trailgun power

[walks with gun]

What ever happened to light midsized fun guns, when I was a child I ran all over up here in northern Mn. with nothing but a .22 then sometimes a navy 36 or smith .38spl. I felt safe, we have plenty wolves, black bear,stray dogs ect. not to mention poachers, thieves meth-heads and lately I even heard tell of a crazy ol codger with a still. Anyhow it seems anything less than a 454 loaded with +p ammo isn't big enough any more. I bought my daughter a single six .32 for a trail gun but maybe I should insist she ride in a armored vehicle when she leaves the house.

[eric65]

The usual stuff, bigger is better.

[AJMD429]

Probably the best setup would be a Marlin Guide Gun for your long gun, and a matching .45-70 Freedom Arms Revolver, or for you semiauto fans, perhaps an AR-15 carbine in .50 Beowulf and a Freedom Arms in .50 Beowulf to match - http://www.gunblast.com/BFR-50Beowulf.htm

I do like the .32 calibers for 'woods-walking' guns myself, but if I were in a place where predators weighing more than I did might be encountered, I'd want something bigger along as well... I am very willing to admit that I might be a chicken-wimp, however...

[eric65]

If I need to carry anything bigger than a .357 mag, I am in the wrong woods

[dennie]

My 4 digit BH in .357, or my NM .45 BH works fine here. Even been known to carry an SP101 or Colt's Commander in .45acp. Haven't had to use any of them, but they would do if needed.
dennie

[madman4570]

wwg-------

Actually you kinda answered your own question.
(we NOW have meth heads/poachers/etc.)More people are poaching than ever(at least since Great Depression???)because times are THAT BAD for many.

Also now a days with the advancement in firearms and ammo etc.and so many different models to choose from-------why not choose something different???

You are talking two different deals here-----------------One being back in the day (better times???)being a young guy going out running around plinking etc.

The other being a young FEMALE out in the woods hiking by her lonesome???

If you can afford it(another weapon)why not choose something more protective???

Loaded with nice LARGE bullets even if they are the reduced recoil loadings for a female to handle well(much better)
To sum it all up,look at link below,scroll down to the 5th photo on article and explain----why not????

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/0 ... -take-two/


Bottom line-----if they made vehicles that were built as rugged as H2 Hummer/as cheap as a Nissan Sentra/mileage as good/and were as reliable------why not too????????

Good luck whatever she chooses-----But something made to save her life----------want something that will do task at hand(without question).
Also still love a good Glock in at least .40 or above-----------

[Hobie]

Meth heads? I'll be carrying an AR... Bath salts are worse though, that .50 Beowolf looks good then.

[J Miller]

If I ever get so paranoid that I have to carry a battle rifle when I go for a walk in the woods, I'll pack it in and stay home.
That kind of fear, or concern, ruins the peace and enjoyment of the outing.
I carry a .45 Colt, either a S&W 25-5 4" or single action with a 4 3/4" barrel. That is enough unless your deliberately going into harms way. Or at least it should be.

Joe

[flyfisher66048]

Wasn't it Jeff Cooper that said "He who goes unarmed in paradise had better be sure that is where he is". Not that a 45 Colt is "unarmed", but I think everyone would agree that a rifle would be better if things were not as they should be.

You don't have to be paranoid to realize there are some pretty bad folks running around the woods these days in parts of the country. I never go in the woods back home in NM with out a rifle, preferably my scoped FAL.

If I ever get so paranoid that I have to carry a battle rifle when I go for a walk in the woods, I'll pack it in and stay home.
That kind of fear, or concern, ruins the peace and enjoyment of the outing.
I carry a .45 Colt, either a S&W 25-5 4" or single action with a 4 3/4" barrel. That is enough unless your deliberately going into harms way. Or at least it should be.

Joe

[ceb]

Course we don't have any really large predators in Southern Illinois, but I'm planning to go into the Shawnee National Forest this weekend and I'll be carrying a................Gulp..... Ruger MkII .22auto. Does that make me brave or just foolish?

[DixieBoy]

flyfisher - You bring up a really good point in your quote from Col. Cooper.

