First Gun, Questions

[bluerollick]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a first-time gun owner. I purchased a Ruger SR9c. I'm in love with it. It has a nice amount of weight, it's easy to use, it's very accurate (or maybe it's me :smile and it's a good looking gun in my opinion. Mainly got it for sport because I had a blast shooting with a friend about a month ago. However, I love to backpacking in places with some interesting predators (wolves; I'm from Michigan and go up north to hike a lot). While I've still never run into any wolves, I look at it the same as having never run into a carjacker: it's possible. And now that I have a gun, I wanted the forum's views on what has worked for them while backpacking and/or hiking (holsters, ammo, etc.).

Below are links to pictures of my gun. Named him El Buen Polvo. It's Spanish slang and seemed fitting for my first gun for whatever reason. Spain is one of my favorite places to travel to and Spanish is the only other language I speak.

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Thanks In Advance,
Blue

 

[bofh]

Welcome to the forum.

Mindset, skill and gear are the important components of self defense. Most people ignore the first two and go all-out nuts on the last. Take some defensive pistol training classes to learn the right mindset and skill. The fighting mindset includes situational awareness (such as Cooper's color codes, etc.) and decision making (such as evade, barricade, and respond). The fighting skill set includes proper procedures (carry, draw, point, shoot, scan, top-off, treat, etc).

As for the all-out nuts gear part: Ammunition and firearm selection for hiking depends on the threat profile (such as larger-size four-legged predators and highly armed two-legged predators), carry ability (such as size and weight), and legal issues (such as gun-free parks). Don't forget that you need to carry two trauma kits, one for inducing trauma (firearm) and one for treating it (medical kit).

I live in East TN. We have bears and meth heads in the woods. When hiking, I carry a Glock 20 with 15+1 rounds of 10mm hardcast ammo and two 15-round magazines loaded with 10mm JHP ammo. I also carry a Glock 26 with 12+1 rounds of 9mm as backup with a separate 17-round magazine. Holster selection depends on weather conditions (and resulting clothing) and backpack size. The Glock 20 goes either in a IWB or OWB holster, while the Glock 26 goes either in an AIWB or ankle holster. I also carry a knife, flashlight, pepper gel, bear spray, several tourniquets, several Israeli battle dressings, and other medical equipment and survival tools.

 

[bluerollick]

Hey thanks man. I appreciate the reply. The defensive class advice is a great and well-heeded piece of information. I plan to do this as soon as the gun store I like starts scheduling classes this winter.'

I see you around the forums a lot. Thanks for such thoughtful answers.