When you go hiking, knife or gun?

[Lavan]

A Victorinox "Classic" buried in a grizzly's trachea will probably make him spit you out.

:jerkit:

 

[Glock26]

I have cousins from Canada, and they frown upon firearms, what is the deal with that for all you Canadian's? They don't even want their kids running around with fake plastic guns? Worse than Californians i would say. So in the end, the combination of a firearm, fixed blade is a darn good combo!

 

[pinhead]

I have cousins from Canada, and they frown upon firearms, what is the deal with that for all you Canadian's? They don't even want their kids running around with fake plastic guns? Worse than Californians i would say. So in the end, the combination of a firearm, fixed blade is a darn good combo!

They don't hate plastic guns so much as they just hate to see plastic wasted that could have been used to make hockey pucks is all.

 

[orthogonal1]

Been going hiking all my life and never needed a gun not even once.

The only times I would carry a firearm out was when I was hunting and then was a rifle.

...

If people think their 9mm, .40 S&W or .45 ACP are are going to stop a Bear, like a Grizzly from attacking you then I really wish you luck because all you will end up doing is making it mad, none of them have enough power to get through the fat layer and reach the vitals.

....

I'm surprised, being from NC, you have never walked into a pot field with the potential of armed "gaurds". I did in Wautaga county and was much happier to be carrying than had I not been. Testy situations are not always from animals, four legged anyways.

I also wonder what bullets you are considering. I recall some solid brass bullets I had for my .45 that seemed to penetrate well, so if I'd be expecting bears or hogs I'd try to find something similar.

 

[Glock26]

hahah.

 

[Bumppo]

No gun for normal hiking. I might carry a staff, but more for balance or for a shelter ridgepole, but no defensive tools to speak of.

 

[Glock26]

I look at it this way, there is no need for argument. I have even heard it from good friends that do the same outdoor activities i do, "Why do you need that for?" "No need for that man." "You're crazy." When i hear these things, i don't say a word, since i'm not the one who does not have it. I guess people have different levels of awareness, things can happen anywhere.

 

[Skimo]

The Above statement is actually very misleading. While Mountain Lions do not actually "hunt" humans, the only animal that does is Polar Bears, they do stalk and will attack humans. Now most of the time these attacks are by young cougars that have you confused with something else. Also if a mountain lion attacks you a firearm is mostly useless as they attack from behind and you never know its coming. Your best bet is to fight back like your life depends on it(it does) and attack. This will usually scare off the animal and it will run away.

BUT if your buddy is attacked by a bear or cat then a firearm is a GREAT idea. You can shoot it and get it off your buddy. Bear spray will also work for this.

As for a Bear attack, a gun will be pretty effective. There is a lot of disscussion of which is better a gun or bear spray but that's another topic.

and for the skeptics out there when I worked for the Forest Service in Wyoming they trained us extensivly in this, and I have encountered Bears in the woods and have been stalked by a mountain lion.

As far as what I carry. I always have a couple of knives on me, with at least one easy to get to. I never carry a gun but thats more because I don't own one, if I did I think I would carry it where it was legal.

sorry for the long post.

What's really funny... get this... is you're wrong.

It's not just polar bears, what kind of nonsense have you been reading?

Black bears stalk.
Grizzly bears stalk.
Cape buffalo will stalk you too, smart herbivores.
Moose won't stalk you, but they'll sure as hell charge you and break your bod to bits, just like deer, but 10 times as big.
Feral dogs will stalk you if they are a pack, doesn't matter if they intend to eat you, "play" with you, or outright kill you.

 

[Ankerson]

I'm surprised, being from NC, you have never walked into a pot field with the potential of armed "gaurds". I did in Wautaga county and was much happier to be carrying than had I not been. Testy situations are not always from animals, four legged anyways.

I also wonder what bullets you are considering. I recall some solid brass bullets I had for my .45 that seemed to penetrate well, so if I'd be expecting bears or hogs I'd try to find something similar.

Never had that kind of problem... Thankfully.

On bears the .45 just doesn't have enough power to penetrate fully on Large Bears, might do fine on a hog if you have a side shot. It's fine for the two legged things though.

I would want a 10mm with full power loads and soft points at the min for a handgun. More like a .41 or .44 mag would be a better option though, either loaded with heavy hard Cast SWC.

 

[hoopster]

I think bears are the only animal I would be afraid of, realistically. But even bear attacks are pretty rare, and often the result of the human acting stupid, and/or not being aware. I have only once run into a bear in Yellowstone, and walked away, not too fast, not too slow. It barely even acknowledged me.

From what I have read, mountain lions, cougars, etc. are afraid of humans and never hunt them. And from what rangers have told me, they are easy to scare off if you run into one.

