Trail Security

[Jaron Williams]

I am wondering, what percentage of us carry weapons out on the trail for security reasons? Has anyone experienced or heard of any negative incidents happening? I assume for the most part Overlanding individuals, the conservation minded, scenic route takers that we are. Are wonderful people!

 

[472HemiGTX]

Many of our trips consist of being away from camp once we have it set up. Sometimes for extended periods to hike, hunt or fly fish. First order of security is cables and locks, hitch lock for the adventure trailer and Master locks on everything. Personal security consists of a 45 ACP XD that I carry and a Benelli tactical 12 gauge, sometimes my AR. Having dogs, my bigger concern is coyotes, cougars and now wolves. The Benelli has only seen use on some grouse and the XD on a couple rattlesnakes. As far as human confrontations, in all my years of being in the woods, never to the extent of needing a firearm. Usually, being proactive with a questionable or obnoxious neighbor will put a damper on the situation. The vast majority of people that we encounter just want to enjoy being out like us. IMO the best security is to always be prepared and aware of your surroundings and who or what may be close by, both for your safety and theirs.

 

[M Rose]

I’m with @472HemiGTX , Lock everything, and carry what you train with. Most people on the trail are there to enjoy it like us.

I carry a small arsenal with me because my family likes to shoot.

One trip I had a spooky experience. I always disperse camp at the end of untraveled FS roads. This spot was no different, except there was a nice turn around about 100 yards before our camp, and no place to easily turn around at our camp site. I had a tent set up back in the wood line, with my ATV trailer parked close by. I had my truck parked facing my tent next to the camp fire with the tailgate pointing towards the road we came in on.
After dark, I threw a couple of good sized logs onto the fire so I would have coals for coffee when we woke up. I woke a couple hours later and my spidey senses we’re going nuts. The logs were about 3/4 of the way burnt down and mostly smoldering with a couple flames licking the rocks from time to time.
Then I heard it.
The distinguishable sound of a rig bouncing down the road.
Our camp was only 1/4 mile from the main FS road, so at first I thought the rig was on it. But then I realized the engine sound was making a corner, and then I saw the headlights. The rig stopped about 200 yards from the turn out and they shut off the engine. Then they spotlighted our camp. I heard the doors open and people talking in the distance. So I grabbed my revolver and held it close as I watched the people at the rig.
After about 10 minutes they finally got back in the rig and started the engine and started down the trail towards our camp. They past the turn out and kept coming towards my camp. I had sliding side windows in my topper, so I opened the side furthest from them and crawled out of my truck to my tent where I grabbed my .22 pump action rifle. Then I crawled a crossed the road and sat on the edge of the tree line and waited.
A few minutes passed and they finally came. The rig was a dark colored Jeep XJ with some kind of roof rack on it. They pulled up into the middle of camp and the passenger got out of the XJ. I heard the passenger say something to the driver that wasn’t exactly friendly towards us. So, I stood up holding the rifle low.

”What’s up guys? Are you lost? Can I give you a hand?“ I asked the guy who got out of the XJ.
”There is only one, we can get him” I hear from inside the XJ.
”He has a rifle!” whispered the guy outside the Jeep.
I raised my rifle up so all could see it.
Just then I hear the distinct sound of my revolver cocking from inside the back of my truck.
”That would be my wife with my .357, you guys are a silhouette from the fire for her, and at this range she won’t miss. So boys, better start talking, or kick rocks out of here.” I stated.
The guy out of the rig jumped back in and they got out of camp pretty quick. They drove very fast down the trail back to the turnout where they stopped. Shutoff the lights and got out of the rig. All 5 of them. They started walking back towards camp at a quick pace.
I placed a shot just in front of their feet and told them and told them it was best if they got back in their car and leave.
that time they left.

Another time I was at a campground with my ATVS and a camp trailer. I was the only one there when a truck with a stock trailer (no animals in it though) pulled up kind of late. A guy walked up to me with a case of beer and started talking to me. He drank the whole case as we enjoyed my camp fire. He seamed awfully interested in my ATVS and my camp. Finally I made it clear it was time for me to head to bed. I let my shirt ride up to reveal my .45 as I entered my trailer.
he was gone by morning.

 

[PNW EXPLR]

We live in violent times.

As we get into the woods to escape the stresses of the daily work grind, others escape to the same woods to get away from bad decisions they have made.
Plan for the worse, hope for the best! It's not gunna get any better.......

 

[Road]

I am wondering, what percentage of us carry weapons out on the trail for security reasons? Has anyone experienced or heard of any negative incidents happening? I assume for the most part Overlanding individuals, the conservation minded, scenic route takers that we are. Are wonderful people!

.

I travel the North American continent widely and regularly, going backcountry for weeks and months at a time and don't carry any weapons that need ammunition. My knife collection, though, is something else.

Too many state and national borders to cross, too many border checkpoints, and too many places that don't allow that kind of weapon. A lot of this is habit from decades of traveling when national parks did not allow guns, rifles, or shotguns.

