Not again
 

Hi
Has this not been gone over before? Skip

You have to remember that for many American motorcyclists, a pistol is just part of your normal riding gear. Guns really are that much a part of the culture here. When I was at the HU meet in colorado a couple years ago, 5 of us decided to go to town for breakfast one morning. I didn't know any of them before this, but when we got to the restaurant and found out they served alcohol, 2 of the 5 had to out and lock their pistols in their luggage, as it is illegal to carry a firearm in an establishment that serves liquor. I think carrying a gun to eat at a restaurant in a resort town is a little extreme, but they were within the law. One of the first questions i am usually asked when people hear I have ridden through Latin America is did I carry a gun. When I say no, I have to listen to all the crap about how I am a sheep offering myself up for slaughter, blah, blah. Coming from an environment like this, I can see why someone whould ask the question if they should carry or not. Most gun owners are responsible with them, but I am still a lot more afraid of being shot accidentaly than I am of any supposed bad guys.

Andy,

To be fair, I don't think anyone begrudged a perfectly valid question: the inital post asked for advice and it was given without bile, I feel.

It only got unecessary when someone baited other posters knowing it's a topic close to people's hearts on here. In other words, I feel that HUBBers responded to one poster's daft comments rather than the initial question that was even handed and unbiased: just a request for other's opinions.

I certainly hope that it did not leave the initial poster with any bad feelings from the rest of the forum. Rather, I hope that any trips go ahead as planned and that, whether a gun is packed or not, feeling the need to use it never arises. Instead a gun will be seen in the same light as half the stuff people pack: surplus to requirements and an unecessary cargo for the next trip. Spend the space packing underwear or souvenirs, I say...

Hi Mini Dongo,

I want to encourage you: DO take a gun along on your next "rough" trip.

Pretty soon we will never have anymore stupid threads from you ...

say wot
 

Some words the British like using are, you F:censored:ING TWAT

A bit off topic, but...

I refer to myself as an American mainly because that's what most people I've met from outside the USA call us. Besides, we are the only country that has the word America in the name of our country, it would be difficult to call myself anything else. We call citizens of "Los Estados Unidos de Mexico", Mexicanos, correct? No slight to other people of the Americas intended.

Opening Minds not Blowing Out Brains...
 

Warthog and AndyT are right - from a US perspective, it's a reasonable question. Most of us know that guns are a normal part of everyday life, up and down the Americas. Many of us have friends, expats and citizens, who have guns in their homes, in their businesses, sometimes on their hips. Culturally, it can be a bit odd for us, but that's part of travel, no? And even this European castrati appeaser red gets a kick out of letting off a few rounds in a Nicaraguan backyard every now and then. Bangs are fun. Cordite smells exciting. Coconut shies are made for Colt Commanders.

But that wasn't what created the stir. The noisy reaction was to one poster talking gleefully about murdering another human, both here and in another thread, in a tale smudged with sniggering smilies and home-run high fives. He's either a childish fantasist, a genuine killer, or a divisive troll. Whatever the answer, he's not the kind of fella who's gonna be especially helpful round here. My angry, abusive words were admittedly fuelled by a dozen pints of Guinness, and I'm sorry about the mess that the mods must have found in the morning, but this really ain't the place for that kind of vigilante dick-swinging.

And back to the original question, just in case it was genuine. It's a really bad idea to cross borders, travel foreign countries with an unregistered, concealed weapon. If you get caught, you'll do hard time in a very unpleasant nick. If you don't get caught (which means the gun's stashed, inaccessible and consequently useless), you'll still be worrying about getting caught everytime you see a roadblock, and that will eat into the trip's smiles. And if you get in a situation where you have to use it - well, as has been said - you'll either use it decisively, and have to deal with the corpse and the clean-up, or you'll have it swiped and stuck up your ass. Which will be like being in that unpleasant nick, but without the tenderness...

Make the trip, forget the gun, move quickly through the seedier border towns that spawn the lurid headlines, dive into the Mexican interior and have the un-armed time of your life.

