First bad camping experience!

[force]

x2. Forum etiquette aside (hat tip to you Herk), I live in America, and some of us are ready to exercise our 2nd amendment rights if, God forbid, it should ever be required.

Although I concede a mace warning shot is often as effective as lead, and certainly comes with fewer lawyer fees.

[Camping Buddys]

This happened a year and a half ago here in Florida:

(NEWS CANADA
Quebec man among three dead in RV park shooting
QMI Agency
Friday, February 10, 2012 3:04:56 EST PM
A Quebec retiree was among three people killed Thursday evening when a man opened fire in a Deerfield Beach, Fla., camper park. Police say the gunman entered the RV park around 6:30 p.m. and shot a man outside of a camper.
Witness --------- said he heard screams and gunshots and saw the Quebec man standing outside the RV. "He walked a few steps and then he turned around and said in French, 'Call 911, I've been shot.'" The victim, 76, of La Tuque, Que., was pronounced dead on the scene. Residents had initially said he was the gunman's ex-father-in-law, but police said the relationship between the two wasn't clear.
The gunman barricaded himself inside the RV with his wife, two sons and another woman. The children's mother managed to flee and a seven-hour standoff ensued.
Eyewitness ----- told The news that "(a) child tried to leave but he grabbed him and pulled him back inside." He said the shooter yelled out a chilling message to police officers who tried to approach the RV. "He said, 'Don't come close or I'll shoot them all.'" Police said the gunman shot his nine-year-old son to death and also shot a woman and his seven-year-old son before turning the gun on himself.
A SWAT team entered the camper around 1:30 a.m. Friday to find the dead and injured. The wounded woman and child were rushed to hospital in critical condition.
The shooting took place in the Highland Woods R.V. Park, an area that's popular among Canadian snowbirds.)

And when you're camping with your family, somebody trying to get into the camper it's no joke!
After all, we were blessed that night nothing worse happened.

[Prothos]

I stick mostly to my home state or those close by for now. They all have the castle doctrine \ stand your ground. Not saying im just going to start shooting right away before i determine if that is the correct response. I think we will look into the wasp spray option also it serves a dual purpose.

[Patches]

This just happened last night. We had an empty campground for a change. (wet weather?) About 1:00am we get a knock on the trailer just out side our bedroom window. (At night, no one can get to our front door, and are required to knock at this area.) I get up, look out the window, and see a guy standing there. I go to front door, and let our dogs, Mik & Moose out to greet the man first. Both are each in the 120lb range. One is an American Bull Dog, and the other a St Bernard/Shepard mix. Once the barking calmed down, I asked the guy what he wanted. As it turned he just wanted to know if we were open. I told him yes, and to go pick a site, settle in, and that I would get with him in the morning. This morning while collecting the fee, we had a nice talk about our watch dogs. The guy was traveling, got lost and found us late. Right now his two sons are petting our dogs, who are just loving the attention.

[jar3316]

As for the protection, I dress in "layers". I like the Wasp spray but I would be a little Leary, It will blind them, and at that point the law suits might be just as bad as the gun. A good friend of ours is assistant DA for our county. His words to me were, since you're just a civilian only pull it out if you've got nothing left to loose but your family or life. Because you will likely loose everything else in the civil suit.

To the OP, I am sorry for your neighbors. We here at Camp Rager always have the attitude of "The only thing that separates an ordeal from an adventure is YOUR attitude."

Last Memorial day we went to Bishop CA for 5 days, in that trip we:
1/2 way there forgot CPAP had to go back and get it $170 in gas for that.
found a Baby Rattler curled up to my wife's leg (that was fun) while out shooting
found out my 5 yr old son is allergic to Pistachios (thew up all over the truck)
same son came down with Scarlet Fever on second to last day.

We could have ran for the hills but we didn't. We chalked it up to life and moved on.

Remember to always and keep all the moving parts well lubed

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Patches

This just happened last night. We had an empty campground for a change. (wet weather?) About 1:00am we get a knock on the trailer just out side our bedroom window. (At night, no one can get to our front door, and are required to knock at this area.) I get up, look out the window, and see a guy standing there. I go to front door, and let our dogs, Mik & Moose out to greet the man first. Both are each in the 120lb range. One is an American Bull Dog, and the other a St Bernard/Shepard mix. Once the barking calmed down, I asked the guy what he wanted. As it turned he just wanted to know if we were open. I told him yes, and to go pick a site, settle in, and that I would get with him in the morning. This morning while collecting the fee, we had a nice talk about our watch dogs. The guy was traveling, got lost and found us late. Right now his two sons are petting our dogs, who are just loving the attention.

I find it is far easier to explain answering the door at night with a can of wasp spray; than a 45.

[10x]

XDS .45, never leave home without it!

[bodzcampers]

Originally Posted by herk7769

I find it is far easier to explain answering the door at night with a can of wasp spray; than a 45.

