[at-l] Naked silicone guns. WAS: TROLLS, WF, BRYSON, PURISM, CELLPHONES, ETC ETC ETC ETC

[shane@theplacewithnoname.com (Shane Steinkamp)]

> > FWIW, spraying yourself with silicone water repellent when
> > it starts to rain does NOT work....

> Would you like to elaborate on that one?  And, please tell us,
> how do you carry a pistol if you're hiking nekkid, as you were in
> the swamp in LA last week-end?  I'm still scratching my head over
> that one.  <G>  anklebear

I elaborated on the spray in another post.  In the end, using a water
repellent spray on your clothing can work in a light drizzle, but I wouldn't
recommend relying on it for any length of time.

Last weekend I carried a single shot 12 gauge shotgun with the barrel cut to
20 inches.  It gets slung on the right side of the pack, barrel down.  I
usually bring this shotgun when traveling in the deep backwaters of my home
state for a couple of reasons.  The shotgun is efficient at bringing down
small game and birds for supper, and is surprisingly light.  The shotgun
doesn't mind the damp, or the wet.  It has an external hammer with an
excellent safety.  If I manage to get mud in the works, or in the barrel, it
breaks down instantly and completely with no special tools.  It was an
excellent selection under the conditions, even though I didn't use it.  I
had a full pack of various foods, so killing game would mean that I'd have
to keep carrying what I had.  I was also feeling lazy, and I didn't want to
shoot anything I'd have to dress and cook, which was just as well since Mr.
Fornier had shot and cooked a nutria for Slim and I.  (His tool of choice
for that job was a rifle, but he was in a boat and didn't have to carry it.)

For the record, Slim is in the anti-gun camp.  He thinks I'm off the deep
end.  He's never turned down a hot dinner when I've bothered to do the work
though.  Once, while he was eating roast duck, I asked him, "So, how do you
feel about carrying a shotgun now?"  He said that just because he was eating
the duck didn't mean that he didn't think I was still a nut case.

Under normal hiking conditions - that is to say when I'm not sloshing around
in some deep swamp, or stalking through places where I am not at the top of
the food chain, or when other people may be uncomfortable with the sight of
a firearm, I carry a pistol.  Usually this is in one of a few places, my
favorite being a lumbar holster tied to my ALICE pack.  Another choice is
under a Velcro flap on a frameless bag - either on top of the pack, or on
the lower right side.

Carried in this way, the firearm doesn't impede one's freedom to walk nude
when the conditions are right.

Shane