Hammocks and firearms

[wisenber]

On my multi-day backpacking trips in bear country I have started carrying Bear Spray. "Those in the know" tell me this is MUCH more effective in managing bears than a gun.

"When" I do carry a firearm it is to deter to humans, not 4 legged animals. seriously. Especially when backpacking/hanging in potentially drug cultivating areas of the backwoods.

I usually carry ten small 10mm canisters of bear spray encased in a compact polymer housing made by some Austrian company that rhymes with a large time piece. I sleep with it across my chest in the front pocket of my puffy jacket.

[Thom]

I was thinking of hanging a retention holster from the ridgeline.

[SMJerry]

No.. Really??? Protection from what? C'mon.. Unless you are taking your hammock with you on a hunting trip.. what for?
Or are you expecting to wake up on the "Wrong side of the trail"

So I geuss thats a no for me.

Jerry

[packeagle]

I like the idea of a retention holster from the ridge line, depending on the way the holster operates, thinking a blackhawk serpa level 2 would fit the bill as it has a release mechanism that doesn't require you to "rock" the firearm. In my experience the glock 22 is to heavy to sit well in the blackbird shelf.

[trinni]

Canadian here. If I, or most other people, were caught carrying a handgun that would be the end of camping for that weekend

Same here in Germany. No one would want to have me around. Even though I like solo-hiking... I wouldn't want to be the crazy stranger on the trail. I'm talking about european people and european trails, no offense intended.

So, if I had the permission to carry a gun and the necessity to have one around with me inside of the hammock, I'd sew a ridgeline holster, pointing the gun upwards (not at me and not at my fellow hikers) with 1 or 2 buttons for easy access. A prussik would help fixing the position on the ridgeline. But then there is the question how fast one could draw it out of the ridgeline holster and also if I'd have any chance to defend myself hanging in my hammock if an aggressor attacks with a knife poking it through my underquilt. And for bears -- we don't have bears here, besides I'd think bearspray would be a much better choice.

[Floridahanger]

Ahh, Trinni, you bring up a good point. No pun intended. Time to make a Kevlar UQ/TQ(with holster) to spice up the hammock and provide needed storage and protection.

[pizza]

Glock 19 (9mm) for me. I also put it in my Warbonnet shelf.

Same here.

[Gaberloonzie]

Springfield XD .45 tactical - 5.5 inch and about as heavy as it gets with the 13+1 mag (only stating for weight comparison) hangs suspended from my ridge line in a suspension holster just fine. I flipped the holster and s - biner it through a piece of 550 cord drilled for the occasion. Push it up the ridge line so I don't bump my head on it and I'm good to go.

[Can't Wait]

40 sw on my hip I will sometimes put on shelf of black bird but if I need to do a quick exit want it on my person.

[slowhike]

Do you guys stay awake all night? How do you know that your WBBB shelf is not being invaded by a bad guy while you are asleep?

I put my Ruger GP-100 in a holster on my ridgeline when soloing or out with Littlebogg. We had some two legged predators invade our camp in May and found a big surprise waiting for them. They were some local guys that for some reason thought they owned the local area. We exchanged kind words and showed each others our firearms. They left we broke camp and moved on down the way and didn’t see them the rest of the trip. We had no run-ins with the wild life.


Bigbogg

Most of us by far will go through life with out encountering two legged invaders in our camp like Bigbogg did. But things like that do happen from time to time.
If I have the misfortune of being in a camp that someone with bad intentions invades, my thinking is kinda like what DavyRay seams to be thinking.

If by chance someone was able to walk up to my hammock while I was still sound asleep, I'd rather not have my gun exposed to them, not even behind a layer of bug net.

Nothing against that, I just like the idea of having the weapon more protected yet with in easy reach for me.
For now I'm sleeping with the Kel-Tec P11 (9mm) in a leather side holster while I sleep (when camping).

But I've give thought to another idea.
It would be a folded ccf pad that would have the holstered pistol inside it at night.
It would double as a sit pad & possibly as a stiffener for a backpack. But when sleeping it would serve as part of my knee pillow. I have thought I might have a ripstop, nylon sleeve (or stuff sack) I would but it in for knee pillow mode & add one of the light weight, blow up pillows to add a little thickness.

The gun would be unexposed & yet with in fairly easy reach, whether I'm sleeping on my side or my back.

Just throwing this idea out there in case someone else might like it & want to improve on it.