Boondocking safety-Are you armed?

[drmopar]

Looking for suggestions regarding Boondocking safety. With California RV camping spaces tough to get, I have been looking at secluded, boondocking areas and issues. Thanks

[kerrlakeRoo]

To a large extent you are right Don. And yes cities are the high liklihood areas, but as everything from coyotes and mules find more remote transport routes, Home cookers look for hidden production locations, and in general gangs move from the bigger cities to the smaller towns, all of those types of encounters go up. I'm already 60, so I dont need too many more years of being left alone, but as each year goes by, getting that "alone" gets tougher.

[pianotuna]

The USA has a problem with guns. I don't know the solution--but what is being done now certainly is NOT working.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/upshot/compare-these-gun-death-rates-the-us-is-in-a-different-wor...

A scatter graph of the over 45,000 incidents (so far in 2017) including over 11000 deaths.



Something to take away from the graph is that the farther you are from a high population density--the safer it appears to be. That's what boondocking is all about, yes?

[DiskDoctr]

Being prepared is wise.

We have multiple levels of wisdom, choosing the least required by the situation.

Boondocking without cell service way out in the woods...how many DAYS do you think they could "camp" with you, doing who knows what, before someone might come knock on your door and interrogate the person who answers?

Let that sink in before you announce your absolute safety...

[kerrlakeRoo]

Well said memtb. I drew once without firing, saved two young women in a parking garage, had one visable on another occasion and would be robbers bolted and ran. At work I had to carry frequently, long guns and handguns and still never had to actually pull a trigger. And on more than one occasion I was able to stop an incident by use of my voice only. But that voice doesn't work very well if the perp's know there are no teeth behind it.
Thieves look for easy targets, the liklihood of an armed confrontation is more harrowing than most want to be involved in, and its easier to go look for an easier mark. The fact that some folks carry, actually protects all in that in many cases it causes fear of capture or worse.
This isnt the case with gangs, where the "I'm the tough guy" mentality kicks in, but its fairly effective with one or two punks at a time.

[memtb]

toedtoes, The firearm is "not" always "fired" to defuse a situation. Tens of thousands of times per year a situation is defused, without a shot fired! The mere knowledge that a firearm is present, is often all that is "needed"! It is the owners responsibility to make the correct decision. But... one must be willing and capable of using "deadly force" if necessary. If you cannot, you put your life at risk, and probably just "armed" a dangerous felon. Firearm ownership for "defense" carries a great responsibility!

[azrving]

toedtoes wrote:

rjxj wrote:
They never seem to like the idea but my best recommendation for those who dont like guns is to post it on the front of their homes and RV's "No guns in here". You know, sort of like those very safe gun free zones.

You say that's your "best recommendation". Recommendation for what? What purpose does that serve other than to continue to break down civilized discussion.

Do you have a sign on your house or RV saying NO GUNS IN HERE? It's a yes or no question.

[kerrlakeRoo]

OK well as someone who has carried, Twice I have assisted others, only drew once, and did not discharge. And three times for defense at home. ( I was in the service and stationed in areas that made the neighborhood a little rough, south Miami and St Louis)

[Sam_Spade]

kerrlakeRoo wrote:

LowRyter wrote:
wow. just wow.

no forum goes unmolested from gun advocates.

Wow, just wow,,,
No forum can go without some attempting to take the rights of others.

OK, that's it.

Except for God given rights, there are no inherent "rights".

What do you think Jesus would say about your "right" to own something with no other purpose than to KILL other people ???

Government defined "rights" can be re-defined. Kind of like your "right" to own slaves.

[pnichols]

I guess some of us might have the best of both worlds: Those of you who have lethal force around you at all times provide just enough negative incentive such that the bad guys hold off a bit on bothering any of us .... because they don't know which of us may, or may not, be carrying.

P.S. Seriously though - we place our trust elsewhere in living a killing-free and lawyer-free life. 🙂

[toedtoes]

memtb wrote:

toedtoes wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:

toedtoes wrote:


No one has said you can't have a gun. Just some folks don't see the need to carry one everywhere they go.

