How do you protect yourself and your family in the wilderness ?

[myright]

I always bring two of these:thumbup:

Sweet lord....

Cute puppy...

 

[dougo83]

Illegals were just about an every other day experience in South Texas when I spent a lot of time on the ranches south of San Antonio. It has gotton worse and as a group they are probably more aggressive.

Yes, they are...and a lot more daring. Even to the point of entering farm and lease cabins...

Always had a loaded revolver with me however back then.

AFAIK...the Texas BP will still let you roam around with a firearm out there with fairly little hassle. We do it...they will stop you on occassion and ask for ID, but they are generally assuming you are a hunter or farmowner...

South Texas is not my idea of prime hiking turf due to state laws on trespass. You just can't stop along the highway and take a walk for the most part.

If you ever have the time, it is well worth stopping to ask the ranchers for permission. One of the old boys who owns land out near our lease says he likes having the extra big ol cornfed types like us walkin around with guns on his place...acts a a deterrent of sorts.

I miss Texas somewhat, but I sure prefer a a more mountainous and greener environment to live in day to day.

I was born and raised down here...25 years later I can't stand to spend more than a few weeks away...

 

[sodak]

I've had a similar situation happen with my daughter and I. I selected a large stick of my own and tucked my shirt inside my pants, clearly showing my belt knife. I made no threatening gestures but I did make eye contact, and I assure you I wasn't smiling. He faded away and my kid never really even noticed it, but it was a little spooky to me.

I've had a similar situation. It was more than one shadowing us, but after I casually unhooked the strap off my holster while maintaining eye contact, they weren't too interested in us anymore.

Not to sound paranoid or chauvinist, but I don't think kids should be out and about without a grown man or a woman who really knows how to carry/take care of herself. A good large dog would count for a lot.

Agreed.

worst dam thing I wound in the woods is yellow jackets. little b@$#^rds. there are alot of things to protect yourself from, even the little ones are mean.

Ain't that the truth! Little sob's can't be bluffed either, it's kill or be killed!

 

[Dannyboy Leather]

Post expired.

 

[BlackHills]

So now that I have a handgun carry permit, I usually carry a firearm if it is legal where I'm walking....<snip>....With guns I take the view of "out of sight out of mind", so I have been known to have a firearm where I shouldn't carry one (ie National Forests in my state) as I was concerned about predator encounters.

You might want to double check those laws because you probably aren't breaking any. With very few exceptions the laws in a National Forest are the same as the laws of the state it is in...i.e. if you can carry legally in that state you can carry legally in the Natl Forest. National Parks are a different story...

 

[22-rimfire]

I have. The legislature currently trying to change the law for parks and public places. I suspect that will include national forests. The state made all the national forests into wildlife management areas and the only time you can have a firearm there is during hunting season and only if you have the WMA permit.

Dougo83. I understand how you feel. Believe it or not, at one time I had keys to just about every ranch between Cotulla and Rio Grande City. At the time, I didn't realize just how wonderful that was. It was just work. South Texas grows on you. Never hunted in South Texas or the Hill Country. Had ranchers offer to let me hog hunt a number of times. One day you wake up and you are in the mountains and you feel confined. The feeling went away though.

 

[James_Terrio]

Outside of injury concerns, there is very little for the experienced outdoorsman to be concerned about or protect himself/herself from in the wilderness (in our location). Going to the big city - another issue.

I understand that. Certainly a first aid kit is going to be used much more often than a defensive weapon. Heck, some times of the year the most important protection I need is anti-hay-fever meds. I'm definitely more on edge in even a small city than I typically am in the woods.

On the other hand, I don't want to be the one guy in a million who gets caught with his metaphorical pants down and winds up in the hospital and/or jail. I think we all agree that situational awareness is the first step, and to me that includes figuring out your options should things go badly.

This is drifting a bit... but I think anyone considering carrying a weapon should be asked if they've ever actually been in a real fight. A little pushing and shoving in the schoolyard doesn't count, either. A lot of people have little or no idea how they'd react in a truly violent situation, especially being caught off guard. Some big strong men freeze up, some petite mild-mannered women go absolutely nuts and whomp the stuffing out of big strong men, and all reactions in between. If you're one that freezes, whatever weapon you have on you is likely to be found stuffed up your nose.

 

[dougo83]

I have. The legislature currently trying to change the law for parks and public places. I suspect that will include national forests. The state made all the national forests into wildlife management areas and the only time you can have a firearm there is during hunting season and only if you have the WMA permit.

Dougo83. I understand how you feel. Believe it or not, at one time I had keys to just about every ranch between Cotulla and Rio Grande City. At the time, I didn't realize just how wonderful that was. It was just work. South Texas grows on you. Never hunted in South Texas or the Hill Country. Had ranchers offer to let me hog hunt a number of times. One day you wake up and you are in the mountains and you feel confined. The feeling went away though.

I think with me it is a combination of the people and the scenery. I should have amended my post. In most instances, I could not spend more than a few weeks outside of the Promised Land. To me, TN is the 3rd greatest state in the union and I loved going hiking out there. Beautiful country. However, I always want to come back here...In case anyone is wondering, CO is #2...

 

[antonio_luiz]

How do you protect your baby against the dingo?

