Hey,
I see that I am a little late to reply to this thread, but as I grew to love hiking and camping only after reaching adulthood, this is a topic I love to talk about. Here are a few pointers that I take from my own experience:
- If you plan to spend time in a tent, especially in colder climates, bring a "pee bottle" Nothing is such a drag as to have to leave the warm snugness of a sleeping bag in the middle of the night.
- Even if it is a dry climate, not a chance in the world of rain or other dampness, waterproof everything anyway.
- Try to bring tools that can function to more than one purpose. For example, a cup that you can also use as a cointainer to boil water. A knife with a serratet edge.
- If you can bring an axe / hatchet, saw and a knife. Great. If you have to choose only one, choose the knife.
- Never leave a smoldering campfire. Take proper precautions to prevent a wildfire.
- Use wool as the innermost article of clothing. Works great in warmer climates as well.
- Try to follow the KISS-principle. "Keep it simple, stupid." Don't overcomplicate things.
- Have a backup plan, think worst case scenario.
What will you do if you yourself or someone in your company breaks a leg, cut themselves severly with a knife, if someone gets burns from fire, what if aliens invade your campground. (Just joking with the last part.)
I enjoy camping on my own most of the time, far from the usual camping spots so I always bring tools and supplies in order to be pretty much self sufficient. (First aid supplies, GPS with Inreach capabilities, emergency shelter and so forth.)
Just my two cents. I am not at any rate an expert but these I have learned the hard way, by trial and error.
For the time being I only hunt paper targets. For a long time now I have been meaning to get certifed and begin the road to become a hunter. Everyday life has a tendency to get in the way. (I say this, but in reality I am a bit of a lazy sod.)
Privately I own a 9mm handgun made by the good people at Heckler & Koch. P30 L. V1. (LEM trigger system.) I bought this while attending school to became a law enforcment officer to improve my marksmanship. Now I mostly use it for target practice while not on the job and for IPSC shooting.
I wouldn't stretch the truth and even claim that I am a skilled marksman, but I am familiar with both rifles and handguns. Due to my occupation and a stint served in the armed forces.
Here in Norway, same as the rest of Europe, gun control is pretty strict. But due to traditions and a culture of hunting and trapping there are abundance of legally owned weapons around. Judging by the other replies in this thread there seems to be quite a variation from each reply. Could someone educate me on the gun laws in your respective home countries?
We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.