|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312 |
I choot you wit' my Kahr P45 if'n you even look at them b!tches funny, y'hear!?
See that's how I'd be. All armored up and speaking the local lingo. That's how to be safe on the AT..............
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 19,084 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 19,084 Likes: 2 |
The AT runs from Georgia on up through Maine. Hard to imagine the whole thing is 'in town'.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 13,234
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 13,234 |
Shane:
I haven't looked at the stats to confirm, but I've got myself pretty well convinced that when it comes to human predators on the AT, the biggest risk factor is hiking with a woman under the age of 40.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 32,312 |
The AT runs from Georgia on up through Maine. Hard to imagine the whole thing is 'in town'. That IS hard to imagine! Good thing I wasn't saying that.
The CENTER will hold.
Reality, Patriotism,Trump: you can only pick two
FÜCK PUTIN!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 10,718
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 10,718 |
Burden is burden and we all make our choices. I'll take a weapon, and leave the books and liquor behind. Perfect words of wisdom right there. Well stated.
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
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,085
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,085 |
My response has nothing to do with the tragic murder of Ms. Emerson or any other victims on the AT. It does however have everything to do with the wild, wild, world of the internet, and how one topic can go in so many directions with no "direction" at all. This post included Goofy
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,540
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,540 |
If a person says they won't carry any kind of firearm when backpacking because the odds of needing it are so slim, then surely they have never in their life purchased a lottery ticket. That would be hypocritical.
Leaving behind a convenience item would just be, well, inconvenient. Leaving something behind that just possibly might save your life or that of a loved one doesn't make sense to me.
Sam Colt's invention has been called the great equalizer. Having a firearm makes me feel much more comfortable and secure, knowing that I have more choices, and that I have a much better chance of defending myself, should I need to, even if the chances of needing to are very slim.
When I flew in the military, I never needed to use my parachute, but I was always glad it was there.
Nifty-250
"If you don't know where you're going, you may wind up somewhere else". Yogi Berra
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,540
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,540 |
I mentioned earlier that I wouldn't even go to the gas station without my concealed carry gun. After giving this statement some thought, I have an admission to make:
It hasn't helped. I still get phu*kin' robbed every time I get gas!
$4.10 a gallon around here. $4.20 or more if you're not payin' attention where you stop.
We are getting a lot more sleazy panhandlers hangin' around the gas stations and convenience stores these days. I still want a gun with me.
Nifty-250
"If you don't know where you're going, you may wind up somewhere else". Yogi Berra
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,141 Likes: 4
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,141 Likes: 4 |
I'm not saying you are wrong Brad; but, you are pretty dogmatic about it..
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,345
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,345 |
Depending how heavy i want to carry either my 337 smith or my 657 3" round butt 41 mag.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 918
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 918 |
Have had two run ins with black bears, one diffused by my truck going in reverse really fast. The other a sow decided following her cubs was a better use of her time, but this I do know, she could have trashed me in no time no matter what I had to use. Best I could have done is write a note after saying "this is the gun that PO'd the bear the done kilt me".
Have noticed over the years though, ever since carrying something on my hip, have only once met someone not polite in the wild country, and even that guy settled down once he saw..... and I have a lot of time logged off the beaten path.
No fear, no doubt, all in, balls out.
"America"
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,141 Likes: 4
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,141 Likes: 4 |
Good points here by Brad and DW. While I can carry, I prefer the chemical irritants. Pretty dam effective for man or beast and a lot less paperwork and court time. For protection in my home, "Condition One" is the rule of the day. I'm sure Hugh Glass would debate the chemical irritant... Shrap, I hope we are not the only two to have read LORD GRIZZLY!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 5,087
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 5,087 |
If there was ever a story of mans determination.
My perfect packing pistol is a Freedom Arms 97 44 Special.
ddj
Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau
The best part of hunting and fishing was the thinking about going and the talking about it after you got back. - Robert Ruark
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,141 Likes: 4
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,141 Likes: 4 |
I just can't argue with that.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 17,232 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 17,232 Likes: 2 |
Blood on the Mountain story of Randall Smith
...Actually Sycamore, you are sort of right....
