What is your "camp gun"?

[chronoblip]

To continue the theme of collecting opinions and pop the cherry on this subforum - what are you carrying when you're out camping?

For "bear country", I've got an XDM in 10mm I keep on me all the time. At the campsite, I also keep a Henry single shot in 308 WIN. Especially when up into Island Park/West Yellowstone region, there's black and grizzly bears as well as moose and elk, so this has been my "good enough" kit beyond just carrying "people seasoning".

If we're camping out further west in the desert, where critters are a lot fewer and further between, I'll swap the XDM for a Ruger GP100 in 357 MAG is a bit more fun and a bit less overkill, and can be fun to plink with handloads using cheap cast bullets.

Now, most of the camping we're doing at this stage of life (lots of small kids) is all the "drive up" type, albeit many spots are miles down poorly managed dirt roads on public lands.

If I were to be backpack camping, it'd be a tough call, since I'd have to haul everything rather than just pack the back of my little SUV and leave it there. Region, time of year, all that would come into play.

If we had an RV that'd also probably change things too, since there would be more places to stash stuff.

But what about you folks? What kinds of setups have you run for various types of camping? What kinds of natural dangers and critters are in your region that, if folks were to visit to camp, they should be aware of?

 

[american_fusilier]

Well I don't live in grizzly territory, but we do have black bears here, so my EAA Vindicator in .357 mag is just fine

 

[ONE-TEN]

When I lived in Arizona, we’d always be varmint hunting anytime we went camping. So besides my sidearm, I’d always have either my AR15 or my Savage 116. I’m back in PA now, and anytime I was camping here, I’d just have my 9mm carry piece.

To tell you the truth, no matter where I’d be camping, I’ve always been FAR more concerned with dangerous “animals” of the TWO-legged variety, over any four-legged critter.

 

[Alan]

LCR .357 is my go to always on me type of piece. Rifle, I'd have to think about that as most camping I do a high caliber isn't the right setup.

 

[SevenFan]

Carried my GP100 in 357 when hunting and put some bunnies in the cast iron skillet. Don't hunt anymore due to deterioating hip joints, I fish instead.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

My 45 acp 1911. And i bring a 22 pistol and rifle to plink with.

 

[John Henry]

S&W M&P .40 is my go to carry while camping or as a side arm hunting.

 

[Alan]

Carried my GP100 in 357 when hunting and put some bunnies in the cast iron skillet. Don't hunt anymore due to deterioating hip joints, I fish instead.

Do you like fishing more than hunting? Now that you've done both.

 

[SevenFan]

With bad hips (and knees) and so much private land where I live it just isn't worth pounding the ground. I love being in the outdoors, so I fish instead. Used to fish several local lakes where we live but now fish Lake Roosevelt exclusively, for those who don't know, that is the impoundment created by Grand Coulee dam. It is, IMHO, the best trout fishery in the state.

We have a cabin and boat barn in a small development 5 minutes from the ramp, literally takes more time to hook the boat up than drive to the ramp.

 

[Felchmiester]

Now that I'm retired and have time I may do some more here fishy fishy I used to do it as a youngster but then life just kept getting in the way more often
As for a camp gun well my first answer is anything likely to go bang but for nostalgia's sake a air rifle is not out of the question
but most likely it will probably be the savage markll or the savage axis but again for nostalgia's sake I might just pull out dad's old marlin 81dl.
If for some reason I were to be a real dip_ _it and be camping 🏕 out in a area with multiple unsavory individuals nearby might just bring my brawler neighbor everybody just calls him AR ...
Guess that stands for arrested recently

 

[ONE-TEN]

Interesting way to put it.
However, there have been quite a few assaults, abductions, rapes & murders that happened to campers & travelers, out in the middle of nowhere, and far from any help. I don’t believe any of the victims involved were necessarily being SHip-Dits for being where they were, or even had any reason to believe any unsavory characters might be there to cause harm. But it happens.

I don’t go out armed with the intention of finding bad sort in order to cause interaction. And I don’t go where I know crime is a problem. I’m armed because I DON’T know what is on the minds of others, regardless where I go. But I DO KNOW that people are inherently bad. We are not born “good”. Each of us is born in sin, and left to our own devices, we will choose WRONG. It’s only God’s Grace that lights the way for good. It’s because we were made in His own image that we know right from wrong. I simply never want to be a victim, or more importantly, have to watch others victimized and not be able to help.

