Tao Bums and Guns

[i am]

Hopefully I can actually get something out of this before people turn it into a pit-bound mess...

 

I'm asking as many different types of people as I can so I can hear all the perspectives.

 

Say I went on the road in a small RV for about a year. I'd mostly stick to western national forest and BLM land, and out front of friends and families houses. But I'd definitely be in a parking lot here and there, and unfortunately with meth and all that crap even the national forests in some areas aren't safe.

 

What are your opinions on packing a handgun? State-by-state law differences are something I'd deal with later. For now I'm just curious on people's opinion of the gun for protection.

 

I hunt and have a rifle and I know gun safety.

 

I don't know if I would shoot someone...but if they were coming in my camper and didn't stop after I warned them that I have a gun and they'd better go away, I would have to assume that they mean me real harm. I'm not against defending myself from a real threat.

 

Anyway, what do you think?

 

Some friends say do NOT go on the road without a gun. Others would never think of owning a gun.

 

I'm somewhere in the middle...

[joeblast]

I'm all for good trigger control.

[ralis]

Hopefully I can actually get something out of this before people turn it into a pit-bound mess...

 

I'm asking as many different types of people as I can so I can hear all the perspectives.

 

Say I went on the road in a small RV for about a year. I'd mostly stick to western national forest and BLM land, and out front of friends and families houses. But I'd definitely be in a parking lot here and there, and unfortunately with meth and all that crap even the national forests in some areas aren't safe.

 

What are your opinions on packing a handgun? State-by-state law differences are something I'd deal with later. For now I'm just curious on people's opinion of the gun for protection.

 

I hunt and have a rifle and I know gun safety.

 

I don't know if I would shoot someone...but if they were coming in my camper and didn't stop after I warned them that I have a gun and they'd better go away, I would have to assume that they mean me real harm. I'm not against defending myself from a real threat.

 

Anyway, what do you think?

 

Some friends say do NOT go on the road without a gun. Others would never think of owning a gun.

 

I'm somewhere in the middle...

 

Laws vary from state to state and it would be wise to understand that.

[i am]

As I mentioned, that only becomes an issue IF I decide to get one.

 

I'll worry about it later.

[zerostao]

"I don't know if I would shoot someone..."

I think this shows your clarity. you are right , you don't know until you are in that moment.

but you would really consider others opinions on this matter? to tote or not?

[thelerner]

Not a right or wrong kind of question. Odds are huge it wouldn't be it. I'd guess over 99% of campers/travelers do just fine without. Crazy scenario's are not necessarily made easier if you have a gun, despite popular movies.

 

Myself, no. But being a hunter you're more experienced with them. You understand they're a double edged sword, lots of sticky karma involved in there use. Sometimes in the face of the unknown, I let my intuition decide.

 

I'll play this game. Decide to bring a gun along. Spend some time imagining driving along the road with it, where you'll store it, etc., How do you feel? Then imagine not bringing it with. How does that feel? Maybe that'll give you direction.

[Flolfolil]

imo, its paranoia. paranoid people set themselves up to be in those kind of situations by projecting that kind of energy

 

don't -make- yourself a target and you wont be one

[i am]

Yeah a couple comments.

 

Agreed that others cannot decide this for me. I'm just really unsure...so I'm looking for other perspectives. I'll take everything I hear from people and weigh it, and possibly make a decision that doesn't make any sense compared to the advice I get

 

And I agree that there's the trap of "when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail"...a gun bought only for the most dire life and death situations might get pulled in any random confrontation if you have it...which is not good. And it could turn a fist fight into a deadly thing. I carry a knife at all times, because it comes in handy quite a bit. I don't think I'd pull it in a fight. If someone pushes me, and I pull a knife...I just seriously escalated the situation. I won't pull it as an empty threat...I know if I pull a knife, I just took the fight to a different level and I'd better be prepared to use it.

 

However...if someone is breaking into an RV, and they KNOW someone is in it...That's a situation where a weapon is called for. I'm either beating them over the head with a wood club if I don't have a gun, or shooting them if I do.

 

I tend to think I don't need it, or want it around. However, and this is a completely small-sample unscientific study....but it seems to me that people like me, who have never been the victim of a home invasion or car jacking, find it easy to say "you're being paranoid". Where I've rarely if ever talked with anyone who HAD been a victim, who doesn't keep a gun and is prepared to use it.

 

So...is keeping a store of fresh water and food in the case of a natural disaster paranoid?

 

Is having a gun that you may well never need to use a risk not worth taking?

 

I know fresh water and food can't (necessarily) kill someone by mistake...but you get my point.

 

I'm hesitant to travel with a handgun. But I'm comfortable enough with guns that it wouldn't be a huge deal...but I do feel that it would somehow change the feel of my travels and how I view myself negatively.

 

But I'm not the kind of person (almost, but not quite) who will say "what happens happens, and I'm not willing to hurt anyone anyways, so I'll just hope that no one messes with me...

 

Thanks so far!

