Need for Guns?

I carry a gun every time I hit the woods. Pocohontas State Park has had so many hikers murdered that they are finally repealing the VA state law of bringing guns onto state parks. My 9mm won't so much to slow a bear down, (On that note, anyone that wants to buy me a nice 44, is welcome to... :D). Like others have said what you need to watch out for are the crazies. For that reason I sleep very lightly and stay prepared.
 
Do you wear your seatbelt when you drive? Keep a fire extinguisher at home or in your vehicle?

If you knew you were going to be an a car accident you'd stay home, right?
If you knew the stove was going to short out and catch fire you'd unplug it, right?

Firearms on the trail (or anywhere else) are nothing more than another piece of safety equipment: Often carried, (very) seldom used.

Whether you wear your seatbelt on the interstate is entirely up to you. :p
 
Your way more likely to crash your car though. A better example may be, do you always carry a SCUBA kit incase a dam bursts and you find yourself underwater.
 
I mostly pack my 8-shot titanium .22 revolver as basic survival gear. If I break a leg it is a good signaling device and keeps the coyotes away. If I get lost it is a hell of a lot easier to hunt with than an improvised spear or improvised bow. Eight .22LR hollowpoints down the throat of almost any animal is likely to kill it quick. The trick is not to aim too high and bounce things off those tough sloped skulls of bears etc. It is also nice if you don't like the neighbors.
 
Your way more likely to crash your car though. A better example may be, do you always carry a SCUBA kit incase a dam bursts and you find yourself underwater.
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Doesn't everyone? :rolleyes:
You are perfectly free to exercise your choice and not wear your seatbelt (or to leave your SCUBA gear behind.)

My analogy stands.
 
myopicmouse said:
Your way more likely to crash your car though. A better example may be, do you always carry a SCUBA kit incase a dam bursts and you find yourself underwater.
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I am not sure what data you have about risks here to do the risk/benefit analysis for those of us who are here. We do have wild animals that can - and do - kill. We also, unfortunately, have a relatively violent society. Our Constitution allows us to avoid be unarmed victims if we so desire.

As for me, there were places I backpacked in California that I carried a firearm. I have decided not to do so when backpacking near where I am now. My choice.
 
Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether I "need" to carry a firearm or not. As a free and law abiding individual, the fact that I may want to carry one is sufficient reason.
 
Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether I "need" to carry a firearm or not. As a free and law abiding individual, the fact that I may want to carry one is sufficient reason.
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Ah yes, the joys of a Free Society.

Well said, dude.
 
Heres a slight conundrum for you lot. If carrying guns wasn't in the law...would you think to campain for it, i.e the current law you feel that you may as well carry etc, but if there was no such law would you feel unsafe enough to actually try to change the law to allow you to do so?
 
myopicmouse said:
would you feel unsafe enough to actually try to change the law to allow you to do so?
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Yes I would, by any means necessary, but not because of a feeling of insecurity or fear. To me, the right to arms is about self determination and personal sovereignty.
 
Absolutely.
But then I already do, every time I move to a state that doesn't have a "Shall Issue" permit system.

It's not a fear thing, it's more about individual responsibility and liberty.
 
and it has at it's heart the simple concept of the "right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness...." and there is no creature in the universe that has any higher authority on defining what it takes for me to stay alive, free and happy...so long as I am not trespassing on someone else's Life, Liberty or Happiness... unless you simply don't like me, in which case just get over yourself... :rolleyes:
 
Pack Light/Die at Night?

Sure, fighting off a bear with a 3-inch Leatherman blade would make a good story, but you'll be wishn you had that .44 mag with you when that bear charges.

Be Prepared, and don't be stupid.
 
Ok, you lot have convinced me! If I was in America/Canada I think I probally would bring along a .44 or something - or if I didn't mind the extra weight, I'd pack a Masuer 6.5mm - though if I was going to bother to bring a rifle along I'd probally use it on rabbits or something when I was there.
 
Myopicmouse, c'mon over, we'll set you right up! A good friend of mine was of Irish descent. He used to have various relatives from there come visit him here in the states. One young guy in particular wanted to go shooting real bad, so we took him and he had a ball. When we were done shooting, we loaded him up with ammo belts, pistols, knives, shotguns and rifles and took a photo of him to show his buddies back home. He got quite a kick out of that.
 
Crazy people, mountain lions, snakes, rabid small animals, INJURED animals, small game for food, bears.........ANY reason. The gun is the equalizer or at least pause for effect.

And the picture worth a thousand words.

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:barf:
 
I remember the story of that bear charge when it happened. Close range, thick brush, a full mag emptied to stop the charge.

In some of the other pictures the shooter didn't look quite so composed. :D
 
As many of you know, Jeff Cooper is a firearms/outdoors/hunting writer, self-defense doctrinist, former Marine, and all-around icon of the Modern School of shooting...

It was Cooper who first gave us all the color-code of awareness in modern self-defense awareness and thinking.

He wrote, very appropriately and concisely IMO, the following in one of his Cooper's Column:

He who wanders about unarmed, deserves what he gets. --The Guru

Now "unarmed" (and consequently "armed") can mean any number of things, in a variety of different settings--be it firearms, knowledge, tools, etc. I've leave it to those who take responsibility for their (and often their family's) own safety to decide what "armed" means.
 
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