Cptbil wrote:
To Mrs OroBlanco ...
Yep !
That's a "PISTOL" I'm a carry'n
Greetings Cptbil - I presume that you are actually replying to me, (Oroblanco) and not Mrs Oro, who is not following this thread as far as I know. I am not sure where you are getting some kind of impression that I have anything against guns, but I will say this. I had my own gun shop and gunsmithing business for several years, and would bet a nickel that I might well own more guns than you do today even after selling off over forty a couple of years ago. (I have been collecting guns since my first at the age of ten) I
have NO problem with guns of any kind, and am a firm believer in the Second Amendment. I don't go around telling everyone (
especially here on the internet) just how many guns I own nor where I keep them. There are people who love to steal guns.
I do
NOT think it is necessary to pack more than a single handgun, PERSONALLY, while out prospecting and treasure hunting, unless it is a combination with hunting for game animals as well, in which case either a shotgun or rifle would be needed for either small or big game. If you think this OPINION of what equipment I need to haul around while out prospecting or treasure hunting being less firepower than what you take along, makes me some kind of "
anti-gun" fanatic then you are very
VERY mistaken. I have run into some nasty situations and am alive to talk about it, and in my
opinion you are better off making a detour or going for the sheriff/border patrol than to try to shoot it out with some smugglers. I don't think it is wise to go WITHOUT a firearm, and my
opinion a handgun is all that is needed for self-protection. A rifle is a large bulky item and gets mighty heavy after the first few miles, and a shotgun equally so - not to mention the extra ammunition. A rifle or shotgun is also a larger item to have to protect against the elements, to keep clean and free of rust, dirt etc than a handgun. I have gone out prospecting while being forced to pack along a rifle and a shotgun in the Yukon, where handguns are illegal so the ONLY legal choice for protection was the rifle, and I can tell you that long rifle or shotgun got to be a hated item to haul around. Because it got so danged heavy and such a nuisance, snagging on every overhanging branch, banging against rocks and wearing a two-inch-deep groove in my shoulder, I once left the danged thing in camp and THAT is when I had my closest brush with a Brown Bear that stood over eight feet tall and I wished for
any kind of gun. A handgun, riding on your hip or a shoulder holster is very little trouble so is more likely to be carried along. Of course most handgun cartridges are too low-powered to kill a charging brown bear anyway, but just being able to fire a warning shot usually works to scare off even the biggest bears.
Then there is the question of how much you want to pack - for suppose you do find a cache of silver bars, or a good pocket of gold - are you going to leave your GUNS there while you carry out the silver/gold? Of course if you don't find any such silver or gold, this won't matter, but I don't want to be in the position of having to decide whether to
leave behind guns or silver/gold! 
All that said, it is MY
OPINION - if you prefer to carry rifles, shotguns or bazookas makes not one whit of difference to me whatsoever, my only point was that your mentioning that you might bring along plenty of firepower MIGHT cause SOME potential 'partners' to have concerns and choose not to join you on expedition. You wouldn't want that type of anti-gun person along anyway, I would wager.
As an aside, and completely off-topic, I am also a US Army vet, and worked for several years as a corrections officer at a maximum security prison in Virginia, where I was offered the position of sharpshooter. I LOVE guns!
Good luck and good hunting mi amigo, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
your friend,
Roy ~ Oroblanco
![:-\](https://www.treasurenet.com/smilies/undecided.gif "Undecided :-\")
and said that I'd never "post" any photos ??
