Hiking, rucking or woods self defense?

CZfool68

CZfool68

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Ok, as some of you may know myself @Chuckman and @Fred have started a little rucking group. So when I am in the mountains I walk down the hill from our house, then back to the top and down back to the house with a pack and 20lb weight plate. Or 30 if I feel perky. Well today got a little exciting. The house at the bottom of the hill has full fencing and a gate. It keeps their dogs inside. They have 2 tiny mutts that can sneak through the gate and follow and bark. But I could punt them into the sky if I needed to. Today the gate was open and a new, large marmaduke looking dog of about 100 lbs or so came charging out and towards me. Growling and teeth showing. I retreated while drawing from an OWB holster. I was also yelling stop. He got to within about 3‘ before stopping and growling. I kept backing up the hill and he stayed where he was after a few growls and false starts.

So, did I let him get too close? Gun was out and pointed at the threat. Did I let my love of dogs effect my judgement?

I have considered carrying a walking stick as well on hikes, but never have. Today it dawned on my that holding a stick might have slowed down my draw. It was already a close thing.

What say the CFF hikers and outdoorsman. What’s your method(s) of protection while out and about.

And today reminded me of what @BatteryOaksBilly always says. Carry every day and every second.
 
Diablos said:
Bear speay might not be a bad idea if you dont want to shoot the horse
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Thought about that, but wonder how bad that would mess up a dog. Is is better to just shoot him and end him quickly? Plus what if there were multiple dogs? I’ve been chased on a bike by a pack before. Not highly likely but possible. I did sell a gun to a guy that had his face and neck mangled by a pack of dogs. He was lucky.
 
Long_Hunter said:
You need to start rucking with someone you can out run…problem solved
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One free dick punch and you can outrun anyone.


@CZfool68 I’m a huge fan of dogs, while I wouldn’t have let him get his teeth on me first, had he not stopped at 4-5 ‘ with teeth bared he would’ve died. And it would’ve torn me up to do so. I hope the owners were apologetic
 
CZfool68 said:
Thought about that, but wonder how bad that would mess up a dog. Is is better to just shoot him and end him quickly? Plus what if there were multiple dogs? I’ve been chased on a bike by a pack before. Not highly likely but possible. I did sell a gun to a guy that had his face and neck mangled by a pack of dogs. He was lucky.
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Im not advocating for spray only, just for the possibility of adding it in as a deterrent.
 
3ft is about as close as I would have let the dog get too. I get that in the dogs mind you are in "their" territory and thus their reactions, but once they leave their fenced in enclosure they are fair game IMO. I'm not an advocate of a warning shot in self defense situation with humans, but I like dogs more thus I might consider it.

Have you contacted your neighbors about their dogs yet?

PS: I need to join you guys for a ruck sometime, now that I have the plantar fascistic in my right foot back under control.
 
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So it's a neighbors dog? Dog treat and make friends. Cause you're going to be dealing with him a lot. Hiking stick would be a good thing IMO. Without being in your position it's hard to make a judgement call on drawing the gun.

The only time I've been ready to draw was on a dog. I had mine on a leash and a free range dog decided he wanted to fight and I was tied in to it. Luckily he got the point from me yelling at him before it got any further.
 
Glock 20... It'll kill just about anything in the outdoors, regardless of leg count...

I carry bear spray too but honestly who has time to figure out the wind direction before defending yourself? You can easily incapacitate yourself instead of the animals...
 
Burt Gummer said:
One free dick punch and you can outrun anyone.


@CZfool68 I’m a huge fan of dogs, while I wouldn’t have let him get his teeth on me first, had he not stopped at 4-5 ‘ with teeth bared he would’ve died. And it would’ve torn me up to do so. I hope the owners were apologetic
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Zero response from owner. Not shocked. Now we’ e got one ‘those’ guys on our little hillside. Guess it’s good to know.
 
chiefjason said:
So it's a neighbors dog? Dog treat and make friends. Cause you're going to be dealing with him a lot. Hiking stick would be a good thing IMO. Without being in your position it's hard to make a judgement call on drawing the gun.

The only time I've been ready to draw was on a dog. I had mine on a leash and a free range dog decided he wanted to fight and I was tied in to it. Luckily he got the point from me yelling at him before it got any further.
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By neighbor I mean a house on the same road. They are 1/2 mile from our place. And that’s a part time home for us so not there all the time. Owner has not responded since I reached out to him before lunch. Unfortunately a friendship is probably not in our future. Based on one prior dog experience with him he’s an a-hole.
 
bigfelipe said:
Glock 20... It'll kill just about anything in the outdoors, regardless of leg count...

I carry bear spray too but honestly who has time to figure out the wind direction before defending yourself? You can easily incapacitate yourself instead of the animals...
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I’m going to have to wait for CZ, HK or Beretta for that 10mm. Tried a few Glocks and they didn‘t stick. Maybe a 10mm 1911? I’ll have to research that idea.
 
Fred said:
I would have shot a large aggressive dog running me down on a public road before it reached 3 ft away. I wouldn't be confident in 9mm or less to kill a large dog from that close before it was on me, and I can't guarantee perfect CNS shots in the time it takes a dog to leap on me from 3 ft away.

Yelling "no" might have a better chance of working than "stop":).
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Thanks for the feedback. Obviously I’m no dog trainer. No, stop, piss off, FU. Anything was possible out of my mouth at that point. Guess I was loud enough to make my point at least.
 
For straight self defense purposes in 10mm a G29 is hard to beat, but you don't like Glocks....:).

My standard carry when we head up the mountain is the G29 on my hip from door to door. When we are in the woods I either have a long gun, G40MOS or both, in addition to the 29.