Suerte, Dan

Do we met?
 

I don´t remember you by this name.....empanadas and quilmes maybe.
George or Phillipe?
KH

I beg to differ. You will be hard pressed to find a Canadian who refers to him/her shelf as an American. In fact, when we speak of US citizens, we refer to them as Americans.

Lets also not forget that there are two Americas, North and South (or there was back when I went to grade school). And I agree that both North America and South America are beautiful continents.

And you are all welcome to visit our beautiful and vast country. But please leave your guns at home. Our Canadian border guards will confiscate them from you and send you to jail.

And does it REALLY matter if you are robbed a few times?
 

And back to the motive for the question...
Like most travellers i agree that carrying a weapon of any kind is just an invitation to have to use it. And i have a an additional way of looking at things - in most cases they´re poor, we´re rich. So what if you´re robbed!
Every time i´ve had something stolen while in a 3rd world country, whether i was there or not, i see it as an 'unintentionable charitiable donation' that i try to learn from so that in the future i can choose where my future donations or goodwill is directed. And besides, i will go back to work and buy another of whatever they took. They only want what is of value to them remember, and hurting you is never the primary motivation as what does this achieve for them?
It´s like speeding fines when you own a 1000cc sportsbike. Just factor it in to the cost of the activity.

I am Spartacus...
 

Que tal, maestro? Todo bien? Tranquilo como Camilo?

I noticed that 'elevator' reference. Is this the return of Spartacus?

Suerte, Dan

Obvio despues de unas quilmes heladas
 

Dan i still have your cold quilmes in my fridge.So remember to visit us again!
Me parece que nuestro amigo ha vuelto!
Cuidate

AndyT: Thank you for your post. Valuable information and I can understand it, from an outside perspective, but as a European it is very hard to understand and therefore the reactions are so strong. But thank you.

I would like to remind people again that flame war and "them and us" comments are really too low!

All "real" travellers know that people come in all kinds and sizes, regardless off nationality. Americans, or citizens of the USA more correctly, have been scourged for much in many years. Some is justified and and some is not.

But one thing is sure. By far, far, far all the north americans on this board are good people, so don't insult their country and culture! It is not fair.

Max Dongo is an idiot, but he would be no matter if he came from the US, Italy or Denmark for that sake.

Lets try not to generalize and instead agree that a turd is a turd.

:welcome: your first post! No! Dont bring a gun there not legal most places south of the USA border. There are big bad fines and jail in places that you will cutes thing to ever be seen in years and when they get good and ready to bring you to court in a few years you will be looking at 10 to 20 years wishing you died in one of there pens. That they realy have little use on a trip of that long, $60 in cigars to hand out to new frends you more than a gun.

:offtopic:Dam you people, do you all have to bite the all the bait some one toss at you? Then your only come back is old tired anti-American sentiment. bahh have you read threw most of his posts? hes a troll that come here when jo mamma on advrider forms gets too cold for his liking. Hiding a gun on a bike? that is useless you never know when you might need it. Right? Pulling it out of its hiding spot on the road will show every kid where he hides it and hes now target number one on all the thugs list. He cant even hold his character up "put a cap in his ass" is gangsta "cowboy up" is redneck and they hate each other. All this over a 16 year old fracking troll.

:ban:Mods ban max the troll and lets get over this.

:eek3:Max are you nuts they can run your isp, you admitted to possible murder. Stay on ADVRider they love gun posts there, regale them tales of capping and cowboys. Stop stirring up people here its not that kind of sight.

An interesting perspective , I'm certainly not rich and I certainly would begrudge a damn thief a single penny .
Thieves are just thieves and not necessarily poor and will steal from anyone and are despised by the honest citizens of any "third world" country .[ "Undeveloped" might be a better definition since the fall of the Soviet Union] .
If you see your stolen valuables as a charitable donation , I think that you have an awful lot to learn , not all thieves are budding Robin Hoods .