Open carry pistol while metal detekting

[Johnnybravo300]

Guns save far more lives every year than are used in crimes. It's not even a close comparison.

 

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[pa plateau hiker]

Being afraid to in the woods because a bear might attack is unreasonable. You should be more concerned about being killed by a bee. There are more deaths every year by bees then bear. Are we all going to carry wasp and hornet spray when out and about? I'm a beekeeper, my bees could kill me. I'm not worried about that or any wild animal in the woods.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Guns save far more lives every year than are used in crimes. It's not even a close comparison.

Again, the OP was asking about black bear, not crimes.

 

[devldog]

I have only had to discharge a pistol in the woods once years ago while hunting. I was hunting by myself and of course I was wearing headphones. I was on my knees digging when I got this frightening sensation that I was not alone. Looking up I was a scary site. About 30 feet away in front of me there was a pack of about 6 dogs. They weren't barking but we're showing their teeth and low growling. The largest dog was a shepherd mix and it was easy to tell that he was the leader of the pack because the other dogs were watching him and were reacting to his actions. I slowly stood up and yelled at them attempting to shew them away with no luck. They backed up a few feet and were showing more agression. I pulled my Berretta 22 cal. Pistol and fired once in the ground in front of them and they left. A pack of dogs with a pack mentality is a scary thing. I'm glad I had my pistol that day and was glad that I didn't have to shoot one as I like dogs.

 

[releventchair]

Your question was "protection against black bears". But so many posters got side tracked and commented about protection against people. I will stick to your bear question. Around here black bears do go over 600 lbs. I have been hiking for more then 5 decades...alone. I have seen bear, bobcat and coyotes. I have never carried a gun while out in the woods, and never felt threatened by them. Sure, you're going to say, what about the rabid animal. Those chances are very slim. What about the bear with cubs. I have seen them and mama chased the cubs up a tree while she stood guard. I changed my course and all was fine. Animals are more afraid of you then you are of them. Well maybe some people, but not all.

Blackie usually clears out if given space and not cornered , yes.
Conflicts by me have been caused by bear becoming conditioned to associate humans with easy food.

Everyone likes the idea of bears , until bears climb on their porch.
One walked down the road in daylight and people were freaking out.
Meanwhile that same year , of the fifteen estimated bear in the riverine drainage area some young boys were feeding one pizza by hand.
Another home kept doughnuts on their deck thinking it was fun to watch bears. Until the bears wanted in to get doughnuts (probably).
Then they called authorities to fix the problem they had created themselves.

A child was killed farther North many years ago. Scavenging bear and child with food. So , logic says quit teaching bear that some humans equal food.

I've been looked over at a quite close range while holding a rifle on a bear that ran up to me. It's approach was not as if it winded me and was coming to hug , but rather chance. No aggressive behavior , more curiosity with that one.
If licensed for bear (licensing has changed here to control their numbers better by drawing for tags) it would have been a fine bear to bring home.

Coyotes now , are another creature with increasing numbers and associating humans with food..
I could have used your help after dark one evening when a small pack wanted to share a couple deer I was field dressing.
I don't mind them waiting , but those were crowding within about arms reach at times.
I did not mind having a pistol. But having another human there while I attended my business would have sped things up.
Yes , I brought them in with fresh blood. Not the first , and probably won't be the last time.

If you care to look, bear "steal"hunters deer. Just being bear of course but there is conflict regardless.

Here's a PA. case where a bear was likely conditioned to humans =food.
As usual , aggressive bear lose.
[Melinda LeBarron, 51, has broken bones, cuts and bruises and multiple bites after the attack outside her home in rural in Muncy Creek Township, about 16 miles east of Williamsport, on Wednesday evening, her son said. She remained hospitalized in critical condition Friday.

Her dog — a Chihuahua-mix fittingly named Bear — was also bitten several times when he tried to intervene and has a broken sternum and separated ribs.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission set two live traps near the home, and on Friday morning, a team of tracking dogs set out on the bear’s trail.

“While there still are some questions about what led to this attack, it can be said with certainty that these types of encounters are extremely rare,” Game Commission black-bear biologist Mark Ternent said in a news release. “While bear attacks seldom occur, there’s always potential for the unfortunate exception to the rule.”]

The thing is , the odds of getting mauled are not great by anyone person in a low bear population where they are hunted.
But for the lucky winner who encounters the wrong bear ; what are their defense options with a bear committed to treating them like another bear?
And those who study bear do not promote them as being all the same in temperament , and certainly do not describe them as predictable.

I enjoy seeing them.
But I also know that if I spend enough time around them to watch fifty or a hundred , that one of those bear may have a time when it does not care that I am human.
Because they are bear/animals.
What if the next bear is the one?
Am I less threatened by having a firearm?
I carry in the field/forest ect. to insure that if attacked by a set of teeth stronger than mine , I balance that effort somehow.

As to bear I've watched folks try to wrestle an older adult blackie. It is no contest......Feeble humans.

If you are timid about firearms ,leave them alone till you undertake formal training.
No need to associate all owners with the idiots you have associated with. Few owners that were introduced and raised with firearms safety would tolerate such behavior.
Not only among humans , but bears too.

 

[Ammoman]

I have never encountered a Bear in the woods. In my area they tend to stay on the highway and harass people for speeding. In those cases a gun is not needed to get them to go away. Just hand them a coupon to the local doughnut shop and they prance away happy and fulfilled!

