Guns and other dangers

imported
#1

I’ve been mentioning my plans of hiking the AT next year to family and friends. The first thing my father said was a concern about my job “letting me” take 6 months off. And the second thing he said was, “You should probably bring a gun.” (My father is the last person i would EVER expect to suggest that). When talking to my friend Trevor, the first thing he said was, “That’s a dangerous trail.” And the second thing he said was, “You should probably bring a gun.” Now, after doing research for the past year on the AT, I’m pretty convinced that I won’t need a gun, but this site has been a good resource for me thus far, and so i wanted to find out what the rest of you thought.
Also, whereas my fathers concern was with bears, my friend Trevor was concerned about dangerous people along the way. (I guess the movie Deliverance has spooked him about this whole going-out-into-the-woods thing.) Are there any specific spots along the trail that i would need to be particularly careful?
Thanks for your help.

C-Giddy

#2

No need for guns on the trail. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, you can’t carry them in the Natl Parks at all. I think you’ll be surprised at how friendly other hikers are, as well as helpful most town folk along the way are as well.
Bears generally high tail it when they see you, unless they’re into your food or with cubs. Just use common sense and you’ll be fine.

When I thrued in 82, the section after you cross 19E in Tenn. had some rowdy locals, but after reading a lot of the journals lately it seems to have calmed a bit. Just try to avoid caming at shelters or campsites that are accessible by roads.

tim

#3

My father said the same thing before I left on my section hike. I didn’t take one mainly because of weight and I really didn’t think I’d need it. I’d advise against taking one, but you could get a small can of pepper spray or even an airhorn to scare a bear away just in case(useless if its in your backpack anyway). I have a permit to carry and I do carry when off the trail but the AT is statisticly one of the safest places in the US.

NOOGA

#4

I have been hiking the AT for 14 years, mainly in the south, and I never have encountered any danger from people. I never carry a gun when I am on the AT. I always trust God for my protection. The Hillbillies here in the South can look rough but they are very nice people and ready to come to your help when you need it. Bears are more afraid of you than you are of them. In NJ, on my 1999 thru-hike, my hiking partner and I came upon this bear walking toward us. When it saw us it turned around and started walking away from us. Suddenly it turned back around and started walking toward us again. We kept on walking toward it but without looking it straight in the eyes. When it was about 20 feet from us it went off the trail and disappeared in the woods. My advice: leave your gun at home.

Corsican

#5

I imagine this topic would generate a lot more controversy in a different forum; My guess is that here most of us will agree that guns are inappropriate gear for hiking, not just because of the weight and the fact that carrying them is illegal in most places along the way.

Would you really shoot someone/some animal? I believe we’re all a lot safer when no one is carrying a weapon.

I have indirect but very personal experience with gun violence and I must say that I would NEVER carry a gun, especially in a historically safe place like the AT corridor. Guns are for hunting (hopefully for food not just sport!) and for regular people keeping the government honest (by the knowledge that they have them to use if necessary), that’s it!!
just my opinion, for what its worth.:girl

M

#6

yeah, the boys told me to ‘bring a gun’ too. I laughed and said “TOO HEAVY” Plus I know in the north you cannot carry one anyway. Leave it home, people are nicer than you think and by the time you could get it out they’d have you in a van if they were looking to kidnap you off the trail. Little canister of pepper spray is what I brought, mainly for rednecks and to quiet my dad and guy friends. LEAVE THEM HOME PLEASE. :cheers

Sauntering Abbey

#7

Lotta’ you folks arguin’ about whether to carry a sidearm or automatic weapons when yer’ backpacking. Well I’m telling ya’, it aint right to carry either one when yer’ hikin’. I may be old fashioned, but it just aint right.

Me, I carry a double barrel sawed off shotgun. Now that’s what ya’ wanna’ be packin’. Heck, you aint got no worries about varmints or critters or people, This here baby’ll knock down a tree if one of them darn things jumps out at ya’.

Now that’s what ya’ wanna’ be packin. 'Nough said.

Tommy G.

#8

I used to carry a sawed off, like Tommy G, but now I don’t screw around. I pack a RPG (rocket propelled grenade).

Benny the Bull

#9
  1. Statutory Issues
  2. Jurisdictional Issues (14 states, nat’l/state parks, federal lands, etc.)
  3. Safety…if you carry you had better have it on you at all times and you’ll be lots of places besides out in the woods…hostels, cars, towns, restaurants, post offices (!), etc. etc.
  4. Access…where are you going to carry it? on your hip? concealed? where? could you even get at it if you needed it in an awful hurry? which is usually when one needs a gun…
  5. even maintenance…if you carry it anywhere that you could conceivably reach it while hiking you will sweat all over it and rust it out or spend lots of time stripping and cleaning it.
  6. not necessary and a bad idea in my opinion.