In my experience--somewhere over 600 nights out in the last two years and many more in the decades previous--weapons are needed for security far more in urban areas than on the trail.

.

Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

 

[ScottEtkin]

I have never had an issue in the back country, however I always carry. I have a Ruger Redhawk Alaskan in .454 Casull which will deal with most anything. I also have a FNS 9C 9mm for concealed carry.

 

[mep1811]

I always concealed carry as do my traveling companions. When out in the wilderness, I'll switch to open carry just as so anyone looking at us can see we are not defenseless. victims.

I also carry a SCAR and 870 in the truck easy to get to. Below is a link to a good article to the dangers in the Colorado outdoors.

Danger in the forest

 

[Bama_Kiwi]

Nah. I mean, I have a fixed blade camp knife but, to me that's more of a tool than a weapon.

When I lived in the States I owned several firearms and concealed-carried a Ruger LC9, but now that I live in a country where the vast majority of the populace is not armed, the culture surrounding firearm ownership is vastly different to that of the US, and there are no large mammalian predators, I no longer feel preempted to own and carry a firearm.

I miss them in terms of the hobby. I really enjoy shooting, but in terms of owning and carrying for protection, I no longer feel the need.

As for theft, people are going to steal what they want to steal; locked, bolted down, whatever. It's just time and effort. I will lock my car doors and try to keep valuables out of sight and secured, but otherwise, I keep my insurance policies up-to-date, maintain an inventory with photos and serial numbers, and hope for the best.

 

[PNW EXPLR]

.

I travel the North American continent widely and regularly, going backcountry for weeks and months at a time and don't carry any weapons that need ammunition. My knife collection, though, is something else.

Too many state and national borders to cross, too many border checkpoints, and too many places that don't allow that kind of weapon. A lot of this is habit from decades of traveling when national parks did not allow guns, rifles, or shotguns.

In my experience--somewhere over 600 nights out in the last two years and many more in the decades previous--weapons are needed for security far more in urban areas than on the trail.

.

Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

My wife is not comfortable around firearms.So I decided to not take a firearm on this trip.
So a couple years ago, for our anniversary we decided to go backpacking to a lake that was about 5 miles outside of a small mountain town in the Cascades. We found an awesome spot at the back of the lake on the sandy inlet, completly exposed! It was november and we were the only ones there.
Well in the middle of the night we were startled awake by gunfire, really loud gunfire echoing across the lake. Then we heard yelling and someone screaming, "I'm going to Fu#^$%g kill you". This was repeated several times. As the voices moved closer to the back of the lake where we were camped I really started to worry. I exited the tent and gout a count of headlamps and their positions. I walked about 40 yards from the tent to the edge of the water, putting distance between myself and my wife who was in the tent. I decided to give away my presence by turning on my flashlight and sweeping on the ground and in the opposite direction of the badguys. My intent was to say "hey there is someone here so don't shoot this way" but not to target them with light which could escalate the situation.
I did this several times, and they went quite and seemed to setup camp and build a fire about 400 yards away.
I didnt sleep the rest of the night.
The next day I decided to make contact playing dumb. I had hiked my canoe in so I approached their camp from the water. I asked if they had heard all of the shooting. They said it was them and apologized for their drunken behaviour.
I commented that I thought maybe there was a bear or something in a camp. I told them I didnt want to get caught off guard by a bear, so I loaded my AR15 just incase.
Later that day we went for a paddle, when we returned someone had entered our tent. Nothing was missing but our space was still violated.

I have since told my wife that I will never go unarmed again. in fact i now have redundancies.

I guess the point is you just never know. Random things happen in random places at unexpected times. So be as prepared as you are comfortable with and never think "it wont happen here"!
Pics from that trip

 

[grubworm]

I've done some very remote backpacking and camping and never had any problems. The only incident I ever had was at a rest area. I just turned 18 in Navy boot camp in San Diego (1985) and got orders to Groton, CT. I was driving from San Diego to Groton and was sleeping in my car along the way. I stopped at a rest area in Tennessee to go to the bathroom and splash some water on my face. As I got back to my car, there was an old van parked next to me and three guys who got between me and the car and was asking for money and then the asking went to telling me to give them money. I had my Navy seabag in the back seat along with a giant Rambo type knife next to it. I was a little rattled, but just looked at them calmly and laughed saying I was military and therefore broke. One guy saw the seabag and knife and asked if I was Army. I took that and ran with it and told them I just got out of Ranger school. They got in their van and took off. I lucked out, but it served as a reminder that there are bad folk out there and I'm not going to expect a bluff to work again, so yeah, I will carry when I'm in places where I can get jammed up. Plus I travel with my wife...my duty is to protect her and I take that seriously. 44 mag in the truck and a concealed 9 on me.

 

[Munga Brown]

Thanks for this thread. I had asked about camp security in on of the "Bootcamp" threads, but got crickets. This is giving me some good information. Again, thanks!

 

[M Rose]

Thanks for this thread. I had asked about camp security in on of the "Bootcamp" threads, but got crickets. This is giving me some good information. Again, thanks!