I have camped up in the Ocala National Forest before our laws changed, and even then I had a handgun with me, just because. Then - this is over 10 years ago - there was an incident up there involving a brother and sister who were camping. A couple of truly bad dudes wandered in to their campsite, and before either of the two innocents knew what was happening, one of the bad guys was raping the sister and the other was murdering the brother. They thought they'd killed them both, but the girl played dead and survived.

I'd carried in the National Forest before then, and I was breaking the law, but when that incident was in the papers I realized that my gut instincts were right all along. That guy and his sister thought they were in paradise, but it didn't turn out that way.

I guess the moral of the story is: just because a place seems like paradise doesn't mean that evil people will avoid the place. And those of us who might have to share paradise with those evil sorts ought to be prepared to deal with them. - DixieBoy

[fordwannabe]

Cant remember going in the woods without a gun of some sort since I was a kid. My normal just walking in the "woods" in this civilized place is a 1911, cause what I am gonna run into a problem with, is a dog or a dude and and 45 acp works for both. When we go out hunting in the WOODS(mAINE, Montana, way up north canada) at least a 357 and more often a 44mag or 45 colt. Was out cutting firewood up at deer camp this weekend in a relatively civilized, but off the beaten path area, and my 1894 Marlin in 44 mag was leaned up against a tree the whole time. Have I ever used one of those guns NOPE .....has it made me feel better to have them EVERYTIME!
I carry a swiss champ pocketknife everyday for the last 22 years too, just because you never know what you might run into.

[BenT]

That's what I carry when in the woods, single six 32 H&R. Every black bear, wolf , or any other animal I see in the woods runs away . I carry in the woods to deal with skunks and coyotes, not really afraid of any animals. I do load the 32 with 115 gr bullets, they get great penitration.

[hfcable]

Meth heads? I'll be carrying an AR... Bath salts are worse though, that .50 Beowolf looks good then.

yep; if that was my worry, i think i would take my AR in 7.62x39, and my glock 20 in 10mm

glad i only have to worry about grizzlies and moose.

[Sixgun]

I'm planning to go into the Shawnee National Forest this weekend and I'll be carrying a................Gulp..... Ruger MkII .22auto. Does that make me brave or just foolish?

It makes you neither brave or foolish. It shows your knowledge of your surroundings. Is anyone going to bring a screwdriver to a log cutting contest?

A smart fellow brings the proper tools for the task at hand. A .22 for condition yellow woods walking.......a heavy ( as Elmer used to call big bores) centerfire revolver for hunting...........and an instant-to-get-into-action-gun-of-your-ability for an inner city stroll through the park. ------------------Sixgun

[L_Kilkenny]

See, I'm pretty much blessed here. No bears, No lions, No wolves, No bad snakes. I can't recall the last time a RANDOM crime against a middle aged white dude occurred within the 30 mile circumference of home where I spend 99% of my life. Seriously, within that 30 miles there's about a billion to one chance I'm gonna need any gun when I'm woods bummin. Still carry sometimes cause I can. When I do it's either a .22lr or a .32H&R.

Being said I did have a very sick feeling in the pit of my stomach about a month ago. The wife and I were sitting around a Saturday and decided to escape the heat and do some middle of the night cat fishing. We arrived at the river at about 10:30pm, an hour later here comes a 4x4 bouncing down the 2 track to the river. Didn't take me long to realize I hadn't brought a gun and that there just wasn't much I was gonna be able to do if the truck had a couple drunk yahoo's with thoughts about my 120lbs blond wife. I'd fished there myself without a care in the world, same for with friends. But the thought about the wife being there really thru me for a loop. Kept one hand on the Kershaw and the other on a fist sized rock until they did there deed (dumped trash) and left.

Like I said, I'm a very unlikely target but throw in the wife or one of my daughters into the mix changes things considerably. Won't make the same mistake.

[rock-steady]

If I'm only totin' a handgun in the woods camping or canoeing, the minimum is a 357 Ruger GP100 4". I put a Hogue Grip and lanyard loop on it incase I capsize. I would never go down the river without a weapon.

[tman]

In 20 years the .454 will be considered marginal for small bodied deer. That's the life's blood of the gun industry, to convince you that your present firearm is inadequite for which, it was more that adequite, for whatever purpose you used it for in the past. . You are well "heeled" with the firearms you mentioned.

