Camping with guns

I always have a pistol on me whether hiking or camping. You just dont know nowadays. I usually have a 9mm or .38 revolver. The revolver is nice since I can also load shotshells fro small critters in it.
 
Dave_Markowitz said:
I carry when camping or hiking. It is unlikely I will need a gun when doing these activities, but if I do need it, nothing else is a suitable substitute.

My primary concern is bad guys. My secondary concern is dogs. I've encountered domestic dogs who's owners thought it was fine to have them unleashed in a park (where there is a leash law in effect) and had they been a bit more aggressive, I might have needed a gun to defend myself.

As to having an unloaded gun with me, or firing at something when unsure of what's beyond, both are foolish. If I'm going to need a gun it's highly unlikely I'll have time to load it, and I'm responsible for every projectile I launch, so I better be able to see both what I'm shooting and what's beyond it.
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Assuming the last paragraph is in response to what I said as are some of the other posts, I guess it is just a difference of opinion, but I would absolutely feel justified shooting through my tent if it started collapsing and claws were coming through it. Maybe people didn't understand, but I was thinking of a scenario where a predator is trying to come into your tent (as in it's right there in front of you--not trying to shoot at a distant target blindly). You can't be sure of your background in this scenario, but "being sure of your background" is a relative thing, since it is difficult or impossible ever to be absolutely sure of where your bullet will go in a real world scenario. But in this scenario, you are in a remote place and if you know where the few nearby people are, you can be pretty sure that you are okay.

What I do is always try to have a really good idea of where any nearby tents are, so if, in the middle of the night, this sort of thing happens, I can be reasonably sure that if any of the buckshot pass through the target, it is highly unlikely that they are going to hit anyone. Usually there is just one nearby tent or something, and no one else is camping anywhere else within at least a few hundred yards (and/or there are trees and terrain that would stop any buckshot), and so I just know that I am good except for that angle.

As for the "foolish" unloaded gun, I can have a round in the chamber of my 11-87 in a few seconds, and, for any two legged predators, I can cock the action even more quickly. Not as good as the sound of a pump action shotgun, but still almost always more than enough to discourage any would be attackers. And I can think of any number of scenarios where you might have a few seconds to get a round in the chamber before impending death. For example, I typically know if someone is coming into my camp before they are right on top of me (voices, footsteps, etc.), and if they really are as stealth as a delta force team and are going to be attacking in an instant, then neither a loaded nor unloaded gun is going to help.
 
would not camp without it

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Also in So Calif. Believe me, there are lots of bears and cats out there whether you are seeing them or not, so pack something that will handle them as well as 2 legged critters. For traveling light I like the Ruger SP101 because it is compact and packable, yet heavy enough that you can shoot full house .357 loads all day long. We ride quiet dual-sport motorcyles in the local mountains and Sierra, and often we are on top of a bear or cat before they even realize we are there. Gets pretty exciting! Don't ignore cattle either. More folks get killed by cattle every year by far, than bears.

Also have had a few encounters with humans from time to time. Returned to an off-road staging area/fishing hole once in the middle of a snow storm, and a fair size group of gangbanger looking "Mexican skinheads" were just beginning to break into the parked vehicles. No cell service to call for backup, but luckily I had something to hold in my hand besides my dick!
 
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long gun...a good .22 Rifle (loaded with CCI .22lr mini-mags), or a good 12 gauge (my choice would be a mossberg 500)

handgun (as long as you have a permit (if needed))... just about any .357 magnum.
 
reconranger said:
Anyone living in California, needs to read this book. Many law inforcement agencies use it as their "textbook", to train their officers: http://www.gunlawpress.com/

You can actually string together a number of "exceptions" to the concealed and loaded gun laws, that will allow you to legally have a gun close at hand almost all the time! One of the most frequently overlooked exceptions are the ones allowing you to have a concealed/loaded weapon in your campsite (put up a tent, and the immediate area surrounding it becomes your "campsite")! In many instances, I prefer a revolver because if it must be carried unloaded, one can quickly throw a couple rounds in the chamber, where carrying a loaded magazine for an automatic might be considered a partially loaded weapon. Read the book!
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Nope, born and raised in Los Angeles, moved to Riverside was there for many years, used to ride my enduro to Big Bear.. Called sheriff and asked if I could carry my unloaded handgun in a locked container with the ammo in a different pouch then my back pack. NOPE... all laws on dangerous "items" vary from state to state, none of them make sense.. i remember you can carry OWB on your own property while mowing the yard......

laws...... especially knife laws are just plain stupid no matter where you are.....
 
I carry even in my house! My wife asked me if I was paranoid.... I said "why would I be, I have a gun!" LOL

Carry everywhere, then if you need it you have it. Don't carry and if you need it, you'll wish you had it!
 
