Protection on the water

I carry to keep the intimate people at bay to. Nothing scares me more then sex crazed lunatics lurking around in the woods. Bears not so much.
 
been charged by a sow with cubs once here while squirrel hunting, had a single 20 ga. with 6 shot. fired over her head to scare here off, only ran about 40 yards away. cubs were still in the brush. very scary moment, now I carry buckshot and a slug along. bear spray does work too.
 
i sing when i walk through the woods, lets animals know a way off i'm coming.

so far no bad interactions, apart from being laughed at by a few hunters in treestands.

 
geebee

Do you sing, "Stayin' Alive" ?
 
geebee wrote:
i sing when i walk through the woods, lets animals know a way off i'm coming.

so far no bad interactions, apart from being laughed at by a few hunters in treestands.
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Once again I am convinced we would get along well on a fishing expedition!
 
don't know if he was fishing at the time but a black bear did in fact kill someone out west a few years ago.Climbed the tree after him I believe.Someone can google it up if interested.
butt the odds are slim-I always carried when living in Montana-not so much for the animals although I did walk up on a grizzly in the paradise valley--verified and witnessed.Yogi just yawned--I said excuse me..
Since I fished mostly at nite in warm weather it was running into niteriders when going back to car that concerned me.Had one standoff with two guys,no shots fired but it was testy,very testy for a couple of minutes..thankfully didn't have to shoot as all I had was a cheapo .22...now I am in Detroit area--wish I could carry an uzi...
 
When you go brookie fishing? Let me know when & where you'll be fishing so I don't come near you.
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If I minded that he carried a gun (I don't), the size of that gun wouldn't mean much to me anyway. I don't care if it's a pellet gun or a .50. I really prefer that he not shoot me with any of them!!!
 
huntfish wrote:
When fishing on small mountain brookie streams where you're the only person for miles, do any of you bring protection incase god forbid a bear with cubs comes along or something or you stumble upon some? Does bear mace actually work? Just like to see what other people do when fishing these desolated areas.
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Knowledge of how to operate safely in bear country along with your brain and the ability to use it and stay calm are really your best protection. Black bear attacks are rare but carrying Bear Pepper Spray is not at all a bad idea. Especially if it gives you some piece of mind. And YES it works. Odds are you'll never even use it but should you need it, you'll have it. I've never carried it but lately I've been strongly considering doing so for certain outings. For the most part I don't feel I need a gun for black bear encounters. I'd be more apt to carry it for any potential encounters with the wrong human element.
 
a few years ago, the very day after i had an encounter with a large bear at dusk while walking the dog I met a retired fish and game guy from Montana at a boat launch. The bear did not want to move off the road despite my yells at close range. (it was in the shadows and I walked right up on it). In the course of our conversation, I revealed what happened the previous night and he told me about always having bear spray on him. I learned his history and he told a few stories of how that pepper spray made dealing with animals easier, which I can assume includes the human animal. So, in general maybe, carrying pepper spray could help in a lot of instances that aren't just in the hinterlands.
sylvaneous
 
Wow!!! Talk about timing! This morning I was walking - not fishing, checking the water levels and for any flood damage. I notice a "Labrador Retriever" about 50 yrds ahead on the path. As I get closer I realized it's a black bear of about 150lbs. So I stop, yell, scream (didn't think of singing) and he doesnt budge. So I fire two shots from my 38 well away from the bear. Away he/she scampers.
 
Protection against Aholes in the woods, is the only thing you have to worry about. In the last year and a half we've had 2 such incidents, the second is ongoing right now.
 
If I'm fishing very remote streams, I sometimes carry a firearm. I carry in case I stumble upon some criminal activity and become a liability.
 
Be afraid.

Very, very afraid.
 
Its not a matter of being afraid, just being prepared.
 
prepared for what?

carry a little canister of jogger's mace if you must....but all of this hand wringing over having to pack heat 'just in case'

In case of what? What are the odds of something actually happening, of actually running across some sort of nefarious activity while you're tromping thru the forest looking for brookies to harass?


Fear, it's good for the bottom line, just ask the NRA.
 
I'd venture to guess that 99.9% of bears shot while attacking humans in PA are shot in the hind quarters...
 
someone made the comment about all the man hours in the woods in PA and very very few encounters.

Here's one problem with that association. Sitting at the ditch or on codorus you are less likely to be bothered by anything but people! So before you go tallying man hours, you need to really look at people in those situations where a bear might really be an issue. most of sc is not it from my experiences over the last 4 years.

Up here, I do carry from time to time. When I'm going to a remote area for kings I carry spray and buddies usually carry boom sticks. lots of both kinds of bears. We are headed out tonight actually to go to another high use high bear area. Fish late at night, which is not dark btw, you're very likely to run into a brownie or blackie.

For those of you who laugh at a blackie, have one turn on you. That'll be the last time you laugh at one! They are just as serious as any brownie. statistically when a blackie wants you, you're dead. Where brownies tear you up good, like a chew toy and leave you for dead, unless they pop your head like a zit.

I've had more than a few encounters. Including a brownie inches from my head outside a tent wall. If youthink because its remote, they're not habituated you got another thing coming. This was an hour out in the middle of no where by boat fishing salmon. That bear knew exactly what my cooler was. He left the trash alone, for that matter everything else alone. Dumped the cloths fill cooler (I was a broke GI at the time and couldn't afford enough dry bags for everyone). That bear ripped open my partners personal bag, and bit right through the lexan spoon he used to eat his mt house lasagna. You can never get the cheese off the dang thing! Nice trophy he took home to MI. I actually have that very cooler loaded up right now.

Being smart is a good thing to be.....but its not going to help a lick of beans when you finally do bump one, one cub goes one way and ma goes the other. Or you jump one on a kill site !!!
 
prepared for what? carry a little canister of jogger's mace if you must....but all of this hand wringing over having to pack heat 'just in case' In case of what? What are the odds of something actually happening, of actually running across some sort of nefarious activity while you're tromping thru the forest looking for brookies to harass? Fear, it's good for the bottom line, just ask the NRA
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Most of us will never be saved by a seatbelt, an airbag, a pfd, the oxygen mask on an airplane, a surgeon general warning, a ban on large portions of soda, the third brake light, a road flare, a space blanket, a smoke detector, a police officer, a firefighter, a tsunami warning system, or a shopping mall defib.

With the exception of the soda ban, all of these things have their place. In certain instances, one would be foolish not to have them at ones disposal. Fear is an important part of survival. You don't have to let it control your life but it certainly prolongs that life. We all take risks, usually calculated. For many, not training with and carrying a firearm is one of those risks. There is no denying that carrying a firearm can save your life in certain situations. I imagine it is much more likely to do so than the oxygen mask on your next flight. You won't catch me asking them to remove the masks because it is just fear mongering, though.

We all make our own choices as to how to be prepared for life. I'm not going to tell anyone that they need to carry. I don't want anybody telling me that I do or don't need to. I actually don't carry that often. Part of the reason is for fear of violating laws. PA is pretty good but the smattering of Federal property can make it tricky. Now, if you want to talk about using fear for the bottom line, lets talk government.
 
Now, if you want to talk about using fear for the bottom line, lets talk government.
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The goverment, the NRA....it's all pretty much the same isn't it?
 
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