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UER Forum > Rookie Forum > Should I bring a weapon? (Viewed 21309 times)
FreeLee 


Gender: Male
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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 40 on 5/19/2020 6:13 AM >
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Posted by /-/ooligan
What sounds like to you is nothing more than a cool-place to explore with some buddies for thrill & recreation is someone else's home. Kinda doesn't matter whether they too are trespassing, whether they're a drunken bum or what -- you're thinking about intruding into their sanctuary, which bad-luck & bad decisions have forced them to live in.

That doesn't mean to drop your exploration plans, but to just please show some respect for squatters & let them maintain some sort of dignity. He/she/they are going to be more nervous than you -- are you a predator there to steal anything of semi-value they have & beat them-up, are you the owner of the property there to kick them out, are you another squatter who is willing & able to fight for possession of the property, or are you even just some big rat that they have to worry about biting while the squatter tries to sleep? All those concerns are much more realistic and have a long-term impact than your worry about chased out by some deranged homeless person.

If you decide the property really is something that you have to explore, definitely go with other people, maybe have a couple large Mag-Light type flashlights amongst you, stay together, and announce your presence & your purpose as you walk around, asking for anyone else inside to call-out. Ideally, have a couple sealed plastic water bottles that you could give to any squatters in-exchange for them tolerating your brief disturbance.


But yeah, always keep in-mind that the structure you want to sneak & peek inside could be occupied by some very bad person or persons who don't have a problem hurting or killing you if you disrupt their activity.


I was poking around once in an abandoned house at an old military base in California & had a near altercation with a dude. He wasn't a big guy, but I got a weird vibe because of some of the things I saw inside the place that I assumed were his. I pretended that I just thought he was homeless & that I'd go to a different house to explore & I got the phuck out, got out of view of the house, & ran. Called the police, they responded & caught the guy, and it turned out he was an armed fugitive from Washington or Oregon, wanted for homicide & had probably been living in that old house for several weeks.

/-/ooligan



Having come across a couple homeless people I can day this is generally good advice. I have also had some life experience that had me living homeless for a short period of time and what ooligan said is accurate.

I explore with my daughter now and pepper spray for self defense is not a terrible idea. Even the threat if it is enough to discourage someone.

If you are going to carry pepper spray know how to use it. Buy an extra canister and use it up on a practice session. I can almost guarantee that you will shoot high, low or have the range off. Needing it and not knowing how to use it is a fail.

I would say carrying a weapon is not a good idea. What black said about the dangers of falling or another hazard is a more serious concern.

B




xNat 


Location: Toronto
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With Night, Freedom

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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 41 on 5/20/2020 5:42 AM >
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Short answer: No.

Long answer: Carrying a weapon sounds like much more trouble than it's worth. Ignoring the whole getting caught by police thing (which can be worse if you have weapons on you), having a weapon makes you much more likely to get hurt or to get into a fight/be seen as a threat. Even if you win the fight, what do you plan to do then? Good job, you knocked someone out, stabbed them, or shot them, when all you wanted was to explore a location. It's not worth that.

Additionally something like a maglite can be extra weight that you just lug around until you brandish it, get it wrestled away from you, and smacked in the head with.

If you encounter a threat, try to be calm and de-escalate, and if that doesn't work, just run for it.




"That sounds like a horrible idea! Let's do it!"
HornetWrath 


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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 42 on 8/14/2020 2:29 AM >
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To those that say don't bring a weapon-- you'll just be wishing you had one when a crackhead is strangling you on a moldy floor.

Bring a knife at the very least and anything else you are trained with that is within reason and won't hinder your movement which is more important since a deadly encounter is so unlikely.




I'm a lone explorer because I hate people.
legaltoker69 


Location: Cincinatti
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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 43 on 4/3/2021 11:13 PM >
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thought about and nah




Young Moolah Baby
Dee Ashley 


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Write something and wait expectantly.

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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 44 on 4/10/2021 11:48 PM >
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For the love of god, don't bring a gun.
The rest is probably a matter of opinion, preference and experience.




I wandered till the stars went dim.
nicofrombo 


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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 45 on 4/28/2021 4:22 AM >
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I'd agree on pepper spray as a last resort defense. If you make it clear that you respect them, they should respect you with minimal intervention... most likely The most disgruntled encounters I've had have been with locals who subscribe to the aggressive localist mentality.

