hiker's sd

[Ozy]

koalas

 

[PG5768]

http://neveryetmelted.com/2006/07/23/55-year-old-ontario-man-kills-bear-with-knife/

Not saying your wrong but you might be surprised what a human being on adrenaline and a protective instinct for himself or other things he loves can do.

On a more realistic note...you should really look into bear spray. It's far safer.

Wow, great story. :thumbup: What a lucky guy. He was an awful long way from help and by himself.

Wonder how the dog did. [Read the comments and it sounds like he survived, too.]

 

[galen59]

ja sure.. thats an old story that goes around, but my friend has it right, cut a wide channel and bleed 'um it'll work, and I'm still stickin with slugs and buck, but 2 legged are more of a concern than 4, to hell with what ever the signs say, go with what level of comfort you need, some years back I hiked though a series of swich backs, and on the way back down found coug tracks that had been following me, well it happens, but the protected hemp, causes me more angst, shotgun shell mines are a bitch, don't feel like losing a foot.. G.

"God will forgive me, that's his job." - H.Heine

 

[Swedge]

Looks like a padymelon to me, not a koala.

 

[Long.Rider]

Department of Wild Life Notice.

When hiking many hikers wear small bells so as not to walk up silently on a bear and startle them. It is also important to know what type of bears are in your area as grizzly bears are known to be far more aggressive than other bears. One way is to look for bear droppings. Brown & black bear dropping are small round and contains berry seeds. Grizzly bear droppings often contains small bells and smell like pepper spray

Personally I carry a gun

 

[enderwiggin]

Just notice this post. Could you tell us what specifically is illegal about the staff in CA?

Concealed fixed blade and Sword Cane, both of which are outlawed in CA.

I'm going to go beyond this item and point out a few others too. Penal Code §12020 prohibits importing into the state or possessing, among other things:

any belt buckle knife, any lipstick case knife, any cane sword, any air gauge knife, or any writing pen knife.

A "belt buckle knife" is a knife which is made an integral part of a belt buckle and consists of a blade with a length of at least 2-1/2 inches; a "lipstick case knife" means a knife enclosed within and made an integral part of a lipstick case; a "cane sword" means a cane, swagger stick, stick, staff, rod, pole, umbrella, or similar device, having concealed within it a blade that may be used as a sword or stiletto; an "air gauge knife" means a device that appears to be an air gauge but has concealed within it a pointed, metallic shaft that is designed to be a stabbing instrument which is exposed by mechanical action or gravity which locks into place when extended; a "writing pen knife" means a device that appears to be a writing pen but has concealed within it a pointed, metallic shaft that is designed to be a stabbing instrument which is exposed by mechanical action or gravity which locks into place when extended or the pointed, metallic shaft is exposed by the removal of the cap or cover on the device.

FWIW, leaded canes, black jacks, and billy clubs are also illegal.

The staff appeared to contain a blowgun. Also illegal to possess in CA except as noted below.

12580. "Blowgun," as used in this article, means a hollow tube
designed and intended to be used as a tube through which a dart is
propelled by the force of the breath of the user.

12581. "Blowgun ammunition," as used in this article, means a dart
designed and intended for use in a blowgun.

12582. Any person who knowingly manufactures, sells, offers for
sale, possesses, or uses a blowgun or blowgun ammunition in this state is guilty of a misdemeanor.

12583. Nothing in this article shall prohibit the sale to, purchase
by, possession of, or use of blowguns or blowgun ammunition by
zookeepers, animal control officers, Department of Fish and Game
personnel, humane officers whose names are maintained in the county
record of humane officers pursuant to Section 14502 of the
Corporations Code, or veterinarians in the course and scope of their
business in order to administer medicine to animals.

Whoops! Nevermind!

 

[JNewell]

Hellow, sorry for the dumb qusetion
I am a regular hiker and their are mountain lions and other wild animals in the
area.I can't carry a gun and don't like bear sprays,so what knife would be ideal to deffend myself and others against a wild aggressive animal.

A butter knife will work best because you'll stay home and use it to spread butter and jam on toast and not think that any blade makes a good defense against mountain lions or other large carnivores.

 

[gine]

Gine, thanks for that bit of info. Now, how is range defined up there? Is it public land that's not a "public park" or is it private land. Just tryin' to understand.

Gibby

private, members only range.I live south west coast vancouver area.

 

[gine]

I know if I run into an angry mountain lion or something else and I don't have a gun or sprey and have to use my knife there will be a good chance I will be mauled or in a fight.But a knife will give me a damn good chance of survival.
I own six fixed blades and have been carrying my cs 7.5'' tanto.I may carry my 12'' tanto if I go way up into the mountains.My wife talked me into getting
bear sprey.I also heard having bells on your side keeps wild animals away,well I guess if their hungry it could be like dinner bells as well:barf:

 

[Twindog]

But a knife will give me a damn good chance of survival.

I don't know about a "good" chance, but sure, you go with what you have. Why wouldn't you. I'd use an umbrella if that's all I had. Might get lucky. I might even prefer an umbrella to a folder.