I think it was because you asked in a place that doesn’t get much attention for new replies. Boot camp is more of an article base than a reactive part of the forum.

 

[Munga Brown]

Danger in the forest

I live in a beautiful area of coastline, no public assistance "services" nearby (so to speak), and encounter a small bit of what was described in the above article.

I'll be exploring quasi remote FS roads & lo & behold, there's some derelict camping trailer someone has hauled 15 miles off the highway (101) and parked it where it broke, and they're living in it.

They can hear me coming up the dirt road, me not knowing they're there, step out in front of my rig stopping me in my tracks & "ask" for money. So far, I've been successful in BSing them & I go on my way. But I can tell from the looks on faces, and the number of individuals, and the overall "condition" of their camp that they're sketchy. Maybe they're simply homeless. More than likely, they're manufacturing "meth" (or sh!t they call meth).

And they're out in the middle of "nowhere".

It's gotten to the point that I don't want to park at a trailhead & hike anymore. At too many trailheads, you pull up and sure as sh!t, there's a pile of broken vehicle glass on the ground.

Sad.

 

[Munga Brown]

I think it was because you asked in a place that doesn’t get much attention for new replies. Boot camp is more of an article base than a reactive part of the forum.

Ah. Gotcha! Thanks for the insight!!

 

[M Rose]

I live in a beautiful area of coastline, no public assistance "services" nearby (so to speak), and encounter a small bit of what was described in the above article.

I'll be exploring quasi remote FS roads & lo & behold, there's some derelict camping trailer someone has hauled 15 miles off the highway (101) and parked it where it broke, and they're living in it.

They can hear me coming up the dirt road, me not knowing they're there, step out in front of my rig stopping me in my tracks & "ask" for money. So far, I've been successful in BSing them & I go on my way. But I can tell from the looks on faces, and the number of individuals, and the overall "condition" of their camp that they're sketchy. Maybe they're simply homeless. More than likely, they're manufacturing "meth" (or sh!t they call meth).

And they're out in the middle of "nowhere".

It's gotten to the point that I don't want to park at a trailhead & hike anymore. At too many trailheads, you pull up and sure as sh!t, there's a pile of broken vehicle glass on the ground.

Sad.

Happening more and more out here. I usually tend to find a secluded place to park away from the main trailhead and walk in. But even then i feel concerned with leaving my rig.

 

[Munga Brown]

I've heard of folks using trail cams & even "Ring" doorbell cams that communicate with cell phones to monitor their vehicles. But just because they've been captured on video, doesn't mean they'll be identified. And cell phone service where I live is spotty.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I always concealed carry as do my traveling companions. When out in the wilderness, I'll switch to open carry just as so anyone looking at us can see we are not defenseless. victims.

I also carry a SCAR and 870 in the truck easy to get to. Below is a link to a good article to the dangers in the Colorado outdoors.

Danger in the forest

Thank you for the article. I hope @BillyBob and @WAYAWAY read this.

 

[WAYAWAY]

Thank you for the article. I hope @BillyBob and @WAYAWAY read this.

I appreciate your concern for my safety Jim... but an article is not going to change my deep personal beliefs. Please don't tag me in posts like that.

 

[Bama_Kiwi]

It's gotten to the point that I don't want to park at a trailhead & hike anymore. At too many trailheads, you pull up and sure as sh!t, there's a pile of broken vehicle glass on the ground.

Sad.

I used to work with a guy that was an avid hiker. He once returned to the trailhead to find his truck ransacked. Apparently, upon not finding anything of value inside the truck, the perpetrator attempted to steak the truck itself by hot wiring the ignition. When this proved unsuccessful, they cut the fuel lines in spite. Worked out to something like $3K in damage. Fortunately, insurance covered him, but it still proved to be a logistical hassle what with getting a tow truck to the remote trail head and dealing with the repairs, etc.

Meth heads gonna meth head.

 

[Jaron Williams]

Many of our trips consist of being away camp once we have it set up. Sometimes for extended periods to hike, hunt or fly fish. First order of security is cables and locks, hitch lock for the adventure trailer and Master locks on everything. Personal security consists of a 45 ACP XD that I carry and a Benelli tactical 12 gauge, sometimes my AR. Having dogs, my bigger concern is coyotes, cougars and now wolves. The Benelli has only seen use on some grouse and the XD on a couple rattlesnakes. As far as human confrontations, in all my years of being in the woods, never to the extent of needing a firearm. Usually, being proactive with a questionable or obnoxious neighbor will put a damper on the situation. The vast majority of people that we encounter just want to enjoy being out like us. IMO the best security is to always be prepared and aware of your surroundings and who or what may be close by, both for your safety and theirs.

GTX...That really sounds like some practical and informative info! I carry a M&P 40 must of the time when out fishing at a pond in the woods or on the beach fishing. But in those many years, I have not had to remotely even come close to taking it out. I see that Overlanders may be a similar breed of calm, like minded Americans.