I understand where these locals are coming from. While society is growing rapidly; respect is trending inversely proportional to such. No matter how calm, rational, and respectful you are, some people are upset by visitors' mere presence, in which case I say appease their demands (no matter how belittling it can be succumbing to irrational behavior), and return at a later date. Hope this helps!



[last edit 4/28/2021 4:24 AM by nicofrombo - edited 1 times]

uLiveAndYouBurn 


Location: Beyond
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Anarchocommunist

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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 46 on 4/28/2021 3:44 PM >
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Everybody in here carrying pepper spray better douse yourself with it a couple times a year to get used to the feeling because no matter how good you think you are with that spray nozzle everybody in a ten foot radius is gonna be feeling the burn.




"Aint nothin' to it but to do it"
Sturks 


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Cowabunga

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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 47 on 4/28/2021 5:38 PM >
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Yeah practice with pepper spray before using it, as stated above that shit gets everywhere and there isn't a point in carrying unless you can aim it.




tinyprincess 


Location: Currently in Cobourg, ON. I also live in Toronto and San Francisco.
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when i grow up i want to be a little kid forever

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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 48 on 8/16/2021 9:45 PM >
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The Canadian in me thinks "no, of course not" and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one lol




---
Victoria
Kurt 


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NEVER SAY DEVER!

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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 49 on 8/27/2021 4:27 AM >
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Someone said earlier if you were to bring some pepper spray (not just exploring but anywhere) you better know what it feels like. 100% solid advice. That shit is NOT pleasant and if you spray you're gonna end up with some in your face. Get sprayed before, it will make the difference to know what it feels like if you ever were to use it. In regards to carrying it while exploring, I don't see anything wrong with it at all. It has helped plenty of people in really bad situations.

I sometimes, quite rarely, carry a knife which I have never had to use for defense but have found it to be quite a useful tool. Of course, you need to be careful with "tools" in many jurisdictions when exploring.

The only time I have ever carried a firearm while exploring was some really deep isolated stuff in West Virginia. Plenty of wild boars and bears in the deep sections of Raleigh and Boone counties. A wild boar when rutting is nothing to fuck with especially when up a dirt holler miles from anything. That, at least in my experience, is way more dangerous than exploring some of the bad sides of St Louis or Detroit.

All exploring carries varying inherent risks. But just being smart and aware of your surroundings will always be a better plan than carrying a weapon for the numerous reasons laid out.

Just my thoughts and experiences on this one.



[last edit 8/27/2021 4:30 AM by Kurt - edited 1 times]

"What is your favorite thing about Belchertown?"

"...the history, man"
Crunch187 


Location: Colorado Springs
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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 50 on 11/12/2021 4:48 AM >
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I can definitely agree and disagree with some of the posts here only due to my career field and experiences granted I have not had any encounters with other people or homeless or anything like that but I always carry a small pocket knife and usually I carry my firearm with me concealed under clothing. Granted I do have all my licenses and training but I only carry a firearm as a last resort and the majority of the time I will conduct extensive recon on where I am going t verify that the site is abandoned and what risks it may impose as I have gone into a few where it was obvious that there were people squatting there or other things. Everyone's opinion is different feel free to agree or disagree with me share your view.




jitty04 


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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 51 on 11/18/2021 9:15 PM >
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If you bring a weapon and get caught your charges will be much more severe. Last year I went train hopping and through research I found out that if you get caught on a train with a weapon it can easily land you in prison. Most of the time it goes from a simple trespassing ticket to getting jail time if you have a weapon. I wouldn't recommend it, but if you are going to just make sure you are properly trained.




Aran 


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Huh. I guess covid made me a trendsetter.

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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 52 on 11/19/2021 12:25 AM >
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Posted by jitty04
If you bring a weapon and get caught your charges will be much more severe.


Not only your own charges, but the charges of anybody else exploring with you. Let's say something goes down in an abandoned factory and your buddy shoots someone. Doesn't matter whether it was self defense, you weren't supposed to be there and now somebody is dead. Any prosecutor worth their salt will go after you and your compatriots for breaking and entering/armed burglary with the addition of a felony murder charge for each of you- because even if you didn't pull the trigger, somebody died while you were committing a felony (and they're much more likely to make felony charges stick when somebody is dead), meaning they can tack a felony murder charge on you as an accomplice.

Even if you never have to use a weapon, being caught with a weapon of any kind can escalate a misdemeanor trespassing charge to a felony armed burglary charge in many jurisdictions. It's not worth the risk, so I won't explore armed nor will I explore with anyone else who is. I've been doing this for seven years and never had an altercation that couldn't be deescalated, and I have no intention of putting myself in a situation where taking a life is even a possibility. If a place truly is that sketchy, it's not worth it.