DuckXing

#10

are built to ignore dirt and water and take the outdoor elements. About 20 oz. unloaded.

Tommy G.

#11

As an owner of several guns, I believe they have their place, but the AT is not one of them, for the reasons others have listed. Perhaps the biggest reason, to me, is that the likelihood of needing a gun, even if you had it, is very, very low. If everyone carried a gun on the trail, I, for one, would feel a whole lot LESS safe.

There’s a good book called “Mississippi Solo” about a guy canoeing down the river. He brought a gun. He used it, twice! Once he shot and killed a dog. (There were several “wild” dogs around his tent. One of them was coming towards him. He was afraid and shot it.) The other time, he took a wild shot at a couple of hunters that were hassling him. (It seems pretty clear they were trying to scare him. It also seemed clear to me that they meant no real harm.)

This story illustrated the very real downsides to carrying a gun by someone who is easily rattled. He could have killed someone totally needlessly. He DID kill a dog needlessly. On the AT, leave the guns at home.

Colter

#12

If I knew someone on the trail was packing, I would be inclined to announce it to everyone I saw, including law enforcement. In general, I don’t think there are very many reasons to carry a gun, and specifically, I know of no reason whatsoever for any thru-hiker to carry one.

carolina boy

#13

If a pack of wild dogs is coming at you, you better do something drastic if you don’t want to end up in the hospital. A shot to the alpha dog will do the trick. The canoeing guy did the right thing in that instance. Taking a wild shot in the air around rednecks, now that’s just plain stupid.

Colt 45

#14

Please, please do not carry a gun.

Even if you didn’t consider the weight, license and access issues. The trail is a social place. How are your fellow hikers going to treat you when the find out your strapped?
I bet you’d have no problem getting a spot in a shelter.

Having spent a fair amount of times around firearms I would be more afraid of someone with no experience with handguns who had a gun than any potential threat on the trail.

Just look at the weight issue. Even the bear threat were a reason to consider taking a gun, any handgun that would protect you from a bear would way a ton. Any lite weight weapon would only anoy the bear. As far as meeting potential crimminals on the trail, just use common sense and rely on your instincts when meeting strangers.

Uncle Duke

#15

I know what you’re thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, thru hiker??

Harry

#16

The thing about a gun is that if you pull it ,you need to be ready to use it and suffer the results of your actions.
I believe in owning firearms but would never bring one on the trail. When all my hunting buddies asked if I were going to pack one last year I asked “for what”? Theres no need. " If your scared, buy a dog"

Virginian

#17

After 40 years of hiking the AT and thru hiking the AT last year with out a gun or sharp stick, the next time out I will have a turret mounted 50 calibar, armor piercing machine gun attached to my external framed pack to do away with those vicious chipmunks and shelter mice.

Black bear like pepper spray!!! Check with your ranger or bear specialist. That stuff works (sometimes) only with grizzlies. I’ve hiked in the Smokeys since 1953 and have been around black bear 100’s of times. Just leave them alone and get out of their way and you will have no problem. Flame and I camped at Campsite 27 by the stream to do some trout fishing (I believe I have the number right) the year before the lady was killed. We had a bear in camp all evening and night. The next morning it was within 10 feet of our tent. We just skipped dinner and breakfast and hiked on up to Double Springs Shelter for lunch. If you are worried about security, you are at a greater risk going to the grocery than hiking the AT.

Papa Smurf

#18

GOSH! a gun would be SO much fun. Many times on my SOBO '03 hike i was thinking “Man, all i need now is my AK” or “I wonder if my MG42 will fit in my pack” If you fired a gun in the woods, the feds would wise up pretty quick. Don’t take a gun, take a competition slingshot! they’re light, cost about $15 at a sporting goods store, and are a world of fun!!! Very handy for those early morning noisy chattering red quirrels of Maine and NH.

When packing for a thru-hike, List everything that would REALLY come in handy once or twice on the trail. (Bear spray, gun, snake bite kit, butterfly bandages, compass, washcloth, WOULD come in handy once or twice) DON"T TAKE ANY OF THESE THINGS. Make a list of worthless items that would be fun to take anyway, and pick 2 of the lightest ones, hahaa! ENJOY!

Scarecrow

#19

As someone who has hiked the AT for years I would say you need a gun. I have run into some scary characters on the trail. Bring a gun. Its one of the most important things you can carry.

WARN