My trek for Fluffy

[vilnoori]

Uh, forgive my ignorance, but this is Canada. If you are walking in wilderness with a gun you will need a hunting license, it will have to be hunting season (of whatever kind) and you will need all the licenses (carry permit, etc. etc.). That's a lot of hassle.

Do you not think that an armed male human will seem too aggressive to a hidden sasquatch (and clan), and it will be a deterrent to your research? They're clearly not stupid. Lots of hikers seem to have the guts to venture out into the bush without arms. Fossey and her ilk also did wonderful primate research without resorting to arms. True to form the aggressors in her situation were fully human.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm no tree hugging liberal fembot, I learned to use both a gun and bow in Africa. I've worked with a gun in my profession and been trained to kill not just animals. I'm one lady that enjoys bow hunting for the culinary benefits and because I just like being out in the bush. Also because the things I hunt, well, they need their numbers decreased. As a biologist I'm aware that deer (and moose) have exploded in numbers since people have both increased their prime habitat by cutting down trees and opening up forest margin foraging areas, and at the same time killed off their natural predators.

I just wonder if it is appropriate here, and if you will actually benefit by it. Personally, if I lived in the forest and could hear someone coming a mile away, and saw men with guns approaching, I'd certainly not show myself.

The traditional way of approaching and studying wild primates is to come in a non-threatening manner, bearing gifts (sugar cane worked wonderfully) and stay in non-threatening postures without moving fast or freaking out. Just by sitting in the early morning forest, on a stump, not moving, I've had wild animals come to within arms reach that way. But you really have to be quiet and non-threatening.

[Sean V.]

vilnoori said:

Uh, forgive my ignorance, but this is Canada. If you are walking in wilderness with a gun you will need a hunting license, it will have to be hunting season (of whatever kind) and you will need all the licenses (carry permit, etc. etc.). That's a lot of hassle.

Do you not think that an armed male human will seem too aggressive to a hidden sasquatch (and clan), and it will be a deterrent to your research? They're clearly not stupid. Lots of hikers seem to have the guts to venture out into the bush without arms. Fossey and her ilk also did wonderful primate research without resorting to arms. True to form the aggressors in her situation were fully human.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm no tree hugging liberal fembot, I learned to use both a gun and bow in Africa. I've worked with a gun in my profession and been trained to kill not just animals. I'm one lady that enjoys bow hunting for the culinary benefits and because I just like being out in the bush. Also because the things I hunt, well, they need their numbers decreased. As a biologist I'm aware that deer (and moose) have exploded in numbers since people have both increased their prime habitat by cutting down trees and opening up forest margin foraging areas, and at the same time killed off their natural predators.

I just wonder if it is appropriate here, and if you will actually benefit by it. Personally, if I lived in the forest and could hear someone coming a mile away, and saw men with guns approaching, I'd certainly not show myself.

The traditional way of approaching and studying wild primates is to come in a non-threatening manner, bearing gifts (sugar cane worked wonderfully) and stay in non-threatening postures without moving fast or freaking out. Just by sitting in the early morning forest, on a stump, not moving, I've had wild animals come to within arms reach that way. But you really have to be quiet and non-threatening.

You can carry a firearm in the wilderness whenever you wish, as long as it has been registered. You do not require a hunting license to do so. No Forestry official is going to approach you and accuse you of poaching deer/elk/bear, etc. with a shotgun. It's not as much of a hassle as dealing with a grizzly bear while unarmed.

I definately think that an armed human (regardless of gender) would seem threatening to a Sasquatch. But looking threatening and acting threatening are different things. As you have said, these creatures are intelligent, so I imagine that they would be able to differentiate this.

I have been using firearms most of my life, I have hunted before, and I know when to shoot and when not to shoot. It's not as if I'm going to fire on a Sasquatch should it show the least bit of aggression.

I used to work SAR (Search & Rescue) for the government. I have seen and cleaned up bear kill sites, seeing these unarmed hikers mauled and partially eaten was enough to convince me that having a firearm and not needing it is better than needing it and not having it. When I carry my shotgun into the woods, I carry exactly 4 shells with me. 1 in the chamber and 3 in a Sidekick belt pouch. I only carry this many because I do not intend on shooting anything, I just have the firearm in case the situation should arise where I might need it.

