn our barbeque upside down or rip open the 2 coolers in the truck so I am guessing that the previous campers at our spot had dumped something on the ground.Pepper spray is my deterrent of choice but I have found that a bit of noise works fine as well (I used a whistle to let the bear on the trail know I was around and he got the message). We do have a 14 inch barreled shotgun handy with a full stock but if I need that we are probably effed already.Pistol grips on shotguns are for people that spend too much time watching tv and have never fired shots in anger. Situational awareness is better. Just saying.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

I have a .45 baretta px4 storm and love it. carry it for SAR and medic work along with my usual outings. When in bear country I carry 2 clips with me. the extended mag and alternate between FMJ loads and hollow point self defense rounds. That being said I have had many encounters with bears, and never needed it for that. Usually common sense works well. Now when bears come onto the summer grazing ground after livestock, I use a 12 guage w/ slugs and target load buck shot. no matter the weapon you choose put a lot of rounds through it and know it well. How to strip it,etc. And practice upholstering, aiming, etc should all be second nature. if the time comes you need it you prob will not have time to think about it. Also make sure to get your concealed carry lisence

 

[Ozarker]

We only have the brown bears down here, you can usually chase them away yelling at them, they only get concerned with thier cubs and you can just walk the other way.

But bores are a different story, I use a 12 guage with slugs as well, with a pistol grip due to packing it and I'm pretty sure I can hit anything someone else can with a longer one, I do pratcie with it and I can shoot it like a pistol! You raise it and come down on the target just a tad and fire, I have an old tire swing down at the cabin and hang stuff on it, sheet of tin or plywood, swing it and practice at a moving target.....otta see that thing swing and twirl when it gets a hit in the rubber....which is really the target. Ben through alot of old tires and have more to go..

I have heard of the bear spray, never used it, mace doesn't take the fight out of all men, I'd think bears might be the same way, my luck I'd have the one that just licked it.....I'll go for the 12 guage.

 

[mjmcdowell]

Bears/gun's/Canada....... all that

For what it's worth, bringing in a "sporting rifle/shotgun" over the border into Canada, no handguns or military looking rifles, AR's etc. is as easy as filling out a single page form and $25 canadian is all it takes when going into the remote parts of the country, no questions asked. I did have the gun locked in the truck topper and the ammo in a locked pistol case in the cab when driving, only came together when camping ( no established camp sites) you can camp pretty much where you want, at night, late afternoon. I had my 12 ga. double coach gun and a few 3" mag. slugs, 00 buck and a few 71/2's with me when I went up twice into the "James Bay" region in Quebec from home in upstate NY. Do your research, have the paperwork and the fee and you should be good to go. I also had bear spray and a loud bell... I like layers and options. Oh!, had to go to the dump in Radison to see any bears, 2 wks. in the bush and I had to go to a dump...... go figure.... mjmcdowell

 

[4whtundra]

Went with a Remington

I finally pulled the trigger so to speak and went with a Remington Tactical 870, it has a shorter barrel than the hunting 870 but you can put more rounds into it. Plus for the less than $500 price tag out the door you can't really beat it with a hand gun. I basically wanted something that I can keep in my camper, cross into Canada and also travel to other states such as NY without worrying about the laws. I've shot it a little bit and it feels nice, I will hopefully get a bunch more rounds out of it soon. Thanks for everyone's advice and input.

 

[FellowTraveler]

I finally pulled the trigger so to speak and went with a Remington Tactical 870, it has a shorter barrel than the hunting 870 but you can put more rounds into it. Plus for the less than $500 price tag out the door you can't really beat it with a hand gun. I basically wanted something that I can keep in my camper, cross into Canada and also travel to other states such as NY without worrying about the laws. I've shot it a little bit and it feels nice, I will hopefully get a bunch more rounds out of it soon. Thanks for everyone's advice and input.

Learn about that slot on the shell carrier (bottom of trigger assembly where you load weapon) and learn how to use it to clear the weapon if a rounds gets in there and jambs it.

 

[FellowTraveler]

If you're going to carry a 1911 you can always upgrade the barrel and recoil springs and shoot .45 Super or 460 Rowland. The 460 gets you up into 41Mag range although I wouldn't want to shoot a lot of it it.

My carry .45 is one of the first licensed .45 Super conversions from ACE .45's it is great for any large predatory animal, however a Glock 21 converted to 40 Super has the edge in performance but not by much. I like the lightest rounds for CQB or defense, the heavy stuff for everything else.

For me 12 gauge rounds would be triple 000 or a deep hollow point stabilized slug out an 870 pump or Benelli pin fire.

 

[davidjohin]

I think A revolver is good for every that have desire to dependable kind of riffle or any other component for same ..but iI think its not a authenticity way to learn about shooting or hunting ..there a lot of services point who guide to their guest how to do or what is good for them. but after all revolver has real stopping power either a .345 Mag,with extra shoots..