Backpacking/trail shotguns

the OP did not ask what "would" you carry he asked what "do" you carry. Not sure many can answer that in the shotgun section.

While I have done a considerable amount of backpacking, carrying a shotgun has never been on my list. On several occasions when deer hunting was slow and squirrel was in season I would pack around an old Snake Charmer with 4 rounds in the stock. I would not consider doing this on a backpack trip though. On some of my backpack trips where we knew we were going to be in cottontail rich areas we would plan a meal with fresh rabbit and I would take my old AR7 but that is a 22.

Yes, there is a profound difference between hiking most of the lower 48 and Alaska. A small shotgun like the coach gun pictured above weighs less than the water you'd carry in many places. It will provide rabbits, ptarmigan, grouse and defense against bears.

amprecon: two problems.

1. the KSG doesnt exist as a product.

2. its completely off topic.

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1. According to Kel-Tec http://www.keltecweapons.com/news/preview-kel-tec-shotgun-ksg/ it has already been developed and will be offered for sale late 2011, so I would say it does exist as a product.

2. To suggest something like this would be off topic.



3. This is my woods shotgun, a Remington 870 with 2 3/4" 00 buckshot from any of the various reputable ammuntion manufacturers.


4. So, your from Bakersfield, CA huh.........?

A 12ga single shot or double barrel both w/ 19 inch barrel. Which ever one I take is carried in a scabbered hooked to my pack. Loaded with buckshot and extras in butt cuff. Also carry a handgun.

When I have hiked/backpacked, I used a handgun - a shotgun has no business in the pack if you are seriously hiking, as weight means everything.

But if you really feel the need for one, get the Serbu

Folks, if you do not carry a shotgun and don't have to then bully for you. This thread is for sampling people who have and do. Maybe that means only Alaskans and some Canadians are going to chime in, but so be it. There are about 5,000 thread devoted to the general debate elsewhere.

@ Wyatt
I gotta say, the very general thrust of your question makes it nearly impossible to answer your specific questions, let alone complaining about the answers you're being given. Hiking in Alaska is not the same as hiking in Arizona. It's a stupidly broad comparison, but hardly an impossible one.

Answer this question first and your answers will be a tons more coherant: Where do you plan on hiking?

Without that bare minimum of information, the only thing we can give you for an answer is the absolute lowest common denominator which will handle every possible situation you can encounter hiking in any given environment: a 12g pump shotgun with a variety of hardcast slugs and birdshot, or some other firearm based on our experiences, not your intentions. Give us a bit more of what you have in mind and you'll probably get more useful responses to your other specific questions.

1. According to Kel-Tec http://www.keltecweapons.com/news/pr...c-shotgun-ksg/ it has already been developed and will be offered for sale late 2011, so I would say it does exist as a product.

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Yeah, and like their RFB, good luck on ever finding one. When you do, send that leperchaun and his goddamn pot of gold my way while your at it.

Which is why the information vomit doesn't come as a surprise

Trail-walking Campers' "attitude Adjuster"

Two words: "Serbu Shortie"

IF I were to do some serious back packing, not just dink around a local forest for a few hours, no more than a cell phone call away, I probably pack my Stevens 20 gauge single, broken down, as well as a .45 ACP (cuz it's the only pistol I have. That's backpacking, not camping.

Next weekend, I'm camping out for two nights and will be taking my Mav 88 12 gauge 5+1 pump, along with my .22 Savage rifle and .45 pistol. But I'm going to be static and have a place to keep everything. Backpacking, not so much. Everything I have would be carried with me, so weight is certainly a factor, which I why I would take the lighter of my two shotguns and various shot shell loads (8 shot, 00 buck and slugs, a few of each) plus pistol.

I do little backpacking now, but when I did, it was often a single shot shotgun or that Savage Model 24 in 22LR/20 gauge.

I were to do some serious back packing, not just dink around a local forest for a few hours, no more than a cell phone call away, I probably pack my Stevens 20 gauge single, broken down, as well as a .45 ACP (cuz it's the only pistol I have. That's backpacking, not camping.

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If you were seriously back packing, would you really want to carry an extra 10 lbs (two guns and ammo)? That is about a quarter of the weight of my pack. I'd rather have food and water.
Pete

I'd leave the shotgun behind if I was doing nothing but tackling steep slopes but otherwise its nice to have, has helped get me out of trouble on two occasions, plus I like target shooting in an outdoors setting anyway so why not?

If you are trying to start seriously hiking, the weight of any shotgun (except maybe the aforementioned Serbu) makes it ridiculous.

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how far are you hiking? if you want to carry a shotgun bring a lite one, but I bet 2nd time around you leave it in the trunk or home. what kind of trip do you have planned?

Andrew, I thought about your question. While I generally carry a handgun when hiking usually a .357 revolver. This is what I might choose.


What configuration of gun do you use for backpacking/trail use? An older model Ithaca 37 deerslayer. The smoothbore type.

Gauge? 20

Sighting system? Rifle sights

Accessories? Stock cuff

Ammunition? A mix of game loads to slugs.

Method of carry? Slung although I might consider a scabbard on the pack.


What Ranges do you expect to be engaging targets at? I agree w/ a pp 5-50 yards.
What kinds of targets do you expect to engage? Anything from game to vermin


SP

The heaviest weapon I ever carried backpacking was a 6" 44 mag with 18rds of ammo.
On that rough country trip, with lots of up and down terrain, I felt every ounce.
When I realized that the biggest threat I faced in the woods were two legged, I never packed a heavy weapon again.
Were I packing in grizzly country, then I might consider a shotgun.

If you were seriously back packing, would you really want to carry an extra 10 lbs (two guns and ammo)? That is about a quarter of the weight of my pack. I'd rather have food and water.
Pete

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The two guns + ammo don't come close to 10 pounds. But yes, I would. Food and water are field expedient and abundantly available (variable with location of course) in my area. In Iraq I would routinely hump a pack weighing in over 70 pounds, usually more. 40 or 50 would be childs play in comparison.

Of course one "could" hump 70lbs when 40 is sufficient...but why?
A friend of mine hiked the Appalachian Trail...he talked about all the gear he saw abandoned in the first 20miles of the trail...things people just "had" to have.

1. According to Kel-Tec http://www.keltecweapons.com/news/pr...c-shotgun-ksg/ it has already been developed and will be offered for sale late 2011, so I would say it does exist as a product.

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I've seen exactly one of these.

At the SHOT Show.

Until it's actually for sale at a local gun shop, it's not even a contender in the discussion.

Furthermore, Kel-Tec has a history of continuously pushing back release dates for new guns for months or even over a year or so.

On top of that, their production facilities are somewhat limited, and I wouldn't expect to see these as a regular option at most gun shops for at least a few years. Heck, the Kel-Tec RFB has been "available" for around two years now, yet the supply is still incredibly limited.

Additionally, it's ridiculous to suggest using the KSG for any sort of serious application until there's more data available on how well they function and hold up under use.

Undoubtably they'll be a phenomenal choice for playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 online, but without real-world data, it's tremendously premature to suggest that the KSG would be a gun that you could rely on when your life is on the line.

one of these and a fly fishing pole... i try to keep it simple, triple-ought buck loads and some good flies

winchester model 13. extended tube 9+1. 19" rifled barrel. 12 ga. 00,000, slug. factory rifle sights. 5 shot side saddle on right side of stock. quick slide nylon sling. molle scabbard on day pack. 25 shot bandoleers x 3. whatever drains my M16 gets close enough to me for the shotty, the 00, 000. and slugs in the rifled barrel get out to 50 yards quite nicely. Targets, what targets?