Carrying hiking
- Thread starter C0untZer0
- Start date
I read the original post to mean "If you can OC (i.e. laws AREN'T an issue) why wouldn't you tote a carbine?"
For me it's a multi-part question of weight/distance/caliber requirements/annoyance.
The two decision vectors on every hikers mind are:
1. Always carry less when walking more.
2. It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Self defense is part of that equation. If you feel that carrying a 7lb carbine is what you need to do, go for it.
For me it's a multi-part question of weight/distance/caliber requirements/annoyance.
The two decision vectors on every hikers mind are:
1. Always carry less when walking more.
2. It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Self defense is part of that equation. If you feel that carrying a 7lb carbine is what you need to do, go for it.
If that is what the question is, a long gun falls under the hunting regulations.
There is NO hunting in National Parks, so no long gun carry.
The recent change for National Parks was for hand guns.
Many National Forests that have allowed concealed handguns do NOT allow long arms outside of hunting season except at approved ranges.
warrior poet
New member
I will take my Remington Model 7 Mountain Lite in .308 whenever I head out into 'rough country.' I have hiked it up and down the Sierra Nevadas without a problem. Get a short rifle/ carbine with a good sling and cross-body carry it. You will hardly know it is there if you rig it right (ie it sits high and doesn't protrude out past your elbows) so it won't catch or drag.
Pistols are great... I love them... but they are not adequate for dangerous animals, nor do they usually mount optics to aid in identifying a hazard early. Avoiding Mrs. 'Protective of her Cubs' is a lot easier if you see her early. With a good scope, I don't need binos, either, so a compass can hang around my neck.
Pistols are great... I love them... but they are not adequate for dangerous animals, nor do they usually mount optics to aid in identifying a hazard early. Avoiding Mrs. 'Protective of her Cubs' is a lot easier if you see her early. With a good scope, I don't need binos, either, so a compass can hang around my neck.
I carry my .41 mag in a crossdraw holster these days but I usually only go day fishing or hiking. Big bears and moose, need a bigger gun. 
Usually add bear spray while over in Montana or Wyoming, other than that a handgun is usually enough for anything in the lower 48 outside these areas.
For 35 years I hiked the Sierras and occasionally would pack my small Beretta 91a .22lr, but never had any problems with the bears or cats, and I came across many of them over the years. The .22 was just for 2 legged defense, being miles in the backcountry. Most backpackers though want as little weight with them as possible, I've known guys to cut off the handles on the their toothbrushes to save a tenth of an ounce. No way I'm shucking a rifle around with me all day, I do that enough during hunting season.
Usually add bear spray while over in Montana or Wyoming, other than that a handgun is usually enough for anything in the lower 48 outside these areas.For 35 years I hiked the Sierras and occasionally would pack my small Beretta 91a .22lr, but never had any problems with the bears or cats, and I came across many of them over the years. The .22 was just for 2 legged defense, being miles in the backcountry. Most backpackers though want as little weight with them as possible, I've known guys to cut off the handles on the their toothbrushes to save a tenth of an ounce. No way I'm shucking a rifle around with me all day, I do that enough during hunting season.
BlackFeather
New member
Honestly, bears or not, carry a long stick. Possibly pointy. I've been around all types of foresty areas and mountains and never had a reason to carry a gun. Sometimes I think people forget we evolved perfectly fine without guns. Or for the other guys, there were no guns in the Garden of Eden.
If you want to carry a gun, a carbine is likely to attract unneeded attention. If you're worried about people. If you don't have a pistol, bear spray.
If you want to carry a gun, a carbine is likely to attract unneeded attention. If you're worried about people. If you don't have a pistol, bear spray.
Every ounce or portion of an ounce counts. They add up. My pack, with extra clothes, with water and food, is now under 30 pounds good to go for a week. I can save some more weight as I replace some gear later. In warmer weather I can substitute a fleece bag for my sleeping bag and shave off 2 more pounds. I can use an ultra light weight tarp instead of my one man tent and shave another 2 pounds. I lost quite a bit of weight by using very light weight gear. Mock all you want. Any fool can go out there and be uncomfortable. It takes no experience to carry a heavy pack.
There are instances of attacks by mountain lions, bears, and thugs. I carry a gun whenever I am hiking or camping.
I would submit that since the Garden of Eden there has been violence with whatever weapons were available. Remember Cain and Abel?
I am confident that most people who hike and camp will not need a weapon, but some have and are dead because they did not have one.
PS, This might be informative.
http://news.discovery.com/animals/black-bear-attacks-north-america-110511.html
Regards,
Jerry
I would submit that since the Garden of Eden there has been violence with whatever weapons were available. Remember Cain and Abel?
I am confident that most people who hike and camp will not need a weapon, but some have and are dead because they did not have one.
PS, This might be informative.
http://news.discovery.com/animals/black-bear-attacks-north-america-110511.html
Regards,
Jerry
Cain and Abel were brothers. Would you carry a weapon because your brother was with you?
This subject comes up all the time in hiking circles and the responses are varied and usually strong. That is, from those who even think about it. Yet some writers (blogs) that I find very interesting are gun types who don't give carrying a gun a second thought, by which I mean they do carry. But they've never mentioned ever actually seeing a dangerous animal (wild or domestic) or person. And bless his heart, they've never mentioned wild dogs or feral cats. And for the record, he carried a .44 Redhawk, in addition to a rifle that had some kind of special treatment that he was proud of.
