PROTECTION IN WOODS ,TRAILS,ETC

[bob g]

Hi, i'm curios about how many of you carry guns for protection? this past week in reading,penna. 65 year old was assaulted by three youth he killed one and wounded another the other one ran away i'm not condoning this but what would you do? I live close to blue marsh which is completely surrounded by trails i know for a fact that there's been one rape, several assaults, car jack,and few that were robbed and all these things happened in broad daylight cops can't be everywhere my wife and daughter walk those trails and carry peeper spray just in case but it seemes to get worse every year sign of the times.

[ginnysdaddy]

Hi, i'm curios about how many of you carry guns for protection? this past week in reading,penna. 65 year old was assaulted by three youth he killed one and wounded another the other one ran away i'm not condoning this but what would you do? I live close to blue marsh which is completely surrounded by trails i know for a fact that there's been one rape, several assaults, car jack,and few that were robbed and all these things happened in broad daylight cops can't be everywhere my wife and daughter walk those trails and carry peeper spray just in case but it seemes to get worse every year sign of the times.

Governor Tom Corbett has signed Pennsylvania Castle Doctrine legislation into law. This common-sense measure permits law-abiding citizens to use force, including deadly force, against an attacker in their home and any place where they have a legal right to be. It also protects individuals from civil lawsuits by an attacker or attacker’s family when force is used. http://www.berksmontnews.com/article...3664857779.txt

[Twisted One]

I'm in Northern California and while I don't carry a gun at this point, I have been debating it a lot lately, more for protection against wildlife, than people, but you just never know.
Chances are I will never need it, but the one time I will need it, will I have it or not? Right now I have a small Gerber folding shovel, and I have several hunting knife type blades I could carry.

Right now I am on the fence about carrying a handgun, I might just go with pepper spray and a good hunting knife for now. I was also debating one of those walking sticks with the spear like tip on them for the rattle snakes.

[dogpound]

i carry concealed all the time (normally a 40 cal.) infact just over the weekend i picked up a small 380 pocket gun. better to have and not need than wish ya had one

[mikhen]

I just goit done reading about the shooting in Reading. I carry all the time.

[Jeff.L]

I carry a .45 xd springfeild, 13 in the clip + 1 in the chamber. My wife carry's a Sig p238 ".380" The police are there pretty much to clean up the mess after the fact. Police have no obligation to protect you as an individual. I'm not knocking the police, the ones in my community are great. Look up the case of Warren v. District of Columbia.
If you have no experience with fire arms I would suggest join a gun club. Its alot of fun and most of the time there family oriented, mine offers a variety of fire arms training coarses that I have my wife enrolled in.

http://www.safe-tee.net/
http://psacake.com/dial_911.asp
http://strangepolitics.com/content/item/180381.html "This is good"

[mineron]

Long ago I had a wise old country gentlemen tell me that only a fool would go in the woods without a weapon. I have always followed his advise.

[bodkin55]

Times are tough with a lot of people out of work. I'm not making excuses for anyone but in desperate times people will do desperate things. You are carrying a $1000+ detector. If you have a permit, carry a side arm...AND pray to God you never need to use it!!! I carry a 45 Kimber, 1st two shots are snake shot, next five are 230gr hollow points.

[dogpound]

besides the concealed firearm i also carry a small pepper spray in my finds pouch

[genweld]

I've carried ever since I was able to. I only let it show one time and that was enough to get them running. If you decide to carry you only have a split second to consider 100 issues when you pull it. If your life is threatened you have the right to protect yourself, but you still have to live with yourself after the fact. Question, is a few coins worth it for the rest of your life. The decision to carry is a very personnel issue.

[nsdq]

i carry a springfield 1911 a1 with 230 gn extreme shock hollow points, and a usn seal dive knife

[maipenrai]

Hey, if praying really worked, then you wouldnt have to carry a gun at all.

[dogpound]

If your life is threatened you have the right to protect yourself, but you still have to live with yourself after the fact. Question, is a few coins worth it for the rest of your life. The decision to carry is a very personnel issue.

i can live with the fact that i could have just saved my own life or my families, i would never assume an assailant is only after my personal property esp during an assult

[baspinall]

I would carry if I could. Not aloud to own a firearm anymore due to a mistake over twenty five years ago. Doesn't mean I don't carry a knife and know how to use it though.

[mr-dig-it]

Long ago I had a wise old country gentlemen tell me that only a fool would go in the woods without a weapon. I have always followed his advise.

This isn't aimed at you personally ,but at some of the other replys too. First of all I am definitely not anti gun as I have hunted for over 40 years and trapped for more then 25 years. I am a year round hiker in Pennsylvania and have never felt the need to carry a gun for protection. I have hiked after dark in the woods, something I would never do in any city for fear of my life or valuables. If you are concerned about animals, there is no wild animal in Pa that will attack you. The domestic bull is more dangerous then any animal in the woods. A couple years ago on Tnet someone wrote that he always carries a gun for protection against wolves, cougers and bears. This person lived between Altoona and Johnstown. Get real, when was the last time you saw a wolf in Pa or a couger. Bears, yes. Any bear I have come across while hiking or detecting was running away from me

[Twisted One]

Long ago I had a wise old country gentlemen tell me that only a fool would go in the woods without a weapon. I have always followed his advise.

