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Old 07-25-2003, 03:03 PM   #1
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Protection while camping (what do you use)?

When you go camping I know sometimes (in the rarest times) you may need to have protection to protect yourself and your loved ones. My question is what do you carry to protect you and your family while on the road? And I'm not talking about when you all are feeling frisky!:r



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Old 07-25-2003, 03:06 PM   #2
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I have a machete I have for cutting wood and doing the whatnots while camping. If someone tries to break in our trailer they may be pulling back a nasty bloodied up stump.



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Old 07-25-2003, 03:28 PM   #3
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My Protection when Camping

:wave
I have two advance protection devices. the First is a Dalmation (Velvet) who objects severely if someone invades "Her" space without her prior approval. She give verbal warning and does not back down easily if she percieves a threat to her family.
I have my trusty hatchet standing at the base of the closet beside the door, and I carry a cannister of a product called "Dye Witness" which is sprayed at the face of an attacker. It discharges a liquid which foams up thick and causes the attacker not to see. It also has the same ultraviolet dyes that are used in the exploding bank note packs used for robbery prevention by the banks. It does not wear or wash off for a period of days, making the "Perps" easy to identify.
I also conspicously display a Calgary Police Sticker which says "Back the Blue, Fight Crime" on the outside of the trailer. I haven't had a problem while camping over the past 30 years, but don't look forward to the first one.:drillsrgt



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Old 07-25-2003, 03:43 PM   #4
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Protection

All things considered - I think it's much more prudent to take precautions against the 4-legged racoons and skunks than it is against the 2-legged sort. I'm MUCH more concerned about security while we're sitting at a rest stop on the freeway than I am while I'm out at the campground. As I've said before, for the most part - thieves aren't gonna commute out to a campground in order to practice their trade. There's plenty of stuff for them to steal closer to home with fewer folks sitting around to watch you doing it too (seeing as there's usually plenty of folks sitting around outside their tents/trailers.

mkw



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Old 07-25-2003, 04:08 PM   #5
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ohhhhh that kind of protection

i must get my mind out of the gutter lol:cheers



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Old 07-25-2003, 05:01 PM   #6
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Steven ... I voted "nothing."

In all the campgrounds, in all the nights, in all the places, including inner city camping ... I've never felt threatened or hurt of anything other than a lawn chair or unlocked bike disappearing.

Much more apt to run into trouble in a motel or a highway rest stop (like Mike W says).

I will say this, however, when young Michael gets to first-stage biking age, please, please, please don't let him ride the campground loops by himself.

I've never heard of anything happening to a small child riding his/her bike alone around the campground loops ... but I feel the parents have to have their heads examined.

I do feel comfortable that Maggie Mutt often accompanies my wife on long isolated hikes in the forest ... (I'm too lazy to go with them!). And Maggie Mutt has also put a couple of truck drivers up against their trucks when they tried to approach Pam and the dog ... but if push came to shove, Maggie Mutt would probably lick them to death before biting them.



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Old 07-25-2003, 05:56 PM   #7
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Protection while traveling

This is one of those topics that has the potential for being "hot." Most people have strong opinions about some of the issues (like firearms, for example) that surround it, and many times strong opinions can derail or misdirect clear thinking. This goes for all sides of the issue.

Let me make my own bias clear from the outset: I am a strong believer in the 2d amendment and the basic political principle of an armed populace. I have been around firearms all of my life and around people who used and carried them daily all of my life. I am a certified instructor in pistol shooting as well as self-defense with firearms, and I have a bunch of otherwise useless trophies and two national championship awards from a year or two spent travelling around with a police combat pistol team. I don't mention this with any boastfulness in mind, but merely to attest that I have some experience and some expertise in this field.

It's a matter of personal choice, but I feel that anyone who goes into out of the way, back country venues without some kind of practical means of defending him or herself and those who might be depending him or her is being myopic, whether or not it is on some humanistic "principle." It is certainly true that most of us will camp and travel our entire active lives and never run into a situation that would require much more than a fly-swatter. It is also true that it only takes one time, one instance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, to ruin your life or end it, or to set you up for a lifetime of grief and guilt that you were not capable of saving someone you loved and who trusted you to protect them.

It's a given that most people anywhere are good, decent folk who would do almost anything in their power to help a stranger if they knew he or she needed help. I have experienced this myself on many occasions, as I'm sure we all have. But it is also a fact that far too many overlook that there are also some very, very bad people out there who, fortunately, most of us will never meet or come in contact with. For many of those Other People, motive is much less an issue than opportunity.

It seems a little silly to me to say that it is more important to protect ourselves from raccoons than to think about, or prepare ourselves for, the other possibilities that are out there. It is also a bit disingenuous to beg the question by saying, or assuming, that theft is the only thing on the minds of those Others. That is very bad advice in my opinion, and short sighted in the extreme.

I carry a shovel in my truck in case I sometimes have to dig myself out of something. I have an axe in case I have to remove a road-blocking tree. Both tools I have used for just those purposes. I have not yet had to use one of my fire extinguishers or the snake bite kit I carry under the seat, and hope I never have to. I have also not been forced to fire a shot in self defense, although the visible presence of a firearm has probably made that awful step unneccesary on more than one occasion that I can think of.

