How safe are you when boondocking

[exhaustipated]

My wife and I have never boondocked before, nor have we ever spent the night in a Walmart parking lot. We have always stayed in campgrounds or RV parks where we know we will be safe. We our considering taking a cross country trip next year and was wondering just how safe it is to boondock in case we stumble onto a remote area that we would like to spend some time at. Do you folks out there carry a handgun with you when you boondock for protection and security reasons if and when you feel threatened? I would like some feedback on this before we head out.

[pa_traveler]

I keep a pump 870 shotgun in camper,doubt it will ever be needed but its there just incase.Did you ever watch Americas Most wanted or Unsolved mysteries lots of crazies out there,just because you havnt run into them doesn't mean there not out there. I would rather have it and not use it,than regret not being able to protect family if a violent crime came in the middle of the night.

[mustangglp]

Good thing I keep most of my guns locked in safe in 51 year's of living around gun I you would think one them would have killed me in my sleep by now.
Contrary to what sleepy thinks some citizens are quite handy with a firearm!Google uspsa

[Bedlam]

In the last ten years I have stumbled on a number of meth labs and stolen/stripped vehicles on public lands. They thought they were far off the beaten path only to have me come through the area. I have not had a confrontation but you can bet I have not returned to these areas even after reporting the activity. As others have posted, the story of what happens in remote areas may only be told by the surviving party.

[jefe_4x4]

Even after reading all these riveting opinions, I'm still not scared. I guess I should be, no?
We have a home only, Ex-CHP, short barrel, Remington 870 pump 12 Ga. shotgun, that I bought after the 2nd L.A. riots in my lifetime (The Rodney King riots) when after 45 years I finally came to the conclusion that the L.A. P.D. were NOT going to be there and protect me from rioters. Prior to that, we had younger children and I was not going to have a weapon at home at all. The kids were now gone, we live in a rural place and we stocked up with lots of "00" buckshot. Yes, the "Kah-Klink" you get when loading a round I thought was the biggest deterrent. That being said, we carry no weapons on board the TC. Besides, our TC is so small that even a short barrel is not short enough. 8<)
It has all been covered above and for us boils down to:
1. If you smell ANY danger or exposure to bad, move on to another location.
2. Know where to stay away from. Like Sleepy, you CAN develop this sense.
3. Don't look like you are camping out if you must dry camp within a city. When we stealth camp, it's a quick move on our part to take what we need from the cab and vamoose to the TC. Shades are drawn. No signs of human habitation. We're only there to sleep and move on.
Many times, stealth camping in plain sight works for us. Under a street light. In the middle of a well lit parking lot.
I have always felt safe boondocking as we follow the advice above and are usually alone and far, far from any place any bad guy would even think to hangout. I think the best attitude can be summed up as deception, evasion, and seclusion.
regards, as always, jefe

[elkhornsun]

The odds are greater of being struck by lightening than of having someone break into an RV in the middle of the night. Thieves (except for the bankers) are opportunists and most crime is in the poor parts of cities where the thieves live along with their victims.

A handgun is a great way to get yourself shot. In two-thirds of gun incidents where there is an intruder the intruder uses the homeowner's handgun to kill them - at least according to the FBI statistics.

I would not consider any public parking lot at a place like a Wal-Mart safe for overnight stays. If we cannot stay at a state rest stop or a truck stop or a campground and we are near a city we stay at an inexpensive motel.

99% of the time we find places to stay but I do route planning and locate in advance private RV parks, county RV parks, BLM and USFS campgrounds, etc. so every 200-300 miles we have a place to stay and if we make a detour I know in advance where we can stay for the night. It may not be the most scenic spot in the area but there is almost always a place to stay and when there is not we either do the motel option or driv a few more miles.

For example we often pass through the Barstow area but stay in Tehachapi, either stopping short or driving the extra miles when coming from the east. There are two RV parks in Tehachapi, one run by Tea Party rednecks and another by the glider airport. The people that run the one by the glider airport are very nice and keep the facilities very clean and that is where we always stay when traveling along this route.

[sleepy]

in the past few days we had a 25 year old male shooting out of a mobile home window (Knoxville, Tennessee)

Many policeman responded:

The police shot a total of 42 times.

They hit the guy 8 times (including a leg, a hand, etc

finally after 42 shots and 8 hits they got a leathal hit

and one of the 42 police shots richeted and hit a sheriffs deputy... cutting a major artery in his leg... requiring heroic measures to get him to a hospital and major surgery.

Remember... the police are trained... have to qualify with fire arms often...

Are you sure that you can do better... they got 19% hits, only one leathel... and they injured one of their own.

==================

When you get buck fever I'd bet that you won't do any better that 1 out of 5 hits with a shotgun... and maybe not that much with a tauras judge 410 Ga shot shell in a revolver.

==================

If you don't understand the concept of "buck fever" sell your guns and for goodness sakes stay home.

You and/or your family members are going to die... at the thugs hands... or worse... maybe by your hand.


Sleepy

[rfryer]

I think nstate’s post was excellent in many respects, perhaps because it reflects my own experience to a degree although I’ve never been in LE. But my predilection to wander into unknown territory and the nature of my job and camping for 50 years has exposed me to a wide range of situations and people. And I think I developed a very good sense for “reading” those people and nstate is right, what you see is not necessarily what you get.

When I was 17 a couple of friends and I would drive far back into the hills of W VA and KY and just wander. Many years later I saw the movie “Deliverance” and thought, wow, we ran across people like that more than once. Were we lucky, or was it the fact we were armed to the teeth the reason we never had a problem doing that? One can draw their own conclusions, I’ve drawn mine.