[Streetstar]

if she is confident with the .32 , then that is better than giving her a Dirty HArry spec gun that she can't handle effectively

I guess it kind of depends on the trail though --- i used to carry a heavy all steel Rock Island commander size 1911 in my camelback when i was mountain biking, but it was a revelation when i got a Sig 238 -- less than half the weight ! - carried that for a while until a body dump of a prostitute was found on my trails --- then it was back to the commander

I've never had reason to use it and when its tucked away in my camelback, it would take a few seconds to get it out, but i like having it back there

[AJMD429]

Didn't take me long to realize I hadn't brought a gun and that there just wasn't much I was gonna be able to do if the truck had a couple drunk yahoo's with thoughts about my 120lbs blond wife. . . Like I said, I'm a very unlikely target but throw in the wife or one of my daughters into the mix changes things considerably. Won't make the same mistake.

OK, so you made a tactical mistake - but that wasn't the ONLY tactical mistake made that night...

• ...why on earth didn't your WIFE have a handgun on her person....?

Samuel Colt went to all that work to make man and women 'equal', and we should all do our best to honor the tradition...!

Get your wife and daughters to the point where they won't depend on a potentially over-confident male to protect them; with your tutelage, I'm sure they would all become excellent shots and very difficult 'victims' for any violent scumbags suffering from lead-deficiency.

[DPris]

When I was a good deal younger 40 years ago, the world was a different place.
My first trailgun was a .36 Navy replica because it was the most powerful handgun I could afford to shoot. Carried that thing in three different states.
A bit later it was a Ruger Single-Six.

Today, having encountered a sizable free-range bull that was heavier than the ATV I was driving & took exception to our presence, run into two different groups of guys who were not born in this country in very out-of-the-way mountainous areas far from civilization, noted reports of major marijuana farm busts in areas very close to those I'd traveled not long before, read of bodies being found out on the desert in areas I've frequented for years, considered the migration of wolves into my state, and paid attention to bear and cougar attack reports even in established campgrounds in recent years here, I no longer carry only a .22 handgun.

The "necessary" power level of your trailgun depends on the trail you intend to travel with it.
In the ATV, it's usually a minimum of the 870 shotgun & a 9mm Glock or a .45 ACP 1911.
Farther up or farther out, a .45-70 Marlin & a .44 Magnum Ruger Redhawk.

On foot (which I do less of lately) in the medium-highups not known for bear, .357 Mag Ruger GP100 or the 1911.

Your trails may be quite different, but mine are neither as innocent nor as friendly as they were when I was a kid.
Today I take along enough "power" to handle what I think I may encounter along the way in the area I'm in, and it's unfortunately not a recreational caliber or a recreational gun. May have a .22 along, but it's not the primary.
Denis

[Birdman]

Hey Ceb, heading into Shawnee this weekend with a 22 sounds fine to me. That don't sound quite so good to the Chicago controlled legislators who would rather you spend the weekend defenseless. Keep quiet and keep it close.

[walks with gun]

I somewhat answerd my own question the other night after supper, I took my two dogs for a stroll down the trail out to a very narrow point on the duck lake. The two dogs were looking for chipmunks and birds when the thick brush in front of me sounded like it exploded, I never got to see what it was but the brush sure shook for about 3 seconds, I,m guessing it was a large deer that felt trapped in such narrow confines, but it was a little unnerving standing there with my little bisley single six .22. I might just go back to my 45colt or one of the 44's. I too seem to carry a larger gun if I have someone with to protect,my own hide doesn't seem as valuable to me.

[madman4570]

I somewhat answerd my own question the other night after supper, I took my two dogs for a stroll down the trail out to a very narrow point on the duck lake. The two dogs were looking for chipmunks and birds when the thick brush in front of me sounded like it exploded, I never got to see what it was but the brush sure shook for about 3 seconds, I,m guessing it was a large deer that felt trapped in such narrow confines, but it was a little unnerving standing there with my little bisley single six .22. I might just go back to my 45colt or one of the 44's. I too seem to carry a larger gun if I have someone with to protect,my own hide doesn't seem as valuable to me.

See, that was a wake up call(what if)boy those .22's sure do seem small don't they when something like that goes down??

Carry the bigger gun!

