i have taken a 30-30 up via truck, and in the airplane. i had no problems either way with canadian customs.
fill out their forms, including the serial number, pay the $25 and you are on your way.

Wayne, Chris, and...oh yeah-- you, Zane (is that a pie in your pocket or are ya just glad to see me?):
I'm curious about the reasoning behind "always" carrying a gun in the airplane.
1) self-defense/animals? (shotgun, 44 mag)
2) survival/ skillet fodder? (22,410)
3) self-defense/2 legged critters? (45ACP,9mm)
As for me-- I have a carry permit, usually have a gun with me in my vehicle but generally not on my person. I usually pack along a handgun on overnighters, but not for just buzzing around. Guess if I go down I'll have to outwit the natives instead of blasting them....

Eric

zero.one.victor wrote:Wayne, Chris, and...oh yeah-- you, Zane (is that a pie in your pocket or are ya just glad to see me?):
I'm curious about the reasoning behind "always" carrying a gun in the airplane. Guess if I go down I'll have to outwit the natives instead of blasting them....

Eric

Not to step on any testosterone levels here, and not to be hypocritical, as I've packed my .45 on my vest for 30+ years and stash a 12 gauge in the Arctic pack when flying the far northern AK coast, but has anyone, or anyone you know or heard of, ever HAD to use a firearm in a survival situation involving an airplane (other than military).

Except for tales from some of my old Alaska mentors, and this was decades ago, I never have.

Gump

GumpAir wrote:Not to step on any testosterone levels here... but has anyone, or anyone you know or heard of, ever HAD to use a firearm in a survival situation involving an airplane (other than military).

I think mostly what you're paying for and achieving by carrying firearms is peace of mind.

I'd like to hear any stories of holding the wolves off on a cold winter night stranded with the bent plane, though, if anyone had any.

I read somewhere that there is no documented case of a wolf killing a human.
Also according to the 27th Alaska Almanac, you are 10.9 times as likely to be injured by a toilet as a bear. This is taken from a 10 year average of national statistics.
Best to keep that '357' in the bathroom.
I have wandered around Alaska, and in fact the bush in every continent including over 140 countries and never needed a gun and I'm here to tell you about it,.....so far!
Jeremy

I met one old timer who said he once brandished a snub nosed .38 at a couple weirdos who approached him after he taxied to his hanger at a lonesome airstrip. That's the only case I know of.

There is on the market, a reasonably priced shotgun, overall length more than 26 inches, barrel length more than 18 inches. It is primarily a survival weapon (or so it is marketed in its own waterproof case) but it has the shoulder stock removed and replaced with a pistol grip. It would, in fact, be lighter, quicker, and easier to carry for the same firepower. Does this weapon get through Canada as a "normal" weapon? I can read the regs either way. Ralph

a64pilot and mtv:

I hunt in Mexico every year and take two guns every year (going again in January). Frankly I have never had any problems with either US Customs or Mexico. Filling out the 4455 and having US Customs verify everything on it before you leave the US saves a lot of grief coming back. They don't think you are trying to bring some high-priced thing back that you bought in Mexico.

Iceman:

When I go to Mexico, I don't go across the border to some border town. I have been a number of places, but mostly central Baja and the high mountains of Sonora. The Sonoran hunt is one of the last I'll give up. Like turning the clock back 500 years.

375HandH

As part of my wilderness survival package...when I lived and worked in Alaska (13 yrs)... a handgun was always part of my "tool kit". Now I carry a 12 ga flare gun...almost as effective as a .357 at close range and no (repeat NO) intergovernmental problems because it is a rated survival flare certified by the Coast Guard, etc. Ussually a handgun for bears made us feel better, but if a Kodiak bear really wants you....save the last bullet for yourself. Up close, they can be as quick as a mountain lion, and if you climb a stunted spruce to get out of their reach...thay can just lean against it and mow it down.

iceman wrote:why would anyone want to go to Mexico??????

There's more to Mexico than Tijuana

maules.com wrote:I read somewhere that there is no documented case of a wolf killing a human.

Not true. But it is very, VERY uncommon.

Also according to the 27th Alaska Almanac, you are 10.9 times as likely to be injured by a toilet as a bear. This is taken from a 10 year average of national statistics.
Best to keep that '357' in the bathroom.
I have wandered around Alaska, and in fact the bush in every continent including over 140 countries and never needed a gun and I'm here to tell you about it,.....so far!
Jeremy

This I agree with, and I carry one for a living. You'd be better off packing extra food or some more of those emergency fire starters (that we discussed in another thread a while back) into that holster than a firearm. IMHO.

But to each his own. They are perfectly legal up here except in National Parks and if you want to carry them then go for it.

So someone out there does know of a wolf killing a person? I've read a lot of accounts of wolves killing people in Europe a couple hundred years ago...don't know if they are true...and of wolves scavenging after battles, which would probably include killing wounded people. But I've never heard of a wolf attacking or killing a healthy adult in North America. If someone out there knows of such an incident I'd be interested in hearing about it.

As for the gun...I always carry one for two legged predators. It makes me feel better when I'm crapping behind a bush, as I believe toilets are far too dangerous.

