Camping out of your explorer

[Rusty]

expeditionportal.com.. check out the forum and browse the roof top tents and camping trailers.. and blah blah blah.. you'll be hooked..

Sleeping in the back of the explorer isn't bad.. done it a few times.. i am a big guy and i still fit in my sport when i had it. The 4 door is ideal. I think you could squeeze a queen air mattress in but really just get a sleeping bag and you'll be fine! Some mesh screen material and some velcro will let you have the windows down and not worry about bugs on those hot nights

 

[Thelt]

I would recommend the 12 gauge over the 20 gauge for a few different reasons.

1 - With a slug, it is a one shot kill as long as your placement is correct. Just as LD50 has suggested, we must be responsible for our actions. I personally don't want to wound an animal and make it suffer, but don't get me wrong though, if it came down between me and my loved ones or the bear, I will shoot whatever I have as many times as I can and hit it every opportunity I get. I would feel better in the long run if it was a quick kill, but when your life is on the line, as long as the bear vacates the area without harming someone, that is priority numero uno.

2 - A 12 gauge is a much better choice for home defense. In this case, someone is in your home and possibly trying to hurt you or your loved ones... lets not take any chances on a minor flesh wound where they can retaliate.

3 - A lot of people are scared by the kick of a 12 gauge, but you can shoot softer recoiling shells for practice. When the real situation takes place, you'll want to use full power rounds, but have so much adrenaline pumping that you won't care how much recoil the gun has. For this reason, the 12 gauge is much more versatile. A 20 gauge will only be as powerful as a 20 gauge.


As a side note, I would pass on loading the gun with blanks. You can always miss on purpose with a live round, but you can't hit if you need to with a blank.

Even with a shotgun shot placement is important. I think I would practice a lot more with a 20 gauge than I would with a 12. There is also the worry of over penetration with a 12 gauge...

 

[Thelt]

expeditionportal.com.. check out the forum and browse the roof top tents and camping trailers.. and blah blah blah.. you'll be hooked..

Sleeping in the back of the explorer isn't bad.. done it a few times.. i am a big guy and i still fit in my sport when i had it. The 4 door is ideal. I think you could squeeze a queen air mattress in but really just get a sleeping bag and you'll be fine! Some mesh screen material and some velcro will let you have the windows down and not worry about bugs on those hot nights

I bought a set of "magna screens" to go over my windows so I can open them a bit and still keep bugs out. I have a full size air mattress that I just bought for it. I have not tried it out yet though. Maybe I will have time this weekend.

 

[macknos94]

thats why i would recommend a hand gun. like a .45 you have put a bear down with a few rounds. with some practice you can unload a mag and keep a 3-5 inch grouping. thats why i say one round will hit the huge lungs and slow him fast. plus its easier to keep a .45 on your belt then a shotgun.

i agree with X6StringerX. i don't have to hit anything with a live round and it still makes a bang. if i need it i know i can take my shot. saying that please never fire a round into the dirt. if that hits a rock just under the dirt who knows where the round will end up. air and only air. we had a guy get shot from a round that was fired into the ground as a warning shot

 

[xplorerguru]

air and only air.

What goes up must come down

 

[Thelt]

My instructor at my concealed carry class said to never fire into the air. You can kill someone miles away if the bullet comes down on them.

 

[X6StringerX]

Even with a shotgun shot placement is important. I think I would practice a lot more with a 20 gauge than I would with a 12. There is also the worry of over penetration with a 12 gauge...

That's why I noted placement in my #1. Also, you can buy 12 gauge rounds that are "underloaded" so the recoil will be very similar to that of a 20 gauge. Practice with those and save the majority of the monster rounds for... well, monsters! Note that I said majority... you should always be familiar with what you're shooting, so you need to know what it feels like to shoot a full power round.

As far as the ground/air debate goes, it's illegal to fire a handgun or rifle into the air in my state, but shotguns are used for bird hunting. If you're trying to miss, your best bet is to aim for a tree/log or soft soil if you have a handgun or rifle. Don't shoot straight down beside you. Also, note if there are any other nearby campers. Check with your state on firearm laws before you fire into the air with a shotgun.

 

[Rusty]

wow! from camping/sleeping in the back of an explorer to carrying a machine gun to ward off bears.. kind of random.. but hey i like all of the above!

Personally.... when i get more active in camping.. IF it is more wilderness camping i will get and carry a handgun.. .45 most likely.. but for now its all good in the hood with my pocket knife.. itl fend off the bullies at the shower house just fine!

