I carry whenever its legal. I never shoot in the back country unless I'm hunting. I believe that if you want to shoot guns then go to a range. Few things ruin the pristine beauty of the wilderness like some jag shooting guns (or motorcycles, or loud music.)

I have carried my original Ruger 3-screw Blackhawk for many years. It is a reliable, accurate sidearm that will handle full-house loads. It is suitable for deer hunting.

When I take my kids camping in bear country I sometimes carry a light rifle. Either a diminuitive 7mm Mauser or my compensated 1895 in 45-70. With Bear there is no substitute for a rifle. I take no chances with my kids.

Nah, don't carry any more.

For rattlesnakes, I've found the best thing to use is a walking stick. Typically, I see it on the trail, nudge it with the stick, it wakes up and rattles, I ask permission to use the trail, then I wait until it leaves and once it's safely off-trail, I go on about my business. There have been a couple of times when I've recognized that sound, but couldn't immediately tell where it was coming from. Part of the problem is that I have a 50db hearing loss on the left side (since I was 12), so I don't hear stereo real well and I don't usually have enough aural discrimination to have directional hearing. So when I hear that sound, I have to stop and do a visual scan until I locate the threat - which can take a bit if the snake happens to be well camoflauged.

On my long trip in 1991, I was in San Diego County and had the delightful opportunity to watch as a rattlesnake worked its way down to a small trickle of water and take a delicate drink. I was busy shooting 35mm pix of the process, but the film didn't turn out because I hadn't gotten the leading part of the spool into the take-up reel correctly - lost all the shots. I'd read Colin Fletcher's "The Man Who Walked Through Time", and was hoping that the rattlesnake would yawn and curl up for a nap, but it didn't happen.

The ones that startle me are the snake they call the "Racer". They will suddenly split and all you hear is the sudden movement. By the time you react, they are already gone. They don't stick around for you to take pictures of them. I've had many more adrenaline rushes from the Racers than I have from the Rattlesnakes.

The first bear encounter I had was south of the Kern Plateau, not far north of Walker Pass. It ran off after the second time I said "Hello" to it. All the other encounters I've had have been in the Sierras. The most serious one lasted about 45 minutes and I was saved by a couple of girls that were out backpacking with their dogs - apparently the bear didn't want deal with the dogs, so it split when it realized they were headed towards us. The girls never saw the bear and thought I was nuts for thanking them so profusely.

Would a gun have helped? Maybe. Maybe firing a round would have scared it away, but if so, then I could have used a firecracker to do the same thing. I do know that if I'd killed the bear I wouldn't be happy about it.

I don't go into Grizzly Country, so I dunno what to do about them.

Most other animals are not an issue. Ok, I have been known to threaten Stellar Jays - they are outright obnoxious, especially early in the morning. Damn camp thieves.

Oh, I've had encounters with livestock too. Trail Cows are dumb, really dumb. They will walk up the trail to get away from you, then become afraid when you follow them. I've also had an encounter with a wild bull - fortunately, I was atop a large boulder at the time, and it walked around rather than come near me. Can't imagine using a handgun or rifle if I were suddenly confronted with a charging bull.

Deer can occasionally be a problem, and they are another reason to not leave food lying around. They are generally not a problem and will usually avoid you. Unfortunately, I don't think it is possible to reason with an upset buck, and they know how to fight - they can be deadly. I would try to shoot one if I felt threatened, but it doesn't happen often enough for me to worry about.

Don't worry about the Wolf. You may never see one. There have been almost no wolf attacks in the past 150 years in the west, possibly only one. They aren't worth worrying about. I have had the privledge of seeing a wolf in the wild, while backpacking near Echo Summit. I didn't recognize it for such at the time, but realized what it was a couple of days after I got back from the trip, when a friend showed me her AKC registered wolf puppies.

Coyotes never come near enough to me to make me worry. I have bigger problems with mosquitoes and ants.

I carried for about 150 miles, then decided that the weight wasn't worth the amount of use I was getting from it. Also, I wasn't happy about the nicks and dings - and rust - that I had to try and deal with when I got the revolver back off the trail. The rust issue is one of the reasons I've switched over to stainless steel weapons. I quit carrying while backpacking in the 1980s.