Sorry to go off thread. Just that your comment caught my attention Felchmiester & I felt a need to expound.

 

[chronoblip]

There are many perceptions about life that, whether true or not, are required in order for people to get along until they've matured, and since most don't (or won't) "grow up", strictures on behavior remain and are credited unduly. There's no accident that highly dense human population centers, even in a "red state", all end up following the same path and creating endless lists of rules to constrain behavior and "promote peace". Oh well.

In the field, I don't carry for two-legged predators, even back when I worked in HVAC. Stories broadly like this one are growing more common:

Two hunters who shot 530-pound grizzly 24 times share their stunning story of survival

As just this week:

Hikers injured by bear in Yellowstone National Park

I've tuned A/Cs in Jackson only to be interrupted by folks taking pictures, and I turn and there's a big moose about 20ft away, watching me do my work. I've had younger bulls run by me, spooked by aircraft, while installing mini-splits in Alpine. I was walking a house for an A/C quote in Wilson, and upon coming back inside, the homeowner asked me if I saw "the bears", as a mother and two cubs were apparently out in the yard, just on the opposite side of the house from me.

Now, this region is not as sparsely populated as much of Wyoming, but there's still a lot of wildlife that can be aggressive outside just bears. The first time I saw a full grown bull moose (which aren't even as big here as Alaska or Canada as I understand) it was rather humbling. It's certainly not a "looking for trouble" mindset like I had back in Oregon and Washington, where folks used the wilds to set up drug hideouts and labs (forests conceal where plains reveal), but that's certainly in the back of the mind still.

Can't blame critters for being opportunists, but they can't blame me for being prepared to protect the wife and kids either.

 

[Frontiersman]

It really depends on where I’m at. In the NW grizz country I usually had a 45/70 guide gun in arms reach. Tamer areas a Marlin lever in 44 mag. In the Hoosier state at a public campground. I like a Ruger revolver in .327.

 

[ONE-TEN]

There are many perceptions about life that, whether true or not, are required in order for people to get along until they've matured, and since most don't (or won't) "grow up", strictures on behavior remain and are credited unduly. There's no accident that highly dense human population centers, even in a "red state", all end up following the same path and creating endless lists of rules to constrain behavior and "promote peace". Oh well.

In the field, I don't carry for two-legged predators, even back when I worked in HVAC. Stories broadly like this one are growing more common:

Two hunters who shot 530-pound grizzly 24 times share their stunning story of survival

As just this week:

Hikers injured by bear in Yellowstone National Park

I've tuned A/Cs in Jackson only to be interrupted by folks taking pictures, and I turn and there's a big moose about 20ft away, watching me do my work. I've had younger bulls run by me, spooked by aircraft, while installing mini-splits in Alpine. I was walking a house for an A/C quote in Wilson, and upon coming back inside, the homeowner asked me if I saw "the bears", as a mother and two cubs were apparently out in the yard, just on the opposite side of the house from me.

Now, this region is not as sparsely populated as much of Wyoming, but there's still a lot of wildlife that can be aggressive outside just bears. The first time I saw a full grown bull moose (which aren't even as big here as Alaska or Canada as I understand) it was rather humbling. It's certainly not a "looking for trouble" mindset like I had back in Oregon and Washington, where folks used the wilds to set up drug hideouts and labs (forests conceal where plains reveal), but that's certainly in the back of the mind still.

Can't blame critters for being opportunists, but they can't blame me for being prepared to protect the wife and kids either.

Well, technically, if you want to make a difference, shoot more deer! Deer are considered the most dangerous animal in North America. Why Brown Bear have killed around 70 people since 1970, deer kill between 160-400 people ANNUALLY, through vehicular collision. LOL!

 

[pdog06]

Usually I just carry my Glock 43x cause it’s not bulky. For rifles while I’m deer or bear hunting it has recently been the Savage 12 in 308 I put together before Bear season last fall, or my Savage 220 20ga slug gun.