I carry a Sig Sauer P226 on duty, I carry a Sig Sauer P230 with me off duty, not alwasy on my person but with me, I also cary a Sig Sauer GSR 1911 45ACP. And I feel sorry for those who choose to carry a Glock.

zero.one.victor wrote:Wayne, Chris, and...oh yeah-- you, Zane (is that a pie in your pocket or are ya just glad to see me?):
I'm curious about the reasoning behind "always" carrying a gun in the airplane.
1) self-defense/animals? (shotgun, 44 mag)
2) survival/ skillet fodder? (22,410)
3) self-defense/2 legged critters? (45ACP,9mm)
As for me-- I have a carry permit, usually have a gun with me in my vehicle but generally not on my person. I usually pack along a handgun on overnighters, but not for just buzzing around. Guess if I go down I'll have to outwit the natives instead of blasting them....

Eric

If you have a 170 and a nice gun then I will be happy to see you.

Like I said before I woud rather have a gun and not need it then need a gun and not have one. I agree with Zane, even thoguh he does not carry a gun, it is peace of mind.

Zane,
If you want you come over here and I will take you to the range, I am a firearms instructor.

I think there are well over a dozen sited dedicated to the mindless sig/glock debate...lets not make this one of them.

pif_sonic wrote: I agree with Zane, even thoguh he does not carry a gun, it is peace of mind.

Zane,
If you want you come over here and I will take you to the range, I am a firearms instructor.

I guess I gave the impression that I don't have any guns. Although I don't have a carry permit I do take a .22 semi-auto with me backpacking...don't tell the States of Oregon or California, please. i also have a old .22 Winchester lever action. So, in my mind I'm safe from non-PCP hopped up humans and digger squirrels. They're also good for teaching people to shoot and just plinking cans with.

On my list though is a 870 Marine Magnum...though i find it hard to spend money on guns when skis, mountain bikes, and avgas are so much more fun.

once&futr_alaskaflyer wrote:

iceman wrote:why would anyone want to go to Mexico??????

There's more to Mexico than Tijuana

Yes it is a beautiful country and I have been there several times. However, I for one will not spend a dime of my money in a country that surrepticiously supports drug cartels, and encourages it's citizens to violate our laws by entering our country illegally. Mexico would never, and I mean never afford an American citizen the rights and privileges we freely give her citizens just because they draw breath on our soil. You, as an American, are considered Basura! (That's trash in case your not up on your spanish.) And yes I know all of Mexico isn't Tijuana, and the people further down are wonderful friendly folks. Living here since 1969 and having been a SDPD officer with 8 years on the job before I left I have heard all the "Nothing ever happened to me down there " stories. I have also heard the absolute nightmare stories from incidents further south too. Just remember when you go there YOU Have NO RIGHTS!!!!!!!!!! But enjoy yourself and spend lots of money to enhance their economy.

Me, I almost never carry a gun flying. That's because I don't fly over "real" back country very often. But, this time I plan too, and with an eight and eleven year old. If it were just me or the wife it might be different, but I can see that maybe an eight year old little girl might be considered food to a bear or mountain lion. I don't know how I could live with myself if that happened, that's what the old Mossberg is for. If I have to use it and lose the gun, well Mossbergs are cheap.

ravi wrote:So someone out there does know of a wolf killing a person? I've read a lot of accounts of wolves killing people in Europe a couple hundred years ago...don't know if they are true...and of wolves scavenging after battles, which would probably include killing wounded people. But I've never heard of a wolf attacking or killing a healthy adult in North America. If someone out there knows of such an incident I'd be interested in hearing about it.

Well, post-1900, this guy says no (2002), but then this happened...

Thanks for the wolf links...interesting stuff.

It's common sense that small children are more vulnerable to animal predation, and I've always been of the mindset that there is no greater shame than being unable to fight back effectively. With that said, I think the only thing less likely than suffering an animal attack is your ability to instigate a effective defense when it's needed.

I've had two close encounters with mountain lions, and I was armed both times. I can say without hesitation that the only thing that kept me alive was the fact that the mountain lions didn't want to kill me. I always wondered how many other lions I've walked past and never known it. I know there are notable exceptions, but if an animal that kills every morsel it ever eats has designs on your child, I really don't think you're likely to save him/her. It will happen too fast, and by the time you know there is a problem it will be too late to shoot.

I went to considerable expense and bother to get a shotgun to Alaska, even though I know that the chance of actually needing to use it were incredibly slim, and if I did need to use it, the chances that my defense would fail are reasonably large. Despite clearly knowing this, one of my greatest fears is to be unable to attempt a good defense. So I pack a gun with me to Alaska, on vacation in Hawaii, and at my mother-in-laws 70th birthday party. It's nothing short of silly...a security blanked for non-toddlers.

As Zane said, it's purely a personal comfort thing. Statistically, your children are probably safer without the weight of the weapon in the plane verses the defense if offers them, and a couple bright people could likely come up with a hundred items which weigh the same but offer infinitely more security, but for some of us that doesn't matter.

If you feel the same, bring the gun. If you don't, find something else to worry about, like keeping your engine running so you don't have to crash land in the first place.