Don't think the park campground owners would love it if i toted my marlin slugmaster 12 guage bolt action clip fed w/a scope around the playground! Even though a bear could show up! It's a thought though!

 

[macknos94]

i have seen rounds fired into sand which is thought to be pretty soft. it was aimed about 25 yrds away from anyone and hit a guy at his about 3 O'clock IN A TOWER. as for firing a fire arm in the air you do that with every round. your point of aim is in the air. the correct way to air a warning round is 55-60 degree angle from the ground. the velocity of the round will die down before it comes back down. unless your firing a 50 cal you don't have much to worry about it hitting someone. haha

hitting a tree or something soft like wood can also work but make sure its not a twig. you never know whats behind it!!!! dirt,sand and stuff that may appear soft can still have rock, slate,(hell in these days) concrete, metal, or other hard materials under it.

my honest opinion is if you can't scare a bear away by yelling or making noise then place your shot. make sure its well aimed and take it down. i'm sure you guys and girls like your lives so keep yourself alive. you may feel bad afterwards but then look around afterwards. think about it you did it to keep your family/friends safe.

 

[ld50]

Well they've made it so hard here to bring a gun anywhere, they have probably realized their goal... I don't own one.

Anyway, I went camping for the night with my boy, we saw a large black on the way in but he ran before I could get a pic. On the way out we saw big Black sow with a cub, again, they beat it before I could get a pic.

Here is what one of them air matresses looks like in the back, along with a couple gratuitous poses.

-got pretty cold at night, was nice to be inside, off the ground, but still a chore to get in and out of, hard to grab the door handles. Might be better with just a couple air mattresses-

 

[Thelt]

That is some pretty country you have up there. Here are some shots from the place I tired to camp last weekend.

 

[Thelt]

Those pics are from last fall but you get the idea.

 

[ld50]

looks nice, perhaps a little more arid than my neck of the woods.

 

[Thelt]

looks nice, perhaps a little more arid than my neck of the woods.

It just looks that way because the pics were in the fall and the leaves had already turned. The area is called Linville Gorge. It is one of the best preserved areas in the eastern US. The only complaint I have with it is that access is pretty difficult. There are no access roads that are open any more that will let you get down to the bottom of the gorge.

 

[mattadams]

I used to camp in my explorer a lot back in the days and even made what I think is a really cool box designed for it. It took me about 8 hours to build and carpet but I was damn proud of that thing. the reason I built it was, even with an air bed, you'd be sleeping at an angle, plus where I had my stereo amps installed they were mounted to the back of the back seats and they'd puncture an air bed quick so I built this storage box/platform... queen size air bed fit comfortably and because I'm 6'8" I'd sleep with my head towards the back window and my feet would often rest on the center console.
The parts that went over the back seat area could fold up and rest on top of the storage box when not in use. The doors could also lock shut and i also made it so the box could lock down to the existing tie-downs in the cargo area.

Not bad for a 19 year old with a table saw and some screws...

 

[Tbars4]

...It looks like you also set it up for different sizes of storage, with the use of movable dividers...:scratch:

 

[macknos94]

that is a neat setup. looks like it was built pretty well. that is one thing i hate about the system in my trunk

 

[mattadams]

tbars, yup! Moveable storage! All suprisingly sturdy. The box itself was fairly heavy but I could get it in and out by myself pretty easily. One of my favorite things I ever built myself.

 

[Thelt]

I used to camp in my explorer a lot back in the days and even made what I think is a really cool box designed for it. It took me about 8 hours to build and carpet but I was damn proud of that thing. the reason I built it was, even with an air bed, you'd be sleeping at an angle, plus where I had my stereo amps installed they were mounted to the back of the back seats and they'd puncture an air bed quick so I built this storage box/platform... queen size air bed fit comfortably and because I'm 6'8" I'd sleep with my head towards the back window and my feet would often rest on the center console.
The parts that went over the back seat area could fold up and rest on top of the storage box when not in use. The doors could also lock shut and i also made it so the box could lock down to the existing tie-downs in the cargo area.

Not bad for a 19 year old with a table saw and some screws...

That is pretty sweet. Could you fold it back and raise the second row seats if you wanted?

 

[justsomeguy]

Hey LD50, how heavy is that tire rack? Nice Ex BTW! and the winch is it just stored there?