There is a minor problem here in that people who are interested in gun are as varied as the guns themselves. They have other interests, too, some related, some not. Hardly all gun nuts are hunters, nor survivalists. They (I really mean "we") are not necessarily worried about the end of the world, illegal immigrants, a government takeover of the country (??) or other things like that. They aren't all interested in 1911 pistols, real or copies, and of course, they don't all like guns with plastic parts. But some do like to hike and camp. Some care a little about other living things and don't really want to shoot holes in everything they can, living or inanimate, like road signs, no matter how much fun it is.
But I guess that was obvious all along.
This subject comes up all the time in hiking circles and the responses are varied and usually strong. That is, from those who even think about it. Yet some writers (blogs) that I find very interesting are gun types who don't give carrying a gun a second thought, by which I mean they do carry. But they've never mentioned ever actually seeing a dangerous animal (wild or domestic) or person. And bless his heart, they've never mentioned wild dogs or feral cats. And for the record, he carried a .44 Redhawk, in addition to a rifle that had some kind of special treatment that he was proud of.
There is a minor problem here in that people who are interested in gun are as varied as the guns themselves. They have other interests, too, some related, some not. Hardly all gun nuts are hunters, nor survivalists. They (I really mean "we") are not necessarily worried about the end of the world, illegal immigrants, a government takeover of the country (??) or other things like that. They aren't all interested in 1911 pistols, real or copies, and of course, they don't all like guns with plastic parts. But some do like to hike and camp. Some care a little about other living things and don't really want to shoot holes in everything they can, living or inanimate, like road signs, no matter how much fun it is.
But I guess that was obvious all along.
BlackFeather, we may have evolved perfectly well without guns, but humans also used to go into the wilds in numbers, more often than not. Hunter/gatherers almost always worked in groups; explorers who wandered around solo were considered either heroic, eccentric, or crazy, because that was a very good way not to survive, in days when predator counts were higher and the predators hadn't learned to be wary of individual humans.
I cannot advise others what to do but I know allot of people when they are hiking, back packing, or camping carry guns. I usually have my G30 with me. Short story. Years ago the girl I was dating (who was very anti-gun) and I hiked back about a day and a half in the Cumberland Gap. Out of nowhere a guy that looked like Charles Manson (down to the nasty beard and he had an old green trench coat) appeared and had no camping gear at all. he started talking to us and it really set us on guard. We were literally out in the middle of nowhere.
He kept trying to find out where we were going to set up camp that night. Finally just told him to leave us alone. Night comes and we haven't said anything to each other about what happened. Lights out and everything goes dark. My girlfriend finally spoke up. She asked if I had my gun with me. I knew she'd be mad but I aid yes. She said good. That guy really creeped me out. I know over the years their have been a few women murdered on the Appalachian Trail. A few years back a guy was raping women in a park around here.
I wouldn't tell anyone to break the law. But when hiking, biking or whatever Mr. G30 is usually with me. Everyone has to make that choice themselves. But
their are allot of nasty things that come out at night in the woods. Two and four legged. I want something with me just in case.
He kept trying to find out where we were going to set up camp that night. Finally just told him to leave us alone. Night comes and we haven't said anything to each other about what happened. Lights out and everything goes dark. My girlfriend finally spoke up. She asked if I had my gun with me. I knew she'd be mad but I aid yes. She said good. That guy really creeped me out. I know over the years their have been a few women murdered on the Appalachian Trail. A few years back a guy was raping women in a park around here.
I wouldn't tell anyone to break the law. But when hiking, biking or whatever Mr. G30 is usually with me. Everyone has to make that choice themselves. But
their are allot of nasty things that come out at night in the woods. Two and four legged. I want something with me just in case.
The two women who were murdered while camping along the A-trail were murdered in their sleep. There were some other shootings by a man who would approach someone but would only shoot, apparently, when the other person's back was turned. However, many of the people I've passed on the Applachian trail and other trails mostly in Shenandoah Park and nearby G.W. National Forest around Elizabeth Furnace fit the Charles Manson description, except for the trenchcoat. I've also passed lone women hikers.
Come to think of it, the only person I personally know who was murdered, was murdered in her sleep, too. But I also knew a man who disappeared while hiking on Mt. McKinley.
Come to think of it, the only person I personally know who was murdered, was murdered in her sleep, too. But I also knew a man who disappeared while hiking on Mt. McKinley.
BlueTrain, don't forget Meredith Emerson, murdered while hiking in Georgia. She wasn't asleep, and was with her dog. The man who killed her did so after first acting like a friendly stranger, and then assaulting and kidnapping her.
And he's suspected (or was he just convicted?) of killing an elderly couple he'd met, while they were hiking in the woods in Florida.
Apparently, he was yet another case of a bad dude who could fool a dog, too.
When I take a woods gun with me, it's normally in a caliber that will work on quadrupeds, but I figure the odds are higher it will still be used (if it ever is) against a biped.
And he's suspected (or was he just convicted?) of killing an elderly couple he'd met, while they were hiking in the woods in Florida.
Apparently, he was yet another case of a bad dude who could fool a dog, too.
When I take a woods gun with me, it's normally in a caliber that will work on quadrupeds, but I figure the odds are higher it will still be used (if it ever is) against a biped.