Bears, and guns while camping or hiking (crimes, legally)

[CarawayDJ]

I don't have any qualms about carrying a gun. I am not afraid of guns. I know how to use them. I will not shoot someone by accident. I will not shoot myself by accident. I will not shoot blind into a bush that is shaking. I will not shoot at an animal for simply walking in the neighborhood. I am not expecting to be attacked by an animal and realize the risks are very low. It's a non-issue to me to carry a gun only because I can carry a gun as safely as I can carry binoculars. I am assuming no risk carrying a gun. Perhaps if I were someone whose only knowledge of guns was at a local laser tag joint my thoughts would be different.

A gun is not merely for defending against an animal attack. It can be a great asset to have in a survival situation. It's also doubles as an effective means to draw attention to yourself if you are lost or in a survival situation. I guess in CA people get nervous at the sight of someone with a gun in the woods. I grew up in NH. It's hardly uncommon there. No, hikers don't arm themselves hiking up the popular trails to the top of MT Washington or similar places. All depends on where you go. We had a hunting/fishing camp up in the woods in Northern NH. The first time you are fishing for rainbow trout in a backwoods pond and you hear a pack of Coy Dogs barking around you, you will have a change of heart. The risks of carrying a gun are practically nonexistent for someone who is properly trained in gun safety.....and applies the training.

BUT, I would never tell someone who has never been around guns to go out and buy one before a camping trip. That's when people start to shoot at "something moving over there."

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by jaijai

Same here (or i should say me neither) ... in northern New England, Idaho, the southwest and California.
When, in Idaho specifically, i'm hiking with my dog in areas where it's likely that bears are around, i just make a bit of noise now and then so as not to startle a momma with cubs.
I do admit to being quite paranoid about mountain lions. That's the only better thing about the northeast woods for one like me who has a phobia ... no mountain lions.

My experiences differ from yours, but only in NH. That said, I'd be shocked if serious backwoods hikers/campers in Idaho were unarmed. Casual day hikers seldom carried a gun, but a lot of backwoods campers were armed. Not the guys hiking the Appalachian trail to the nearest AMC hut, but the guys who go off the beaten track to some remote area for a week. A lot of the people I've encountered like this go in by themselves. That probably increases their need for a sense of security.

[ferretkona]

I have been running across pot farms over 30 years now, been in stand offs with no shots fired.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

I have been running across pot farms over 30 years now, been in stand offs with no shots fired.

Two times now for me with Coyotes, back packs and weapons. Both times while bow hunting. I have BP on speed dial. If people like to hike without a weapon good on them. The only people I've had even slightly wig out at the sight of guns are people that look like they've left the City for the first time to look at falls or to go sledding for the first time. You can tell by the way they are dressed. Pants on the ground, tennis shoes or what not.


Or by the dialogue. You can hunt here? What are you hunting? Wild boar. What? There are pigs here? Ya, but don't worry the Mt Lions keep em thinned out Mt Lions?

These are the people you see on the news getting choppered out. This summer while coming out of this Canyon I call the "hole" cause it's sheer hell and vertical we come across a couple. Hey, can you call 911? I twisted my ankle. We've been here since yesterday and the flies are eating us up.

I asked him if he noticed the house up the ridge about a half mile away.... DOH I don't think his GF was too happy.

[CAVA1990]

I don't see the big deal. Where I live now some people open carry around town during their normal activities. Why wouldn't you take one with you when venturing out in the wild?

[Curmudgeon]

Getting back to the original subject which was critters of the four-legged variety, here are some relative risk numbers for you:

Annual lifetime odds of dying in a specific event in the USA

Heart Disease: 1 in 5.7
Automobile Accident: 1 in 83.7
Any Fall: 1 in 217.5
Drowning: 1 in 1,113.7
Storm/Lightening: 1 in 79,746
Dog Attack: 1 in 208,000
Black Bear Attack: 1 in 3.59 million*
Mountain Lion Attack: 1 in 6.25 million**

*Annual average during 1990s for US and Canada
**Annual average during 1990s

Mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare with roughly 25 fatalities and 95 nonlethal attacks reported in the last 100 years. Black bear attacks occur at higher rates; 50 fatalities in the last 100 years.

Happy hunting!

Now don't you feel better?

Facts and figures courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation.

[.highnlite]

I have undoubtedly spent more time in the woods than anyone here, I have never felt threatened by an animal, and only once by a man, up in the rimrocks shooting down at me, anything short of artillery would not have been helpful in that scenario. That was in the lovely state of Arizona, out in the desert.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

I have undoubtedly spent more time in the woods than anyone here, I have never felt threatened by an animal, and only once by a man, up in the rimrocks shooting down at me, anything short of artillery would not have been helpful in that scenario. That was in the lovely state of Arizona, out in the desert.

I am not a young man. I have spent a very great amount of my time out in the forests, trails, mountains, shorelines. I have never carried any kind of weapon except when specifically hunting for game. I have never even once encountered any situation in which I would have felt better having a weapon for protection -- though I have certainly encountered many bears, moose, boar ... I may have been watched by cougar, but don't know (though I have found scat in areas I camped).

I also grew up and lived in big cities including: Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis / St. Paul, San Francisco, Honolulu, and Seattle. I never carried any weapons any of those places either and can't recall any experience in which I feel I would have been better off with one ... though I certainly had run-ins with bad characters, including fist-fights. Nope, I'm glad I didn't have a gun.

I served in a combat-intensive unit in Vietnam, too. I did not carry any weapon on my person there either. (?) I was aircrew for close-air troop support, nearly daily search and destroy sorties, and specialized in RESCAP support (search and rescue of downed pilots and air crews). My aircraft was heavily armed with devastating mounted ordinance. We used it all intensively. I have no good memory of any of that use.

[CAVA1990]

Y'all are correct that carrying a gun in these times is pretty irrational, just as are the billions we're spending on "homeland security". My rancher ancestors carried guns mainly to shoot predators threatening their livestock or to collect a bounty on said predators. I only carried a gun into the wild because I enjoyed plinking cans. I'll admit trying to shoot a trout once. That was a fruitless exercise.

I think influenza would come in a close third behind car accidents on the list above.

[jaijai]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

My experiences differ from yours, but only in NH. That said, I'd be shocked if serious backwoods hikers/campers in Idaho were unarmed. Casual day hikers seldom carried a gun, but a lot of backwoods campers were armed. Not the guys hiking the Appalachian trail to the nearest AMC hut, but the guys who go off the beaten track to some remote area for a week. A lot of the people I've encountered like this go in by themselves. That probably increases their need for a sense of security.

I know quite a few serious backwoods hikers / campers in California and in Idaho and they don't carry guns.
(Carrying a gun while hiking / camping anywhere in New England is just silly imo.)
Do you assume just because it's Idaho that hikers carry guns?
I mean, yeah, Idaho is a very gun friendly state and there are plenty of outdoor people who carry guns and they may be hiking and camping.
But the hikers / campers that Ulysses and i are referring to (i think i can speak for him) do not carry guns.