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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,257 |
Jeff, you ever been on the AT? It's not grizzly country where at least there's a potential reason to carry.
A "light" handgun is a minimum of 3/4lb with ammo... most are far more. Personally I carry as few pounds as possible, and most serious about the pastime are looking for ways to lose pounds, not add them.
But internet backpackers are different... Thinkin' I got scarred for life by Deliverance....... My perspective on these things changed when I had girls. Me solo? Meh. What could happen, really. Me and my ladies? That's 3/4 pound I'll pack happily. Most of my backpacking is with two over 50 ladies that could walk the feet off most on this forum... still haven't found a reason to pack in summer. And spray is more effective...
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Campfire Outfitter
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[quote=Brad]
Thinkin' I got scarred for life by Deliverance.......
My perspective on these things changed when I had girls. Me solo? Meh. What could happen, really. Me and my ladies? That's 3/4 pound I'll pack happily. My daughter and I roamed around Bob Marshall a bit this past July, no way in hell would I go there without a proper pistol. MOST of the horsepackers I saw had scabbards and lever guns, probably 45/70's. Brad don't mind changing cooks apparently. I look at my daughters a bit differently.
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Joined: Jun 2004
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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That Noah Pippin story is, to me, a sad commentary on one man's inability to deal with his transition to everyday life after serving. Whatever he was looking for, I like to think he found it. GD
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Joined: Jan 2005
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Jeff, you ever been on the AT? It's not grizzly country where at least there's a potential reason to carry.
A "light" handgun is a minimum of 3/4lb with ammo... most are far more. Personally I carry as few pounds as possible, and most serious about the pastime are looking for ways to lose pounds, not add them.
But internet backpackers are different... Yes, they are. I used to hang out over at Whiteblaze where all those [bleep]' girly men spent all day babbling about how to get their base weight from eight pounds down to seven. They didn't like me when I told 'em to get a [bleep]' barbell or at least a testosterone patch. TAK that's one of your best posts of all time. And I agree with you on carrying a handgun to protect the wimmens, if not yourself too. Sleep under a tyvek scrap, on a 1/3 piece of foam pad, and eat your meals with a cut down plastic spork to shave ounces and embrace the misery if you must. DO NOT neglect your duty to protect your family to the best of your abilities however.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
--Winston Churchill
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SP 101, you're not in grizz country.
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Joined: Nov 2005
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Brad has two tough female bodyguards with him when he goes hiking. He doesn't need a gun!
Nifty-250
"If you don't know where you're going, you may wind up somewhere else".
Yogi Berra
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,257
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,257 |
Hint, this thread is STILL about the Appalachian Trail, though it's not surprising you've yet to fully grasp that.
As to the Big Bad Bob... give me a break. Bear Spray works there too. If you want to lug a pistol, by all means, you only have yourself to burden. Bear spray, however, is more effective and lighter. Between the two, only an idiot would chose a firearm over the spray.
Also, never yet have seen a horse-packer NOT armed... lot more fun to carry when your horse is doing it for you, and you'd better have spray and a firearm with stock... those bastids do seem to invite all sorts of trouble.
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Hint, this thread is STILL about the Appalachian Trail...
And Meredith Emerson is STILL DEAD.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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That Noah Pippin story is, to me, a sad commentary on one man's inability to deal with his transition to everyday life after serving. Whatever he was looking for, I like to think he found it. GD I agree.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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...As to the Big Bad Bob... give me a break. Bear Spray works there too. If you want to lug a pistol, by all means, you only have yourself to burden. Bear spray, however, is more effective and lighter. Between the two, only an idiot would chose a firearm over the spray. Why you gotta be so arrogant all the time. I can just see you and your two lady friends, all three marching through the hills in your menopausal rage. No wonder not even a bear want's anything to do with ya. Burden is burden and we all make our choices. I'll take a weapon, and leave the books and liquor behind.
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Campfire Tracker
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There is alot of ways at looking at this event but this guy is a lucky fellow in the Big Bad Bob as it was put. A man was attacked by a black bear Friday morning in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and officials believe they have killed the responsible bear.
Jim Satterfield, regional supervisor for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the attack happened in the Black Bear Creek area of the wilderness at about 7:30 a.m.
Satterfield said officials killed a bear matching the description at about 1:40 p.m. The bear had pepper spray on its fur and blood on its claws, he said.
�We�re pretty sure we got the right bear,� Satterfield said.
The victim was taken by ALERT helicopter to Kalispell Regional Medical Center. A hospital administrator told The Associated Press the man�s injuries were not life-threatening and he was expected to recover.
The U.S. Forest Service assisted in the investigation.
Black Bear Creek is deep inside the 2,400-square-mile wilderness area, about 25 miles southeast of Hungry Horse Reservoir. Jayco
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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I don't fret bears either. But if it ever happens, at least I have a fighting chance with a handgun.
My primary purpose for carrying a weapon is for defense against humans.
