Guns on trails in others' hand.

[PaleoRob]

So, on the infamous militia thread, there was the following comment:

Small Genitals, Big Egos

It seems like some people don't have or don't see a need for weapons on the trail. That's fine. Some people carry all the time, even in their own home. That's fine too. I am just wondering about blanket statements like this, or similar ones from the pro-carry side that seem to imply that the unarmed are fools. Perhaps there is a motivation behind the reason to carry or not carry. I thought I'd post a poll because it seems like there are a lot of opinions on the matter.

I'm hoping for some explanations to the selections, but that is optional. When I say "hiking", I mean recreational hiking, not working as a backcountry FS LE, NPS LE, BP officer, sheriff, military, etc. I mean going out into the forest or the desert to enjoy a hike. This is also for personal experiences, not friend-of-a-friend type deals. You can chose as many as you want, since you may have been in several different situations. You can change your vote, because maybe tomorrow something will change.

[Thoreau]

Lol, no, but the anti-cartel groups do =)

[PaleoRob]

Okay, I see we have three people who said they have been shot at on trail. I was one - I was shot at by people protecting a meth lab/trailer in Chino Valley. What are the other stories?

[Alston_Neal]

I always carry while hiking and camping. I do carry my pistol in the backpack if we're on a trail with other hikers passing by. I don't want to tighten their twinkies. I'm as concerned about rabid animals as I am with the two legged kind. Having been very up close and personal with a major pot bust, which made for one our most exciting camping trips. It also made us very aware of the depth of these operations.
A couple of times we've been approached by very unsavory folks while camping out in the middle of nowhere. Having a weapon visible, I'm sure saved our hide.
Ironically one of the few times I wasn't armed was when I was shot at. Some yahoo started unloading his semi auto pistol in every direction including mine.
I yelled at him and he pointed it right at me and fired a couple of rounds. The fact that he was at least 200 feet away was a blessing.

[kevinweitzel75]

Ironically one of the few times I wasn't armed was when I was shot at. Some yahoo started unloading his semi auto pistol in every direction including mine.
I yelled at him and he pointed it right at me and fired a couple of rounds. The fact that he was at least 200 feet away was a blessing.

That's a scary situation. I really don't feel like shooting someone, and at 200 feet ... well.

[big_load]

Okay, I see we have three people who said they have been shot at on trail. I was one - I was shot at by people protecting a meth lab/trailer in Chino Valley. What are the other stories?

I'm another. I've had three incidents, one of which was in AZ. Some yahoos were shooting up cactus in Lost Dutchman State Park, apparently oblivious to the fact that their line of fire crossed a trail. There was a slight berm along the trail, so I dropped down and crawled past them on my belly.

Another incident happened when I was running on a county road near home. It's a suburban road that goes through wooded hills with a few clusters of houses and a few giant hobby farms. Just after a sharp bend the road enters a tunnel under an abandoned railroad grade. Just as I rounded the bend to enter the tunnel, a deer poacher (out of season, trespassing, and illegally close to houses) fired at me from the railroad grade. He must have been shooting at motion and pulled up when he realized I wasn't a deer, because it went well over my head. I was wearing electric blue running clothes at the time.

The most recent incident happened in a state park near my home, a small section of which abuts a small, historic suburban neighborhood. As I passed almost certainly unseen, some idiots in that row of houses began firing semiautomatic or automatic weapons from their back yard into the park, hitting a large oak tree I happened to be passing. The bullets were hitting high up, so I ducked behind the trunk and some nearby rocks while sticks fell on me. I was pinned down for about 20 minutes, during which time I figure they fired about 200 rounds. After it was quiet for a while, I dashed out of there as quick as I could go.

Except for the poacher, I'm sure none were intentionally targeting me. I also think it's interesting that in all three cases I was at a distinct tactical disadvantage, such that being armed myself would have been of no real use. It's also not surprising that none of those involved were using their firearms in a safe and legal manner.

[paulhubbard]

My gf and I were walking in the creek bed up by Elephant Arch http://hikearizona.com/photoset.php?ID=13215 when we heard a seriously powerful rifle going off. A few more steps and it went off again and this time we heard a bullet whiz past us (a ricochet) . We had to yell 4 or 5 times for them to hold their fire so we could pass. They were shooting at targets about 50 feet away (guess they thought that meant accuracy?) across the creek, and into a bed of solid rock backdrop. I told them there were camps up stream, and other hikers and ATV'ers going up and down the stream, and that they may want to re-think their choice of target practice location, but they didn't seem to care and resumed firing as soon as we were around the corner. Idiots! [-X

[azbackpackr]

Hope all these incidents were reported.

[PLC92084]

In the instances I can recall, it wouldn't have been practical to notify law enforcement - the culprits would've been long gone before anything could be done. Two out the three times I had rounds come close enough to hear/feel them pass; only happened once so I vacated the area as quickly as possible. Third time was a bit different...

On that occasion, I happened to be out shooting (responsibly, of course). Some idiots down range decided to send a round my way. Irritated me but I blew it off. After a second round a few minutes later, I started to get mighty angry. When the third round flew by, I unleashed a barrage of 10-15 rounds in their direction (had the AK with me...). No more stray rounds!

[Alston_Neal]

@PLC92084
Oohhh you gots an AK, I knew there had to be some reason I liked you..

[PLC92084]

@Alston Neal

The hardware is only icing on the cake! It was my rapier wit, humble demeanor and rugged good looks (see avatar...) that drew you in, originally...

Do I still get the bullet concession once you get the gun rental business up and running!?

[Alston_Neal]

@PLC92084



The funny part about your avatar was that for a long time I thought it was a bunny in profile.
Then one day I really looked at it. Cute puppy!

[PLC92084]

a bunny in profile

!!??

And you had the nerve to talk about the meds I was on !?

[paulhubbard]

for a long time I thought it was a bunny in profile.

Me too! I had to look closely to realize it's a puppy!

[dround]

It took me a few takes of seeing a bunny also.

[PLC92084]

OK... For all you"visionistas" who saw a bunny, I have to ask... Were you hanging out in the backroom at Alston's smoking Indian blanket threads or something!? ;)

[big_load]

It looked like a bunny to me, also, the first time I saw it, but a closer look cleared it up.

[PLC92084]

@big_load
Et tu, Brute?

Maybe you should bring some of those threads with you on our trip... Who knows what we'll see then!!

[skatchkins]

I still can't see the rabbit

I haven't been shot at hiking (1 bear charge though). I have while driving some backroads at night.
Also have had a gun pulled on me in a parking lot. And almost a knife at work (the person came behind the counter but was surprised by someone unexpectedly coming in [all before my carry days]) . There have been two armed robberies in my work complex last year.

[Alston_Neal]

Bwahahahaha! I'm vindicated....

Silly rabbit...

[big_load]

@big_load Et tu, Brute?

Somebody on another forum uses a very similar avatar that actually is a rabbit. The lights and darks are in all the same places. I just tried to dig it up, but I can't remember his handle and he isn't prolific enough to show up in a random sampling of popular threads.

To get back on topic, I've never seen anybody point their gun at a dog or a rabbit on the trail.