[HairOfTheDog]

Well, in the woods you can get away with openly carrying without being assessed to be a nut. And it is a deterrent, where a concealed one is not.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

LOL...being assessed as nut has it's advantages:)

Becky

[Lil'freeper]

The visual deterrent thing got my mother out of a bad situation once. She had a long commute down to Tucson for school and along the highway was a compound of bikers known for their criminal tendancies. They liked to swarm out on the highway and box in unsuspecting drivers and terrorize the heck out of them. They did this to Mom, once. After that, Dad made her carry the pistol. When they surrounded her again, she moved it from the passenger seat to the dash. They saw that she was armed, took note, and never bothered her again.

[Ramius]

How about a 30/30 in a scabbard on the saddle?

Obvious, and clear, yet somehow less "gun-totin'". Somewhat more practical on horseback, too, I would think. Also would take out the motor/tires/driver on a four-wheeler a little more reliably than a handgun. There's something more, uh... authoritative... about working a lever action and drawing down. Might not even have to pull the trigger. Should, of course, be ready to.