A couple of quick OC stories from a backpacker

sudden valley gunner said:

Lets do it. Im leaving the 24th to 6th. But don't let that stop you....lol.
Other wise Im in unless it is the 15th, Willow Lake , Seatac is where I'll be.

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I am for sure going to be making a weekend trip out to Kennedy Hot Springs via the pass near Portal Peak the weekend of the 20th. It's going to be a fairly intense 3-day/2-night 37 mile loop hike, leaving Friday afternoon and heading back into town Sunday night. Provided the weather plays nice, there should be some pretty spectacular views of Glacier peak to the east. Anyone who wants to join is more than welcome to and if you happen to have a NW Forest Pass, we may be able to cut the last 3 miles out of it by parking a car at the trailhead we'll be exiting from.

my first post

Hey there folks, good to see some WA state OC hikers here. I've open carried in National Forest here as well as the Wind River range in WY for over 15 years without any problems. Sure I get a dirty look now and then, but no one has been so rude as to comment negatively.

I think it has a lot to do with how you carry yourself. I make a point to be friendly in the wilderness, and even more so with a visible firearm. Not everyone is knowledgeable with firearms or the laws that exist within our state. So I feel obligated to put them at ease. We owe it to each other to create a positive image for OC on our trails.

I've bumped into rangers several times over the years, and had long conversations regarding the trails, weather, bears, etc without ever getting a second glance at it. If it doesn't bother them, it shouldn't bother anyone else.

Which bring up the obvious question/response to someone who views OC as a bad thing on our trails. If it is not appropriate to carry a firearm in the middle of the wilderness, where is it? I cannot think of a more suitable environment for my .357 or .44.

More than any animal encounters, which I've had a few, there have been times I've crossed paths with some pretty questionable human characters on the trail. When they saw the gun, they were very respectful and moved on. OC is a great thing in those situations because you don't have to say anything. You can smile and hike confident. I guess that's where they got the name, "peacemakers"

Anyways, it's good to be here, and look forward to sharing experiences, knowledge and gear tips with you all. Best- E

I have a serpa level two on a a paddle which is fine around town. Is there a way to convert it to a drop leg for backpacking?
Also welcome to the forum EC. (new guys love to bring old threads back!)

Thigh rig

Yes blackhawk makes a thighrig platform for the serpa family of holsters, it attaches using the three screws just like the paddle or belt options.

New guys----new ideas, even for old threads.

golddigger14s said:

I have a serpa level two on a a paddle which is fine around town. Is there a way to convert it to a drop leg for backpacking?
Also welcome to the forum EC. (new guys love to bring old threads back!)

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Even though I use a duty holster, you can still use the jacket drop attachment:

http://www.blackhawk.com/product/Jacket-Slot-Duty-Belt-Loop,839,82.htm

It's low enough that it keeps the grip down and away from the backpack waist straps and doesn't effect the draw. Only downside is if I need to get in and out of a vehicle I need to clock the belt/holster to position it so that I can sit comfortably, and it is this very reason I use a separate duty belt and keepers in combination with the holster.

FYI, I bought my Blackhawk Serpa level 2 duty holster off of Ebay for ~$40, roughly half of what blackhawk sells them for on their website.

I OC hike with full coverage hunting holsters. I have them because I ride horses also and want to protect my nice old pistols (my Colt is from 1926).

Hiking encounters? the only one that included a long discussion was with some German college age tourists hiking Canyon Creek, Jackita Ridge area on the RLNRA. They were very interested and really liked the idea. They commented they wished they could do the same in Europe.

Chest rig

If you are carrying something on the heavy side, I highly recommend the Guide's Choice Chest Holster from Diamond D leather in Alaska. You can wear a backpack with a hip belt without it getting in the way and it's always on you.

I can carry my 5.5" Redhawk all day without any discomfort. The materials and workmanship are top notch, and the price is more than fair for that much leather.

Not me, but someone else's pic with the same rig:

This works.

I have open carried firearms while backpacking the last few years without incident. I did get several comments while carrying my ruger redhawk .44 mag into walmart to stock up on hiking supplies while headed out of town to the priest lake navigation trail last weekend, but nothing negative. Just the "wow thats a big gun!" etc. Me and my buddy did approach a group of campers several miles in on the trail and stopped to ask them about the mosquito population and were greeted rather rudely, I suspect this is due to the large hunk of stainless steel at my side. It does bother me slightly when I know I am intimidating people but I always go out of my way to be overly polite and respectful immediately so they realize I'm not a psychopath. I open carried my m&p the other day while going on mid day hike with the wife and 1 1/2 year old son at liberty lake loop trail and received no comments, I don't even think anyone noticed. A ranger was patrolling the park when I stepped out of our vehicle and I'm not sure if he saw it or not. I was expecting some sort of encounter but he just drove on.

sirtirithon said:

Me and my buddy did approach a group of campers several miles in on the trail and stopped to ask them about the mosquito population and were greeted rather rudely, I suspect this is due to the large hunk of stainless steel at my side.

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And then again, maybe not. I have encountered rude hikers over the years even when I wasn't openly carrying a firearm. Some are just rude because "you are on their trail".

I met a friend when hiking Jackita Ridge one Labor day weekend years ago. (He was not unnecessarily unhappy to see me though, we probably talked for an hour. I was on my way out, he was on his way up.)

His reaction to seeing me there was: "I called the ranger station and asked what trail I could hike that would give me the highest possibility of privacy" He said the rangers told him, "Jackita Ridge, nobody goes up there, you will probably be the only one" (wrong, I met at least 10 other parties coming in as I was on the way out, including one guy hiking solo that was trying to do the whole loop within that 3 day weekend) However, there was only one other group that had gone up early, like myself.

Of course, if you spread 10 parties out over a 45 mile loop, that is pretty thin, plus the biggest party I met was up there to climb Crater Mountain, not hike the trail.

It is possible your rude hikers had done the same, and had just wanted the whole trail to themselves and were dissapointed that was not the case?