Perhaps. But you want to know something? I like our gun culture, and I would not trade it for a lower murder rate.
In other words, if someone were to ask me, “You have a choice: you can live in a country that has an active gun culture, but the murder rate with firearms will be high, or you can live in a country with a small or nonexistent gun culture, and the murder rate with firearms would be low. Which do you choose?”
I choose the former.
Which is why when I travel in the USA, I recognize this and don’t raise an eyebrow when I come across someone packing in the woods. Like I say, when in Rome . . . .
When I am in the USA, I respect the customs and traditions of the area in which I am visiting. I hope that Americans visiting us behave in the same way, which means in shield country such as northern Sask, not carrying a gun unless hunting.
My concern is not about whether a gun culture is a good thing or a bad thing (there are lots of other threads on that issue), but rather the appropriateness of carrying a gun in that region when not hunting given the infinitesimal risk of black bear attack and given the societal concerns over guns in much of Canada.
In other words, we should not shit in each other’s back yards.
A couple of old marauding hillbillies came across my partner and me over Thanksgiving as we were paddling about looking for caribou. They had built a cabin on a small island at the base of a waterfall using found materials (beams from a mine, telegraph poles, insulation from road construction etc.).
Instead of shooting us on the spot, they took us in for the night. Didn’t kill us in our sleep either.
A mighty fine time was had by all, leaving us with new friends.
No governemnt conspiracy there, coyotes have spread across the country all on their own filling niches created when other predators were killed off. Coyotes are quite wily after all. 
And kudos on handling your pitting so well.
This thread now has me very confused about what to do should I encounter a bear or a moose in the wild. For bears do I stop drop and roll, climb a tree, run like hell or offer it a pickinick basket?
Can I just distract a charging moose by pulling a rabbit out of my hat … or a flying squirrel?
Yes, I watched too many cartoons as a child, I think that was already quite obvious.
I’m mindful of that thread. Your sprinkle of salt on the wound is not necessary. It is not the case that if I don’t think like you I am being an ass or ignoring anything at all. Personally, I think it’s rather assified to conclude an argument by saying, hey by the way here’s something from your past that doesn’t hurt me but might hurt you.
So am I allowed to carry a gun in case of Mountain lion attack? because I do in the backlands. I have been stalked at least twice I know of(and who knows how many times I wasn’t aware of, humans arn’t the most observeant prey). So far I havn’t run into a lion starving enough to take on my 270 pounds. But I’m not going to take it for granted, why not take the protection I can. There is a bit of a catch 22 though, If you bring a dog you are more likely know if a big cat is around, but you are bringing in an animal more in the standard prey range of the cat and increasing the likly hood of being bothered.
One other note for people thinking of carrying guns in the wilderness. Never fire off a test shot ‘just to test the gun’. At least around here the animals have learned that gunshot equals hunter equals freshly dead animal with no chasing. They will come from miles around to get a piece of the action.
Oh yeah, good point. :o
But in my defense, in the question I also mentioned mooses and canada geese. 
In retrospect, I’ve come to the conclusion that a flare gun would be a much better safety tool, especially when i get lost/hurt and they (hopefully) send helicopters looking for me.
I agree that a gun may be a useless item on most excursions, but it does give some people a certain peace of mind, and I can’t say I blame them.
I hate geese, those obnoxious, sqonking, buggering bastards. You can shoot all of them you want. (Just kidding…unless they’re in season. Then take your limit. )
I think a ham radio set or smoke charges would be a lot more useful in that situation. Aerial flares are good on the open sea where it’s flat to the horizon, but isn’t going to do you much good in the forest; plus, they’re a fire hazard.
I won’t deny that there is a benefit to having that piece of mind, but carrying a large bore rifle or a shotgun is going to be prohibitively heavy for a multiday excursion, and a small handgun, even if legal, isn’t going to be effective against large wildlife and thus just gives you a misplaced sense of protection.
But you solicited an opinion, considered the advice that was proffered, including that which was contrary to your original assumptions, and handled being Pitted gracefully. Kudos to you for that, regardless of what you choose to do.