I’ve had firearms since I was 15 and have spent 10 years teaching forearms safety to kids and adults. But I’m not in favor of a novice “carrying”. If they are, I don’t want them behind me.:) I had 4 sons and every one of them went through safety training at least three times, along with their close friends who were often at the house. I consider one class familiarization, but I want it imprinted on them, thus the multiple classes.

I’ve never had to draw a firearm in 50 years of camping, but there have been a couple of times when the warning bells were deafening and I was glad I had one. At home in the city it’s a far different story, I’ve had a burglar at gunpoint in my home and have on a few occasions waited patiently while someone tried to get in. And my DW sat at the kitchen table with my shotgun while two drunks did their best to kick the door down. Fortunately they couldn’t get in because they were very unlikely to have survived a shotgun blast at that range.

So while I don’t care if someone doesn’t want to carry, I do care if someone presumes to dictate whether I should or not. I write pianotuna’s statistic off as just another bogus “study” by a certain political spectrum and they’re rather notorious for them. The last one I saw regarded child deaths from firearms and it was sobering. Until you dug into the “study” and found “child” included people in their 20’s who were shot in drug wars and gang fights. Not what I consider children, but a phony study to influence the uninformed.

The fact is the more remote you are the safer you are. Cities and near cities are where most of the dirt bags congregate and that’s where you have the greatest risk of a bad experience. And that includes parking lots of various types unless they have security. As has been said many times, common sense on where you stop is most important. If your gut tells you something doesn’t seem right, move on to another location. And comments about not flaunting your cash or belonging is also good advice.

I wouldn’t worry about your safety boondocking at all. If carrying something puts your mind at ease, do it. I know some people who carry bats, knives and spray. The two former I consider useless because a bat is too unwieldy in an enclosed space. And both are useless if you confront multiple opponents which I think is the most likely scenario. But if you choose a gun consider that entails a LOT of responsibility, too. And knowledge of the many laws that apply to them depending where you go. So you need to shoot a lot and take periodic classes. Self defense has to be a conditioned response based on good training; it’s not an intellectual exercise.

[noxinnhoj]

I feel totally safe while boondocking around my province,except the odd time when there is a bear or cougar(no disrespect to my dw intended)around...

[Rettrooper]

Wow, a lot of opinions here, both pro and con on, "feeling safe while boondocking."

To the OP, your going to feel the safest using your head as to where and when you choose to boondock, or whether you try it or not. LIFE is about taking risks, some are reasonable and some are unreasonable. We boondock all the time and enjoy it!

Whether you choose to carry a firearm, or a baseball bat they all come with responsibilities of ownership in how and if you choose to use it. Yes, it is a personal choice to carry a firearm (and a right here in the USA)as well as a huge responsibility. If you are going to do it, please get proper training, qualify with it, practice safe handling and storing and be a responsible, legal owner.

As a side note, I am a retired homicide detective with over 26 yrs experience. I choose not to ever become a victim. You can decide if I carry or not.

It's your choice...

[Sheriffdoug]

CHECKOUT YOUR LOCAL YACHT CLUB, become a social member, gets you access to other clubs.


I feel very lucky here in Australia, most people do not have guns.

We have camped hundreds of nights in the wild, no humans, no bears, just
Kangaroos

But in the city, like anywhere else, walk around check your surroundings, if you are not happy, move on find somewhere else.

However, being a member of my local Yacht Club, when travelling around other coastal cities & towns, I stay at the local Yacht Club, most have secured gates and toilet/showers open
24/7, and are very happy to have you. Most, even have a Bar & Restaurant, as well.

[jspringator]

I bring my 55 pound Springer Spaniel. Before bed, I walk him so everyone can see I have him. He keeps a close watch on things. I've no doubt he would go for the throat of any intruder. He would start barking if anyone got close. He doesn't like it when someone walks on the sidewalk in front of the house at night. Most people wouldn't knowingly hit a trailer with a pretty good sized loud dog.

[Ski_Pro_3]

I have a pistol, shotgun, rifle, bear spray, motion detector lights, a mounted video camera and a dog. If anyone approached my camper with intent to do foul play. I will kill them.
I'd rather have a trial than a funeral for me or my family. Besides, in a true boon dock environment, I doubt anyone would ever know what happened if there was a need to use a gun. I sure as heck wouldn't go running to the cops.

[bcbigfoot]

My brother has a trucking company with 60 trucks, 70% of those trucks take goods south into the western US and spend a average of 4 nights a week there, and have done so for the past 15 years. All of these nights are spent in Walmarts, truck stops, Lowes, Home Depots so on. This all works out to 131040 nights with no incidents of violence.

Now if we were talking about violence in the daytime and on the highway that's a different story. Average Joe becoming unglued in a road rage incidence pulling a gun has happened several times.

I have personally spent over 300 nights in my TC at these locations with 0 incidences. I do carry bear spray in various locations around the TC.

[SkiingSixPack]

pianotuna wrote:
30,000 gun deaths. Over 2/3 self inflicted. If you carry you are part of the problem. -end-

What an absolute crock of horse pucky!

So, if I drive responsibly and have never had an accident becaus of texting,, am I part of the driving and texting problem?

If I drink responsibly and never drive after having even one drink, am I part of the drunk driving problem?

If I am a doctor that never commits Medicaid fraud, am I part of the fraud problem?

Your logic is seriously flawed.

Carry a shotgun and never rack to make a sound unless you load the chamber while racking... The sound alone MAY deter, but the blast will be sure to deter the perp's accomplice.

[SkiMore]

I think I'm going to buy an old Brinks truck and turn it into an RV. I'll be able to sleep well nobody is getting in and I'm safe from all the guns in the RV parks. Seriously, How well trained is the average gun carrier? You read way too many stories about people shooting themselves, friends or family members. Often it was with an "unloaded gun".

If cops have problems shooting(hitting)criminals what makes you think you are trained well enough to hit the bad guy?