[Marblehead]

Remember to squeeze.

[h.uriahr]

Aim center mass.

 

I'm very much against killing people now. I do have a wife, daughter, and a son on the way. I myself am comfortable with dying. I am however not quite sure how I would handle a criminal breaking in to my house and either beating, raping or killing any of my loved ones. I've settled on buying a 12 gauge shotgun and using non lethal rounds.

 

I've yet to purchase it but may shortly.

Edited September 30, 2013 by h.uriahr

[thelerner]

Apologies in advance for taking the thread on a tangent.

 

I don't want a gun in my house. Too much chance of shooting one of my own kids, when they come in unexpectedly at 4 am and they're dancing in the dark, wearing head phones and knocking things down.

 

On the otherhand air bb guns are getting pretty powerful these days. If things got rough around here or if I felt paranoid I'd buy a top air gun and use the heavier bb's. They can be used to hunt small game to. Things like the Crosman C11 are relatively cheap, hold 18 shots. Sticking a gun out the door and putting holes through some of your dry wall might dissuade grab and run home thief. Here's info: http://www.airgundepot.com/crosman-c11.html

 

or something crazier, like this airpistol http://www.topairgun.com/product/PY-2652-5233

 

as far as strange (& somewhat Taoist relevant sorta kinda) goes, I found this:

 

In an earlier video this guy stated 90% of the time showing a gun ends the problem. No idea if that's true. In this one he shows the puncture power of an air gun. A shot goes through denim then half a can of spam, that's hospital type injury, or lethal if you're a can of spam. You can fast forward to the third minute.

Edited September 30, 2013 by thelerner

[h.uriahr]

Penetrating a skull with a bb or bullet is still penetrating a skull. Either get a gun or not at all. Adrenaline is so amazing that it can keep a criminal coming at you while you unload all 18 of those pellets. Many times a small caliber firearm like a 38 has been unloaded into someone and yet the still advance. If you must get something get a shotgun with bean bag rounds. Aim center mass and unload. If you're scared about shooting your kids then don't get anything at all.

[i am]

Part of the issue with an RV is that most states require the gun and ammo to be locked, separately. I think maybe once I'm parked I might be able to have it handy and loaded...but possibly not. So is unless I'm breaking the law, the gun wouldn't be accessible in an emergency anyway.

 

I did consider getting snake shot...like bird shot in a shot gun but available for other caliber guns.

 

But as mentioned...are we just persuading someone to go away, or stopping a violent attack? Because the above post is exactly right. If somebody is on drugs or adrenaline or both, it takes death to stop them. They'll keep fighting till they die.

 

Well...we'll see. I don't have a gun at home for protection (unloaded long rifle in the next room doesn't do much good) so probably I won't be carrying one.

 

But it's safe and I'm not a target where I live. On the road in places where I don't necessarily know what areas to avoid, and being obviously a traveler...makes me more of a target.

 

Boy, thinking about killing someone and being attacked sure sucks..

[Marblehead]

But it's safe and I'm not a target where I live. On the road in places where I don't necessarily know what areas to avoid, and being obviously a traveler...makes me more of a target.

 

 

Back when I was going on the road a lot with my travel trailer I never carried a gun with me. I trusted my intuition to tell me if a given area was safe or not. I never had a problem. I did get checked by local law in a small town in North Carolina but he was just checking to see if I was alright.

 

Federal and state parks often have over-night parking at a reasonable cost. Some even have hook-ups.

 

There is a catalog that you can buy that lists all the campsites by state and there pricing at time of publication.

 

Happy trails!

[i am]

Yeah thanks. I don't really need hookups. No bathroom, and my electrical system is really minimal (no TV or microwave ). But safe places will be key. Almost anywhere in the western US I can find free undeveloped campsites on federal land. But once I move east...state campgrounds are going to start looking better.

 

I'm definitely continuing to lean toward no gun.

[thelerner]

Ohmmm.

yeah, that's right, Ohmmm,

YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT

Edited October 1, 2013 by thelerner

[suninmyeyes]

The idea of having a gun while camping would never even cross my mind , it is a suprising concept .

Maybe it is cultural differences ..

Just be smart and as Marbs said use your intuition .

[i am]

What's your culture?

 

"Camping" isn't exactly right, but partially. Camping in the situation I'm describing will be all over, including national forest (where there are rolling meth labs, marijuana plantations, and general crazies), BLM land (same deal), parking lots, city streets, rest stops, neighborhood streets.

 

I've been on plenty of road trips and never needed a gun for protection, which is why I'm leaning toward "no". But plenty of people do travel with guns, and they have solid reasoning for it.

 

Btw, many of my friends, and many people in the western US, ESPECIALLY bring guns when they're camping. Target practice, protection against crazies, bears, mountain lions...

 

Camping might be the third most popular place to bring guns, after war and hunting.

 

 

But I'll be "traveling", more than "camping", though I do plan to settle in to some desert and forest areas for up to a month at a time.