Practical reasons for a long gun when camping

by Garrett

Editors Note: Please welcome back Benjamin from Primary Arms. Primary Arms is a great source for firearms parts and optics. Their ACSS reticles are top of the line, and I urge you to check them out!

With the weather warming up in most of the country, a lot of folks are thinking of spending spring and summer weekends camping out in a local, or far-flung spot. As part of your preparations, even if you’re not hunting it might be well worth it to pack a firearm along with you.

Of course, keep in mind that you’ll have to follow all state and local laws, and the rules of the areas in which you camp. We’re not lawyers, and we’re certainly not your lawyers. With that said, it might be a good idea to pack a firearm to protect yourself and your camping companions from two or four-legged animals. Here are five that we think make great camping firearms.

A .22 Rifle

For a lot of people, their first firearm is a .22 rifle, and we still think it’s an excellent choice: the low noise and recoil, along with affordable ammunition make these wonderful weapons to learn to shoot with, and they’re still a lot of fun to shoot as adults.

If you’re going camping somewhere where you’re legally allowed to target shoot, then taking a .22 to shoot cans and other targets with is an awesome way to have some fun. Additionally, if you’re willing to eat small game like rabbits, then a .22 is about the ideal gun with which to hunt: in this case, you’d be able to cook them over the campfire for a super-authentic experience.

.22 is not the boldest caliber in the world for defense, especially against something like a bear. With that caveat in mind, we still think it would be substantially better than no firearm at all. People carry handguns of this caliber for self-defense against people, so it does have some, perhaps limited, defensive value here if it is your only option.

An AR15

America’s rifle, the AR15, has been used successfully as a defensive and hunting firearm for half a century, and we think it’s a great camping weapon for a few of the same reasons that have made it a popular military weapon. It’s a light, a reliable rifle that has ammunition that is similarly lightweight. This makes a big difference when you have to pack in a tent, food, and other supplies. If you can open carry, it makes sense to simply sling your AR on your back and head into the woods.

If open carry is not legal or not an option, the AR can disassemble into two parts with just the takedown pins, and then, depending on your bag, can be easily stowed well out of sight. The .223 caliber is also an excellent defensive or hunting cartridge: switching from armor-piercing to hunting rounds changes the overall performance enough so that we feel comfortable hunting even deer with an AR.

.223 might be small, but it packs enough energy to where we would choose it over a .22 or most handguns when it comes to bear defense as well. All told, the AR is a flexible, capable rifle platform that works well as a camping gun.

A Lever-Action Rifle

Perhaps it’s that one of our writers has been getting into western films and video games lately, but the idea of sleeping under the stars with a lever-action rifle leaned against one of the posts of the tent seems like a deeply cool idea.

There’s a lot more to lever-action rifles than nostalgia, however. Many of these rifles fire cartridges that are designed to take down large game, and are cross-compatible with revolvers, making them an excellent, and practical choice for folks concerned about both hunting and defense.

In an ideal setup, we’d go for a lever-action rifle in .357 magnum, and pair it with a revolver in the same caliber. The rifle would be much better suited to hunting than the revolver, but it’s a lot easier to take a revolver with you when you’re going out to collect firewood or some other camp-related task that takes both hands.

People have been using these rugged, reliable rifles to get by in the outdoors for well over a century now, and we still think that a large-caliber lever-action rifle is an excellent tool to have with you at the campsite in 2022 and beyond.

A 12-Gauge Shotgun

A shotgun is likely the most versatile firearm you can own. Are you hunting birds? Birdshot will do the job. How about deer or other medium game? Buckshot did get that name for a reason. Bear coming at you looking fairly mad: then I suppose it’s time for 3” magnum slugs to show it you mean business.

I could go on, with mini-shells, less-lethal rounds, specialty rounds, etc. but you get the point: with a change in ammunition, a shotgun can go from a hunting tool for about anything that walks or flies in North America to a defensive tool in less than a second.

Shotguns are heavy and do not perform as well at long range as rifles. With that said, we think that no gun collection is complete without a good 12 gauge shotgun, and if you already have one, we think you also have one of the most versatile camping guns out there. It’s also worth noting that most states are also fairly permissive in terms of shotguns for hunting, even in places that don’t allow rifles, which might affect your choice of campsite firearm.

Conclusion

We think that any of the firearms listed here would make fine campsite guns. As you notice, they come in all kinds of action types, platforms, and the like. The more general point is that if you happen to have a firearm with which you’re competent and comfortable, that is almost certainly the tool you’d like to have with you in the field if you need to hunt or defend yourself.

No matter what you pick, do make sure not to forget ammunition, some basic tools, and a cleaning kit. Whichever of these options you pick, we hope you get out there soon for some camping!