John W
Overlanding guns?
Sunday, January 11, 2026, 07:13

One of my Sunday AM routines is to watch some Youtube. I know some will say a sad existence but I kind of like it.

I watched a Youtube video with a focus on a van life trip along the Arizona-NM and Mexico border. As I watched the man traverse this unique landscape camping and cooking away, a thought occurred. In one instance at the border fence he spotted two individuals on the Mexico side in camo take off.

Obviously, it is suspicious and probably up to no good, so the main question to me and everyone else would be the following.

1. What guns would you take on such a trip? Bear in mind that we are talking about minimalist camping or overlanding.

As I watched his explorations for myself I'd have the following:

1. Personal sidearm on me at all times! I currently have a Glock M40 with a Holosun sight on it. I like the fact that I have 15 rounds of 10mm at hand but I am wondering if something like a Smith and Wesson Performance 45 ACP would be better? I know it is a tad more compact and you have 10 rounds of 45 ACP and the gun is +P rated. So some specialty ammo could be run through.

2. AR-15 "Pistol" in either 300 Whisper/BLK or .223/556. Something between 10 -12 inches in barrel. One could do some varminting with this combination as well as have something for a negative social interaction.

3. Some kind of 22 LR pistol for small game and fun. I have two autoloaders. One is a SW Performance Center Victory with a Burris Fastfire sight on it. It is very accurate and with the threaded barrel suppressor capable. The other is a Ruger Mk4 LITE which is, well, light. I suspect with a better trigger it could come close to the accuracy of the SW. Or at least I hope it would. I like the feel and fit of the Ruger a tad better.

I know some would say you need a shotgun added to the mix. Ok I will run with that. As it stands now, I have one shotgun. My late Fathers Browning Sweet Sixteen Lightweight. I might be reticent on taking such a gun on a trip like that but I could see myself springing for a Mossberg M500 pump shotgun in 20 gauge. That could work well on all manner of upland game and possible waterfowl if I was so inclined.

So. Anyways if you don't mind me indulging, what would you run with?

I know my list is sort of small but one of the things about overlanding is taking the minimum. Thank you all.