I figure if I'm going for overkill it might as well share magazines :)

And my son carries the 20...
 
Up there I would worry more about pill heads, so whatever you carry in Apex would be sufficient.

I have a soft touch with dogs, so I typically find a way to deter them without hurting them. 95% of dogs can be psyched out of screwing with you. I'm in yards on their territory near every day and have zero issues. Most of the time a Lance nab and a total lack of fear control the situation.

At home, I have touched off rounds to scare dogs away, and it has worked every time. A revolver with the first round of rat shot if you want a less lethal deterrent.
 
yard mongrel said:
Up there I would worry more about pill heads, so whatever you carry in Apex would be sufficient.

I have a soft touch with dogs, so I typically find a way to deter them without hurting them. 95% of dogs can be psyched out of screwing with you. I'm in yards on their territory near every day and have zero issues. Most of the time a Lance nab and a total lack of fear control the situation.

At home, I have touched off rounds to scare dogs away, and it has worked every time. A revolver with the first round of rat shot if you want a less lethal deterrent.
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I just had to put our dog down this week so I probably let it get a little closer than I should because I really did not want to kill a dog. Maybe he finally understood? Who knows? IMO less lethal is not a habit I want to get into because as you said someday it may be a 2 legged threat. Our road isn’t t heavily travelled, but you never know.
 
Chuckman said:
10mm 1911= Colt Delta Elite, the granddaddy of 10mm 1911s....
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I almost grabbed a Dan Wesson Bruin once. A 1911 in 10mm just seems cool, but I have no clue how they hold up or how reliable they are. Will need to do some research. It may be a good tool to own.
 
CZfool68 said:
I just had to put our dog down this week so I probably let it get a little closer than I should because I really did not want to kill a dog. Maybe he finally understood? Who knows? IMO less lethal is not a habit I want to get into because as you said someday it may be a 2 legged threat. Our road isn’t t heavily travelled, but you never know.
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I hear ya. For what it's worth, I've encountered dogs and even had dogs that did the whole aggressive act only to wilt when within spitting distance if you didn't show any fear. I think a lot of dogs are like people in that they don't really want to fight.

I guess the problem is figuring that out before they are biting you.

CZfool68 said:
I almost grabbed a Dan Wesson Bruin once. A 1911 in 10mm just seems cool, but I have no clue how they hold up or how reliable they are. Will need to do some research. It may be a good tool to own.
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I've had a few 10mm 1911s. I put flat bottom firing pin stops in all of them.
 
Chihuahua Floyd said:
Walking stick in left hand. Pistol.on right.
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Thought about that but with heavy winter clothing I use my left hand to pull up clothing while drawing with my right. And evidently I was just quick enough today. I am thinking a delay in either dropping or throwing the walking stick might be a bad thing. Guess I’d have to try it with dry fire to really know for sure.
 
CarolinaColtCollector said:
Remember what his name was off hand? I wonder if it’s someone I went to church with years ago.
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He was an older gentleman that was a Sheriff Deputy in one of the counties north of Greensboro somewhere. He was on this forum. Had cancer and lost some strength so wanted to buy my 9mm Sig to replace his 220. I‘ve never been so happy to sell someone a gun. If I was a wealthy man I would have given it to him. Hope he is still doing well.
 
CZfool68 said:
Thought about that but with heavy winter clothing I use my left hand to pull up clothing while drawing with my right. And evidently I was just quick enough today. I am thinking a delay in either dropping or throwing the walking stick might be a bad thing. Guess I’d have to try it with dry fire to really know for sure.
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sleeve-guns-preppers.jpg
 
CZfool68 said:
I’m going to have to wait for CZ, HK or Beretta for that 10mm. Tried a few Glocks and they didn‘t stick. Maybe a 10mm 1911? I’ll have to research that idea.
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CZ makes a dope AF hunter in 10mm...


EDIT: might be an EAA but basically the same thing...
 
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That‘s a big boy. Not sure I’d want to tote it up and down hills. But looks cool. Maybe I should just sling a rifle. If nothing else that would keep people from bugging me. But might get interesting on public trails or up at Duke with @Chuckman. Wonder if a nice old fashioned lever action would keep the Karen’s from panic. 🤣
 
CZfool68 said:
That‘s a big boy. Not sure I’d want to tote it up and down hills. But looks cool. Maybe I should just sling a rifle. If nothing else that would keep people from bugging me. But might get interesting on public trails or up at Duke with @Chuckman. Wonder if a nice old fashioned lever action would keep the Karen’s from panic. 🤣
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Get a Hill People Gear chest bag for concealment or a kenai rig for open carry... You won't even notice it with your other gear.
 
If I had some weirdo stranger running up and down my road carrying a pack for no apparent reason I would have kept the crosshairs on him the whole time. ;)
 
I had a similar situation happen recently, while mowing on my property. I was on a riding mower and was pocket carrying. I have since started rethinking how I carry. Pocket carry ONLY for when necessary, belt carry is now my preferred method. Try drawing from your pocket while seated on your mower and your excited. Changed my lazy way of doing things after 25+ years of pocket carry.
 
dbracin said:
I had a similar situation happen recently, while mowing on my property. I was on a riding mower and was pocket carrying. I have since started rethinking how I carry. Pocket carry ONLY for when necessary, belt carry is now my preferred method. Try drawing from your pocket while seated on your mower and your excited. Changed my lazy way of doing things after 25+ years of pocket carry.
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Carried three different blasters in pocket holsters for 7-8 years. It wasn’t till I tried to beat The Wizard drill that I discovered that in a rush I’ll present the gun with the holster still on it. From a seated pisition as you said, near impossible. I carry on the hip now.
 
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