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,278
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,278 |
... 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. Jeff, you are entirely correct, in my view. Pistols serve a purpose. Even my choice for a camp gun, my stainless .22LR Kit Gun, polished butter-smooth, would do the job. Back in the 1970s, I was working as an international lawyer (still am), at the time with the leading razor blade company and traveling all over. One of my clients was a wonderful guy, Asian regional manager working out of Hong Kong, with a wife and two lovely little blond girls. I had dinner at their home in HK. Dave [name changed] was promoted to be sales manager for the SE US, working in Atlanta. Sad to say, one of the girls, then in her teens, was kidnapped and assaulted. They ultimately found her body, tied to a tree in heavy forest, where she had been left to die. You simply cannot be too careful. We always thought that it was so ironic that in all places, the US turned out to be less safe than others where he had taken his family.
Norman Solberg International lawyer, lately for 25 years in Japan, now working on trusts in the US, the 3rd greatest tax haven. NRA Life Member for over 50 years, NRA Endowment (2014), Patron (2016).
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,291 Likes: 2
Campfire 'Bwana
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 30,291 Likes: 2 |
...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. Hey Shane, here's my original post on this subject: By the time I was 16 I'd walked just over 1,000 miles of the AT. Never, ever felt the need for a handgun. If I felt the need, I'd resist and carry bear spray. Damn effective on two and four legged beasts. FWIW, I never pack a handgun here in grizzly country, except when packing out bloody elk meat... then it's just a backup to bear spray.
Carrying a handgun is an awesome responsibility. If you've ever taken a human life you'll know what I mean. Unless you're thoroughly trained and have the right mindset, I'd not carry. I stand behind every word of it. Would also add, the only arrogant are those that think, not having taken life, they're up to it. Another aspect of arrogance, is totally ignoring the vast preponderance of evidence that bear spray is FAR MORE effective on bears than a handgun. I've had at least half a dozen up close and personal encounters with grizzlies. I'm still in the bear spray camp if forced to chose. That's based on reality, not some limited sense of my own manhood and a Freudian-like fixation with phallic symbols that go bang in my hand. While I admire your highly skillful use of your terrific 308 and 30-06, I never see where you're really out and about in the highcountry and among the grizzlies, year in, year out. You seem more of a target shooter, but I'm willing to be corrected if wrong that you backpack, year-in, year-out, multi-day, in the Montana backcountry out among the grizzlies. Back to the dead girl on the AT... unless she were highly trained, having a firearm wouldn't have necessarily changed the outcome. You of all people should know that. As an un-trained female, it's more realistic she would have been better off with spray. That point about her is essentially a red-herring. As the the disparaging remarks about my wife and our good friend... the friend has four or five pistols, is HIGHLY trained, and can empty a mag on a man-sized target with ferocious effectiveness. You wouldn't want to be in a pistol fight with her I assure you, and I can only recall one trip where she packed her S&W 357 Scandium. Bear spray is always there. As I said before, you have only yourself to please. If you want the added burden, knock yourself out.
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 1,252
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 1,252 |
Not to nit pick Brad but you stated earlier that you carry a .357 in bear country when packing meat. Why not just stick with the bear spray? Just wondering.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 19,084 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 19,084 Likes: 2 |
I'm more of a camper/dayhiker, and carry a weapon primarily for defense against unruly humans. At any rate, bears/lions/etc don't draw any distinction. I see bear sign regularly when I'm out and about.
I live out of town, and close enough to bear country that the USFS had to trap one out of my neighbors yard, a quarter mile away, a couple years or so ago. Point being, a person does not need to spend days on end in the back country to encounter a bear, mountain lion, or whatever. And I draw no distinction between particular species.
My only encounter with a Grizzly and her cub was in the Crazies back in the 1970s. I/we kept a respectable distance, but Dad had a 30-30 in his hands.
I have no quarrel at all with your choice of spray. We all make our choices, and take our chances.
The arrogance part is you labeling anyone who doesn't opt for spray, as you do, as an idiot. It's Brad's way, or your an idiot....
|
|
|
|
335 members (10gaugemag, 10Glocks, 10ring1, 1Longbow, 1badf350, 163bc, 34 invisible),
1,948
guests, and
1,050
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,193,215
Posts18,503,958
Members73,994
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|