>Instead prepare yourself by learning how to avoid an unpleasent encounter >-- most bear encounters are completely benign and will not need lethal >force to resolve. >Michael Kundu > Hi Michael, Philip W. and I (Philip T.) have actually been having a friendly and mutually respectful private dialogue on the types of firearms and ammunition we choose and why. Interestingly, neither of us seemed to question the NEED to carry some type of firearm in some situations. And we both recognized that firearms are no assurance of safety in the face of attack by these incredible animals. I agree with you that prevention is better than cure, both for yourself and any animal you might meet. When travelling down south (anything south of Alaska or the NWT) I carry only bear spray, call out when hiking, and avoid rivers with spawning salmon etc. to stay out of Grizzly territory. Black bears and "southern" Grizzlies seem mainly to attack humans only if their territory or young are threatened or if they are driven by starvation (starvation often caused by rivers depleted of salmon by humans, so there does seem to be a certain rough justice there!). However, if you're travelling in the North, you are by definition travelling in the territory of Tundra Grizzly and Polar bears. Human paranoia about other bears and wolves not withstanding, Polar bears are one of the few animals that will actively hunt humans even when other food sources are available. Here I carry a shotgun. I agree that you shouldn't let possession of a firearm encourage you to blunder into places you wouldn't otherwise go, with potentially devastating effects on yourself and the bears, who are after all, simply being bears. And in a sense, having to use a firearm is an indication that you've screwed up somewhere in your planning (in the same sort of way that "Being able to roll is a sign of success - having to roll is a sign of failure.") Forced to make the choice, I am prepared to kill an animal rather than be killed by it. I will do whatever I can to avoid being forced to make the choice, both out of respect for the animal and out of recognition that the bear may be more successful in its plans than I am in mine. This is my choice, and others of course are free to decide that as a matter of principle they will not kill an animal. But that should be an informed choice, knowing that in some situations it carries the very real possibility of your own serious injury or death. Cheers, Philip T. "The opinions expressed in this posting are not necessarily those of my employer, or indeed, of any sentient being." **************************************** Mountain Equipment Co-op 1655 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J 1K1 Tel: 640-732-1989 Fax: 604-731-6483 email: pid@mec.ca Visit our website at: http://www.mec.ca ***************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise@lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request@lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************