 

[pa plateau hiker]

You're right releventchair, bear+human food=trouble. Around here people don't know enough to keep their garbage in til trash days. Bears get used to the free food and get too tame, so the game commission gets called to trap them. Years ago a bear was trapped at my bee hives, hauled away and came back two times for free garbage fro peoples porches. The last time it was hauled further away and never came back. I'm done, gotta go hiking now without a gun.

 

[GB1]

i have encountered snakes and dogs while metal detecting. i did have to shoot the snakes but the dogs i shot at and they went away.

so yes carry a pistol legally while detecting

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Again, the OP was asking about black bear, not crimes.

Same facts. An unarmed person is helpless in the woods too whether the threat is a human or a bear.
Having a gun for protection always beats not having a gun.

 

[Toecutter]

I know i will pry never run into a problem hiking and I never have, my question was about open carry while metal detecting (that is the title), i just used black bears a the reson why im asking, if you are aginst guns please keep your opinion to your self as i cant relate and find anti gun people ignorant.....

 

[Grizz12]

I'm a city dweller. My attitude on guns is that they are nothing but trouble. I've had some close calls in really stupid situations where I could have been shot or killed due to stupid gun owners. 1) While I was on the phone my mothers boyfriend who I barely knew handed me a loaded pistol that had no safety on it. without telling me it was a real gun. I had no prior knowledge that he owned a gun. He's lucky I didn't pull the trigger by mistake thinking it was a toy.
2) I was at my friends house and he was showing myself and another guy an AK47 that he had. I went to the bathroom. I stepped out of the bathroom and the other guy was pointing the AK47 at my chest and pulled the trigger as a joke. The amount of times that scenario unfolded in other situations and the "unloaded" gun was actually loaded but they didn't know it or made a mistake happens all the time.
I've also had someone attempt to rob me with a gun (turned out to be a bb gun but still pretty scary), and I was beat up for being in the wrong place at the wrong time by two guys dressed in black. I have a good feeling that if I had a gun I would have shot them. Looking back it was bad to be defenseless in those situations but I made it out okay. I can't say it would have ended well if I had a gun. Some of you would think that those last two situations should have inspired me to get a gun. Nope I'm all set with not owning a gun. Take a look at the stats you put your life and your families life on the line by owning one. As for protection from bears? I don't have a good answer on that. I think owning a gun is due to a need by people to feel powerful. I was at a business conference in CA. and a fellow businessman admitted that he felt absolutely naked because he didn't have his gun on him as he wasn't allowed to leave his state with it. It's true we live in a world of sick psychopaths I just don't want to be part of the problem.

Your choice of "friends" speaks clearly about your ability to make sound, educated decisions

 

[xcopperstax]

Fact is people on occasion are attacked by wild animals, a gun is a last resort but without it your odds are poor if attacked.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.se...h-cougar-attack-first-fatal-attack-by-wild-co

Sadly I knew the person that got killed. Not a close friend but yes one could argue that if they had a gun they would have had a different outcome.

 

[xcopperstax]

Your choice of "friends" speaks clearly about your ability to make sound, educated decisions

You are right Grizz12. The second the gun came out I should have walked out of the house. My fault for almost getting shot.

 

[xcopperstax]

I know i will pry never run into a problem hiking and I never have, my question was about open carry while metal detecting (that is the title), i just used black bears a the reson why im asking, if you are aginst guns please keep your opinion to your self as i cant relate and find anti gun people ignorant.....

Toecutter sorry if I offended you with my gun stories and anti gun sentiment. To make this relevant to your original question: There are no black bears where I live so I don't need to carry a gun while detecting.

 

[Duckshot]

I think owning a gun is due to a need to feel powerful.

Well I gotta admit, when I swing on a partridge and drop it I feel pretty powerful.

 

[PirateLabs]

A friend of mine and I went hiking on the A.T. along the Blue Ridge mountains when I was in high school and encountered a black bear that came right up to us because we were eating, no doubt. I was going to make a joke about how I did not have to outrun the bear, just my friend but I was scared sh*tless. I had finished eating but my friend had not and the bear was within 2 feet of him so I said on three, he would toss his plate toward the bear, and we would move quickly in the other direction. I am sure this is not what the books say to do but, we did it and the bear went right for the food and totally ignored us running in the other direction. Since that time, I have never been in the woods unarmed. Also, shortly after this I saw the movie Deliverance and made a double pledge to myself that I would never enter the woods unarmed.

We have black bear in Kentucky in the eastern part of the state. Once in a while someone has to shoot one to protect themselves...not often...but it does happen. Be prepared.

Bill

 

[holepuncher]

I open carry frequently especially when on the home real estate. I also frequently practice nudism. Not sure which scares peeps more when I answer the door!

Kind of hard to conceal carry nude.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

I know i will pry never run into a problem hiking and I never have, my question was about open carry while metal detecting (that is the title), i just used black bears a the reson why im asking, if you are aginst guns please keep your opinion to your self as i cant relate and find anti gun people ignorant.....

If you're speaking about me, I'm not anti gun. I hunt and have shot guns, rifles, revolvers, pistols.

 

[Ditch_Doc]

I'm a big fan of the 10mm when it comes to stopping things in their tracks. Next choice for large animals as mentioned would be 44 mag, 357...

 

[Opie]

Toecutter, I skipped over all the comments just to tell you this story. This happened to me two years ago.