[last edit 11/19/2021 12:26 AM by Aran - edited 2 times]

"Sorry, I didn't know I'm not supposed to be here," he said, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be there.

Mdwestbex220 


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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 53 on 6/19/2022 4:15 PM >
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This is an old post but for anyone scrolling down the replies


DO NOT bring a weapon, that only complicates things with the police if you get caught.

Its alot harder to convince cops your in an abandoned building for an innocent reason if you have a pistol in your hand.




Aran 


Location: Kansas City
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Huh. I guess covid made me a trendsetter.

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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 54 on 6/20/2022 3:38 AM >
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I will say that I have considered bear spray for a few explores- but that's because those spots require hiking into very remote parts of the Rocky Mountains to reach, so I'd be defending myself from an aggressive bear, not a person. That makes things much less legally complicated.

In the end I just canceled those exploring plans because a grizzly bear killed and ate a solo hiker a few miles away. I'll dodge security guards, sure- but bear spray or no, confirmed reports of maneating bears in the area is too much for me.

Anyway, for 99% of explores I'd say leave the weapon at home, and for that last 1% think very hard about why you feel you need it. If there's even the slightest chance of encountering cops or using said weapon against another person, don't. And if you need a weapon to feel safe at a location that isn't in the most remote wilderness in the lower 48, maybe you shouldn't be exploring it.




"Sorry, I didn't know I'm not supposed to be here," he said, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be there.

NeuroticMatt 


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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 55 on 6/21/2022 9:27 PM >
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Use what you have.

A tripod could wreck someone's face.

If it is between my safety or those with me and having to buy a new camera, better believe someone is gonna have "Cannon" imprinted on thier face.

I always wear steel toes as well, they often helped when I was a bouncer.

Never needed anything though, toughest opponent I have come across was a couple of dogs, I brandished an umbrella.

They took umbrella.

Do not use an umbrella.

I really liked that umbrella.




Dee Ashley 


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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 56 on 11/10/2022 12:33 AM >
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Posted by NeuroticMatt
Use what you have.

A tripod could wreck someone's face.

If it is between my safety or those with me and having to buy a new camera, better believe someone is gonna have "Cannon" imprinted on thier face.

I always wear steel toes as well, they often helped when I was a bouncer.

Never needed anything though, toughest opponent I have come across was a couple of dogs, I brandished an umbrella.

They took umbrella.

Do not use an umbrella.

I really liked that umbrella.


You’d be surprised what damage you can do with a quality tripod. My tripod was my only weapon in an aggressive dog(s) encounter once and they can be very effective with a little luck and a lot of adrenaline.




I wandered till the stars went dim.
fr00tCake 


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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 57 on 11/10/2022 1:37 PM >
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Posted by NeuroticMatt
I really liked that umbrella.




[last edit 11/10/2022 1:37 PM by fr00tCake - edited 1 times]

Alexandert 


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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 58 on 12/29/2022 6:08 PM >
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Posted by ItsTheBoys
Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to urban exploration and so are my 3 other buddies I go with. The other day we were walking around and we were going to go into a place but there was a ton of stuff around like sleeping bags and other proof that someone lives there. We didn't go in because we didn't feel like getting attacked by some homeless guy that day. So my question is, would it be a good idea to bring some sort of weapon with us to keep us safe from possible attackers? But wouldn't that also make it harder to deal with police if we got caught considering we have a weapon?
Thank you!


Hey it’s the boys, my personal advice. Don’t bring anything you won’t actually use in SELF DEFENSE. I will usually carry 2 knives with me on my explorations. One very large knife that is visible to show a potential threat that I won’t go down without a fight and one for practical use. Your best defense is ALWAYS to run. Rub run run. If someone is there and they are still unaware of your presence, stalk them and check out who you are dealing with. Could be cops could be a homeless guy. 90% of the time it’s other explorers who are there for the same reason that you are there. Don’t pick a fight with someone if you don’t have to. Don’t run until you know for sure you need to. You could miss out on an amazing experience just because there was an animal near by. (Trust me, I’ve been there when friends or someone in the group got freaked out and it ended up just being a deer)




Ducko 


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Re: Should I bring a weapon?
< Reply # 59 on 12/30/2022 10:39 PM >
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At least in Canada, carrying something for the express purpose of self defense is a crime. So if you get caught while exploring that won't help your case with the police.




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