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Several people “mainly concerned family members” have suggested that I carry some sort of protection while out herping. I commonly go deep into the forest were I could encounter mountain lion as well as bear. Do any of you carry any fire arms while out herping? I usually just carry my trusty hunting knife but I wander weather I should not head there warning and buy a gun to start taking on my herp trips
My reptile collection and research

Unless you are herping on your own land I wouldn't suggest it. The best way to go is with a buddy so you can make lots of noise and huddle up to seem bigger when you run into a bear or mountain lion. Herping alone is dangerous, and adding a gun is just asking for more trouble, IMHO.
Todd Hughes

Nothing wrong with carrying. But check your state laws because they may consider it "hunting" with a firearm.

ultimatly it is your decision, but i never field herp/road cruise without my hand gun. of course you need a concealed hand gun permit, otherwise you may be subject to a class A ucw arrest. i have heard several stories about herpers who found themselves in high risk situations which were out of their control. people take the lives of other people every day for the smallest reasons, and i certainly do not plan on being one of them.

Being that I am an avid hunter,I usually do my herping while hunting woodchucks.So I say pack heat if you wish.In a bad situation,it may save your life.

I personally keep a friendly little Glock with me most of the time. It is really there as a last ditch effort to keep me or whomever I'm with out of harms way. Here in Texas we have the Concealed Carry option. I occasionally run into homeless people living in the unincorporated areas around my city, and you just never know what might happen. It's a nice insurance policy to have!

Barry

been stopped road cruising at night in Texas and had hand gun and had a wait of anywheres of 20 to 45 minutes while the local law enforcement had to arrive. This was a stopped performed by wild life a couple of times. I don't know if border patrol has that right or not. Anybody here knows ? It was always a very positive situation to they always was friendly and never took my firearm away even with me being a non-resident. Glock has been my choice.

Hey Chambers, I was on the Big Hill on River Rd. and Max Peterson and I were stopped by Game Wardens. I think the main guys name was Ray , can't remember his last name. Max was walking the side of the road with a 9mm strapped to his side in plain sight. I was sitting in the truck waiting for Max and all I heard was "GUN" well it was Max telling the warden that he had a gun on his person, with hands raised of course. Well after we talked to them for a while they checked my concealed carry license, and they did nothing to Max who had no license at all. I guess they figured it was ok to protect yourself in that kind of a desolate area. Anyway they,.... wait I remember his last name it was Spears. "He was very nice by the way" he suggested that we cruise 118 , because he would not bother us there!
take care
Barry

on R.R. In fact it was quite comical with Spears because of his tobacky juice dripping down his shirt. Also the younger deputy sheriff on 385 going up to Marathon in one night was the 45 minute wait on me. I was told more or less the same thing that " it was understood " because of the " other things " going on around the area. Now i did tell them that i had a firearm in my reach and probably would of been a different story if i had lied ? Good to hear from you and about Max P.

when you guys say "fire arms" do you mean hand guns or rifles/shot guns? it is not against the law to have in your vehicle a rifle or shot gun as long as the barrel lenth has not been shortened or modified. if you have a hand gun in your car or on your persons in texas without a concealed hand gun permit, you are subject to arrest. in fact, i cannot understand why an officer would not make the arrest unless its a "wild west" (texas) thing. i guess the peace officers let it slide since it's out in the middle of no where with good intentions, but normally that would be a mandatory arrest. in addition, texas may not honor concealed hand gun permits from other states, and certainly if the weapon is exposed on ones persons then that person would be subject to arrest, thus the term "concealed" hand gun permit. also, although it is not against the law to posses a rifle or shot gun, if it is displayed in a manner that causes alarm to the public then one would be subject to the arrestable offense of doc (disorderly conduct) display of weapon. but since its the wild, wild, west, the laws are obviously softened, just a heads up...

We in Texas have reciprocity agreements with the following states.
Arizona
Arkansas
Florida
Idaho
Kentucky
Louisiana
Missippi
N.Carolina
Oklahoma
Tennesse
Utah
Wyoming
Which means we can carry our Concealed Handgun into these states
legally. We must however, be familiar with each states permit laws because although similar there are differences.
Barry

Here in California I commonly take my ATV to very very remote parts of the forest to herp. I would only carry accordingly. I would not carry my gun to the local park to do any herping only
When I am going way out away from civilization. BTW the gun I am looking at is a High Point 9mm. Comes with 9 and 10 round clips, Compensator and laser sight. All for only $189.99 I will most certainly get the proper permits before taking any gun out
My reptile collection and research

Jason, if you are going to buy that handgun, I would take it to the range and run 3-5 boxes of ammo through it to see if it functions properly. Some "cheaper" for lack of a better word, firearms are picky about wich ammo they prefer. Reliability is the keyword we are looking for here. You wouldn't want the gun to stovepipe a round when it's needed the most.
Barry

if you have a hand gun in your car or on your persons in texas without a concealed hand gun permit, you are subject to arrest.

