What do you carry when you actually hike?

That’s the problem that always comes up in these threads. How do you define hiking or backpacking (vs camping) and where geographically do you intend to do it (whatever ‘it’ is)?

Here in Washington we have day-hikes, multi day backpacking, severe terrain, scrambling, and serious climbing. We also have yahoos who drive their trucks into the forest to drink beer, do drugs, and play soldier. If you ask them, they are hiking or camping- unless they packed their clothes and gear into a CFP90 in which case they’ll tell you they’re backpacking.

Alaska is a whole different discussion- and one certainly worth having if the OP was going there. Nevertheless I’ve backpacked into the wilderness here (no trails into, and no trails within the wilderness) like hundreds do every season, and you don’t need a hand cannon and twenty extra reloads for it. If you believe you do, then you either don’t hike regularly or you’re paranoid. The majority of hikers, backpackers, scramblers, and climbers (I would estimate 99% or higher) do not carry any protection whatsoever. If there were problems with the wildlife, trust me, those of us in the hiking community would hear about it- we have forums too.

The greatest threats to you in the wilderness out here are getting lost, falls, and hypothermia. In Alaska you may easily get lost, sprain your ankle, start shivering, and fall into a grizzly bear’s mouth, but for the rest of us it’s just those three. Those are the things you need to gear up for. Some of us carry a sidearm because it’s a part of our daily lives anyway- but we’re realistic about its utility.

Amen, Mainsail.

Welll . . . here in Arkansas, a hiker camping on the Ozark Highlands Trail had a black bear drag his tent off -- and he was still inside!!

Sure bears can be a potential problem, but if a modicom of common sense is used, more often than not they won't be.

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Potential? More often than not? You've just perfectly illustrated why many of us choose the weapon we use in the wild.

I pack my 10mm, hoping I won't need it, and knowing there's a better than 98% chance I won't. That's far from thinking there are "all sorts of animals waiting to pounce."

what i carry

I used to take a g32 with an extra mag but now days just my g20 no spare mag in PA if I need more than that something ain't right.

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Originally Posted by 336A
...all I can say is WOW...one would be led to believe that there are all sorts of animals hiding behind trees just waiting to pounce......easly handled with a .22...in northern NY...there was a bear out there...didn't chase him down and devour him...whenever I saw a bear it was always the south end of it as it ran off...so much for having to worry about the ever present angry man eating bears...don't feed the wildlife and you won't have an issue...


Wow! You have merely demonstrated that you have never backpacked in the real western wilderness. I have been backpacking in the west since 1955, and have had a number of encounters. Twice I have shot bear under 15 yards. Contrary to common b/b opinion you have time to shoot a charging bear if you remain calm and smooth - I've done it. I've been f2f with lion that would not back off whatsoever, and many, many times within yards of moose that were not the least afraid of me. Three years ago I hiked in the Tongass N.F., Alaska - solo and unarmed. Never again. Grizzlies vastly outnumber people - I viewed a large number of them and never once saw their 'south end' running away. When the salmon are running you can get as close as you want to dozens of griz. They are not afraid of you. Come to the wilderness sometime and get educated before giving advice that could easily get someone killed.

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RjTravel, thanks for showing your crass ignorance and lack of comprehension. I offered up but a few examples of my experiences, no where in my post did I offer up any specific adivce to anyone. I also didn't offer up any specific advice to anyone about hiking/camping in the western U.S., Alaska, or anything to do with mosse or grizzly bears. As a matter of fact in my post I said that grizzly bears are another story all together.

My post was more in response to the prevelant paranoia that abounds in these posts where Black Bears enter the into the discussion. Do black bears kill folks...? yes, but not with the frequency that many here seem to think they do. People seem to think that attacks by black bears happen with such frequency that all of a sudden it's epidemic. Sorry folks but such is not the case, fact is 99% will turn tail and run as soon as they get the fantest scent of a human.

Mainsail hit the nail on the head in his post on this subject. Thats all I'm gonna say on the matter.

My post was more in response to the prevelant paranoia that abounds in these posts where Black Bears enter the into the discussion. Do black bears kill folks...? yes, but not with the frequency that many here seem to think they do. People seem to think that attacks by black bears happen with such frequency that all of a sudden it's epidemic.

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Are you kidding me? If you're inferring that, you've got a lot of guts berating somebody about crass ignorance and lack of comprehension, because I haven't seen that at all. And you are still illustrating a need as emphasised above. Do you carry at all? If so, you must realize the same odds apply that you'll need a gun then as well. If you don't, you have no business commenting to those of us that always do, and simply change caliber or weapon to suit the potential need. Personally, I carry 10mm in the Huron National Forest because the blackie is the largest animal that can potentially harm me. Not so in the Detroit area where I carry .45 ACP, though I feel that the odds are about the same I'll need a gun at all. Good Lord, you sound like somebody from PETA. Either that, or you want everybody to think you are far more manly than they.

I am so sick of the word paranoia I could puke.

I pack a Taurus Titanium .44SPL snubbie. Plenty of gun for the pacific northwest loaded with Keith style 240gr handloads.

Goodness, bear discussions are like our own ugly version of Godwin's Law. Give it enough time, and every discussion on a gun forum will result in a discussion about how to kill a bear. Gonna start referring to it as Inebriated's Law. Now how the hell do I make a Wiki page?

I hike and mountain bike the appalachain trail a lot. I carry my G19 in a maxpedition pack. Has pocket for easy/fast drawing, but like anything else, you need to practice drawing from a bag/pouch if you are not used to it.

