Guns in the Wilderness

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

great idea

 

 

[Greta]

Nice. Mistaken for a bear? Was she wearing that bright blue parka?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Nice. Mistaken for a bear? Was she wearing that bright blue parka?

 

no shit. if it was ttk hiking shirtless that'd be another story...

[Greta]

Nice. Mistaken for a bear? Was she wearing that bright blue parka?

 

no shit. if it was ttk hiking shirtless that'd be another story...

 

[pink]

look, it's hansel and greta goin at it one on one.

 

 

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

sorry, that's you and kbone.

[rob]

I bring my big gun into the wilderness every time. It's always loaded, but sometimes it can take a while to fire off a shot.

[AlpineK]

Interesting, a human wearing blue in the woods. People think you're a bear and shoot you.

 

If you really are a bear it seems safer to hang out at the golf course with a lot of people around you. Nobody would shoot you then.

 

XqOCzV7bAoE

 

[Fairweather]

The problem isn't guns in the wilderness, the problem is two unaccompanied minors with guns. I didn't even realize it was legal for a 16 and a fourteen year old to hunt alone--and no, I don't like the idea of two kids out there with high-powered rifles and would support a law requiring adult supervision.

 

Why does bear season start so early? Shouldn't it correspond with deer/elk season and lower late-season hiker traffic?

[Maine-iac]

This is awful, kids should not be given the power to wield a weapon like a gun, while unsupervised. A similar thing happened last fall here in Oregon. A guy was riding on the back of a 4-wheeler (he and a friend were driving down a dirt road in the woods) and saw movement in/behind a bush and the guy just randomly fired a shot into the bush. Next thing he knows, a college aged kid falls out into the road. He shot the kid in the neck, severing his spinal column. I don't know whether to say thank god the kid lived or not, but people need to get their fingers off the triggers and put them back up their asses where they are the vast majority of the time.

[Hugh Conway]

This is what makes America the greatest country in the world

[olyclimber]

if you look at it from the perspective of "how many times has this happened" then the problem isn't that big of a deal. how many people get killed in car accidents every day? how many people get shot in the city every day? even just accidentally? it could be easy to over respond to a tragedy like this.

 

how in the hell does someone mistake a human being for a bear? people do stupid shit every day, as this board exemplifies.

 

here are a few possible ways we can take this:

 

1. Obviously, the solution would have been for the hiker to have been armed too, so as to protect herself from hunters.

 

2. Something about "arming bears"

 

3. etc.

 

In the end it seems like this is a random sad occurance, not unlike a 14 year old kid accidentally shooting and killing his best friend in an apartment in the city. stupid or youthful people will make mistakes. in the end no law will stop this from happening. is it legal for a 16 and 14 year old to go hunting bears together with no supervision? if an adult had been there would the situation had been different? Maybe, maybe not.

[canyondweller]

The problem isn't guns in the wilderness...

 

Why does bear season start so early? Shouldn't it correspond with deer/elk season and lower late-season hiker traffic?

 

Of course the problem isn't guns in the wilderness. Wilderness is where the animals are. I don't know what happened, since I was not there. However, it appears that the boy did not have a definitive sight picture before he pulled the trigger. That's obvious, right? My point is, this is drilled into the heads of every hunter who takes the Hunter's Safety Course, which is required if you were born after a certain date (early '70's, I think). I have run into hunters on several occasions, mountainbiking in high alpine areas, in the fall. I always try and where bright colors, understanding when the seasons are.

 

To the bear season question, most seasons coincide with or relate to, the rut. FW, the answer to your question is a little more multi-faceted. Deer and elk seasons stretch from September 1 through until December (in one case), depending on where you are hunting and what you are hunting with (modern rifle, muzzleloader, or bow). Bear season stretches from August 1 through until November. With bears, I believe, it is best to tag one before they put on too much fat for winter. Also, I have talked to hunters who have told me about bear meat changing based on diet (tons of berries, meat tastes like shit). So, there's that.

