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Fire arms on hikes

From: Keith F.
Sent on: Friday, April 9, 2010, 1:32 PM
Please note that if you rsvp for any hike led by me, do not bring a fire arm. I have nothing against them, have hunted in the past and qualified as an expert with both pistol and rifle in the Marine Corps. If someone is hiking alone or with a friend, I think it would be fine and maybe even a good idea to bring one. For a group, I think it is more of a danger for the hikers than for any external threat such as a bear or bad guy. I'm pretty sure most of us hikers would feel very uncomfortable knowing someone in the group is "packing".

If you are concerned about bears, hike with a group. Black bears (the only kind we have here) are shy of people anyway and even more leery of a group making noise. If I want protection from them I carry a sling shot. I do this because it's what rangers do in many places. In Shenandoah NP, the bears take off as soon as they see the sling shot. They have been hit before and it hurts. However, this is mostly around picnic areas where bears have become accustomed to people. In the wild, just make noise, so you don't surprise them. For more info on bears see this link:

http://www.fs.fed.us/outdoors/naturewatch/implementation/Human-Wildlife-Interactions/Be-Bear-Aware-Program.pdf