When you go hiking, knife or gun?

[BlackHills]

But, after reading this thread I am sad to learn that the only appropriate backstop for shooting a gun is a live bear. That is just plain inconvenient. I simply don't have the time to round up a bear every time I want to practice or sight in my rifle.

Who knew? I wish Cooper would have covered this in his writings. I feel like such a fool for being so reckless for all of these years.

That's the funniest thing I've read all day. Thanks. :thumbup:

 

[hdglock]

I carry both.


It is better to have it and not need it than, need it and not have it.

 

[Guyon]

It is better to have it and not need it than, need it and not have it.

Are you talking about a gun or a bear?

 

[Mistwalker]

I would be more worried about the human type of animals.

Around here that's the only animals I do worry about.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

when I go out hiking I carry both. They are both useful tools. They will not do any good sitting at home.

There you go. THE most exact answer to the question. No paranoia, just realistic preparation for the unexpected or unwelcome.

And maybe with some room for fun along the way.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Originally Posted by hdglock
It is better to have it and not need it than, need it and not have it.

Are you talking about a gun or a bear?

A bear. I feel safer walking with my bear on a leash. Nobody bothers me and the children we meet enjoy riding him on down the trail. My only problem is that his food costs more than ammunition.

Guns: compact, convenient, and (relatively) inexpensive.

 

[hushnel]

I kind of figured this thread would be locked by the time I got to the end and posted.

I have very little fear, particularly of the wilderness, all the gators and snakes are mostly well behaved, not much in the way of larger predators around anymore. I haven't been attacked or harassed by any two legged critters and I've lived in Brooklyn, Washington D.C. and Miami. I've thankfully never had my house catch fire.

I carry a knife and a pistol every day and legally. In the wilderness I carry a knife and a revolver of various calibers. In my truck and at home I have a fire extinguisher.

For 27 years I have worked at a county hospital in Overtown, Miami FL. Bad things happen to good people. I endeavour to not be one of them, hence the fire extinguishers

 

[Guyon]

hushnel, your avatar makes me wonder if one could substitute a lion for a bear.

A good point about the fire extinguishers. :thumbup:

I've never actually needed to have a fire steel in my pack since my lighter and/or my matches have always worked. I still carry it though.

 

[udtjim]

Both. I have had my Pistol Permit for many many years.

 

[Mentor]

Just a knife, here. Local laws prevent me from carrying a gun when I hike, but I honestly wouldn't even if it were an option. I simply haven't personally felt the need for one. The exception to this rule is when I hike way up north / out west, in grizzly country.

Best,

- Mike

 

[hushnel]

hushnel, your avatar makes me wonder if one could substitute a lion for a bear.

Or a bear for a lion

 

[AmmoHouse]

I carry both where it's legal...daily.
I'm under the mind set of alot of others...I'd rather have it and not use it than the other way around.
Thats just me...every body has their own opinion.

 

[Zombie Zeke]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that video!


I have never come across any gangbangers out in the woods. Where exactly are you hiking?

I hike in Southern California, where I live, it's by my screen name, go ahead and look up its proximity to LA and then use some common sense to figure out the rest.

There are alot of random things in my neck of the woods, feral dogs, meth trailers, pot farms, bad people doing naughty things in the cover of the high desert plus mountain lions oh my...

I have so far been confronted by wild dogs (look up the thread post about two years ago for details, it didn't end well for Rin Tin Tin) crackheads and assorted other two legged malcontents. It's for the best I don't carry a gun, my patience gets shorter as I get older, hold that with a steely resolve and its a great mix for trouble even with the moral high ground.



Hey Guyon, my wifes nickname for me is Bear and she usually keeps me close, I have a wireless leash, a wedding ring.

 

[Glock26]

very interesting The Chef.

 

[jill jackson]

Something I've always said to people that say they would not have a firearm under any circumstances.- Is, if something was happening to you, or a loved one like what you have read about, or watched on TV hundreds of times. And you or a loved one was about to die, would you take a firearm and save them or yourself? Or, would you just let your loved one or yourself die? They always have to admit they would take the firearm and save their beloved family member, or their own life. So that to me just shows that they don't want to think it could ever happen to them. Not that they really hate firearms enough to not use one if they had to. Just that they think they will never need one.
I would even say Timothy Treadwell and his G/F would have gave anything for a firearm when that brown bear attacked him, despite how they disliked people carrying them for protection against the bears. After all she did try to save his life with a frying pan for a weapon which resulted in her death as well. http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/Tim_Treadwell.html

 

[k_estela]

Ever see Borat? When he couldn't get a gold-plated desert eagle for protection, he settled for a bear. It did a great job of keeping thise kids at bay.

 

[dipbait]

What does make me feel uneasy is knowing that you are way outnumbered by the mall ninjas who carry one around "to feel safe." They are more likely to cause an accident through lack of training.

This is an opinion ,not a fact.

 

[tomcrx]

I would even say Timothy Treadwell and his G/F would have gave anything for a firearm when that brown bear attacked him, despite how they disliked people carrying them for protection against the bears.

And you may be completely wrong...don't put your words or actions upon a deceased person to support your point in an internet pissing contest

 

[Guyon]

ever see borat? When he couldn't get a gold-plated desert eagle for protection, he settled for a bear. It did a great job of keeping thise kids at bay.

LMAO. I'd forgotten that. :thumbup:

 

[Don Rearic]

If it were legal for me to do so, I would carry a concealed handgun everywhere I could, including the woods. If I had the money and I was in a place I could carry openly while in the woods, I'd probably have me a nice piece of exotica like a Ruger Mk II, Integrally Suppressed with a set of Crimson Trace Laser Grips (as an aid to shooting accurately from strange and awkward positions, not as a sight replacement...) for reliable small game procurement, etc.