Camping with a weapon

[xtatik]

Just coming back to this thread. There have been a couple of references made to Black Bears. There are a lot of misconceptions regarding their behavior.
First, Mama Bear won't protect her young....she'll run. It's how she's hardwired, and insures her ability to breed again another day. Second, they rarely, meaning very, very rarely follow through on a charge. You can expect "bluff charges", but an attack resulting from a confrontation would be unlikely. If you're packing a gun, you need to be aware of this and give a Black Bear a chance to do what these bears ultimately do....run! Although I don't know anything of this woman's political ramblings, she does a great job of demonstating the nature of a typical Black Bear "bluff charge". Most people crap their pants in this situation and the internet is loaded with videos of people getting close to Black Bears and suddenly having their videos disrupted when being bluff-charged. This woman is obviously very experienced with them and stood her ground to show what is the whole story and the routine outcome to these videos..

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkwy0scRXBU"]YouTube - A Bluff Charge by a Black Bear - NOT A BLACK BEAR ATTACK[/ame]


The Grizz on the other hand, has an entirely different set of behaviors.

 

[Terrainist]

Sidearm? If I had one, it would go. I'm down to the Mossberg 590, and it goes. Slugs, double aught, and birdshot for something to eat. To each their own.

 

[LACamper]

Yes, always have. I'm not worried about bears or mountain lions (well, with my daughter w/ me I guess I would worry about mountain lions...hadn't thought about that).
I've had several encounters with people where I was glad I had a gun. I've also encountered packs of feral dogs. A friend of mine was bitten by a feral dog some years ago and had to undergo the rabies series (the shots in the stomach, since the IM version wasn't available yet).

You think the discussion is bad here, go search the backpacking.com forum...

 

[daveclark]

Alternatives

Very interesting thread. I just wanted to add that besides carrying Baretta .30 as a camp tool, I also carry a survivor hiking stick with a concealable blade. It's a very ingenious method of providing immedate protection in the event that two legged critters insist on presenting problems to my well being. I always like alternatives.

 

[LACamper]

beretta .32acp you mean? Like the tomcat?

 

[ExpoScout]

As stated before, to answer the OP's question: Yes.

To get more in depth: As a law enforcement officer I always carry (basically 24/7). I also highly advise everyone to carry if they are able to. If you don't feel comfortable with a handgun, carry a long gun.

To be so naive as to say "Well, I've never had a problem before..." is, in my opinion, ridiculous. I can't make up your mind for you, but it's like an insurance policy.

For those of you that don't carry because you are scared of guns (never shot a gun, never held a gun, never SEEN a gun) I suggest going to a range and having an instructor show you the basics and then shoot some of the rental guns that are available. Of course it's important to carry in accordance with your local laws (some of you guys will be restricted more based on the state you live in, obviously).

 

[LACamper]

Everyone should take a basic firearms handling course. Even if you never plan on having one, you never know when you might come across one. Being able to handle it, and even unload it, safely could be important to your safety.
If you're anti gun and willing to voice your opinion you should at least be able to claim that you know what you're talking about.
I remember a conversation w/ my daughter when she was about five. She said 'I hate spinach.' I asked how she knew if she'd never tasted it. She tried it, hated it. I said OK, you don't have to eat it, you tried it. She tried the same thing with cheesecake, she loved it. Now I wish she hadn't tried it. Anyway, same idea....

 

[bobcat charlie]

I lived in Montana for several years and always camped with a major weapon (full load .44 mag revolver or Ruger #3 with hot 45-70 loads). It was a comforting factor!

I California, especially up in my favorite area, the Trinity Alps, I pack either a Tracker .44 Mag w .44 Special loads or a M1911. My biggest threat will be a
marajana grower and possibly a black bear. .45 Auto or more will do in either case.

It's really not a case of needing the fire power, it's going in with the mind set that you have everything you might need!

I am just more comfortable at home or in the field with an equalizer readilly accessable!

 

[bobDog]

As stated before, to answer the OP's question: Yes.

To get more in depth: As a law enforcement officer I always carry (basically 24/7). I also highly advise everyone to carry if they are able to. If you don't feel comfortable with a handgun, carry a long gun.

To be so naive as to say "Well, I've never had a problem before..." is, in my opinion, ridiculous. I can't make up your mind for you, but it's like an insurance policy.