Now, want the really scary part(even with the big gun)bet you didn't have your .22 cocked and ready did you??

With ANY gun in that case you had if it was a (bad thing)like a bear---it would have got you.
The question is when it is mauling you(if you somehow remotely get a chance to grab your piece)do you want to have a fighting chance or continue to get ripped apart while trying to pepper him with a .22

Heck,just carry a short Double 12 with 00 Buck and carry it in the ready postion

Sorry dude, .22 anymore in the woods(by myself)or with family having only gun, it aint cutting it.
Because of all this dry weather we are having bear warnings posted nightly on the news(they are not getting nourished properly and thus pose a much higher risk than normal)and everybody where I live are having issues with them.

Since I am out about 6 or 7 times at night in the woods everynight(dogs going do do)I now carry my SB 12ga Deerslayer loaded with first two rubber slugs/next one 00 Buck/last two Brenekee Green Lightnings,and a 3 cell LED Mini-MagLite velcro'd to barrel.

When your outside/misty fog from gorge/huge hemlocks along both bank sides and huge bolders/ so its going be a close encounter of a bad kind//thinking about the Movie(The Edge).22 pistol They come to drink here

Same as this----------try it in the dark about 1am
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/watk ... soule.html

[DPris]

Last year way back up & way back in while taking a visiting son-in-law on a mountain ATV jaunt I saw something out of the corner of my eye & looked over to see a BIG section of dense foliage at the edge of a clearing we were traveling through violently whipped up.
It was done by something large, we'd just passed by it roughly 20 yards away, there was no visible fauna anywhere in the clearing as we entered & passed through, so whatever was responsible was making the commotion from inside the trees looking out, not outside the trees escaping into them.

This was around the corner from one area where I'd previously encountered Ghost Knockers in an aspen glade around an old cattle herder's camp a couple years back.

If something big pops out in a huge hurry & the only thing that could have saved your butt was keeping it safely home in bed, then you might as well just have your last will & testament along and forget about a gun.
Fortunately there are more occasions where you do get some warning than not, and for those occasions appropriate artillery is...appropriate.
Denis

[Meeteetse]

It is sad that things in the woods have changed. Growing up in the Rockies we never worried about two legged critters because they just weren't there. We worried about rabid dogs and skunks and perhaps a black bear. They were the big concerns. Today, those same animals are still there but now you have to look over your shoulder for the two legged kind. Fortunately most folks in the woods are doing exactly what you are doing, trying to have a good time.

When I was a kid all I had was a .22. My folks didn't have a lot of guns, 30/30 and a shotgun. My Dad bought a Ruger Mk I (?) .22 auto for me and that started my interest in handguns more than 50 years ago. That .22 was a dragon slayer. I still have it. That gun will probably still do the job 98% of the time, but what about the other 2%? My wife now carries the .22 or something similar and I usually have a large caliber handgun. I also have a shotgun or rifle in the truck. My how things have changed. Can't tell if I'm paranoid or the world has gone crazy. One thing I do know, I would still rather be in the Rockies than in some of the places you guys are talking about East of the Mississippi. Just too many people for me.

I still prefer a good quality revolver for most of my woods bumming and over the last many years I have settled on .357, 44mag/spec or 45 Colt and the gun will be either a S&W or a Ruger. We always have that trusty .22 however because you never know when you might need to fill the pot with a cottontail, and nothing works better.

[Lastmohecken]

Well, I don't have too much to fear in my neck of the woods, but I recond a rabid animal, or pack of wild dogs, would be the most likely encounter, however I can't entirely rule out a Black Bear, I doubt that coyotes would be agressive, but they have been known to be, or maybe a mountain lion, or two legged individual could show up, so many times I am unarmed except for a knife.

A lot of times when I am in the woods, I am carrying fencing tools, etc and have about all of the weight I want to pack. Sometimes I do carry, and in the past it has often been a 5.5" Colt Peacemaker clone in 45 colt, loaded with CCI Blazers 200gr hollowpoints. I have also carried a 1911, and I now have a 5 inch Springfield Lightweight that carrys well, but sometimes I just carry a .22 pistol of some sort.

I guess I pack more often then I used too. But I am much more inclined to pack when I go to town, then the woods.