I find that my petticoats are just able to accomodate some smelling salts.

i usually carry my 386pd 19 oz's of .357 mag holding 7 rounds. the full size grip makes multiple shots reliable. had it with me most every friday last summer for hiking in Mt Rainier. if not that i usually carry my 329pd, 44 mag if i am scrambling in the woods for mushrooms and don't mind the extra weight. it weighs 25 oz's.

Well I just perfected my 'light' field gun for the woods.



A 3 inch 'Canadian' GP-100 ex-police gun.

The Canadians filed the front sight down and it would shoot a bit high. I replaced the front sight with a S&W blade (tight fit but it worked) and replaced the roll pin Ruger used as the S&W sight had no hole and thus I had to drill a new hole in the sight. Super tight fit on that front one.

Well with 158gr LSW gas checked slugs backed by 8 grains of Unique I got 20 yard dead on groups of 3 inches, standing firing two handed SA.

The GP is zero-zero (that is it locks TIGHT, no play at all) and the action I slicked up as good as a S&W K frame. Did the same to my SP-101 in the picture to and it is also zero-zero!

Yes I still have my .44 Mountain Gun but this rosco is easier to pack in Texas.

Deaf

336A said:

...anything to do with mosse...fact is 99% will turn tail and run...

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If you are that concerned about a mouse then I have a suggestion - bring a large stuffed cat with you the next time you backpack. Position it just outside your tent door and it will get the attention of every mouse in the vicinity. Mice problem solved and you can sleep soundly.

It is good to know that your vast experience with many thousands of black bear gives assurance that virtually all of them will run at the first sound you make. The one charge I experienced and the two I shot at very close range (among others) might have been a nightmare brought on by fear of mice, according to you. I'm sure we all know that black bear will strip berries, leaves, and branchs during berry season and are oblivious to anything else. You can stumble right into them, but I will bow to your vast knowledge and advise everyone not to worry about it since they will turn tail and run.

I can't believe this one is still going. T minus 5...... 4....... 3.......

Petticoats & smelling salts, hilarious! I'm surprised at how many people carrying semis don't pack a spare mag given that magazines cause a lot of malfunctions.

If you are that concerned about a mouse then I have a suggestion - bring a large stuffed cat with you the next time you backpack. Position it just outside your tent door and it will get the attention of every mouse in the vicinity. Mice problem solved and you can sleep soundly.

It is good to know that your vast experience with many thousands of black bear gives assurance that virtually all of them will run at the first sound you make. The one charge I experienced and the two I shot at very close range (among others) might have been a nightmare brought on by fear of mice, according to you. I'm sure we all know that black bear will strip berries, leaves, and branchs during berry season and are oblivious to anything else. You can stumble right into them, but I will bow to your vast knowledge and advise everyone not to worry about it since they will turn tail and run.

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I hope with all my heart this is a joke. Hopefully you realize "mosse" is more likely a misspelling of "moose" than "mouse" in this context.

eldon519 said:

I hope with all my heart this is a joke. Hopefully you realize "mosse" is more likely a misspelling of "moose" than "mouse" in this context.

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RU4 real?

460Kodiak said:

I can't believe this one is still going. T minus 5...... 4....... 3.......

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2........ 1........

I like to carry a single-action .357 or .45 colt in a Buscadero rig.

RU4 real?

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Yeah. I just didn't find it very funny, and it was quite long for a quip off a misspelling which made me wonder if you were actually trying to make a joke or actually thought it was supposed to be "mouse."

I haven't taken the time to read all the prior posts. Has any said a water bottle? That's what I take as well as a Bond .410 derringer.

We have no bears around here; and verrrrrry few if any mountain lions near civilization.

eldon519 said:

Yeah. I just didn't find it very funny, and it was quite long for a quip off a misspelling which made me wonder if you were actually trying to make a joke or actually thought it was supposed to be "mouse."

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No one cares if you didn't find it funny. There are undertaker's forums which may be more suitable to your tastes.

For others: With tongue-in-cheek intentions - the prior poster is certain that "99% (of all bears) will turn tail and run". This tells me that 1% will attack you according to him. We will be conservative and suppose he has encountered 1,200 bears in his lifetime of vast experience. That means that he has been viciously mauled at least 12 times. His body must be a mass of scar tissue. Not one to give general advice on how to survive. I am not so brave and learned my lesson after the first scare. My advice would be that not every animal will swap twat-a-twat upon a mere tete-a-tete.

When hiking, I carry a S&W 638 in a pouch attached to one of my backpack straps, a speedloader and, if I'm worried about it, a couple of snakeshot cartridges. I don't worry about bears much since they are usually hightailing it, but they do get hungrier and less picky in the fall.

I've alway's carried an Anaconda in my backpack, thinking if I needed to use it I would be able to get it out fast enough. Wrong. My wife and I had an encounter with a black bear while walking a trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway in N.C. 3 yr's ago.
It was a fairly dense trail and the bear came out of nowhere. I swear it was like the blink of an eye that he appeared 25 to 30 feet in front of us. He stopped and looked at us while I am removing my backpack and before I could get it off, he started to run down the side of the trail. Had he charged us there would have been no time to get the pistol out before he would have been on us.
I guess the moral to this story is I don't carry in a backpack anymore. It's a Glock 20 on the hip. That made a believer out of me that if you don't alway's expect the worse to happen in the wood's like that, you are just plain ignorant.