TheLastDaze said:
Nope, born and raised in Los Angeles, moved to Riverside was there for many years, used to ride my enduro to Big Bear.. Called sheriff and asked if I could carry my unloaded handgun in a locked container with the ammo in a different pouch then my back pack. NOPE... all laws on dangerous "items" vary from state to state, none of them make sense.. i remember you can carry OWB on your own property while mowing the yard......

laws...... especially knife laws are just plain stupid no matter where you are.....
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Actually, Calif has better knife laws than most states! I can carry a variety of different tactical folders anywhere I normally go....and that works just perfect for me. Two Emerson Karambits are what I normally carry on the street, one strongside and one offside. They are just under 3", so I am legal in any localities that have a 3" rule! Only place I care to carry a fixed blade is in the woods, and there it is no problem to carry it unconcealed. Just step across the border to some neighboring states, and you will see what silly knife laws are like.....

A hangun transported on a motorcycle in a backpack, would be considered on your "person", and that would not be legal. But, get creative and there are other ways to transport a hangun legally on a motorcycle, like in a locked container on the exterior of the bike and the ammunition in your pocket.....just like transporting it sitting right next to you in a locked container on the seat of your car (which is perfectly legal by the way!).

With practice and some creativity, in an emergency I can get a revolver up and running from a locked container in a heartbeat!!! (Automatics involve a gray area in the law of transporting a loaded magazine, so I just leave them at home in the safe to avoid any issues regarding that.) Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need to be helpless and unarmed just because you live here in Calif!
 
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I grew up with firearms being a part of camping.

Usually something like my childhood .410 single and a 12ga double or pump in camp, with someone(s) usually male and adult (yeah, times change) carrying a pistol.

Now, this is a western perspective, and times have changed in CA, though in much of the west it's still not a big deal. Concealment isn't necessarily a major consideration-

I strongly favor a light revolver, but with a minimum 4 inch barrel. My regular "wilds" carries are a .22 9 shot H&R 6 inchr evolver and a 6 inch K38 smith.*

Snake shot - for the .38- is a good idea, and the only thing I ever have had to use!

I am considering working on getting one of the charter bulldog target model .44 specials. That's a bonus load of shot, and a very versatile caliber.


*
I won't get into a debate about how neither of those is big enough to bother carrying. They are, they work. If you personally need a .454 casull to feel safe, then fine.
 
In areas where campsites are close a keltec 32 is in the tent with a GLOCK 27 40 cal and a single shot 12 gauge shot gun both in the car. When we are camping far away from others, the keltec 32 is with my wife, the GLOCK with me, and a marlin papoose and a marlin model 915 bolt action single shot are both standing ready in the tent.
 
I've never been real serious about carrying a firearm for protection until this year. I have spent the last decade or so bumming around the woods all over Washington and Oregon and have never had any bad experiences. However this year I have had 3 black bear encounters alone (Nothing at all life threatening). All 3 I was completely defenseless except for a fixed blade and a folder. Since then I have been carrying a S&W 66-1 in .357 magnum. The bears around here are usually not all that huge and usually not aggressive so I feal comfortable without moving up to a bigger and heavier .44 mag. Even the 66-1 is pretty heavy and not super comfortable to pack everywhere but it sure does give me a good sense of confidence when out in the woods. I'd like to find something a bit easier to carry (basically just less weight I guess), I'll have to look into those Ti frames.
 
You know whats most scary about any of this?.....I camp with my 2 young boys and we go to some remote parts of Michigan to camp. Just last month I believe some guy escaped from prison in Arizona with 2 others?
2 were convicted of murder.
Fox News: The badly burned skeletal remains of Linda and Gary Haas, both 61, of Tecumseh, Okla., were found in a charred camper on Wednesday morning on a remote ranch in Santa Rosa in eastern New Mexico.
These people were camping!!!
Next, these same 2 monsters who probably murdered and burned these campers in New Mexico went camping to hid themselves in Arizona.
A forest ranger thought they looked suspicious because of the way they parked their car...as if hiding it. He alerted police of them and they were arrested without incident. After his arrest though, he was quoted as saying: he had a weapon in the tent and should have shot the Forest Service ranger when he had the opportunity.

Evil people are out there...that is why I carry almost every day and especially when I go camping!!! I carry not from fear, but because I love my family and its MY job as a husband and father to protect them at any and all costs!!!
 
Yeah it is really sad that you need to have that sort of thing in mind, but stories like that are not at all rare. I luckily have not really found myself in a situation where I found it necessary to brandish a gun at a person, but I can tell you that when you are out there isolated and it looks like trouble may be brewing, the first thougth in your head is "why the hell don't I have some back up out here?"

One animal that I haven't heard mentioned is javelina, which may be an issue in many parts of the country, including central california. I plan to get some back up before I go hog hunting, and I've decided that a 44 mag is probably the way to go. A glock 10mm might with some powerful loads might also be plausible (sounds like you can get close to .357 mag ballistics) or maybe a .41 mag. But depending on how big the hogs are, I'm not sure that I would be thrilled with anything smaller than the 44.
 
Most two legged animals will be scared away by the sight of a loaded gun, if they're not perhaps they are looking for more. I certainly dont believe in shooting through a tent but I'd rather be armed than unarmed if it comes down to it.
 
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