A firearm for my B
I'm considering some trips out west and in some wilderness areas here in the east/north. I've never seen the need to have a gun to protect myself from humans and I've been to some pretty rough places ...
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I have hiked all over the west, mostly alone, for many years. I have encountered a few bears (all ran away), a few snakes with bad attitudes (no bites yet), and a cougar which fortunately was not hungry (I still shake 20 years later when I think about that one).
After the cougar, I did start wearing a whistle on a lanyard around my neck and carrying two hiking sticks which I view as weapons. I also bought bear spray for a trip to grizzly country, practiced with it, and fortunately did not need it.
In terms of trail dangers, I am most afraid of being injured, of being harmed by someone's "friendly" unleashed dog, of miscellaneous livestock such as spooked horses and overprotective cows, and of some of the humans I meet on trails near urban areas.
I never carry a firearm, but I do have a variety of weapons including such simple things the whistle to make loud scary noises or a pocketful of pebbles to throw into the face of an attacking animal (that probably would not work with angry bears).
Be careful out there. Be prepared. Remember that your brain is your best weapon.
After the cougar, I did start wearing a whistle on a lanyard around my neck and carrying two hiking sticks which I view as weapons. I also bought bear spray for a trip to grizzly country, practiced with it, and fortunately did not need it.
In terms of trail dangers, I am most afraid of being injured, of being harmed by someone's "friendly" unleashed dog, of miscellaneous livestock such as spooked horses and overprotective cows, and of some of the humans I meet on trails near urban areas.
I never carry a firearm, but I do have a variety of weapons including such simple things the whistle to make loud scary noises or a pocketful of pebbles to throw into the face of an attacking animal (that probably would not work with angry bears).
Be careful out there. Be prepared. Remember that your brain is your best weapon.
