Are your small children armed

[walks with gun]

I was wondering if anyone arms there children so they can play in the yard. All this worry in some forums about having enough gun for bear makes me wonder. It's just as likely in suburbia or a small city to run into bears, coyotes, feral dogs what have you. Children probably shouldn't play outside unless guarded by SEAL team six or armed with large caliber double rifles themselves. The little woman should lock herself in the kitchen and not wonder from the house.

[Buck Elliott]

I live, and wander around in the middle of prime grizzly bear habitat.. We have our share of black bear too, along with wolves and mountain lions..

As a matter of several decade's habit, I carry a sidearm whenever and wherever possible.. We see some of the aforementioned critters in our little town, on occasion.. I really don't worry specifically about the possibility of a "confrontation.."

When I venture out into the mountains, forests and plains where they normally reside, I drag along something extra: usually a levergun (a '73 in .45 Colt, more often than not) or a SXS 12-gauge..

It never hurts to instruct young kids in the proper use of, and respect for firearms of whatever type you may have..

Paranoia is a debilitating state of mind, but vigilence is necessary to our well-being..

[Streetstar]

I'm assuming this post was made in jest ---- when i was a small(ish) child --- say 7-11 years, it was routine to have bb gun fights in the neighborhood - and we promised each other we would only give our Crosman air rifles "1 pump"

Letting us have free reign with .22's would have been a tad silly, and these were otherwise good households and we had basic firearms education ------ boys will be boys

When we either ran out of bb's or things were happening too fast to pump up and reload, we resorted to flinging cow manure by hand --- with extra points awarded for the guy who could smear the would be oppressor with the wettest , stinkiest cow pie (not politically correct, but there was another game called "Smear the Queer" that had multiple arenas, -- from cowpie throwing to football practice )

Most of us are productive middle aged men with families now, - not criminals or racists --- the usual % fell off with drugs or other such idiocy

[7.62 Precision]

I was wondering if anyone arms there children so they can play in the yard. All this worry in some forums about having enough gun for bear makes me wonder. It's just as likely in suburbia or a small city to run into bears, coyotes, feral dogs what have you. Children probably shouldn't play outside unless guarded by SEAL team six or armed with large caliber double rifles themselves. The little woman should lock herself in the kitchen and not wonder from the house.

I think that there is more danger to children from black bears in suburbia (in places where hunting is controlled or impractical) than in more rural areas. However, you have to be practical - there are many places you would go to jail for letting small kids loose in the yard with a firearm. Up here, we generally let out kids carry firearms in appropriate circumstances, but I don't really know anyone who has their kids carry a firearm while playing in the yard. I grew up in a very remote area with a lot of the homes spread out through the woods, and even when very young, we traveled alone between homes to visit friends, played in the woods and on the beaches, often a couple miles from town, alone.

It is rarer up here, I think, for a bear to come into a town and snatch a kid from his yard than it is in East Coast places with high black bear populations. I hear about much more of those kinds of attacks in the Lower 48 than up here. There was one attack when I was a kid when a bear came into a village and grabbed a small boy who was walking with his mother, and a couple years ago a bear came into my yard hunting my kids - I shot him as he was heading in the back door after them. But in most of the smaller towns, a bear that shows up in town acting aggressive is likely dead before it has a chance to kill anyone. Just a few days ago a couple aggressive bears were killed in a town by an old-timer with his .30-30, and while he was shooting them, there were a number of residents grabbing rifles and heading out to do the same. Same town a couple years back the village police officer shot an aggressive bear before it was able to catch the kids it was threatening.

Kids are usually more responsible if given responsibility than we give them credit for, and more able to make good decisions than we think (so long as they are well-trained). I have no problem with letting kids use firearms to the extent they have good training and have proven responsibility. On the other hand, kids are still kids, and may not always make the obviously right decision. Most small children would struggle to handle a rifle capable of effectively dealing with a bear, and would likely just set it down and run off to play.

My oldest kids are just now getting to the age at which they can handle a rifle large enough to deal with a bear, and do so responsibly, but they are still not at the point that I would send them out to play with other kids carrying a rifle, unless actually hunting or camping or hiking, etc. They do have access to a rifle should the need arise, but they know that they are not allowed to access it unless it is an emergency.

