stanley baer wrote:

Dave Hinz wrote:

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 12:04:06 -0600, stanley baer
wrote:

Dave Hinz wrote:


Your experience with hunting and wildlife seems to be ...limited...



I guess it would be pretty limited, there is nothing left on this
continent that could hurt you other than a few grizzly and polar
bears (no one should be hunting them to begin with)



Yeah, they're just cuddly little bears, Stan. Why don't you go play
with them and tell us how that goes.



I haven't ever heard of a hunter in N America being killed by a wild
animal lately. On the other hand, a hunter shooting himself or getting
shot by another hunter is relatively common. Instead of fantasizing
about situation in which the the hunted stands a chance of injuring the
hunter, maybe a better way to get a surge that adrenaline would be to
take up boxing or motorcycle racing; but that would take some real balls.

stan

Oh please. If you read the news you hear a small but steady trickle of
stories of people (usually hikers and joggers) getting attacked by bear
and cougar. Both bear and cougar will usually run away if you yell and
wave your arms at them, but if you're close to their children, if
they're feeling ornery, if they're acclimated to people (especially
bears) or if they're particularly hungry (especially cougar) they'll go
after you.

Yes, these days you're probably more likely to get shot than eaten if
you're out in the forest during hunting season (particularly if it's
close to a city), but that doesn't mean that the critters can't still
bite back.

Personally I don't hunt -- my people never did so I didn't learn as a
child, and it's pretty time consuming for what you get out of it. None
the less I have no problem with people who hunt for food or protection.
I think that trophy hunters are a bit lame, particularly folks who go
out on a nice safe, sanitary trip with a guide to actually do all the
shooting and life-risking. Hunting shouldn't be despised, and we should
remember that without our tools we're very attractive prey animals.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com