If that were true, a person would never be able to take a handgun from his home to the shooting range. I think the law says if you're carrying a handgun (without a CCL), it has to be in the trunk or similarly inaccessible to the driver. I'd have to look it up for the exact wording.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

if your are herping at 2:00 am you are not enroute to any range. but you are right. how else could one purchase a gun and bring it home. that's where officer descretion comes into play. but the gun does not have to be within arms lenth or lungable area and loaded. otherwise the bad guys would legally keep a hand gun in the truck, magazine separate from gun, open the truck while the officer has his face burried in his ticket book, and bang. some of this is, however, like i said is officer descretion.

If you are out collecting from the road with a rifle or shotgun in the car will they look to say you are "hunting" illegally with a firearm from a public roadway? This seems to be a gray area.

I was fine with the hand gun in the vehicle but not out walking the cuts. Now as i have reported before, I did receive a ticket of $100 for having a hand gun within reach and the clip in the gun. This could of been very easily fought on my part but hey, it was only $100 and they did not confiscate the gun. It also involved me driving through the Federal Park with the gun within reach but I was stopped outside the park and they found it. There were possibly some other infractions ( none to do with having animals in vehicle ) that I could of faced that could of cost more fines. One of the persons at the scene outright told me to take the $100 fine and don't cause anymore trouble with the person writing the ticket. The ticket giver was the lady Park Ranger that was suspicious of our activity. The other officer was a DEA that made the suggestion of just taking the ticket as he told me the " other " infractions that I could face.

The thing that botherd me about the fire arm I was looking at was that I was ordering in online from out of state and I dont know the laws behind that. Also what if somthing hapened and I needed to take it back. Actualy now I found a local delaer and they have a nice little SW 22LR hand gun for $10 cheeper. I talked to a few avid hunters I know as I was worried a 22 might not do the job when I need it most and they say there isnt anything in N america that cant be killed with a little 22 it just depends on were ya shoot it. So far that is what I am looking at. the gun, a holster as mine is geting old and an extra 10 round clip just in case. I have no problems keeping curent on all local state and federal laws and will be geting my CWP before I take the gun from the house. I also found a cupone for 50 round point rounds for .69 "limit 30 boxes" there for I plane to purchase about 500 rounds that that price and use most of it geting the feel for the gun as I have never owned a gun. To bad a bb or pelet gun would not work as I have manny of those.
My reptile collection and research

Jason, yes a .22 can do some serious damage, but it just doesn't have the stopping power that the larger calibers have. The .45 is a serious show stopper, it is not that fast of a round but will do serious damage. I carry a .380 sometimes, but my main handgun that I carry is a Glock Model 27 in .40 S&W. Lots of people say that the .380 is the bare minimum caliber weapon to carry to protect yourself. I like the round due to the fact that the pistols that digest them are usually pretty small, and having a .380 is better than having nothing. Do a search on the net and check out Kel-Tec pistols. They are very small and they offer a .380 version.
Barry

I looked at some 380's but opted for the other do to its price and availability localy. I would love to get some of the other models you mentioned and looked at several glocks but just cant aford it. Not easy rasing a family now adays LOL I will have to see if the local shop carries 380's and get there prices. I am told however that a 10 round clip of 22 holow points will stop just about anything
My reptile collection and research

A 22 caliber handgun is not a defense weapon. In a bad situation you will be unlikely to hit where you are aiming to begin with, and you will be hitting it with a bullet to small to do enough damage to stop the threat. If something is trying to kill you, and that is the only time you have a right to use a weapon, you don't want to rely on a bullet as small as a 22. You are almost better off without a gun than with a 22.

Anyone that would tell you that a mag of 10 rounds of 22 cal will stop anything you will face does not understand the reality of self defense with a handgun.

You need a minimum of 9mm for defense. No police force in the country allows officers to carry anything smaller. The above poster was right, look at the Kel-Tec in 9mm. Buy a 22 for plinking and practice, but don't rely on it for defence.

Here is a good website to visit to learn more about handgun for defensive purposes:
www.glocktalk.com

jim

Hey jim, I was trying to tell Jason that a .22 is not a good choice for protection. It seems the hunters that told him that 10 rounds of .22 hollow points would stop anything in N.America. I'm sure it would ,but how long would it take?? The idea is to stop the agression/agressor as fast as you can.
Could you imagine having to TRY to stop a Cougar with a .22
"Come on" let's get real here!!!
Barry

Yeah, I agree. I am sure you could stop anything with 10 rounds of 22 hollowpoints if it was tied to a tree and you could take your time to get perfect shot placement. But in a life or death situation, I doubt you could stop a charging ground squirrel with a 22....

This is why I carry my trusty old 106. in a shoulder-holster when I go in the field - I like the "spread" effect!
Happy herp'n all,
Bill
Link

Ok Bill, curiosity got the cat!!! What's a 106.
Barry

Barry,
A 106. is a recoiless rifle, the Marines love 'em...never leave home w/o one Is that you Barry4?
Bill

Bill, nope ...just plain ole Barry. I remember a shotgun that was touted as a recoiless firearm. I think it was called a Ljutic
or some strange name.It was real nice looking with a very high stylish ventilated rib!!
take care
Barry

i usually carry some sort of large blade with me. i havnt taken the hunter safety course so i dont htink i can buy or carry a gun legally.
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