Hiker-Hunters - Appalachian Trail

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#1

I’m thinking of combining hiking and hunting on a thru-hike. I’ve been a hiker since I was no taller than a bar stool, often going with my dad to hunt deer and small game. That led me into hiking and then backpacking.

I’d like to bring a pistol suitable for small game and maybe deer. I think it’s a natural extension of the wandering lifestyle of the hiker, to gather and prepare his food on occasion too. I’m pretty good at cleaning game and I’m sure others in the shelter would find roast rabbit and venison a real treat. What do you think?

Storm Peak

#2

Whack em and stack em! Kill em and grill em!:cheers

wolf

#3

i’ll drink to that.

bob

#4

oh yeah. on my hike I often poached deer out of season then hauled the whole darn thing up a mountain to the shelter. got awful full tryin to eat a whole deer for dinner, but it sure was great.
yep, and nothing beat seeing the faces of all the impressed hikers as I came up to the shelter with the pistol around my waist. what a good time that hike was. sure made a lot of friends.

0101

#5

Bad idea. Nothing more to say.

-xtn

airferret

#6

I use snares, and tiger pits. I once caught a South bounder
he was to tough and there was very little meat on him.

CAPTAIN CAVEMAN!

#7

Let me just say that safe and responsible hunting does not bother me, I went out just last month for a deer. However, I will say that guns on the trail, and in the shelters does bother me. If I was planning on staying in a shelter and a guy with a gun came in, I would leave. Doesn’t matter if you are the friendliest guy in the world, I wouldn’t want to be around a bunch of strangers in that situation. This concern is coming from a guy that goes hunting, and owns guns. How do you think the people on the trail that object to killing shelter would react? I’m not at all trying to tell you how to live or hike, I just think you would get a cold reception, perhaps unfair, but let’s face it, we live in a crazy society and guns kill people. Does anyone really want to be out in the woods alone with a guy that’s packing a handgun??? I for one don’t.

I will take some of that venison if you’ve got any extra.
:slight_smile:

matt

#8

Weeell Storm Peak, I guess you might think you could do that and it would probably be o/k…however, you would be probably breaking all kinds of laws just carrying the pistol along. You would also be breaking all kinds of game laws too. I certainly have no problem with you being an active hunter wherever your home is and wanting to combine it all but a thru hike isnt the place for it[ if you are serious] you’ll be busy enough just taking care of yourself & the hike. Forget that idea and focus on your hike. Take a nice hunting trip AFTER your thru hike. GOOD LUCK.

The Desperado

#9

I meant killing shelter mice, not killing shelter.

matt

#10

Matt –

You say you’re a hunter and by that I assume you go out into the woods with a gun. Then you say –

“If I was planning on staying in a shelter and a guy with a gun came in, I would leave. Doesn’t matter if you are the friendliest guy in the world, I wouldn’t want to be around a bunch of strangers in that situation.”

So what happens when you go back to camp on your hunting trips. Unless you hunt alone, do you friends/family/other hunters freak out when you return to camp with your game and gun?

“How do you think the people on the trail that object to killing shelter mice would react?”

People who object to killing mice are weird. Period.

“I’m not at all trying to tell you how to live or hike, I just think you would get a cold reception, perhaps unfair, but let’s face it, we live in a crazy society and guns kill people. Does anyone really want to be out in the woods alone with a guy that’s packing a handgun??? I for one don’t.”

Then it sounds like you can’t stand to be around yourself when you go hunting. What the hell’s the matter with you?

Storm Peak

#11

I’m also a hunter and a thru hiker.

While in theory the hunting-hiking idea sounds good it would be tough to make it work from a practical standpoint. Guns and ammo weigh a lot to carry around for hundreds of miles.

I would see it tough to make much forward progress if you spend much time hunting, unless you keep your piece handy and just blaze along at anything you see while walking - if so what’s the point?

Game/firearms laws in the different states would be tough to keep track of.

Justified or not, a lot of your fellow hikers are going to be creeped out by firearms/killing.

Jimbo

#12

Dang, these critters are gittin’ smarter and smarter…

Troll-Hunter

#13

for folks who don’t know, you will walk up on hunters along the AT alone and they will have guns. Hunters use the trail all the time. You see bow hunters, as well as 30-06’s galore at times. You’ll hear distant as well as close fire.

Now, if you don’t want to be alone on a trail where you will see some guy in camo with a rifle, stay home. Besides, yer skerring his bar.

burn

#14

Please bear in mind that hunting hikers is banned 200 yards arround shelters. To shoot them from the porch would be deeply unfair. Hikers over 60 are entitled for a headstart (at lest 300 yards) and must not be hunted in off season (Feb 02 - Feb 17, between 3pm and dawn).
Good hunting :pimp

Rudolph Reindeer

#15

‘A pistol suitable for small game and maybe deer’: Last time I checked, the smallest pistol you could legally hunt a deer with is a .45 or a .357. Now, you want to talk WEIGHT?? I concur, a thru-hike is not the place to try and bag game to keep you going. Not to say you couldn’t supplement your diet that way, but taking the time to stalk, plug, skin & clean seriously cuts into your daylight hiking time. I like a good roast, I just don’t think the AT is the place to try & get it…

J.F.

#16

Storm Peak I think you’re misquoting Matt. It seemed to me that he was referring to spend a night in a shelter with someone he didn’t know vs. family/friends/other hunters he knew. You could always get really good with a wrist-rocket and take out squirrels and rabbits that way. One, there wouldn’t be any problems with fire arm laws and you wouldn’t have a ton of food left over. I got pretty hungry on the trail, but never enough to eat a whole deer. Besides in the Smokies and Shennies you could probably take out the deer by hand they are so tame. Not much sport there.

Nokia

#17

While not legal in all states, I’ll often bait with small piles of beer.Once the hunters become accustomed to coming to the beer,I pick out the best one.I ashamedly admit to wasting the meat, but the heads look great in my den!!

Onlyone

#18

I once thought that it would be cool to hunt and fish the trail but I did some reading and thinking about it and realized that it would be very difficult. The amount of time needed to hunt or fish is alot not to mention that the last thing that you want to do at dinner time is gut an anaimal. I also think about the libs wincing at me throwing rocks at shelter mice. If you do it be prepared to be a loner the entire trip. Instead you should hike beer to the shelters from town it will be received better.:cheers

keytone

#19

So I should leave my hunting pistol at home to avoid ruffling the delicate sensitivities of chardonnay sipping liberals who might get offended by my gun?

Storm Peak

#20

Dear Storm Peak:

No. The real reason you should leave your gun at home is because to do anything else would be completely idiotic.

Sincerely–Conan.

Conan