 

Anyway, it is a sad story, and my condolences to the family of the victim. Likewise, as a fellow hunter, I feel for this kid; he realized the bad dream of every hunter who goes out.

[TREETOAD]

the parents of these kids are probably wishing they had never had guns in the house right about now.

[AlpineK]

I've eaten bear meat once while in Alaska. I talked with the locals and they said bear meat tastes best when they've been eating berries. Salmon season is a bad time to kill and eat a bear.

[canyondweller]

the parents of these kids are probably wishing they had never had guns in the house right about now.

 

I doubt it.

[billcoe]

Sucks for all concerned. Damn sad for everyone for sure. Although the kneejerk reaction is to "pass a law", theres laws against drunk driving but drunks still plow into houses, pedestrians and cars, killing lots of folks on a near daily basis: and theres lots of laws against it. Passing one more law won't do anything, it's already illegal to shoot another human.

 

The parents are still liable for this, and most likely will get sued into hell. I let my 18 year old go target practice with 3 of his buddies the other day without me (first time out without an adult for him) and was feeling bad, despite the kid having been through 2 hunter safety courses and having been out shooting with me as recently as the previous week. In fact, all the kids had been through hunter safety and have been handling firearms for years. It just felt strange to realize my son is near adult now and I not only don't have to dog him around, but theres almost an expectation not to.......he graduated last December and has has a lot of free time since.

[Bug]

I was raised in Montana in the 60's and 70's.

Hunting was something we all did from age 12.

In order to do it, we were required to take hunter's safety. They always showed a long series of graphic slides of gunshot wounds. There was the shotgun to the face, the 30 06 through the chest, the 44mag in the gut and soforth. Made you think that it was a serious thing.

 

Anyone know if they still show those pics? Or are kids too sheltered from psycological damages? Unless of course, they are watching tv.

 

Sad story. My condolences to the family and friends of the victim.

[canyondweller]

The parents are still liable for this, and most likely will get sued into hell.

 

Actually, I had heard that the victim's family was being very compassionate towards the kid.

[Hugh Conway]

I've eaten bear meat once while in Alaska. I talked with the locals and they said bear meat tastes best when they've been eating berries. Salmon season is a bad time to kill and eat a bear.

 

careful man, bear meat is the largest source of Trichnosis in the US

[billcoe]

 

Anyone know if they still show those pics?

 

Didn't show them in 2004 when I did it with my son, but the course was very full, informative and of damn high quality IMO.

[canyondweller]

I've eaten bear meat once while in Alaska. I talked with the locals and they said bear meat tastes best when they've been eating berries. Salmon season is a bad time to kill and eat a bear.

 

careful man, bear meat is the largest source of Trichnosis in the US

 

Yeah, you gotta cook that shit. I like it as jerky, but a whole bear worth of jerky would be a bit much. It probably makes good sausage.

[Mal_Con]

I did an experiment and paced out 120 yds. from my front porch, I live on a steep hill that put it at one of my neighbors garage. At that distance not only can I distinguish the species of animal I can also identify a person both by their appearance but also pace. I can tell whose dog it is as well as whether it is a dog cat coyote or bear all of which I have seen from here. This is without binoculars or a scope of any kind. I am not some eagle eye either just a middle aged guy with glasses. You do not have to take my word go to a football field and see for yourself.

[canyondweller]

Neat. Now put it in a hunting situation. It's a little different.

[Hugh Conway]

I did an experiment and paced out 120 yds. from my front porch, I live on a steep hill that put it at one of my neighbors garage. At that distance not only can I distinguish the species of animal I can also identify a person both by their appearance but also pace. I can tell whose dog it is as well as whether it is a dog cat coyote or bear all of which I have seen from here. This is without binoculars or a scope of any kind. I am not some eagle eye either just a middle aged guy with glasses. You do not have to take my word go to a football field and see for yourself.

 

If you can distinguish your target enough for a kill shot, you certainly can distinguish what it is.

 

Fry the little fuckers.