Guns, when combined with possessive feelings about certain mushroom-rich areas, can easily lead to trouble. Many matsutake pickers camp out, night after night, in mushroom country. One concessionaire's camp in Oregon included over 2000 people. Associated problems include sanitation, fire prevention, and road traffic congestion. Fish and game regulations have been violated, and old vehicles have been abandoned.
Some pickers bring their own bodyguards, prostitutes, and drugs.
Large quantities of cash and alcohol use can be a volatile mix. Many of the mushroom pickers are recent immigrants from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Some may not read or speak English. This complicates communication about understanding regulations and good practices. A brochure explaining that certain areas were off-limits to mushroom pickers had to be printed in three Asian languages.