HeesBonafide
Regular Member
Well, I have an announcement to make....
After posting quite a few posts on this site, and sharing thoughts, concerns and also support for OC, I can FINALLY say that I am one of the few that is has stood there feeling a little exposed (and somewhat nervous) about my FIRST TIME OC'ing.
My girlfriend and I spent the weekend backpacking through the Enchantment lakes outside of Leavenworth. We had our bear spray and I also took along what I believe is the perfect firearm for the trail, the Taurus Judge (Public Defender). I wasn't going to carry it concealed, just too damn hot and I wanted it VERY accessible just in case I needed it. Also, with weight being a concern (pack was already 60+ lbs), I needed to reduce weight anyway and anywhere possible (not that the judge is light weapon), I left my wallet and ID in the car. And there just happened to be a perfect strap I could holster my weapon to right on my backpack, it was PERFECT!
I was concerned about "getting looks" and mostly everyone never even noticed....my girlfriend didn't even notice where the firearm was until about 2 hours into the hike (even though she knew I was bringing it), could have been that the holster and shirt were similar in color. I did see a couple people "notice it" and I couldn't tell if their look was of concern or pure curiosity...all good! We even came upon a park ranger who asked to see our overnight permit (required in that area), spoke with him for about 10 minutes and he never made mention of it either.
We heard some critters in the night and "something" was outside our tent Saturday night sniffing around, we surmised that it probably was a coyote or similar (too quiet to be a bear and too loud to be a mountain lion). My girlfriend felt safe and I felt relived that I didn't have to use any quips or retorts to any "what the hell is that for?" kind of responses.
Incredible views, LOTS of bugs, no incidents, came home safe!
All in All a GREAT Weekend!!
After posting quite a few posts on this site, and sharing thoughts, concerns and also support for OC, I can FINALLY say that I am one of the few that is has stood there feeling a little exposed (and somewhat nervous) about my FIRST TIME OC'ing.
My girlfriend and I spent the weekend backpacking through the Enchantment lakes outside of Leavenworth. We had our bear spray and I also took along what I believe is the perfect firearm for the trail, the Taurus Judge (Public Defender). I wasn't going to carry it concealed, just too damn hot and I wanted it VERY accessible just in case I needed it. Also, with weight being a concern (pack was already 60+ lbs), I needed to reduce weight anyway and anywhere possible (not that the judge is light weapon), I left my wallet and ID in the car. And there just happened to be a perfect strap I could holster my weapon to right on my backpack, it was PERFECT!
I was concerned about "getting looks" and mostly everyone never even noticed....my girlfriend didn't even notice where the firearm was until about 2 hours into the hike (even though she knew I was bringing it), could have been that the holster and shirt were similar in color. I did see a couple people "notice it" and I couldn't tell if their look was of concern or pure curiosity...all good! We even came upon a park ranger who asked to see our overnight permit (required in that area), spoke with him for about 10 minutes and he never made mention of it either.
We heard some critters in the night and "something" was outside our tent Saturday night sniffing around, we surmised that it probably was a coyote or similar (too quiet to be a bear and too loud to be a mountain lion). My girlfriend felt safe and I felt relived that I didn't have to use any quips or retorts to any "what the hell is that for?" kind of responses.
Incredible views, LOTS of bugs, no incidents, came home safe!
All in All a GREAT Weekend!!
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