Now I hear UFO abductions often happen in wilderness areas, however I have no idea how to protect yourself.

You've obviously never been confronted by a pack of wild dogs or a group of people with ill intentions.

 

[Harayasu]

I would think and hope most knife folks who don't see the need to carry a gun are nonetheless totally understanding and accepting of the right to carry a gun and the free choice of others - being that they must know a lot of other folks don't see any need to carry a knife.

As I wrote in a previous post, I am not allowed to carry a gun here in the Netherlands and probably in most other parts of Europe, not sure about some countries in Eastern-Europe. So I don't know how it would be to carry a gun, but I also don't know how it would feel to need a gun, just because I didn't grow up with guns.

Personally I don't have problems with people carrying guns. That's fine with me. I think most people on these forums treat their guns in the same way as their knives; as nice collectible objects and/or tools. They both could be used as tools for self defense, but it is often mentioned here: if you don't know how to use your knife for self defense, don't use it. I guess the same counts for guns.

 

[GWashington1732]

If I was going anywhere where I might run into a big old feline, I'd definately want a gun. But that's because they scare the crap out of me. Bears, not so much, they're not typically agressive if you don't mess with them and keep your food stored properly but big cats, no thanks.

 

[Marion David Poff]

Both.

My shotgun is no good against my sandwich.

And my knife is little good against a bear or mountain lion.

Marion

 

[jill jackson]

You just fire a shot off in the air willy-nilly eh?

Ever wonder where that round goes?

That statement has to be one of the most irresponsable things I've ever read on this forum.

Did I say into the Air? I have sense enough to shoot into the ground.
Do you jump to conclusions often?
I know to never fire a shot without knowing Where it will end up. I've passed up shots at large racked deer before, because I was not sure the shot was safe to take.

 

[goodeyesniper]

My ultimate idea is, carry a gun whenever wherever considering the law. With that said, i have something to ask you all. With beautiful animals like mountain lions, coyotes, etc, i really, really sincerely think i will not be able to successfully draw my G26 out of wherever i carry it and fire my weapon in case of an attack. For one, i will not even see the mountain lion coming to attack me, and second if i get a shot off i would probably miss. I don't want to start a pissing match but, for me i think in that situation with smaller 50-100 lb 4 legged animals i would prefer a big fixed blade on my side.

I had a situation where i was mountain biking in some thick single track trails at night, had a firearm and a fixed blade with me. And i just 'felt' like i was being stocked, in my head unconsciously, i told myself if i were to be attacked i would get my knife out first. What are you thoughts on that.

Second, while out hiking and camping, fishing in places populated with beautiful giant bears, i would prefer having access both firearm and knife. Most importantly bear spray, since i respect animal life and never want to kill an animal human or nonhuman. And so, in the end, i say right tools for the certain environments, and factor out risk assessment? Although in the end, we don't know what to prepare for really.....Can't say you didn't try though.

Might want to rethink how you carry your firearm if you think it's that much slower. Just a thought. Obviously if you HAVE to carry it concealed that will add a bit of time. Also, there are situations where it might not outright attack YOU, where a gun would be better. My friend was out hiking and a mountain lion got on his golden lab, he was able to draw his .357 and scare it away before it mortally wounded his dog. Though I think he did have to carry the dog back to civilisation so he could get it fixed up a bit. Would you really want to rush in to defend your dog with a small fixed blade knife in that situation??

Me, I'm in california, so I pretty much have no choice but to carry a knife. My county is not one of the friendly counties that will issue permits for self defense.

 

[akadave2]

Both of course!

 

[DennisStrickland]

always carry a gun & knives.to hell with laws, if you are filed on at least you are'nt in the grave. in national parks gun was in top of pack under poncho. i've never had a game warden or park ranger check my pack. if fishiong by myself i usually have a small one in baggy pocket. last year in a lower colorado river authority park a lone camper was killed .several yrs. earlier in car wash 2.5 miles away late at night guy was killed. in austin we figure these as gang iniations coming from houston or san antonio. stay alive & worry about legal manifestions later. we only get about 3 car jackings a year probably because so many people carry pistols in cars.

 

[cbxer55]

Unlike CA, in Oklahoma you can legally carry a firearm with the proper permit. So the answer to your query is BOTH. And usually more than one of each as well, since OKs permit places no limit on how many you can carry, and also does not require the firearm to be registered.

Kind of neat, huh? So when you getting out of La-La-Land?

 

[Glock26]

Haha, LA LA land you are correct. But the truth is there is so much beauty out here in Ca, and also other states. But the laws are very UN- reasonable without a question.

 

[elkins45]

The woods (thankfully) are the only place I ever USE a gun, so I generally have one unless it's prohibited for some reason.