when boondocking do you bring a weapon ?

IMO these kind of topics tend to devolve into politics/posturing and fear mongering. People have very different views as far as risk tolerance, threat assessment and desire to defend themselves. As well as skewed perceptions of firearms in general due to the media. None of these can be changed via argument, they have to be changed vie long term experience and training. This is why I believe it's entirely pointless to argue about.

Personally I carry whatever tools I deem necessary to protect myself and my family.

Here in the desert there are tons of relatively unknown ghost towns, we like to explore them. When you get there you often find signs of meth cooking, vandalism, drug paraphernalia, etc. When you choose to explore areas like this you cannot assess the threats very well until you are on the scene and can get an idea of how active the site is and even then you may have no idea.

There are also a lot of characters defending claims (legal or otherwise), if they aren't posted or you do not know what you're looking for you may be wandering around on someones claim. Most of the time this isn't an issue, the odds of the claimer being on site are minimal however there are valuable deposits in some areas and these folks tend to camp/work them in the summer.

For both of those fairly unlikely threats, I carry a revolver. I have been well trained and am confident I can use that to defend us from immediate threats, lightweight and hardly know it's there. Same thing I carry every day.

Our biggest non-human threats here are rattlesnakes and mountain lions. Both of those are pretty easy to avoid, and not nearly as common as the 2 legged nutjob.

That's my opinion on the subject.

I generally carry one as long as I'm legal. I've never had to use it while camping, although there have been a couple times when I was glad I had it with me.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
When you boondock, you have no more right to be there than anyone else. You don't have a defined area that is "yours".

Actually in most States a RV is an extension of your home so what ever rights you have to protect your home also apply to your RV. Its best to know the state laws that you are in. Case in point in Utah we can not use deadly force to protect property but in some States you can. Although in Utah if someone is standing outside your window with say a screw driver and they appear to be trying to break into your home then deadly force is justified, other states require one lets the bad guy get a little further along before they can be taken care of.

You have a right to carry a shotgun if you choose to. I support your right.

That said, carrying one because you are afraid some crazy will seek you out in the woods is just silly. Yeah, it could happen but such a small threat...unless you are boon docking on the side of the street in gangland, it's just not a concern worthy of fear.

Now if you are in bear country and want it for protection, I might take a different view.

Not that anybody wants to, but if we return to the original theme of the thread there is another issue with weapons and boondocking. When you boondock, you have no more right to be there than anyone else. You don't have a defined area that is "yours". If you actually get into a confrontation and shoot someone that is going to be a legal tidbit that is going to cause you a whole lot of grief.
I no longer feel comfortable traveling the back country of Montana's great national parks. The law has been changed and now people are allowed to carry firearms in those parks. My concern is someone who has never been in the back country is going to hear a sound, automatically assume it is a grizzly and begin to fire randomly into the bushes. If that sound came from me and my horse walking a trail, that is a problem.
A weapon in a situation where you are unfamiliar and uncomfortable doesn't suddenly make you familiar and comfortable. It just adds fuel to a potential fire.

Deleted all off-topic and related posts pertaining to the deletions.

Let's keep the conversation to the original topic, please.

Thank you for your cooperation.

'Nuff said.

skiles wrote:
I believe everyone has the inherent right to self defense. How each individual goes about that is also their right. Be mindful of and obey local laws. If bear/wasp spray makes you feel safe then have at it.

Bear/Wasp spray to me would be like bringing a knife to a gun fight...I don't want to make the intruder mad or have them come back...want them to know they picked on the wrong senior citizen, that not all of us are that easy to abuse, rob or kill.......if that's ok...

I carry a 12g shotgun loaded with #6 bird shot. At close range, it will do as good a job as a slug. Any pellets that miss won't have much energy left if they manage to pierce the RV sides.

NYCgrrl wrote:
Mad bad dog and guns and you still don't feel safe?
Syracuse must have some serious problems.

I don't travel with manufactured weaponry and I feel fine.
No problems with Canadians either.

Humm not sure how to respond to such a ,,,,,weird answer,,,first off I feel very safe where I live, but people with RV's usually camp outside of their own neighborhoods and states,,,,read the posts you will see people travel, that's why hey buy RV's that they can drive....smh

I also like being prepared when boondocking into areas that I don't know too well,,,no problem being prepared,,,,I don't plan on having a fire either but I still keep a fire extinguisher ....

Glad you have no problems with Canadians either, great for you,,,,I do not either,,,only the ones that throw stones at Americans and do not understand our lifestyle !