Hiking with a rifle?

nickortizzle1035

nickortizzle1035

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Dec 30, 2009
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i have been noticing a lot of pics of people who go hiking with rifles. is their a reason to go out with a long gun? i hike with a sidearm for protection from wild beasts, but i was just wondering if there was a reason to hike with a rifle. has anyone ever had an issue with law enforcement or fellow hikers over the carrying of a long gun. i live in MA and a majority of people around here are not very gun friendly...
 
Long arms are much better at putting down large animals than sidearms. I generally don't carry a long arm in the woods unless I'm going there specifically to shoot.
 
Depends on what I'm doing....If squirrel season is in thne I might carry my 10/22 or my Gamo Whisper .177 AirRifle. But I always have a sidearm with me when I'm in the woods .
 
Chris Pierce said:
Long arms are much better at putting down large animals than sidearms. I generally don't carry a long arm in the woods unless I'm going there specifically to shoot.
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Same here unless hunting or shooting, I hike with a handgun. Of course I live in Georgia, Alaska or Afghanistan a different story.
 
I have to carry a gun at work. I don't wish to carry one when I am trying to relax. Those worried about bear? What are you carrying and why not go to spray?
 
Like you, I only carry a sidearm while engaged in outdoor activities - unless I am specifically in hunting season - then I carry the appropriate long-arm. The main threat in my local woods is the same in the city - bad guys. If I went any where where Griz were active or seriously way out in the boonies I would carry a rifled-barrel 12 GA with sabot-slugs (and some game loads for survival) that I have. Otherwise, I couldn't justify the extra 8-10 pounds of rifle or shot-gun & ammo, and the size of toting one around that I am unlikely to use.
 
I have carried a pistol outdoors many times. The only time I have taken a long arm out to carry around is for hunting, or specifically for shooting.

For me, it is simply a weight issue. I do, sometimes, go where there are bear, and cougar.

I have taken a shotgun with buck shot and slugs camping with me, when I am concerned, but it is more of a truck/tent gun.
 
Several years ago I was training for an elk hunt in Montana that involved a lot of walking.I started carrying a weighted pack and my Rem 700 while hiking my usual trails. After being met at the parking lot twice by the popo's I decide to carry the heaviest shovel I had in lieu of the Rem. The cops understood but they still called the game warden to see if I was breaking any regs,which I wasnt. I was carrying no ammo.Just too much hassle.--KV
 
The only "hiking" I do with a long gun is hunting, really. Then again, you can't even carry handguns in our state parks, so hiking with any firearm is pretty much out of the question.
 
I always hike with a pistol but the pictures you see me post where there is a rifle it's because I am out hunting small game usually. I don't hike with a long gun, if anything I will carry a .357 magnum or 10mm on my right side and on my left side I will carry a ruger single six .22 mag in a cross draw holster for small game.

trailbum said:
I carry a handgun.
As far as people not liking them, oh well, don't look.
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Yup same here, and fortunately we have that luxury because VT and NH have very lenient handgun laws. Vt doesn't even require a permit to carry a pistol concealed and NH is almost as easy. I remember when I first got a NH concealed carry permit, I sent a one page application with my name and address and a $25 check and less than a week later I had a concealed carry permit good for 5 years and unrestricted.
 
I imagine they carry them for target practice/recreational shooting. Last Fall, I was on a trail and walked past a guy with a great big bulging pack, and a AR-15 strapped onto the back of it. Not my idea of fun. If I carry more than about 35 lbs., it puts me in pain. I have hypersensitive nerves in my feet and ankles.

As far as bear protection, I never carried any. If you travel in groups of three or more, the chances of being attacked by a bear are next to nothing. Based on what I have heard, if I were carrying any protection, it would be bear spray rather than a firearm.
 
I try to carry as little as possible unless I have to. If I'm hunting I usually carry a rifle though.

If I hiked a lot near urban areas I might carry a gun all the time in the woods.
 
The advantage of a handgun beyond weight and bulk is being able to conceal it in a pack or whatever if you need to get it out of sight. Having a permit is a good thing and being legal in that particular state, but sometimes you just don't want to draw attention towards yourself.

The advantage of the long gun is ease of shooting accurately when you need to. Certainly if you can deal with the weight issue, I would want a long gun in big bear country. Fortunately, I generally don't have that concern in TN, KY, AL, GA, NC areas where I might be out in the woods.
 
dougo83 said:
The only "hiking" I do with a long gun is hunting, really. Then again, you can't even carry handguns in our state parks, so hiking with any firearm is pretty much out of the question.
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If you have a concealed permit you can certainly carry in Texas State Parks.
 
I likely would carry a sidearm if i legally could, since I can't I carry a longarm. Also the main threat where I hike is bears so a short 12ga is what I carry.
 
nolan raborn said:
If you have a concealed permit you can certainly carry in Texas State Parks.
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Mis-worded. Yea, you can carry one, you just can't shoot it:
Arms and Firearms. It is an offense for any person to display or discharge an arm or firearm in a state park, unless:

the person is participating in a public hunting activity within the state park that has been authorized by written order of the director so long as the person is in compliance with the applicable public hunting rules and regulations; or
the person has been authorized by written order of the director.
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http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/parkinfo/rules_and_regulations/

Sounds like carrying around a lot of extra weight for nothing to me.
 
^ I'd rather have it and if I needed to fire it I would gladly pay the fine for discharging it and saving my life.

The same thing goes for concealed carry just about anywhere. You can carry a weapon in a grocery store with a permit but it's against store policy to discharge a firearm in a store. If you can legally carry a firearm and you were justified in discharging to save your life you not going to have to worry.

Weather you think it's extra weight is up to you but if you needed it I don't think you would worry about having a "written order"
 
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