Rogue - I can use Google and find a few hundred stories where a gun in the backcountry might be useful, but I was asking if ANYONE on this board had a personal story to share. As for the person who came up on the mountain lion, it seems like that worked itself out ok. He either knew how to handle himself against the lion without a gun or he figured it out pretty quickly. Who knows, a gun might have made the situation WORSE.
Even though there are, without a doubt, times when someone could make practical use of a gun in the backcountry, those times are a very small drop in the bucket compared to when one would not be needed. You COULD have the timing belt on your car break on your way to work - DO you carry a spare? Do you know how to install one? Do you carry the tools to install one?
For those who will be carrying in the backcountry - are you going to leave something behind as a weight trade off or will you be sucking it up or just putting in fewer miles?
I kinda think if you decide to open carry either while car camping or in the back country, you are looking more for attention than protection. Just my opinion, but that's the opinion I use most often............................DUG