Come to think of it, for my long trip in 1991 I even sent my hunting knife back home. It is a Buck 119, which is a beautiful and durable Bowie Knife, but it weighed too much for the amount of use I got from it. After sending it back, I got along just fine with a swiss army knife.

As always, your mileage may vary.

Glock 21 & my trusty ka-bar. But I also have a metal flare gun that can handle light load 12 gauge loads and with no choke its going to be a close quarters gun. Although a 25MM flare can do some good damage too.

As I mentioned before, I don't carry a gun or any other weapon expecting trouble. I also don't have misguided aspirations to be some sort of wilderness avenger or even a religious or political "campfire crazy" as was mentioned earlier. I'm a responsible adult and I've been carrying a gun while out in the bush since i was a kid. I carry a gun in my daily life when I'm in the mood and thankfully I've never had to use it or even pull it out.

In years of concealed carry, I have only had a handful of times where someone unexpectedly brushed against it. Yes it does change their mood the first time they realize I'm carrying, but after a while they get used to the idea and realize that I'm the same person I was before and that because I'm armed I'm no more dangerous than I was before. If I'm having an argument with someone I'm not going to suddenly loose my mind pull my gun out and shoot them or any of the other silly nonsense that people say. Anyone who would do something like that doesn't deserve the privilege of gun ownership.

Gun people are often the nicest people I know. You don't see people walking around the gun store/range talking loudly and using their guns to scratch their backs or firing off bullets to change the channel on the tv. In my experience its always been calm and after a day of shooting at the range I'm just as calm and satisfied as I am after a 20 mile hike. My body is a little tired from the wear, but all good things come with a little pain.

I don't discharge my gun on public land, and on private land the downrange is never in the direction of civilization of any kind. But mostly I shoot in climate controlled gun ranges. Obviously it only takes a couple idiots and a few choice news articles to make anyone who owns and carries a gun to be some sort of nut with an underlying hostility towards other people. I dont go around picking fights, I do not nor have ever had any aspiration to be a cop or law enforcement type person. I would rather avoid a confrontation than get in one. I have only drawn my weapon for self protection once, that was a shotgun and I pulled it out of my truck and that was because of a conflict that was starting to brew between four rednecks and some of the people in my camp and that was only because they where walking around with weapons. (Evidently a chainsaw went missing and since we where not locals we where #1 suspects. Turns out another local stole the saw,)

I have both gun locks and a safe at home and on the trail my gun is secured by a quick release trigger lock, which allows me to carry it loaded and safe.

So on to the question of why I carry. Because I can and because I like it. I LIKE GUNS. I've been shooting paper for sport since I was 12 and I genuinely enjoy it. From a self protection standpoint. I enjoy the option of being able to protect myself the next time some idiot walks into a classroom, shopping mall or even my job with ill intent. I'm not going to run into these scenes trying to play hero civilian who thinks he's a cop. Their is a genuine interest in self preservation here. Just like when polite society carried deringer guns concealed in pockets and special purses made to conceal guns and money.

Their is something wrong with society today. All it takes is one moron to do something and you have 101 morons copycatting him. Columbine, Omaha Mall Shooting, Postal/Job shootings and now this idiot thats gone out on trails hurting outdoors people. I'm not worried about animals I'm worried about predators. Gun laws serve to insure that the folks who carry them are usually criminals and not law abiding citizens who have their head on and pointing in the correct direction. Last time I checked criminals outnumber cops.

Hopefully none of you ever find yourself on the business end of a unfriendly gun. But I have and luckily the intent was only robbery and not to rape and kill me and my girlfriend. I'm still trying to make sense of that whole situation.

I still go camping and backpacking and hiking and every other outdoor thing I can, but I go now packing. And I won't apologize for it if it makes you uncomfortable or changes your view of me. I don't owe anyone an explanation and I'm still the same person I was before. I'm not paranoid about it, I'm just not naive.

Guns are not for everybody and you don't have to respect my position to carry one. Its very much a personal decision. I hope I never have to actually use it to hurt or kill someone, but given the choice between me or them, well I like me, so the choice is clear.