Or, you could explain you were on the alpo diet again and went to go howl at the moon, but knowing there was a wasp nest nearby took the can of spray with you to fend off an attack. That's why you had the wasp spray.

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by herk7769

I find it is far easier to explain answering the door at night with a can of wasp spray; than a 45.

Rem 870 with dove loads, no explanation necessary.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by bodzcampers

Or, you could explain you were on the alpo diet again and went to go howl at the moon, but knowing there was a wasp nest nearby took the can of spray with you to fend off an attack. That's why you had the wasp spray.

Exactly!

[jk31668]

was that the c/g on military hwy? if so, that is a trashy area. next time try a few miles north on the ocean at a place called juno rv resort. nice, secure, safe area with all the amenities.

[great white]

I would like to point out for my southern friends that Pepper spray/Mace is a restricted weapon in Canada, just like handguns.

Don't bring them across the border unless you are prepared to loose 'em or ship 'em home.

Get caught using them and you will get to spend some "quality time" with the RCMP, even if it is in self defense.

No threat or finger wagging intended, just passing on the info.....

[Weezer]

So what *are* you folks allowed to use for self defense in Canada?

A big stick? A horse whip?

[ontario_camper]

While pepper spray is illegal here in Canada, bear repellant is not. Bear repellant can be purchased many places and used for the same purposes.

[wrvond]

Originally Posted by ontario_camper

While pepper spray is illegal here in Canada, bear repellant is not. Bear repellant can be purchased many places and used for the same purposes.

Well, the guy pounding on the OP's door was pretty much bare, so I would think bear repellant would be appropriate...

[great white]

Originally Posted by ontario_camper

While pepper spray is illegal here in Canada, bear repellant is not. Bear repellant can be purchased many places and used for the same purposes.

Yes, while true, Canadian law also states anything used as a weapon is a weapon.

Bear spray used against another person would be classified as a weapon.

Same as carrying a knife in your pocket and using it against another person.

You get cut a lot of slack for self defense using force in kind though.

Canada focuses on controlling the weapons in the first place, not having to defend yourself against them.

Which is not to say that criminals aren't running around with handguns in Canada, it's just less likely the average person will ever run in to them.....

[great white]

Originally Posted by Weezer

So what *are* you folks allowed to use for self defense in Canada?

A big stick? A horse whip?

I've never needed to defend myself with anything other than a raised fist in Canada.

However, I am not naive to the fact that the rest of the world has it's issues and it's not always that simple. Nor do I have any misconceptions that Canada is some great Utopian paradise. We have our criminal element too.

You are allowed to respond with necessary force to defend yourself. Necessary force would be force equal and proportionate to that used against you. For example: if a guy jumps out of the bushes, has a big stick and you shoot him, you're probably going to have a hard time explaining that.

Like wise if you Pepper spray a Drunk guy because he's pounding at your front door. The reasoning is that if you don't open the door, the situation never escalates past some guy pounding on your door and the drunk will eventually go away. Crimes against property are looked at very differently than crimes against persons here. Him pounding on your door and damaging it is crimes against property, your pepper spraying him in an assault and crime against person.

In reality, an RCMP officer will most likely exercise his discretion and let you off right there if the situation seems to warrant it. Like a female at home in the middle of the night and a drunk is making "active" attempts to enter the house, she's called the police and the drunk finally breaks in. She sprays him and the police show up. They would likely confiscate her spray, let here know it is illegal, haul the guy away and that would be the end of the issue for her.

I'm military, I've been to several "hotspots" and I seen and done a thing or two I wish I had never seen or done... so I've got a pretty decent bead on the evil that lurks in some men's hearts.

The states has it's own set of issues and their own solutions to them. That's cool. Your country, your choices. I was only trying to pass on info to those planning a trip to the great white north so there are no unpleasant surprises at the border.

Fore-warned is fore-armed.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by great white

I would like to point out for my southern friends that Pepper spray/Mace is a restricted weapon in Canada, just like handguns.

Don't bring them across the border unless you are prepared to loose 'em or ship 'em home.

Get caught using them and you will get to spend some "quality time" with the RCMP, even if it is in self defense.

No threat or finger wagging intended, just passing on the info.....

Bear spray is allowed... Just sayin'

[MillerTime]

Op. That sucks.
We've had an intruder enter our home with my wife and kids at home during the day. Luckily for them the wifes "lead holder" was in her vehicle, other wise acute lead poisioning probably would have shortened thier life. And yes the kids slept in our room for quite some time.
- we have, twice in the past couple months had someone pounding on the door or ringing the door bell in the middle of the night to find no one there, im gona catch them buggers though.
- we've never had any problems camping on holiday weekends!

[great white]

Originally Posted by herk7769

Bear spray is allowed... Just sayin'

See above post.

if you're walking around downtown Toronto with Bear spray it's going to be slightly harder to explain when/if you use it...