CHAPTER FIVE: Bushwhacking
“I would
like to see every woman know how to handle guns as naturally as they know how
to handle babies.”
- Annie Oakley
Firearms
Unless hunting is the main reason for the outing, firearms are considered by
many outdoor recreationists to be an unnecessary burden. Most of the
time, it is illegal to possess firearms in some areas - such as most national
and state parks. Additionally, the possession of cased firearms is
permitted in many national and state forests, but it is not encouraged, except
during hunting seasons. Exceptions to this general rule are parts of
Alaska and the Canadian Northwest and Yukon Territories where wilderness
travelers are sometimes advised by local residents and some government
employees to carry a large caliber rifle or large gauge shotgun as protection
from aggressive bears. Many wildlife professionals consider Northern Canadian
black bears to be larger and more aggressive than those black bears living
further south and more apt to make an unprovoked attack on humans.
However, in the lower 48 United States, sports hunting for bears are a wildlife
management tool that keeps most of the bear population in fear of humans,
greatly reducing the chances of recreationists being harmed. Although
this may be true, there is a subset in the bear population that is aggressive
enough to attack anything moving, including humans. This does not happen
very often, but it happens often enough that outdoor recreationists should be
aware of the potential risks in an encounter with a bear. In May 1998, a
solo hiker in a remote area of Glacier National Park was killed and his body mostly
eaten by a female grizzly bear and her two cubs. He was the 10th person
killed in a bear attack in the park since 1967.
As a general rule, no matter where you are, if you are in the presence of a
bear, black, or brown you are in danger. In recent years a number of
recreational visitors and resource management workers in Alaska and Canada have
been attacked and sometimes killed by grizzly and black bears. These
large and unpredictable animals are often not at all like the bears depicted in
the Wilderness Family TV series. So, if you see a bear, try to move away
as quickly as possible without arousing it. The best way of avoiding an
encounter with a bear is to be aware of the danger and to look out for them in
places where they might be prowling for food. In most of these human and bear
encounters, the bear will retreat as soon as it identifies the object of its
attention as human. A group of noisy hikers is in far less danger from a
bear attack than a solitary angler or hunter whom the bear might mistake for
prey. So if you are traveling alone in bear habitats, let any nearby
bears know who and where you are. Several years ago, in Alaska, a young
U.S. Fish and Wildlife employee, while conducting a solitary field survey, lost
the use of both of her arms when attacked by a small black bear. She did
not have a firearm. Apparently, after that attack, the agency allowed
some of its field employees to carry firearms. Shortly afterward, another
U.S. Fish and Wildlife employee, alone while conducting a survey, was suddenly
attacked by a grizzly bear. Without much time to think about it, she was
forced to defend herself with a shotgun blast fired from the hip. She
killed the bear. Afterwards she was heard to ask, “What would have happened
to me if I didn’t have my gun?”
Recently, a young woman driving to Alaska along the Alaskan Highway with her
two small children was killed by a black bear while outside her vehicle at a
British Columbia rest stop parking lot while her children watched from inside
the vehicle. A man who attempted to come to her aid was also killed by
the bear. Soon after an armed man at the rest stop shot and killed the
bear. With all species of bears one should expect the unexpected.
You should never trust a wild animal.
A backpacker from London, England was hiking along a trail in the Yukon
Territory. Along the way government employees and others asked him if he
carried a gun in case he met a bear. He did not have a gun. One
evening, while he was relaxing by his campfire, a local Native American
informed him of the presence of a large female grizzly bear and her cub a short
distance from his camp.
This bit of intelligence so unnerved the Brit that he spent the night in his
tent yodeling to keep his spirits up and the bears away. This behavior,
however, could have been very dangerous, as his yodeling might have sounded
like an injured animal to the bear and an easy meal.
As stated before, for most recreational outings in most places, unless hunting
is the main objective, firearms are usually dead weight. If you feel you
need to have a firearm when traveling in bear habitats, pack at least one gun big
enough to kill a bear. This means at least a 30‑06 caliber (7.62x 63 mm)
rifle or a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with slugs.
Due to the lack of penetration power of their ammunition handguns cannot be
depended upon to provide protection from a bear. The comparatively light
weight 30‑30 Winchester rifle bullet and 20 gauge shotgun slugs both penetrate
more soft tissue than a .44 magnum bullet fired from a handgun. The
authors must note that in many cases, shooting a charging bear does not always
stop its attack or prevent the shooter from being mauled. Also, keep in mind
this important fact; if you shoot a bear the shooting must be reported to the
nearest wildlife authority and you may be subject to an investigation. If
the shooting was found not to have been in self defense you are liable for
arrest. Another effective, but non-deadly way for the backpacking
public to stop an aggressive bear is to use chemicals such as pepper
spray. This method usually stops a bear attack and it spares the life of
the bear. Pepper sprays also stop a criminal human attack and are legal
in most places.
“Even in
the best and most peacefully civilized countries many occasions arise when a
woman versed in the knowledge and use of firearms may find that information and
skill of great importance.”
- Annie Oakley
Usually, if you don’t disturb the bears, the bears will not bother you.
Keep in mind that bears have the same eating habits as raccoons. Both
these creatures will locate and eat anything edible. Thus, think of bears
as 400 pound raccoons that can break into locked autos and strongly-constructed
cabins in search of food. If you feed bears, or leave food scraps from
them to find, they will lose their incentive to find food on their own and
become dependent on easy handouts from humans. If such bears find people
who have food and are unwilling to give the bear any, the bear will become
dangerous and take the food it wants. Thus, responsible campers get hurt
or killed, while park rangers must put down these dangerous bears, just because
of a few thoughtless people who thought it would be fun to feed the “cute”
bears. In other words, keep in mind the wisdom of “Live and Let
Live,” as killing bears should only happen in regular hunting seasons as a part
of wildlife management.
Humans need responsible hunting, as well as the right to own and use firearms,
to keep wildlife in balance with habitat. The purpose of game management
is to provide recreation, while protecting the resource. In the Western
States, when meat-eating predators were killed and hunting reduced, the number
of deer increased to the point where they overtaxed their habitat and too many
starved to death. The pain and suffering these hungry deer experienced
could have been avoided if both natural predators and human hunting had
controlled deer population numbers in the first place. These starving
deer also destroyed backyard gardens, farmers’ crops, and young trees, causing
the loss of millions of dollars to the American economy each year.
“A man’s rights rest in three
boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.”
- Frederick Douglass, famed civil
rights leader in 1867, in response to post-Civil War segregation laws
Always remember that firearms are dangerous tools. There is no such thing
as a safe firearm. For anyone to use firearms with safety and proficiency
requires comprehensive instruction from a qualified coach.
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