Unfortunately if you carry but don't carry everywhere and all the time, odds are when you need it you won't have it.

And that's the crux of the conversation. Some folks believe that they will need the gun at some point. Others don't. Until there is an actual calculation of the odds that having a gun will protect you, then it's all just supposition.

It really surprises me that they've calculated the odds of winning the lottery, being struck by lightning, and so on, but they have never calculated the odds of needing a gun to protect yourself. (Actually let me rephrase that - they've never calculated the odds that having a gun would have made a positive outcome in any situation.)

Personally, I see the odds of my needing a gun to be well below 1:1000000000. Others see it more like 1:500. Guess we'll know when we die who was right.

I guess then... I've already won the lottery! Though... winning this lottery is not a pleasant experience. But....living through the experience by giving someone else the opportunity of spending a little more more time with friends and family,makes me glad that I had insurance!

Well, you're the first person I've been acquainted with who has said a gun made a positive difference to a situation. I've never been acquainted with someone who has won the lottery either. Again, it falls down to the odds and how you feel about them. In the end, it's do what you're comfortable with and respect others. I never insisted my dad to remove the guns from his house when I visited - likewise he never insisted on bringing a gun into my house. We respected each other in that. My sibling, on the other hand, insisted that her right to carry a gun overrode my right not to have a gun in my house...

[toedtoes]

rjxj wrote:
They never seem to like the idea but my best recommendation for those who dont like guns is to post it on the front of their homes and RV's "No guns in here". You know, sort of like those very safe gun free zones.

You say that's your "best recommendation". Recommendation for what? What purpose does that serve other than to continue to break down civilized discussion.

[azrving]

They never seem to like the idea but my best recommendation for those who dont like guns is to post it on the front of their homes and RV's "No guns in here". You know, sort of like those very safe gun free zones.

[memtb]

toedtoes wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:

toedtoes wrote:


No one has said you can't have a gun. Just some folks don't see the need to carry one everywhere they go.

Unfortunately if you carry but don't carry everywhere and all the time, odds are when you need it you won't have it.

And that's the crux of the conversation. Some folks believe that they will need the gun at some point. Others don't. Until there is an actual calculation of the odds that having a gun will protect you, then it's all just supposition.

It really surprises me that they've calculated the odds of winning the lottery, being struck by lightning, and so on, but they have never calculated the odds of needing a gun to protect yourself. (Actually let me rephrase that - they've never calculated the odds that having a gun would have made a positive outcome in any situation.)

Personally, I see the odds of my needing a gun to be well below 1:1000000000. Others see it more like 1:500. Guess we'll know when we die who was right.

I guess then... I've already won the lottery! Though... winning this lottery is not a pleasant experience. But....living through the experience by giving someone else the opportunity of spending a little more more time with friends and family,makes me glad that I had insurance!

[toedtoes]

beemerphile1 wrote:

toedtoes wrote:


No one has said you can't have a gun. Just some folks don't see the need to carry one everywhere they go.

Unfortunately if you carry but don't carry everywhere and all the time, odds are when you need it you won't have it.

And that's the crux of the conversation. Some folks believe that they will need the gun at some point. Others don't. Until there is an actual calculation of the odds that having a gun will protect you, then it's all just supposition.

It really surprises me that they've calculated the odds of winning the lottery, being struck by lightning, and so on, but they have never calculated the odds of needing a gun to protect yourself. (Actually let me rephrase that - they've never calculated the odds that having a gun would have made a positive outcome in any situation.)

Personally, I see the odds of my needing a gun to be well below 1:1000000000. Others see it more like 1:500. Guess we'll know when we die who was right.

[beemerphile1]

toedtoes wrote:


No one has said you can't have a gun. Just some folks don't see the need to carry one everywhere they go.

Unfortunately if you carry but don't carry everywhere and all the time, odds are when you need it you won't have it.