However, it's one thing to use a knife against a cougar when that's the only weapon you have; it's another thing to choose to go into harm's way with a knife as your primary means of defense against a cougar.

 

[elkpro1]

I apologize for starting an arguement , i did not mean to sound like a fairy tale. I should have been more conservative in my approach . I still cant type so it is stupid to try to argue. My experience is from a lifetime outdoors . I try to never brag ,it is bad manners where i come from, but i am a commercial outfitter from az where like all ranges in the rockies we do have deer, bear,lion and elk. I personnaly have 120 or more elk kills to my guiding credit and at least a couple of hundred deer and large predators. As i metioned earlier, i did not mean to sound like we wreslle these critters down like tarzan ,although that has happened a few times, but sometimes because of circumstance its just more humane or quiker to stick one. Say you have a muzzleloader hunter whos out and under fire he cant get loaded or maybe a deer that cant get up but is trying , when you guide you see it all , these guys get rattled.I have a video of a guy missing a bull at 10 yards that he previosly wounded with a bow, three times and so on and so forth.WE always use extreme caution in these circumstances . With that said all i was trying to do was give you a REAL world perspective of what it takes to really actually kill something with a knife , because after getting involved with this forum stuff i realize there is alot of knives being made, bought, desighned and talked about hypotheticaly in a fight or die situation , but very few {none that i have read of here , ever} being used to do just that. Things get prety wild and wooley here out west at times. One time we had a bear claim a archery elk kill that took us till dark to find, we ran him off when we walked up on the carcass , bows are useless in the dark . For three hours he hassled us ,even after i built a big fire, while we boned out and hung the meat up. the next dayupon arrival at the carcass he had eaten the boned out carcass and buried the remains . While riding in we realized he had trailed us out about two miles a horseback . Many times i have backtracked out of an area after hunting to find bear or lion tracks on ours. What i should have said was , yes if at all possible, carry a gun . IN black bear or lion country ,a miniumum of a 44 mag . I know a fellow guide who got chewed up by a bear full of 9 mm holes and many a good big game hound that could tell you a 357 isnt much better on bears. Lions die easy if you place a shot well with anything bigger than a22.If that is not an option always carry pepper spay, ( alot of archery only hunters do) it could save your life. IN the end you might only have a knife,thats what i was refering to, if you ever find yourself under a lion or bear remember what i said earlier, you can stab all you want but if you have to stop one before it stops you alung and heart shot will serve you best. thanks

 

[Swedge]

Good post, Elkpro1. :thumbup:

 

[elkpro1]

Thanks , i feel sort of ,more domesticated now. Ill keep working on the typing.

 

[bradpierson26]

S&W .357 magnum

 

[motard2]

I like Your' way of seeing and explaining wild things Elkpro. Beeing a civilian in the iper-civilized Europe I probably will never have a canche/risck to met a wild fellow as You. And the few time I did treck in Lapland or East Asia where not the four legs beast's that worried me at all. I am also rather sure than a bear or a lion wich would like to have me for dinner will not let me the time to play a knife dance of any sort: simply because I will not be aware if not to late. Coming to other knife for life scenary, else if I am a 30 and more years martialist, I still do not consider a knife nothing else than a tool. It can be ussefull and may save Your's life as any other tool, or it came become a wapon as plenty of other tools that usualiy are sitting near us. But if anyone is thinking at a sort of duel knife vs knife I am afraid will have a very bad awake.

 

[Long.Rider]

There is a couple of things I am a little confused about, where can I find lion, bears, elk, and deer all in the same place .

Here in Washington on the peninsula we have mountain lion (cougar), bears, elk, and deer. Have had all four on my property at one time or another never on the same day but fairly common

 

[PG5768]

I apologize for starting an arguement , i did not mean to sound like a fairy tale.

Very good explanation elkpro. I certainly thought Rocky Mountain region from your original post, but couldn't resist poking fun at the way you came across. As a professional outfitter, you obviously have a lot of real world experience in these situations that most of us don't. And have some useful advice on staying safe in the wilds.

 

[Rick Marchand]

Nicely put, Elkpro...... NOW I see where you are coming from.... you scared me for a bit... a little too strong out of the gates.... but now you're running fine. I look forward to you sharing more of your experiences.

I don't carry any guns into the bush. I train in some fairly remote wilderness in Northern Ontario, Canada. I carry pepper spray, a knife, tomahawk and like to have a spear when I'm going "over the mountain". I always walk with a throwing stick in hand as you get many opportunities to take small game. My main concern are wolves... I have had bear encounters... you have a much better chance of avoiding problems with a bear than a pack of wolves.... I have "bear sense"... but don't understand wolf behavior too well at this point.

Rick

 

[hector81]

Carry a point-ed stick.

+1
it doesnt even have to be pointed, a walking stick should be enough to scare the animal.
I'm sure the thing will want to get away from you as much as you will want to get away from it.
if the animal is already attacking you, then any knife would be good enough as long as you can reach the knife and stab the animal.

 

[spidyman]

If its your life, forget the sign and do what is needed to keep you safe- or better yet hike somewhere else that is less populated by dangerous creatures.