Guns

[SassyWindsor]

I've met many hikers with dog in toe telling me the dog is security, as well as a companion. The chances of the two finishing a thru is very small. In fact, I personally don't know anyone who has done so, but I'm sure a few have made it. I hiked the entire AT with my .380 and I bet it was lighter than anything a hiker had to carry to support a dog, even if the dog carried some of the weight. I would tell these hikers to leave the "security dog" at home and learn to handle a firearm and take it.

[hikerboy57]

I've met many hikers with dog in toe telling me the dog is security, as well as a companion. The chances of the two finishing a thru is very small. In fact, I personally don't know anyone who has done so, but I'm sure a few have made it. I hiked the entire AT with my .380 and I bet it was lighter than anything a hiker had to carry to support a dog, even if the dog carried some of the weight. I would tell these hikers to leave the "security dog" at home and learn to handle a firearm and take it.

i think its more companion first security maybe second, and im not even a dog owner. i havent met many dog owners that seemed to need the "protection" of their furry buddies, and when you see the love they have for their owners, well i just hope that .380 of yours at least loves you back.

[prain4u]

Some practical considerations---first about dogs and then about firearms--from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy website:

Dogs are not permitted at all in the following parts of the AT:

• Baxter State Park, Maine
• Bear Mountain State Park Trailside Museum and Wildlife Center, New York—alternate road walk is available
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina

Dogs are required to be on a leash in roughly 40% of the remainder of the AT, including:

• Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
• Maryland (entire state)
• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia
• Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
• Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia
• 500+ miles of A.T. land administered by the National Park Service

To legally carry a firearm on the Trail, you must meet the permitting standards of the state and locality in which you are hiking. On national-park lands, discharging a firearm is illegal, even if you have a legal permit to carry it. Extra efforts may be required to secure weapons in towns to abide by local ordinances and private-property owners' rules. (Firearm rules vary by land ownership. The Trail crosses 14 states and more than 90 state, federal, or local agency lands, with each having its own rules and regulations; you are responsible for knowing and following those rules.) In areas of the Trail corridor where hunting is legal, hikers may see hunters carrying firearms. Hunters must abide by their own set of firearm rules, somewhat separate from firearm-carry rules but also varying by state and county.


My personal opinion is that two dogs and some firearms would not be worth all the hassle--especially at your age. (Many areas will probably not permit you to carry a handgun at your age). What will you do with the guns and the dogs in those areas where you cannot legally have the guns, the dogs--or either one--with you?

Have a great hike! Ahhh--to be young again!

[dornstar]

Plus the gun would add 3-6 pounds to my base weight. SCREW THAT (;

Whoa.... 3-6 pounds?

What kind of gun are you talking about?

My Kel Tec P3AT weights 11 ounces and my Diamondback DB9 9mm weighs 13 ounces with 6 rounds. A standard run of the mill Smith & Wesson 9mm with 15 rounds weighs less than 2 pounds.

[dornstar]

Dornstar, side trail here - I have the same weapon. Does yours jam after a couple of rounds? Mine has no matter what ammo I use. I'm starting to think about another weapon.

No, mine has been pretty darn reliable. I recently switched to the Diamondback DB9 though. More stopping power in roughly the same package.

[The Cleaner]

Wish I'd had a firearm a few weeks ago,I would have shot 2 unleashed dogs that the owner let walk on the bunk at Jerry's Cabin shelter while I was having lunch there....

[Sarcasm the elf]

Wish I'd had a firearm a few weeks ago,I would have shot 2 unleashed dogs that the owner let walk on the bunk at Jerry's Cabin shelter while I was having lunch there....

Sigh... So easy to talk tough on the Internet.

I hope you were just blowing off steam when you wrote that, otherwise I question what kind of person would suggest that they have the right to kill someone else's pet while in a public place just because it inconvenienced them.

[The Cleaner]

Sigh... So easy to talk tough on the Internet.

I hope you were just blowing off steam when you wrote that, otherwise I question what kind of person would suggest that they have the right to kill someone else's pet while in a public place just because it inconvenienced them.

