Opinion on concealed carry gun for hiking camping etc

Haha, the dog kibble makes sense.
If I had a couple bags of beef jerky on me, they would be gone long before I was lost or hungry.
 
If you have a good dog your situational awareness will be greatly improved. You should have a few extra seconds to place your shots. As someone else mentioned, placement is key.

NWS_2014-07-30_NEW_002_32451258_I1.JPG
 
I take my GS dog in the "MA wildlife" woods near my house all the time. No question that tics are my #1 concern, followed by two-legged folks (who I'm not really that concerned about), and the only animal I'd be at all concerned with around here is a rabid one (of any variety, I heard a story about a cop unloading his gun on a raccoon years ago, maybe in Foxborough? and the thing, which turned out to be rabid, wouldn't stop attacking until it was a sieve). Mostly around here when I'm in the woods I worry that a hunter out of season might take a shot at me or my dog, and I also think about whether anybody may have left a trap somewhere where my dog could get nailed. I carry my PM9 just like I do everywhere else.
 
Where are you hiking? In Alaska I wouldn't accept much less than a 12ga with slugs. In New England, I'd be more concerned about two-legged creatures and I'd just carry whatever I normally do. Up here 9mm is fine, honestly.

True.

The worst animal in New England is Man. Then moose. Then black bear. And usually with black bears, just make lots of noise. Carry your normal carry.
 
True.

The worst animal in New England is Man. Then moose. Then black bear. And usually with black bears, just make lots of noise. Carry your normal carry.

It's truly sad when the worst animal you need to worry about in the woods is a human..........saw a lot of people post the same thing and have heard it from others as well.
 
It's truly sad when the worst animal you need to worry about in the woods is a human..........saw a lot of people post the same thing and have heard it from others as well.

I don't think there are any animals that come in as even a close second (other than maybe tics). I've seen many coyotes over the years... hiking, visiting my backyard to check on my dogs (and they were probably a threat to the dogs until we started fostering Great Pyr's... then they stopped coming close). Coyotes can be pretty bold, but they're smart and they don't want anything to do with a human. Yeah no question, around here the odds of ever having to pull a weapon on anything (other than a human, and that's obviously small) are miniscule.
 
up in the white mountains or the green mountains I worry more about Cats than bears. I've heard reports a couple of people barely escape
when skiing out of bounds on the back side of sugarloaf in maine,.....ya I don't need that kind of "encounter".
I carry my XDM 3.8C .45 with ball ammo when I'm out in the deeper woods.
I've recently thought about grabbing a 10mm as a friend let me fire his glock G29
and ...damn l liked that thing. :)
Local woods in mass or lower NH I just carry my shield or 9C with HST 124 HP's
 
I usually carry a .357 magnum revolver while hiking/backpacking in the White Mountains. I don't expect to ever need it, but I also don't expect to ever need my 9mm I carry on a regular basis, but that's sort of the point. I think my chances of needing a .357 in the woods are about the same as needing a 9mm while out shopping or whatever. Extremely low. But if I knew for sure I'd need them I'd just avoid that situation in the first place.

If you think your EDC is sufficient, have at it.
 
All black bears like to do is play around anyways. No need to worry about them.
fWotJ8t.gif

had a black bear stalk me in MA twice. They kept their distance because they knew i was hunting them too. but when it started getting darker, i hightailed it to the truck. Bear are super quiet walkers, and EXPERTS at hiding behind tiny trees/bushes, etc.

Had a young male moose following me once too. glad i had a big ass rifle with me at the time, had to run down a small cliff to get away from him. they are actually attracted to you walking in the woods, like stepping on a branch and snapping it.

Still practically, i am more worried about wild dogs.
 
Last edited:
I wear one of these while hiking:

https://hillpeoplegear.com/Products/tabid/762/CategoryID/1/ProductID/2/Default.aspx

I can wear a backpack and still have access to my firearm. Bear spray and fixed blade camping knife go in the mesh pockets on the outside of my pack, extra magazines go in the HPG rig.

If I am hiking without a pack, firearm sits in an OWB holster inside the rig so I can throw keys/phone/snacks in there and not have to worry about any snags.