Someone mentioned dogs. I had experience with feral dogs in the desert of Egypt, of all places. Those MF'ers were not joking around. They would follow stalk humans in packs. They were aggressive as hell, and would send you running for a vehicle, or start shooting, one of the two.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Most of my backpacking is with two over 50 ladies that could walk the feet off most on this forum... still haven't found a reason to pack in summer. And spray is more effective...
When you find the reason or more precisely the reason finds you the cost might be pretty high.  Most here understand that bears on the AT are not the biggest threat and spray alone is worthless against 2 leg predators who are not as lazy as you about packin heat.
Last edited by JohnBurns; 09/18/12.
John Burns
I have all the sources.
They can't stop the signal.
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I pack a handgun while hiking; if it's legal, why not? It's sure nice to supplement your diet with some fresh meat when the fish aren't biting or you've been eating trail mix and MREs for several days. I understand the "going as light as possible" idea, but to me a gun is a pretty important tool to have along.
Whether using it to signal for help, defense against critters and bad people, or to collect food - sounds like a multi-purpose tool to me.
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Joined: Feb 2008
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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I've never hiked the AT, never had to shoot a charging bear, and I'm not sure who Meredith Emerson is but, this thread is [bleep] hilarious!
Thankfully hunting season starts soon...
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Joined: Nov 2005
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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As a long-time Carry Permit holder I am armed most of the time whether in town, in the woods, or at home. If I won't go to the gas station or the 7-11 without being armed, why the heck would I even consider heading into the woods for days without being at least as adequately prepared for the unexpected.
I just spoke two words that are meaningful to me.
Be "prepared". A good lesson learned from the Boy Scouts.
"Unexpected". That means you don't know you have a problem until it's upon you. Then there isn't time to get prepared.
A few years ago an older gentleman friend (about 80) of mine and member of my church was taking a long walk on a deserted country road. He was viciously attacked by a pack of feral dogs. He tried to fend them off with his walking stick.
He couldn't move fast enough and they got him down. He was finally able to fish an old Harrington & Richardson Bulldog snub-nose 38 S&W out of his pants pocket and start firing. He got slugs into two of them and the pack ran into the woods.
A rural mail carrier came along and gave him a ride to the nearest house where an ambulance was called. He got a whole bunch of stitches. He more or less recovered okay, and passed away about four years later. He was sort of mentally broken after that, though. In his younger years he was a pretty tough guy, having worked for years as a lumberjack, and this experience took the starch out of him.
The dog pack had been causing problems for nearby farms. A posse, of sorts, was formed and the pack was found and eliminated.
My feeling is that if I am armed I have choices. I can choose whether I want to have my hand on it, ready to act. I can choose whether to present it or not. And ultimately, I can choose whether to pull the trigger or not. If the gun is at home in the safe I don't have any of these choices.
I guess you can say that I am Pro-Choice when it comes to guns.
Brad is welcome to make his own choices.
Nifty-250
"If you don't know where you're going, you may wind up somewhere else".
Yogi Berra
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I've never hiked the AT, never had to shoot a charging bear, and I'm not sure who Meredith Emerson is but, this thread is [bleep] hilarious!
A little info on Meredith: http://crime.about.com/b/2008/03/24/meredith-emerson-fought-hard-to-survive.htmI'm certain her parents wouldn't find a single [bleep] thing in this thread that's "hilarious", even your goofy a$$.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312 |
The trails I hike are generally quite untraveled, and, are on public land far from anywhere. If I'm understanding the AT that's not true there; it puts the hiker within reach of "the world" so to speak.
Having packed a Kahr P45 quite a bit I can say I literally forget it's there. They are exceptionally light and trim. Maybe I'm a wuss- hell, I AM wuss- but if I'm on a trail with lots of people AND it dips near enough to rural area that one sees the fringes of society on it I'd damn well pack that pistol.
My girls are beautiful and two of them are natural blondes. The world at large has a fetish over real blondes as I've come to see owning a couple <g>. It's not to be trivialized. If I'm with them in a remote place especially where 911 has no meaning, it's my job to make sure as best I can that they don't become headlines, because as I say however sick the sickos are towards women in general it's +P towards skinny, attractive natural blondes.
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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The trails I hike are generally quite untraveled, and, are on public land far from anywhere. If I'm understanding the AT that's not true there; it puts the hiker within reach of "the world" so to speak.
Having packed a Kahr P45 quite a bit I can say I literally forget it's there. They are exceptionally light and trim. Maybe I'm a wuss- hell, I AM wuss- but if I'm on a trail with lots of people AND it dips near enough to rural area that one sees the fringes of society on it I'd damn well pack that pistol.
My girls are beautiful and two of them are natural blondes. The world at large has a fetish over real blondes as I've come to see owning a couple <g>. It's not to be trivialized. If I'm with them in a remote place especially where 911 has no meaning, it's my job to make sure as best I can that they don't become headlines, because as I say however sick the sickos are towards women in general it's +P towards skinny, attractive natural blondes. Pics?  ...sorry, you asked for that one....
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Joined: Apr 2007
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Perv!
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
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