I do not advocate that one should arm himself if he feels strongly that he should not. I do advocate that, if one thinks he should have a firearm, he take professionally taught classes in the safe and legal use of a firearm for self defense. Travelers who take along a firearm on their journeys should get a copy of the latest edition of the TRAVELER'S GUIDE TO THE FIREARM LAWS OF THE FIFTY STATES and make sure they are in compliance with the laws of the states they intend to travel through.

I hope that several years from now someone will post on this site the verified information that not a single member of the forum or a member of their families had been hurt, injured, or killed as a result of foul play (or anyting else!) in the many millions of miles we all travel in our little f/g wonders, and that therefore all talk about personal safety on the site was either good advice or a complete waste of time.

Meanwhile, I will continue to act on the principle that a kind word and a big gun are better than either one by itself.



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Old 07-25-2003, 08:40 PM   #8
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When the girls were 5 and 3 we headed up the AlCan to meet up with Doug during his inports in Seward. We carried a retriever puppy named Dreadnought and an airhorn in our tent trailer. Unfortunately, the night the retriever tried to tell me about the thieves robbing the campers in the next site over, I told him to shut and go to sleep. That's the only time we've carried anything out of the ordinary and it was more to discourage bear than people.



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Old 07-25-2003, 09:36 PM   #9
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Well put Robert!

I don't carry a firearm on my travels just because I don't know the laws in every state but I did get a nine-ounce can of bear spray for my trip to Alaska last year. I just forgot to remove it from under my seat when I got back. I'll feel safer if I ever need to change a tire in St. Louis at night. I think that traveling at night is risky business and always has been. This topic made me remember traveling across Kansas more than fifty years ago when some men who were obviously up to no good, followed us for many miles. My father stopped at the first small town with streetlights and let my Boxer dog out of the car to do his business. Needless to say, we were not followed again.



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Old 07-26-2003, 12:56 AM   #10
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Same thing I carry in the TOW - a 4 D Cell Maglite. :)



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Old 07-26-2003, 08:02 AM   #11
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Never leave home without it.

I have an earned black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I never forget to bring that protection along. BTW, it's also excellant as a workout. A lot less boring than aerobics.



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Old 07-27-2003, 11:54 AM   #12
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Protection

I pretty much agree with Mike Watters. As a woman camping/traveling alone for years, my best protection is my gut instinct. If anything seems fishy I move my camp. I one time drove my Westfalia across the campground to another area in the middle of the night with my daughter still asleep in the pop top. She never knew we had moved until she looked out the window in the AM. I rarely hook-up to facilities when in an isolated area so I am ready to move quickly. People ask me if i'm not afraid to camp alone. I'm never afraid to camp alone, its only scary if there are one or two other "iffy" campers around. I know this will sound crazy to some, but I would rather be killed than to live with myself if I killed someone.



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Old 07-27-2003, 01:11 PM   #13
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Protection? spf 30 of course!!

if we're in a park, I don't take any protection. If we're out in the boonies I usually have a firearm of some type, I've never needed any protection, except once from a roving bandersnatch, but Donna tells me that had more to do with a large bottle of creme de menthe than reality.
I always have a fish bat in case I ever catch a fish, and it's handy if I need it.

So I voted other, cause it all depends.



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Old 07-27-2003, 02:46 PM   #14
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I guess we have dogs.

We dont carry anything either. I dont like fire arms, personally, mostly because I dont use them, or have them, and a teacher told me once that if you have a weapon, you better be willing to use it, or it could get used against you. And so without training, I wouldnt even think of it. I am hoping that the Kaos from 3 dogs would be enough to make someone think twice, even tho they would be worthless if it came to anything. Maybe wake up and arouse other campers. I had a cop tell me once that police dogs are used more for prevention, then protection, since so many people are scared of dogs. Mostly people who have been bit, I would imagine, and dont want to relive the experience. That is why they can be effective. Obviously, if someone is more determined than that, you are in deep s*** anyway. Let's hope none of us ever have to find out.



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Old 07-27-2003, 08:30 PM   #15
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Hmmm. sounds as if someone left the plug out!;) I agree, and I have Mr. Walther as backup to the 870. Guess we think alike, except I don't have laser.:r



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Old 07-27-2003, 08:35 PM   #16
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The day I need a weapon of any sort to go camping I will stay home.



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Old 07-27-2003, 09:56 PM   #17
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Protection

I agree with you Ches, I can't imagine needing a weapon for protection anywhere I go or at home.



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Old 07-28-2003, 06:47 AM   #18
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Deleted post

I realize my previous post was provocative and I apologize to all who may have been offended. I deleted the post.



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Old 07-28-2003, 07:42 AM   #19
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protection

I have not had the need for protection while camping in the campgrounds that I frequent. The fellow campers I have encountered have been courteous and friendly. However, it is those that may not be a fellow camper that one needs to be aware.

I carry most of the items previously posted as potential defense tools and try to remain observant of neighbors and prepared to relocate campsites if the need is felt BUT I DO carry a 410 shotgun that I will not hesitate to use nor feel guilty after if, God forbid, the necessity arose.



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Old 07-28-2003, 08:43 AM   #20
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Canada

I think Canada has gone the way of Australia and GB. I am humbled when I thnk how much more civilized they are.



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