For those of you that don't carry because you are scared of guns (never shot a gun, never held a gun, never SEEN a gun) I suggest going to a range and having an instructor show you the basics and then shoot some of the rental guns that are available. Of course it's important to carry in accordance with your local laws (some of you guys will be restricted more based on the state you live in, obviously).

Wow!!!! I so totally agree w/you. I would never consider going outside w/o a gun!!!!!!:coffeedrink:

 

[bobDog]

I lived in Montana for several years and always camped with a major weapon (full load .44 mag revolver or Ruger #3 with hot 45-70 loads). It was a comforting factor!

I California, especially up in my favorite area, the Trinity Alps, I pack either a Tracker .44 Mag w .44 Special loads or a M1911. My biggest threat will be a
marajana grower and possibly a black bear. .45 Auto or more will do in either case.

It's really not a case of needing the fire power, it's going in with the mind set that you have everything you might need!

I am just more comfortable at home or in the field with an equalizer readilly accessable!

I really like your using the word mindset......absolutely right. You are also so right about threats....here you could add mushroom hunters!

 

[LACamper]

You think you're perfectly safe on the trail?

We ran into a couple of escapees from the local juvenile prison once in MS. Fortunately, there were 4 of us and 2 weapons. They decided not to try anything but you could feel the hostility. You could see them trying to decide if they could take us. They decided to move on and look for easier prey I guess. It made for an uncomfortable night that night.

I know someone else that found someone's marijauna patch on BLM land. He snuck back out of that area as quietly as he could, scared to death that the 'farmer' would try to keep his patch secret.

Most of the people you encounter on trail are harmless hikers just like yourself. Sometimes they aren't. Sometimes people are out in the woods doing something illegal and want to keep it quiet (drugs to stills to poaching to whatever...).

Think about it.

 

[Storz]

12ga comes with us anytime we go camping.

 

[Bogo]

I don't divulge if I'm carrying or not.:elkgrin:

If I were to get a fire arm I think I'd go with a shotgun. It seems the most versatile weapon. You don't have to have great aim

Um, wrong. Urban myth. Sometime take a shotgun and shoot it at a paper target 25 feet away. Note how small the hole is. You still need to aim a shotgun. Also for wild animals you need it loaded with bear slugs which are effectively a bullet.

If you are worried about bear or other wildlife attacks, get bear spray. Roughly 45 to 50% of the people who shoot a bear during a bluff or real charge get mauled or killed by the bear. On the other hand less than 5% who use bear spray on the bear get harmed. The numbers come from reported incidents in Canada and the USA.

The best guess as to why this happens is the injury from the bullet sends the bear into fight or flight mode which may lead to an attack. Before being hit by the bullet it was just trying to scare you away. Now you have injured it. The thing is even a magnum load 12 gauge bear slug isn't a guaranteed kill on a bear. You can hope the bear bleeds to death before it makes it to you. Unless you hit its spinal cord or brain it can still see you so it can still find you and get to you to continue the attack. On the other hand the bear who gets sprayed with bear spray temporarily looses sight, and the spray also affects their respiratory tract. The bear may still go into full on fight mode, but the bear spray is affecting its eyesight and breathing so it can't easily mount an effective attack. The temporary loss of sight and overloading of its sense of smell allows you to get away.

 

[BigAl]

...Roughly 45 to 50% of the people who shoot a bear during a bluff or real charge get mauled or killed by the bear.

That seems unbelievable to me.

 

[Bogo]

This woman is obviously very experienced with them and stood her ground to show what is the whole story and the routine outcome to these videos..

YouTube - A Bluff Charge by a Black Bear - NOT A BLACK BEAR ATTACK
With an attitude like hers, some day she will get shredded. Bears are NOT predictable. While most charges are bluff charges to scare you away, enough aren't to make taking the risk foolish.

This is a much better video of a bear charge. Notice how long it takes from when it starts running at the photographer until the warning shot. The telephoto lens makes the distance look much shorter than it is, and harder to properly judge.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=401ATHqOCOg&NR=1"]YouTube - Raw video - 2 grizzly bears charge camera man[/ame]

With CBC commentary.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bx-0Jg3tX0"]YouTube - Grizzly Bears Charge on a Photographer (from CBC)[/ame]