This isn't aimed at you personally ,but at some of the other replys too. First of all I am definitely not anti gun as I have hunted for over 40 years and trapped for more then 25 years. I am a year round hiker in Pennsylvania and have never felt the need to carry a gun for protection. I have hiked after dark in the woods, something I would never do in any city for fear of my life or valuables. If you are concerned about animals, there is no wild animal in Pa that will attack you. The domestic bull is more dangerous then any animal in the woods. A couple years ago on Tnet someone wrote that he always carries a gun for protection against wolves, cougers and bears. This person lived between Altoona and Johnstown. Get real, when was the last time you saw a wolf in Pa or a couger. Bears, yes. Any bear I have come across while hiking or detecting was running away from me

You can encounter one million wild animals while out hiking and 99% will run away from you. But that one time you accidentally walked between a mother bear and her cubs, or encounter that rabid, or starving animal you will wish you had something to protect yourself.
Carrying a firearm for protection does not require that you actually use it.

I personally don't carry a firearm because I don't own one at this time, I only own two rifles, and there is no way I am going to strap one on my shoulder to go metal detecting. Currently the only thing I carry is my metal detector, my little shovel, and my trowel that could double as a blade pretty easy.
Short of a lucky whack with my shovel I would be defenseless against a bear or mountain lion, which there are plenty of in Northern California. I have even seen video of a deer going on the offensive near here. We also have some pretty nasty rattle snakes, and the coyotes here are small, but can be mean.

I intend to eventually pick up a small pistol to carry while out hiking or metal detecting, but only in the wild, at other times I will probably just carry one of my knives and some pepper spray.
I am also in the process of putting together a small pack, with food, water, and first aid supplies. I have never been lost, and the chances are fairly slim, but after seeing a recent news story about a family of three here that were lost in the woods not even two miles from their car for six days, you just can't be too cautious.

Like I said the likely hood of needing a firearm may be slim, but what about that one time in a million you get caught in the middle of some life and death situation that that firearm would have gotten you out of.

[maipenrai]

The most dangerous animal in northern california is the two footed one, and he probably already has you in his sights, long before he sees you, so not sure your hand gun will be of any use. I wouldnt even think of detecting in the forest of Mendocino county, or for that matter, many other out of the way places in norcal.

Anyway, I carry enough stuff with me, even to the beach, so a gun would be out of the question. How do you actually hunt with all that extra weight? My detector is water proof, so I dont worry about that, but I would worry if I had a gun that needed to be protected, but if your sure of hunting in the dry, then I guess no problem. For me, I just try to stay out of the "iffy" areas, but then im a scardy cat.

[G.A.P.metal]

When i`m in the woods i carry a Lesche 30" T handle saw tooth sides and razer sharpe bottom and can rattle a anyones head that trys to do me harm, and dig a nice hole!!!
Thanks gary G.A.P.metal

[nsdq]

When i`m in the woods i carry a Lesche 30" T handle saw tooth sides and razer sharpe bottom and can rattle a anyones head that trys to do me harm, and dig a nice hole!!!
Thanks gary G.A.P.metal

also an be used as a mini sluce add miners moss an riffles to it

[mineron]

Long ago I had a wise old country gentlemen tell me that only a fool would go in the woods without a weapon. I have always followed his advise.

This isn't aimed at you personally ,but at some of the other replys too. First of all I am definitely not anti gun as I have hunted for over 40 years and trapped for more then 25 years. I am a year round hiker in Pennsylvania and have never felt the need to carry a gun for protection. I have hiked after dark in the woods, something I would never do in any city for fear of my life or valuables. If you are concerned about animals, there is no wild animal in Pa that will attack you. The domestic bull is more dangerous then any animal in the woods. A couple years ago on Tnet someone wrote that he always carries a gun for protection against wolves, cougers and bears. This person lived between Altoona and Johnstown. Get real, when was the last time you saw a wolf in Pa or a couger. Bears, yes. Any bear I have come across while hiking or detecting was running away from me

No offense taken, having a weapon is a personal choice. A search for Pennsylvania coyote attack, hog attack, bear attack and deer attack come up quite a few and a number of deaths. The far greatest injury and death was by hunters shooting themselves or someone else. It looks like the most dangerous thing in the Pennsylvania woods is Pennsylvania hunters. I live in the woods and have come across bear, coywolf, coyote, deadly snakes, dog packs and mountain lion, none of which I had to shoot. I had a weapon with me though if needed. If you are single and no one relies on you than dying the woods is no big deal, if you have a family you should think of them to come out in good shape, carrying a weapon can help you do that.