They are still at the age at which I would trust them to shoot a bear gaining entry to the house, but they are never home alone, so if they ran into the house because of a bear, there will always be an adult who can respond as quickly as they could.

A couple of years ago a large brawn bear entered a children's camp and was acting very out of character for a bear - very aggressive. We found later that it had been laying in the grass around the camp for several days watching the kids. It approached a group of people and then ran someone up a tree. We put all the kids away in cabins and prepared to defend them. With a few adults spread out looking for the bear, we were listening for movement and keeping track of where each person was in the dark. Suddenly I heard something and saw movement. It was a kid, around 12-years-old, in a raincoat and pajamas with a short-barrelled .357 Magnum revolver. He was sneaking through the camp, spinning this way and that with the revolver held in front of him, finger on the trigger, as he aimed it everywhere, including the plywood cabins filled with children. I approached him talking low and calmly, since he was so jumpy, I'm sure he would have spun and fired at any sound that startled him. I told him to put the pistol up and kept him with me until I found a place to put him until we were able to take care of the bear.

As a courtesy, you alert your neighbors if there is a dangerous bear in the area. This boy lived not far from the camp. Upon hearing about the bear, his father promptly gave him a little .357 and sent him out into the dark alone to hunt for this bear.

While a 12-year-old could certainly be equipped to deal with a bear if necessary (I have a cousin who saved his brothers by reaching down, pulling up a rifle, and shooting a grizzly from the top bunk when he was five), but this particular 12-year-old was not only too inexperienced, immature, and poorly trained, but he was sent into a situation (hunting an unnatural bear with a .357) that I, as an adult, would not have entered by choice.

[7.62 Precision]

On the other hand, I do teach my kids from the moment they can understand, that anything can be used as a weapon, and they learn the vulnerabilities of things like eyes and ears and other parts of adult's bodies that can be gouged or poked or clawed or bit.

Occasionally when I am playing rough with them, my one boy will just murder me with something that comes to hand, and how can I punish him when he looks at me innocently and says, "You always tell us anything can be used for a weapon."?

[gamekeeper]

You may as well arm them when they are little, they will only steel all your best guns when they grow up...

[Pete44ru]

I'm assuming this post was made in jest ---- when i was a small(ish) child --- say 7-11 years, it was routine to have bb gun fights in the neighborhood - and we promised each other we would only give our Crosman air rifles "1 pump"

AND........... No shooting at each other's head ! .......................


.

[walks with gun]

I meant this post in jest or sarcasm, bluesman423 posted how he would like to take his .357 carbine on a trek, and how so many feel he would be way undergunned. So what I meant was that we are just as likely to meet up with a bear in our urban developments as the big woods, maybe excluding angry hogs, although anyone who has ever pushed a cart through Wal-Mart knows there are plenty of angry ones in the city too. Anyway are we so afraid of the woods anymore we need national guard type protection. What ever happened to roaming the woods with a .22 hunting small game. Is it really that dangerous in Arkansas, maybe we should ask Obama for help.

[7.62 Precision]

Anyway are we so afraid of the woods anymore we need national guard type protection. What ever happened to roaming the woods with a .22 hunting small game.

You should see the debates that rage on Alaskan forums, or the conversations I have with people calling to get advice about what to bring to Alaska for their two-day fishing trip. Some guys want to buy a .999 Nitro Express Ultra-Recoil Magnum. Some guys want to bring an AK or a 5.56 AR, since they are the most powerful high-powered military assault rifles. Some people are truly terrified coming to Alaska, yet many of these people come from areas with large bear populations, they just don't expect to see bears at home. And they probably won't see one on their trips to AK.

On a practical side, I do carry a carbine or rifle for bear protection when possible, and a revolver almost always when I am in the woods, though it is not always practical when I am working or depending on other circumstances, in which case I have only my carry pistol. I once chased a bear up the side of the mountain with only an XD to try to get my lunch pail back. It climbed up on top of a running rock drill and took my lunch pail. I was happy to share my lunch, but was somewhat concerned about my wallet and camera, which were also in the lunch pail.

I am not paranoid about bears, but I do respect them and I do have a healthy fear of them. I would be more nervous about mountain lions, though, perhaps due to unfamiliarity.

[Mescalero]

What was in the lunch pail? Must have smelled good. You would think a running drill would have detered him.