Stranger
'Kay, that was a bit of hyperbole. But some people do worry about flying monkeys; in fact, I think I’ve convinced my boss to be terrified about them next time he goes to Mexico.
I understand your point, and it’s all a matter of priorities, which, in the end, reduces to individual preferences. I believe that the choice to carry a gun against bears in the backcountry is a. based upon a mistaken impression of the general aggressiveness of bears, and b. a poor use of weight budget that could be more profitably applied to other supplies such as extra food, water, first aid gear, et cetera; but that is my preference (and what I would recommend), and I don’t relish telling anyone that they canonically should not every carry a gun for any reason. But I think that, in this case, is not only unwarranted against the threats in the area specified, but for any weapon conveniently compact to carry, offers a false sense of security (and is illegal in that area to boot.)
YMMV, of course. Crafter_Man thinks that he should carry a gun all the time, and as long as he does so in a safe and responsible manner, I have no argument against it. But I’d be a lot more concerned about being victimized by a person at the trailhead, or getting hit by a drunk driver, than being attacked by a bear.
Oh, and despite Muffin’s concerns about you, I’d like to commend you on showing restraint in this thread, and not doing any of the things attributed to you in your Pit thread. Please, keep it up. 
Stranger
An eminently reasonable position.
I’m doing my best, thanks.
Consider an EPIRB or a sat phone.
With an EPIRB, turn the knob and wait for the military SAR to come for you. In a truly critical situation, nothing is simpler.
Although not as simple to operate, a sat phone lets you convey exactly what the problem is, so the SAR folks can be prepared. Short of a critical emergency, a sat phone lets you effectively deal with a serious situation without calling in the military SAR. For example, with a sat phone, you can call for a drop or for a pick-up, or receive medical instructions.
Radios are terrific provided that you have the coverage. In much of Canada, this is problematic.
Obviously these raise the issue of risk homeostasis, but that is for another thread.
To defend against a goose, pretend you are a moose. To defend against a moose, pretend you are a black bear. To defend against a black bear, pretend you are a gay panda http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=301340 or simply back away out of the black bear’s escape route.
If you wish to protect yourself against wild animals but don’t wish to haul the weight of a firearm, carry an Epi-pen. You are FAR more likely to die from bee stings than from bears anywhere in the US, and an Epi-pen followed by antihystemine has a much better chance of success against anaphalaxis than a gun does against a bear.
That’s just one example of a better use of resources when backpacking. There are dozens of risks much more likely than bear attack (getting lost, getting hurt, hypothermia, etc) for which there is fairly easy-to-use and lightweight gear or supplies that most people don’t carry.
All I’d add is that you should only carry a gun if you know how to use it.. I am vehemently opposed to people purchasing guns without going through some kind of training, both in operation and safety. If you’ll be taking guns in the backcountry, I heartily recommend a hunters’ safety course even if you’re not a hunter.
Carrying guns when you don’t know how to use them properly and safely is dangerous, and advising people to carry guns without recommending that they get trained first isn’t a very good idea.
Just for the record, I own guns, I’ve never gone hunting, and I’m pleased that my father made me take a hunters’ safety class before getting my first .22 as a kid. I put my daughter through two years of gun training in 4-H before she got one.
I was going to point that out, Wombat.
If you don’t own a gun and don’t shoot regularly, carrying a gun is really a very foolish thing to do, regardless of whether you are in Canada or Alaska.
Yeah, you could get attacked by a bear, and without the gun you might be badly injured or die. But you could also injure or kill yourself with the gun if you don’t know how to use it. Especially in an emergency situation, like a bear attack.
I grew up in Alaska, so I have no problem with owning a gun or killing animals with a gun. If you are being threatened by a bear and have a gun but don’t know how to use it, you are far far far better off trying one of the other methods recommended than to attempt to shoot it. The risk of turning a scared bear into a wounded berserk bear is just too great.