Where do you live? We've had a few recent dingo attacks/fatalities on kids at Fraser Island - seems like they've lost some of their fear of tourists there but a decent stick will keep them away. The dingoes around here aren't a threat - too busy hightailing it for the scrub before they get shot for the bounty on their scalps. I'm more worried about our snakes and spiders

More tourists get killed and injured in vehicle accidents on Fraser than anything else

 

[Davyd]

Here in Oz I cannot recall a single incident of hikers beign attacked on a serious trail - though it proabably has happened day/tourist walk areas.
Pretty much nobody carries a weapon - swiss army knives are the ubiquitous tool.

The real threats are getting lost and hypothermia lack of water, injury, snake, fire - though most won't walk in a high fire danger period.

The best defenive weapons are mobile phones, beacons,gps, good clothing and water and a couple of bandages

There is a case here of a boy who lost his friends called the ambulance service 4X and was given a very poor response (What street? Hold please? the coroner just said there were serious flaws but he would have died anyway from lack of water. His teacher forgot to give him a gps unit) There are alos calls for the UK system where emergency services automatically get a traingulation location on mobile phone calls which coukld help immensely

So over here it is definately a software issue and beign attacked is a generally a city hissue not a hiking one

 

[myright]

Where do you live? We've had a few recent dingo attacks/fatalities on kids at Fraser Island - seems like they've lost some of their fear of tourists there but a decent stick will keep them away. The dingoes around here aren't a threat - too busy hightailing it for the scrub before they get shot for the bounty on their scalps. I'm more worried about our snakes and spiders

More tourists get killed and injured in vehicle accidents on Fraser than anything else

I'm in the states. This was a poor attempt at some humore as I was referrencing that old movie "A Cry In The Dark"

I'm lucky, in that I don't have to worry too much about the 4 legged variety unless it's a rabid fox or raccoon.

 

[udtjim]

Stout walking sticks, Knives and Rugers.

 

[BlackHills]

I have. The legislature currently trying to change the law for parks and public places. I suspect that will include national forests. The state made all the national forests into wildlife management areas and the only time you can have a firearm there is during hunting season and only if you have the WMA permit.

I thought that sounded strange so I did a little looking....and you are right. You only have one NF in TN, the Cherokee. I have never seen a more restrictive policy for firearms in a NF before, I'd have never thought that would be the case in TN. Even a few I randomly picked to look at in CA aren't as strict.

 

[John Watson]

Usually not a problem for me as I have always carried a handgun but now my worries are now that my married daughter has had a boy and her husband was talking about hiking around the green spaces in Austin where they live. Problem is that he is a liberal an probably not likely to go along with a firearm. So I did express my concern about going into wooded areas with the daughter and son without something to protect themselves from dogs, coyotes and two legged varmints and suggested pepper spray which he agreed would be a good idea. Good thing was the house they bought wasn't the one near all the open green space so they will just be walking around the neighborhood.

 

[myright]

Hey John - I have a friend that often hikes on his own with no gear, water, tools, etc. He brings along his cell phone and swears that's all he's ever going to need. He once got lost and called his wife to help but had no idea where he was. It was hot, he had his dog with him and both were dehydrated.

I can't imagine what would have happened had they come across an actual thread.

BTW - They made it out ok, he was only about a mile away from his house and had no idea. Idiot...

 

[theonew]

Hey John - I have a friend that often hikes on his own with no gear, water, tools, etc. He brings along his cell phone and swears that's all he's ever going to need. He once got lost and called his wife to help but had no idea where he was.

Doh, that's hilarious. Hope he learned something.

 

[myright]

Doh, that's hilarious. Hope he learned something.

Unfortunately he did not... I went camping with him last year because he kept bugging me to go with him. He's my drinkin' buddy not my campin' buddy. We had to park about a mile away from camp and he made 4 trips back and forth to his truck lugging all the crap he brought with him. He brought NOTHING to make fire with.

Heck - at least he likes knives

We did practice making some trip alarms that didn't work out all that well though. I would love to have some more practice making trip alarms.

 

[Varulv]

I carry a 12 gauge single shot...i would like to own a pump one (mossberg 500 persuader ) & a fixed-blade knife (minimum 5 inches blade) but a Fehrman Hood Hunter 10" would be great.

 

[Skimo]

I've allways gone camping and hiking with firepower, luckily it's legal. Taking someone with you is probably the BEST defense against anything including the elements.

Walking sticks and knives are also great to have, not only as defense, but for setting up camp.

I think the whole "software & hardware" POV is very important, allmost as important as knowing what you might expect to meet on your journey. I really wish there were more active campers and hikers, nothing is more fun than setting up a base camp then heading out with minimal gear to enjoy nature without packing more than a few pounds of gear.

 

[Oregon Knife Guy]

H&K USB .40;-)
I agree with Big Mike- Situational awareness! That is very important...
Quirt also made some very valid points... Don't just carry a weapon. Train in self defense and know when to use it and when not to. A lot of my friends have had long careers in law enforcement and never actually had to use their weapon.
I do carry a firearm in the woods often. If I am around my house, I carry a 10/22 if I am elsewhere, I carry a larger caliber. The main reason, My dog goes with me when I hike around my house and I have lots of Coyotes and a few Cougars. If I need the firearm, and don't have it, and something happens to my dog, I would be upset. Usually I am not that worried for my safety because I am aware of my surroundings. Although there was a period of about three years that there was a guy who had a felony warrant out for his arrest that was living in the woodsback up behind my place, he was reported to have an AK. I went well armed until he was captured..
Always be prepared for the unknown! One of the most important things to remember about survival.
I also have the poster of Chuck Norris taped to my back, then the bears wont even mess with me!!!