[7.62 Precision]

Sandwiches, yogurt, jerkey, burritos wrapped in foil for cooking on the drill, canned soup, a couple cans, stuff like that that I could eat while drilling. An apple. Extra safety glasses, clean gloves, my pea gun (level), a shooter and a bag of the couplers for splicing cap wires and lead line. A powder knife. P38 can opener and a spoon. Earplugs. Water.

By the time I caught him, he was on his belly with the whole works spread out in front if him between his spread-out front legs with his rump up like a dog ready to play. He was trying to figure out what to eat first. He was looking pleased; one happy bear!

He had been watching us for a few days - he knew where the good stuff was.

[Mescalero]

Must have been the burritos

[Blaine]

Must have been the burritos

I was talking to a flagger outside of Yellowstone....they were not allowed to have food out there with them...too many bears

I spend lots of time in the woods....Washington has a huge black bear population. I have yet to see one since 1985 I'll prolly see one the first year I don't get a tag...

[jkbrea]

A couple years ago while on an elk hunt I was talking to a warden that lived outside of Jackson, Wyoming. He asked if we were carrying bear spray, which isn't required, and I told him I had a few extra 45-70 rounds. I realize bear spray can and does work and it is hard to hit a charging bear with a firearm while trying not to soil yourself but I always felt better with a rifle. He admitted to me a big problem with bear spray is on several occasions the wind/breeze would blow the mist/cloud back on the user. Although the bear was temporarily stopped, the user was also incapacitated. I've been maced and pepper sprayed , (during training....really), and that stuff is absolutely horrible. The bear spray is much more potent.

He told me he has small children and his house backs up to the woods. When they go out to play in the woods, he gives them each an airhorn, like those used on boats, sports events, etc. He said he's seen it scare the heck out of bears. I guess its better than nothing with smaller kids that are too young for guns. I have seen more bears nearer Jackson in the last three years compared to zero the previous 15. Wolves too.

[vancelw]

Why is .22 LR ammo so hard to find right now? It's the most useful overall cartridge out there. It may not be the "appropriate" choice, but there's nothing in the lower 48 a .22 LR can't kill. Bison or elk might be hard, but it can be done.

I was required to treat my BB gun (yes, it was a levergun) the same as any firearm. If my Dad had caught me shooting at a person (or even pointing it at them) I would have lost it forever. And any chance of ever getting a real gun.

Paranoia is a debilitating state of mind, but vigilence is necessary to our well-being..

Finding that balance is the key, right?

[Chuck 100 yd]

In about 1974-75 , Our local Oliver service rep.`s son shot a Black Bear out of a tree in there back yard and killed it using a Hi Standard .22 pistol.

Not that a .22 auto pistol would be my choice as a Bear gun. May be all he had available at the time.

[vancelw]

What did Joshua say about Global Thermonuclear Warfare? "The only way to win is not to play"

I think the same about charging bears. I doubt many people could effectively stop a charge in time, no matter what they were packing. Odds are, it would be too late before you even knew what was going on.

Doesn't mean I'm saying not to be prepared if you can.

[Ysabel Kid]

Don't have any real small kids now, but didn't let them go armed. Would have caused more issues than potentially prevented. That being said, both learned basic gun safety as soon as they could talk, and started shooting .22's before they were 5.

When I was young, around 10 years old, it was not unusual for my friends and I to take the .22's to the woods to go shooting or small game hunting. Add shotguns when I was 12. We would often receive yells from neighbors to bring home any small game we got. Today, seeing 3-4 young kids walking through a neighborhood with rifles would elicit a SWAT team response.

[bdhold]

context is everything

I'm eating a taco right now made from the burned ends of last week's brisket - I think I'd fight a bear over it.

[vancelw]

context is everything

I'm eating a taco right now made from the burned ends of last week's brisket - I think I'd fight a bear over it.

See...he could only get that close to you because that taco is sooooo darn good! If it was a fast food taco, you could throw it at the bear and hope he didn't hold s grudge.

[bdhold]

true that

[Blackhawk]

I don't arm my children against the 4 legged types of animals, though they know to watch for them. And yes my children know how to shoot every gun I own.

[piller]

I grew up out in South West Kansas where it is so remote that the bears cannot find it. The most dangerous critter we had out there was in the imagination of the boys who were playing. Heck, we had to have pancake races for fun on Shrove Tuesday, a day that I learned later, was also called Mardi Gras.