I guess people have a very difficult time assessing risk, but if you compare a few dozen lethal bear attacks over a hundred years, vs uncounted accidental injuries from firearms I think you’ll find the guns more dangerous than the bears by several orders of magnitude.
The bolding is mine…
I did not grow up in Alaska. But I’m good with guns. I shoot a lot. I have not panicked in a gun type situation yet… Been in a few too… So you say you have no clue, just opinions about someone without gun knowledge or self knowledge. Or training, or experience… Or who has met a pissed little black bear that did not know he was supposed to go the other way.
The odds went again me and if I had believed you guys, I would be dead or badly mauled. So “No Thanks”, I’ll carry the weight. I’ll refrain from helping any others I might meet cause you say there is no danger. I’ll use you as a reference when the game rangers asks why I just stood there and let that nice lady get killed. I’m sure she would agree with you… :rolleyes:
I still don’t understand why you all are encouraging people with no bear knowledge, no experience, no woods skills, no nothing to make them ready to go over night camping in bear country to do so gun or no gun… What is wrong with you all?
Why are you not talking about common sense in the bear woods about smells and food caching and not going when the cubs are likely to be little and with Mommy? Jeez, you had a newbie to the bear woods in the OP and all you all can do it rant about gun – no gun…
Yeah, this is about fighting ignorance alright… :sheesh ::
First of all, I’m not encouraging anybody to head into the backcountry overnight if they don’t know what they’re doing. The OP has (or claims to have) plenty of camping experience, and he’s here trying to learn more about bears right now. He’s going, and he’s asking for information. Instead of grousing, educate him.
And I’m not ranting. I’m helping to educate him about bears and guns, just like you are. Lighten up.
I feel obliged to pipe up here and mention that I have taken a hunter’s safety course. I don’t own guns, but my dad does and I kinda grew up with them. Though in NJ you’re only allowed to hunt with bows or shotguns, so my range of experience is limited.
(sigh) why do people keep assuming I have no experience in anything?
I wasn’t assuming you have no experience, Scarface. You asked for information. Actually, I was responding to Crafter_Man when I mentioned hunters’ safety courses.
I know, I was refering to gusNSpot and some people in the thread. Anyhow, thanks
I’ve had a lot of run ins with bear in my time. I’ve avidly hunted black bear for a long time, and I’ve gone out exploring many a national park just to get the chance to see a grizzly, and they are one of the most amazing creatures to see in the wild.
The first time I ever saw one I was standing high up on a rocky outcrop and hear what sounded like a very enthusiastic dog digging a hole. I look over one side and off a ways I see a grizzly rooting in the ground not unlike a dog of mine used to do. It wasn’t until I sat back and noticed how far away it was and how large it was to my eyes nonetheless that I had an idea of just how massive a grizzly is.
Another time I had one probably 200 yards away from me stand up and let out a very loud roar to ward me off. Nothing you’ve ever seen in the movies can explain the kind of feeling you get when you hear a grizzly let out a full force roar like that. An interesting anectdote is “Bart the Bear” the famous grizzly bear actor typically would roar “silently” for films because Hollywood actors couldn’t mentally handle being roared at by a real live grizzly, then they would record him doing it for real later and put the sound in at that time.
The funnest story I have about our ursine friends was one year I went outside and noticed a small blackish looking dog in my yard. I walk over to it and it’s a very small black bear cub. I instantly become very worried because I know that a cub of this size has a momma somewhere nearby, but looking all around my yard (vary expansive area) I saw no sign of anything. And the little cub was looking around my trash cans.
It was probably stupid but I couldn’t help but touch the little guy. Amazingly it was very feisty like a puppy but not mean in the least. And he didn’t try to run away for me or anything when I walked up to it. I had a strong feeling that the bear’s mother was dead, so I collected the little guy and moved him to my garage. And then called the authorities. After a further searching of the area I found the mother bear dead with an arrow through her, and a second bear cub! It was quite a day for me. And the lady that came and took them away said it was very strange for the cubs to wander that far away from their mother (eventhough she was dead) and to interact with me almost fearlessly.
Last I heard they were at a some sort of game farm.