I prefer IMG_2643.jpg
 
up in the white mountains or the green mountains I worry more about Cats than bears. I've heard reports a couple of people barely escape
when skiing out of bounds on the back side of sugarloaf in maine,.....ya I don't need that kind of "encounter".
I carry my XDM 3.8C .45 with ball ammo when I'm out in the deeper woods.
I've recently thought about grabbing a 10mm as a friend let me fire his glock G29
and ...damn l liked that thing. :)
Local woods in mass or lower NH I just carry my shield or 9C with HST 124 HP's

Hard to beat the 29 for a pack gun. Get some Glock 20 preban mags with the X grips for the mags and you've got 15 rounds of 10mm goodness by your side.
 
Well, this thread is like the Energizer bunny..

Here you go. The Thunder pistol 50 BMG.

Thunder50bmg.jpg



Because those no see ums in Maine are a real b_itch!

Group buy on the frame kit![rofl]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I usually carry a .357 magnum revolver while hiking/backpacking in the White Mountains. I don't expect to ever need it, but I also don't expect to ever need my 9mm I carry on a regular basis, but that's sort of the point. I think my chances of needing a .357 in the woods are about the same as needing a 9mm while out shopping or whatever. Extremely low. But if I knew for sure I'd need them I'd just avoid that situation in the first place.

If you think your EDC is sufficient, have at it.

When back country camping under the stars I sleep much better with a 357 revolver next to me.
 
Back around '00 I still had aspirations of hiking the AT. Perhaps someday I will...

There was a web site that solicited through hikers to drop mail their diaries as they progressed through their hike. Some would drop out right away and you got to "cheering" on some as they got closer and closer to Maine...

The site of course had a forum, much like here but focused on hiking.

While I empathize with the hiking and camping aspects, a metric crap ton of hiking enthusiasts are the crunchiest earthies on the planet.

Once in a while someone would pose a question trying to get advice on the best GPS or portable radio with solar charger or the nuclear option: What sort of handgun to pack. It was like watching a swarm of killer bees or army ants kill and devour a hapless creature wandering through the wrong place. Or like somebody here asking what kind of clip they should get for their .40.

I eventually got tired of the site and went out with a bang, asking about cell phone coverage through the more rural areas and was a 9mm large enough.

The site was trailplace.com but the domain was apparently sold and the site there now is not a forum.
 
Back around '00 I still had aspirations of hiking the AT. Perhaps someday I will...

I could never do a hike of the AT. Too many people.

My mountain bike rides are (a) at sunrise and (b) solo. (c) This is most often on CT DEEP property.

Since (c) => cannot legally carry, (b) and prudence dictate this be clipped to the front of the Maxpedition Pack 'o Wonder:

2015-04-24 08.42.10.jpg
 
I could never do a hike of the AT. Too many people.

Only in a few places... I have section hiked most of the trail and about 80% (or more) of the time I was pretty much alone. The first few weeks in April in Georgia get crowded as lots of people start out but quite a few don't make it past the first 2-3 weeks...the smokey mts get crowded and a few other places along the way but the crowds die away until you get to NH then they die away abruptly as you cross into Maine and then almost no one until you get near the terminus.
 
I've been hiking and camping in New England my entire life. I live smack in the middle of 900 acres of state forest that's loaded with trails and my PT 3 or 4 days a week is comprised of hiking, jogging and cross country skiing on those trails. In over 40 years of basically living in the woods I've only had one almost dangerous encounter. I was neck deep in a high-bush blueberry patch picking berries when 2 large black bears came wandering right between the blueberry patch and the swamp. They were probably 30 feet away when they noticed me. One stood up on his hind feet and was sniffing like mad and the other one was snorting and pounding the ground with its front paws.
I was pocket carrying a J-Frame .38 and wishing like he'll that I had a 12 gauge hung from a sling instead. Even if I had, I would have been lunch if both decided to charge me. As it turned out nothing happened. I slowly backed away and they both ignored me and went on their way.
I still carry a handgun on my hikes, but I'm probably going to add a small shotgun to my backpack. But I'll bet a million dollars it'll never be needed. Especially if I stay away from the couple of areas where I know the bears like to feed at dusk.
 
Now you've got my attention, I may have to look into that. :)

Yup. 10mm isn't 44mag but 15 rounds of BB hard cast compared to 6 44mag is something to consider. And unless your talking the 329pd the 29 weighs a bunch less than the typical 44mag.
 
Back
Top Bottom