 

[Alan]

Well, technically, if you want to make a difference, shoot more deer! Deer are considered the most dangerous animal in North America. Why Brown Bear have killed around 70 people since 1970, deer kill between 160-400 people ANNUALLY, through vehicular collision. LOL!

I laughed as I was just watching a short video about it. Popped in my YouTube feed. But yeah, statistically.

 

[eaj1010]

I hunt in Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida, and anywhere you will invite me to hunt. I usually carry a CHEAP Rock Island 10mm or a Ruger GP100 .357 mag. We do have black bears and a pile of pigs. I have been chased three times by pigs. A trusty sidearm was never on my hip when it was needed. (For whatever reason, I do not know)

On occasion I have been now to carry the Key-Tec PMR30. I know the Rock Island and the Kel-tec are not the greatest brand names, however they have both been very good to me.

 

[american_fusilier]

I know the Rock Island and the Kel-tec are not the greatest brand names

I've literally never heard a bad thing about Rock Island Armory 1911s. I've got one and it's eaten everything I've fed it with no malfunctions to date. I'd trust my life to it.

 

[ONE-TEN]

I hunt in Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida, and anywhere you will invite me to hunt. I usually carry a CHEAP Rock Island 10mm or a Ruger GP100 .357 mag. We do have black bears and a pile of pigs. I have been chased three times by pigs. A trusty sidearm was never on my hip when it was needed. (For whatever reason, I do not know)

On occasion I have been now to carry the Key-Tec PMR30. I know the Rock Island and the Kel-tec are not the greatest brand names, however they have both been very good to me.

Yeah, I have to agree with American fusilier. I was working in the business when the Keltec P3AT became popular. We sold so many of those, it was nuts! Didn’t have more than a few go back. And it was always for jamming. (Which is almost ALWAYS the fault of the operator with snappy guns, from limp wristing! I saw it so much on the range I managed, I couldn’t believe it until then! But yeah, both Keltec & Rock Island make good firearms for the money.

 

[eaj1010]

I've literally never heard a bad thing about Rock Island Armory 1911s. I've got one and it's eaten everything I've fed it with no malfunctions to date. I'd trust my life to it.

I love it. I have run across quite a few that think because it is inexpensive, it is cheap. That thing shoots every time I pull the trigger. Except once. I forgot to chamber a round and when I pulled the trigger, nothing happened.

 

[eaj1010]

Yeah, I have to agree with American fusilier. I was working in the business when the Keltec P3AT became popular. We sold so many of those, it was nuts! Didn’t have more than a few go back. And it was always for jamming. (Which is almost ALWAYS the fault of the operator with snappy guns, from limp wristing! I saw it so much on the range I managed, I couldn’t believe it until then! But yeah, both Keltec & Rock Island make good firearms for the money.

The first gen Kel-tec has had its issues. But now it is operating fantastically and a blast to shoot.

 

[MountainRider]

If I were camping in the boonies around here (Eastern Idaho) my .41 mag Ruger Blackhawk would be my go-to. If just fishing the banks of the Snake, the Ruger Super Wrangler loaded with 22 shot in case Jake No-shoulders shows up, and maybe a hand full of 22 mags in case the occasional coyote presents an opportunity. At my age, if I need more than that, I probably shouldn't be in that neighborhood.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

I don't camp much anymore. But I do go on long drives in the boonies and state forest logging roads with other Jeep owners. You can find yourself very isolated. We often stop and walk down long paths to clearings to eat/mingle. I always have my EDC (Shield 45) on person. If the Wife is along I have a Vickers edition Glock 19 loaded with HST 147 gr in the console. It's one of my house guns as well and has a WML. Sometimes we go on night rides. Never know when a breakdown/etc will happen. I'm not too concerned with the bears (there are a bunch here) or other critters. Would hate to be stranded and have some thug ride by with bad intentions and have nothing. You never know.

 

[chronoblip]

Yeah, back in Oregon and Washington, it was also possible to get out far enough and come across someone's drug lab. Which folks weren't too happy about anyone else finding either.

 

[eaj1010]

Off subject, but have any of you watched that show Live PD? The original season was filmed in my neighborhood. Have to carry a NEIGHBORHOOD gun around here.