You're right I could never kill someone's dog but dog owners should respect other hikers when at shelters.BTW I'm heading up there now for another clean-up.....

[Pedaling Fool]

I wouldn't shoot a dog either, but I do like beating dogs with a stick when they are unruly.

[Lone Wolf]

I wouldn't shoot a dog either, but I do like beating dogs with a stick when they are unruly.

a squirt gun filled with ammonia works good

[Hosaphone]

[CarlZ993]

My $0.02: I wouldn't carry a pistol nor take a dog on a thru-hike. I wouldn't want to carry the weight or worry about keeping it in my possession. And a dog? What a logistical pain in the backside.

I'm not some anti-gun type. I'm a retired cop. More down-side than upside to carrying a pistol on a hike.

[SassyWindsor]

Wish I'd had a firearm a few weeks ago,I would have shot 2 unleashed dogs that the owner let walk on the bunk at Jerry's Cabin shelter while I was having lunch there....

I don't think you really meant it but I personally would never shoot anything unless harm to me was about to occur. Most hikers with dogs are very inconsiderate for not restraining their pets.

[Pendragon]

Disturbing.......

[Sarcasm the elf]

You're right I could never kill someone's dog but dog owners should respect other hikers when at shelters.BTW I'm heading up there now for another clean-up.....

No worries, I figured you were just venting. I can only imagine the level of nonsense you deal with while maintaining a popular shelter during hiking season.

a squirt gun filled with ammonia works good

They are equally effective when used on the owner. More often then not they're the real cause of the problem.

[Wise Old Owl]

I've met many hikers with dog in toe telling me the dog is security, as well as a companion. The chances of the two finishing a thru is very small. In fact, I personally don't know anyone who has done so, but I'm sure a few have made it. I hiked the entire AT with my .380 and I bet it was lighter than anything a hiker had to carry to support a dog, even if the dog carried some of the weight. I would tell these hikers to leave the "security dog" at home and learn to handle a firearm and take it.

Yea but you never needed to use it or you would have posted a incident by now.

I wouldn't shoot a dog either, but I do like beating dogs with a stick when they are unruly.

As a group we have a You tube beatin a dead horse. - Next time please use a hiking pole! - lighten up John.

a squirt gun filled with ammonia works good

or bear spray. no biggie.

I don't think you really meant it but I personally would never shoot anything unless harm to me was about to occur. Most hikers with dogs are very inconsiderate for not restraining their pets.

Sassy - As a freind (and I am talking about myself) As a british subject and as Australian, every gun thread you get really focused - I wish I could PM you to say "Hey take a break!" Those fears were planted by family, BBC and American News who frequenty proffer "you need to be afraid" You were more likely to die in a car accident... The thread really did get answered in the first page. If I can kill a human being with a wire saw - what good is a gun? My dog is not protection - he will lick you to death... please tone it down....

[cabbagehead]

I wouldn't kill an animal to feed a dog.

[Nasty Dog Virus]

I know that some of my friends have carried pistols on 3-5 day hikes here in PA on the AT & Tuscarora Trail. It doesn't bother me in the least that they are armed. I have never carried a firearm while hiking either trail. I'm not sure if its legal even though my friends have valid concealed carry permits. I'm inclined to believe that it is. Perhaps legal in PA St Games Lands and St Forests but not on National Park Service tracts ???

[Wise Old Owl]

no I would not either. (mammal)

[Bucherm]

I've met many hikers with dog in toe telling me the dog is security, as well as a companion. The chances of the two finishing a thru is very small. In fact, I personally don't know anyone who has done so, but I'm sure a few have made it. I hiked the entire AT with my .380 and I bet it was lighter than anything a hiker had to carry to support a dog, even if the dog carried some of the weight. I would tell these hikers to leave the "security dog" at home and learn to handle a firearm and take it.

Alright, I'll bite. Looking at your location, how did you swing a firearm while Thru-hiking the AT? In the UK(excepting NI) you aren't even permitted to carry a handgun without a letter at the ministerial level, correct?


Also, OP, for the discriminating thru-hiker there is only one handgun you should carry: The Rock River Arms LAR-15

lar15.jpg

Make sure you get the version without the bullet button.