If I was going to carry in the great outdoors, I'd want something simple, reliable, and as weatherproof as possible.
Long gun: the "mariner" version of the Mossberg 500/590 or Remington 870.
Handgun(for two-legged and smaller varmits): Ruger SP101 or GP100(stainless).
More importantly, you need to bring skill and knowledge. HAVING A GUN DOES NOT MAKE YOU SAFE! It's a tool -- highly effective in the right hands, extremely hazardous in the wrong ones. Please get some training if you're going to carry.
I'd suggest Massad Ayoob's "In the Gravest Extreme" for anyone contemplating carrying a firearm for self-defense. It's a bit dated but still useful.
For people a very good 9mm JHP (Speer Gold Dot, 147gr Remington non-bonded Golden Saber, Winchester Ranger Talon, etc.) is the bare minimum for sufficient terminal ballistics.
For bear protection (i.e. not hunting) the cheapest setup is going to be a good shotgun (Rem 870 above the the ‘express’ level) and Brenneke slugs. Some people have suggested alternating slugs with 00 shot, but I think just slugs is the better choice.
I've read articles by folks who stopped carrying because they found it was making them less cautious --they realized they were going places they would have avoided before they started carrying.
If you add a piece of safety gear and then expose yourself to more hazards, what have you gained? The first layer of protection is avoiding the threat.
If you're carrying to prove what a badass you are you're going to get somebody hurt or killed. Plaxico Burress comes to mind...
It's a serious decison. Doing it right requires commitment and maturity.
in guided hunts with a registered guide I can't imagine it would be a problem--if you just want to carry a firearm on your own just make sure that you have the permit and the gun is registered---check with the nearest RCMP station to see if A) you can do it as a non resident and B) how to do it.
Agreed And frankly, if the drunken, automatic-gun-totin’ hooligans in the BWCA had come barging into my campsite at midnight, only a fool would have pulled his own pistol out and challenged them.
Like the old man and his family, I would be cowering in the brush and keeping my head down. But if the ‘crazies’ had pursued me into the woods and had me cornered, I just might have one more last resort than the unarmed man.
But only a fool would knowingly head into a dicey situation BECAUSE he’s packing. And that’s certainly not what I’m advocating.
Like any good backup safety device, a firearm in the wilderness is never seen, and is only used–god forbid–in warranted situations. In most cases, you’ll never even know someone is carrying.
To say that firearms offer a false sense of security, and therefore make you LESS safe, is false logic. By that reasoning, car seat belts offer a false sense of security, so you’re better off driving around without them, and keeping a fire extinguisher under the kitchen sink increases your likelihood of a house fire …
To paint those who opt to carry personal protection as paranoid spooks is disingenuous at best. Would you say the same of someone who opts to wear a PFD, or carry a GPS/compass, or extra batteries? “Oh, if you’re afraid of drowning, or getting lost in the dark, why don’t you just stay home in bed?”
So, no amount of actual experience would convince you that the bush is not the place to guard against crazies? Just how do you learn in life? Television?
Of course, there are a lot of sasquatch out there, and you might be the first person to shoot one.
it’s actually sound logic It was this logic that was used to point to a temporary decline in seat belt use when airbags came to the auto market. It’s not a “given” and probably depends on the personality, but it’s very sound logic.
The alternating slugs / buchshot theory may be valid at close range where a slug, especially a Brenneke or one of those streamlined sabot slugs could actually go right through a bear and just make him mad. The buckshot might (I say might as I have not nor would I care to test this) be more effective.
I'm not even sure what you are saying for sure in your last post.
Maybe you could get one of your 'crazies' to interpret?
Apparently your vast experience is different from others and because of that, we've all developed different perspectives on the issue? Still, to say there's nothing at all to worry about in the bush...that's crazy.
Ted Bundy was a camper and stalked people on trails. Two women savagely murdered in Olympic National Park, and several murders a year in parks.
Some years ago i was shuttling a nice boat to Alaska and the Customs guy asked why no gun? Off the record he said there’s essentially no law up the coast and if you find yourself alone anchored with a nice boat in the “wrong” place…
Next trip, and on kayaking trips north I carried a Mosberg marinized shotgun. I have run into some pretty scary people in remote places. Let’s not forget that our public forest lands are being used to grow pot (North Cascades Nat. Park near Ross Lake for example)
I’ve seen many a bear and really don’t feel a threat as i do the right things. Once near Sayward BC while kayak camping i had a very scary encounter with local drunks. Glad I had my gun… It gave them pause and me time to get the hell away before they could motorcycle back to town and return.
I’m not agaist gun ownership or a female carrying a gun for protection.
However, there are also overly paranoid people who carry guns. I was once walking my dog in my neighborhood and some old dog started barking at my old lab, so I waited maybe 30 seconds in the middle of the road for my dog to catch up, then I looked up and some man was looking at me though the scope of deer rifle.
So it cuts both ways.
I also know someone who got pissed off at someone blowing dirt on their car with a leaf blower and took out their gun and shot into the ground. The bullet bounced up and hit the man in the head.
I’m saying you totally overestimate the frequency of “crazies” in the outdoors, you don’t know what you mean by “crazies,” and you are liable to shoot some poor country person out of ignorance.
I’m serious. You need to do some self-examination.
I really don’t think you even warrant a response, so this will be my last one to you on this topic.
Nowhere have I estimated any number of ‘crazies’ in the ‘bush’. All I said was they exist and to say they don’t is sticking your head in the sand. Have you read any of the testimonials to that effect in this thread?
Have you read any of my other posts in this thread that very carefully call for training and education in responsible firearms operation and safety and also educating oneself about the types of situations you might be in so that you can make a good decision. Here is where your background dealing with ‘crazies’, as you call them, would come in handy as you would be educated in dealing with them. Unfortunately, not all of us will be as astute as you in dealing with them as we don’t have 18 years experience doing so, so some other education might be in order for those of us that do not have the width and breadth of your experience.
On your other statement. In fact, I deal quite a bit with folks that from what I can determine, you would call a ‘crazie’ and have been in a number of dicey situations with said ‘crazies’, as you call them. I have to quickly and correctly and fairly often assess conditions/situations involving with these folks out on the street and make a good/safe judgement about the situation for the protection of my crew and myself and bystanders. It’s not fun to do and there are a number of variables to consider quickly and a number of years of ‘gut’ experience goes into the decisions made as well. I don’t yet, however, have the 18 years of experience with the ‘crazies’ that you do, so I’m sure that I’m not as qualified as you are at making these judgements.
Some country people are actually rich.
And I’m not planning on shooting anybody. In fact, I’ve never even carried a handgun into the ‘bush’, so you can rest easy, g2. Only a shotgun or rifle while hunting, legally, I might add, to put your mind at ease.
My attempt is to always be examining myself, and I hope I’m improving in my ability to do that accurately.
