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Handguns & Hiking

Wednesday 11th March 2009 at 9:54:39 AM

obman
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I live and play in the Pacific Northwest where we have many bear, cougar, and gray wolf not to mention an ornery moose or two. Though I''m a hunter, I never have carried a handgun while hiking, but am reconsidering after a friend of a friend in Idaho was nearly taken out by a wolf after being stalked. Lots of extra weight and something else to go wrong but would be handy if the situation would ever arise. I''m still debating. I''d like to hear how you all view this.

Thanks!

Mike
OutdoorBlogger.com

Thursday 12th March 2009 at 8:14:34 AM

bill50
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hey a hand gun when hiking is a great idea .you don't need a big monster cannon a light carry piece would do the trick in a 40 or a 9 even if just to scare them away .
i hike and hunt here in NY we have a big population of cyoates here and they run in packs not alone .
me i carry a smith and wesson sigma 40 light and very reliable .

Thursday 12th March 2009 at 9:16:47 AM

obman
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Thanks bill50! I checked out the sigma 40 and it looks like a great option. Do you use a hip or shoulder holster...or do you just stuff it in your pack? I was looking at maybe a hammerless 5-shot .38 snubby but the more I look into the .40, the more I like it.

Thanks again,

obman

Saturday 28th March 2009 at 8:40:09 PM

chiggle
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I was wondering what laws were with regard to traveling out of state with handguns. Say you get a handgun license in state A but you wanna camp in state B, what are the rules about this, or does it vary?

Tuesday 31st March 2009 at 6:03:27 PM

obman
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Looks like the answer to your question is it depends. I found an article on the Guns and Ammo website that addresses that very thing.

Guns & Ammo Article

Near the end the author metions that NRA's Institute for Legislative Action has several excellent resources, particularly the "Guide to Interstate Transportation of Firearms." I googled that and found several resources that enforce the "it depends" notion.

obman

Tuesday 31st March 2009 at 9:03:54 PM

MarcD
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My opinion is take one! Better safe then sorry.

Wednesday 1st April 2009 at 12:21:39 PM

Little Rock
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I could go on either side of fence on this topic. When ever you start to talk about guns, sports, politics, and religion people tend to come alive with opinions. Gun laws are tricky and are going to get worse with the new President of the U.S. Laws are going to get more strict and the fines and punishment more harsh. Do your home work and obtain the proper paper work to cover your self.

Now I do carry a weapon personally, now I don't believe in carring a bazooka or anything. You have to look at your potential threats I.e. wolves, bears, etc. I carry a Smith and Wesson 357 revolver. I believe in revolvers for the trail, less care and maintenance. I have also carried a 22 cal. semi-auto with snake shot. Guns are like cars, several different models and makes, all serve a different purpose and some people can't aporate them all.

My final say is to be wise in your choice, keep it legal and keep it safe.

Live life as if were your last on planet earth, then wake up and go to work. Hell I guess thats what the weekend are for.

Thursday 9th April 2009 at 8:26:36 PM

bld0121
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Please, for the love of God, do NOT buy a Sigma . . . reliable, but horrible trigger-pull (in weight, length, and "smoothness") Go with the XD, Glock, or S&W M&P instead.

Thursday 23rd April 2009 at 7:45:21 AM

bill50
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the trigger pull can be adjusted on any hand gun the sigma is a great gun you can carry on your shoulder the glock another great gun but one thing to look at compact and subcompact arms are very hard to find i work for the local gander mountain and we can not get them . a snub nose 38 would be a great option to look at also

Thursday 23rd April 2009 at 7:49:14 AM

bill50
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the laws do vary from state to state on hand guns the worst is NY and CA call the local pd or sheriffs dept they would have all the info on the laws

Thursday 23rd April 2009 at 11:09:48 AM

bill50
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good points and very very true on the gun laes and the choice of fire arms

Saturday 25th April 2009 at 6:31:44 AM

dbell59
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We have lots of bears(grizzly and blacks) , wolves, cougars etc.. but I only carry bear spray and bangers. The laws here in Canada make it rather prohibitive to carrying a hand gun and a rifle would be too much weight to bother. Personnally, I wouldn't bother with taking any gun but thats my choice.

Monday 27th April 2009 at 10:03:30 AM

obman
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Great replies everyone. This has been very helpful.

I'm curious dbell59, have you ever had to actually use the bear spray? If so, how effective was it? Sounds like your in the thick of bear country so I would be interested in hearing any other tips you might have for people venturing into similar territory.

obman

Monday 27th April 2009 at 7:12:36 PM

dbell59
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Obman; I recently moved to central Alberta, however I lived in a small town in northern BC (Mackenzie) before this and the area was prime grizzly and black bear territory. I only had one run in where I felt I needed to pull my spray as the bear was that close. I had been day hiking(solo) in a narrow valley, with jagged rock cliffs on either side. I had been doing my,"hey yogi,hey boo-boo" calls for the first 20 minutes or so and had just been quietly making my way into the alpine. Out of the corner of my eye I caught some movement and for some reason I thought "oh, great a deer or a moose to take a picture of". As I reached for my camera, this cash register sized head pops up about 25-30 ft. away. I immediately pulled my spray, but I think the fact that it was heading into early fall the bear had other plans for lunch. I just backed off and climbed a large rock and took pics of this awesome grizzly for the next half hour.

The mind set amongst Canadian backpackers is to keep a clean camp, make noise while hiking, pack bear spray and/or bangers and hope it doesn't come down to using it. Most attacks seem to be from mothers with cubs and stumbling onto a kill site and the bear defending his food. More often than not, a bear will move out of your way if they hear, smell you coming, especially if you are in a group.

There are hikes in Banff that require a minimum of 6 people in a group because of the large grizzly populations in those areas.

Thursday 30th April 2009 at 6:03:19 AM

alcap
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No one addressed the issue of HOW to carry. What are you all doing to keep a handgun accessable, concealable, comfortable? Thats the tricky part for me.

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