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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   1870 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 28, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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I've been hiking a lot again. At least one day long hike per week and, thankfully, I've even engaged in a few 2 - 3 day overnights. Wonderful stuff.

Question for the motte; what are your thoughts on being "armed" on the trail. I put "armed" in quotations because this could mean one or more of;

  • Pocket knife
  • Large pointy stick
  • Inconvenient and heavy rambo style "survival" knife
  • Pistol
  • Shotgun / rifle toting.

Bear in mind I am specifically asking about a non-hunting situation. While I am experienced enough to agree with the adage that the most dangerous critters you will encounter are the two-legged kind, I sometimes have these intrusive thoughts about encountering something like a rabies ridden buck. That would be frightening.

So, open question. Not looking for advice per se, just everyone's thoughts.

I frequently carry a single stack 9mm loaded with hot SD ammo when I'm out hiking. I've run into enough mobile meth labs deep in the woods to be wary of what might happen if the owners are nearby.

I doubt it would drop a large rabid animal in one shot, but it beats harsh language.

The rabid animal case, specifically, is difficult, because anything short of rapid exsanguination or a CNS hit is likely to stop them. Unless you're a trained marksman with a lot of experience in stressful shooting, you're not likely to get either of those with pure shot placement in circumstances like that. Given that generality, you'd need a fairly large, heavy, high velocity bullet that creates a large wound cavity and potentially damages distant tissue via hydrostatic shock.

Unfortunately, anything that can do that is going to be large and heavy enough that it's going to be miserable to haul around for the 99.999999% of the time that you don't need it.

Alright, so, for the rabid animal case, it's pretty much fend off the attacking zombie deer and then get my ass to the hospital for all of anti-rabies shots and whatnot?

My experience with rabid animals is that they don't really stop doing whatever they start doing until they get a new thought in their head.

I once had a rabid groundhog continue to violently attack an archery target for a solid 30 seconds after I put a .38 round into its neck. It only stopped because it bled out.

Aaaaaaand irrational rabies fear is back up to 11/10. Thanks.

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