Influencer I
I agree with you on everything in your post! Was taught at a young age the same lesson you were.When I was growing up on a cattle ranch in central Texas, I shot the neighbors two dogs with rock salt because I didn't want to kill them, they were my neighbors dogs. They had killed 3 goats and 2 newborn Beef-master calves and quite frankly we could not afford to loose any more. So when I shot them both in their butts with the rock salt as they were about to kill another goat, they ran screaming under the neighbors house. The next day the sheriff showed up at our place with our neighbor. When I told the sheriff what I had done and why, he said the only reason I was not going to jail was because I was a stupid kid. He said if it comes to a point that you HAVE to shoot an animal then you shoot to kill it, but wounding an animal is just cruel. He went on to say the animal cannot reason and does not know the pain will go away and will drive them insane. He said the dogs did deserve to be killed because they were killing livestock but did not deserve to be wounded with rock salt. The sheriff gave me a warning and our neighbor was supper pissed off, the sheriff then told our neighbor he owed us for the goats and calves his dogs killed. Needless to say our neighbor never talked to us again.
So all this to say, what are you trying to do, Scare the bear off or is your life in imminent danger? I think this is where the trouble lies, you wake to find a bear licking the plates from last nights dinner you didn't clean and put away and you freekout. Is you life in danger? Is the bear attacking you? Will the bear attack or just wonder off? I believe people destroy more animals out of fear rather than real danger.
I am not afraid of the wildlife around here. Attacks are extremely rare and bears around here are big rats. You yell at them they run off. Quite honestly if it came to an attack wouldnt rely on less than lethal. If its a threat its a threat!
You are correct again most bear problems come from people not prepping or cleaning up correctly for them being in the area.
I dont carry for the wildlife. Years spent packing horses into the back country. You learn to live around them. Carried for protection and honestly if god forbid i had to put a horse down due to illness or injury. Hours and hours from help you had to be alot of different people under one hat.
I carry everyday...camping is just another day. The two legged threats are my main worry. Wildlife. You leave them alone theyll leave you alone.