Letting certain animals approach you is fine, but there are some that I will not let within 100 yards of me. These animals include Black & Grizzly Bears, Mountain Lions, Cougars, Wolverines, and Wild Dogs. Better safe than sorry.

[bushape]

Sean,

You couldnt have stated any better! Kudos

[Deleted]

Well my friends, there is an old saying..., Never bring a knife to a gunfight. I have no intention of going into this situation unprepared. If I have the slightest doubt of mine or my teams preparedness, I will call it off. I also have no intention in going out of my way to shoot an animal that is near me. I will protect myself and my team to the best of my ability and that will be it.
I seriously value all members input. You guys rock

[vilnoori]

Well I feel better hearing something of your qualifications and knowing you can handle yourself out there. I can hear you.

Another thought though, apparently encounters with sasquatch can bring on unreasonable terror. Are you prepared to push through that initial feeling? I've read so many accounts of people, and animals, being totally terrified just by the sight or smell of a giant, looming, intelligent...well, whatever it is.

It would be awefully tempting to pull out the weapon at the point of initial encounter, instead of assuming a submissive posture and staying put. If you read about primate researchers, they make much use of bowing, sitting on the ground and not moving, appearing casual and unflustered--grooming, eating something etc. I think it took a lot of sheer raw courage for those ladies to do that in the presence of chimps and gorillas in the wild. These kind of animals are extremely strong, too--take a look at the teeth they've got, and keep in mind their mass and intelligence. A sasquatch would be many times more potentially disturbing, and much more of a problem if riled up.

Gorilla skull, chimp skull: check out the teeth:

www.boneclones.com/images/bc-001-lg.jpg

www.boneclones.com/images/kam-03_web-lg.jpg

I rather like the idea of carrying a powerful pistol in a holster rather than carting around a rifle or shotgun, which is a really obvious weapon. A holstered .44 would be a handy thing to have in a close encounter of any kind if things turned nasty, but would be much less obvious, particularly from a few paces away.

What are you doing about scent, by the way?

[Sean V.]

I have never felt the "unreasonable terror" that people have said they experienced. I was more on guard, but never terrified. But if the feeling were to come over me, I would imagine that I would flee the area before taking a shot. I had the misfortune to meet up with an enraged grizzly bear at Brown Creek, one summer. I can't think of anything more frightening than that, and I didn't shoot the bear. When I pulled back the hammer of the shotgun, the bear's ears perked up, and it eventually turned away and went into the bush. My thought is that it had felt the bite of a bullet before, as it seemed to know the sound of a firearm being cocked. I didn't stick around to see if it was going to come back.

Carrying a .44 Magnum or a .454 Casull Taurus would be much better, but unfortunately that is against the law here in Canada.

[vilnoori]

Whew, that was lucky!!! ;D

Why is it against the law? As long as it is not concealed? And given you have the correct permits? If it is a restricted weapon, I assume you could have the license for that? It would be the perfect thing for conservation officers, SAR, etc. to carry around, actually. What good will any other kind of pistol do in a confrontation with a grizzly? Even a long-barreled weapon would be difficult to manage if you had a charging bear or moose to deal with.

What about a .45, they have some stopping power. And then there's that little trick you can do with the hollow points (wink).

[bushape]

Its because its concealable that its illegal. There are permits, such as a miners lic. or a special work permit while in the wild, but believe me most people that have them are hunters and such and carry them regardless while out there, myself included. Its peace of mind to have backup on your waist while you're tracking an animal or packing out meat in the pitch black. I know of two cases where people were caught carrying them illegally but in a legal manner north of PG while hunting and were given a warning, albeit a stern one. Had they been packing in a city well u can imagine the world of crap they would have been in, almost verbatim,via RCMP/CO.
As for the .45, less than half the power of the .44 mag, and yes you can use the same tricks with the hollow points too! LOL

[vilnoori]

Well, I won't tell. LOL

[Gerry]

I for one would definitly be more worried about grizzly bear or cougar...Squatch encounter employing gun play would rank about 127th on my list of concerns!

[bushape]

Anyone ever just walk up and down the banks of streams. With the myriad of them in our local mtns something,somewhere you would think would show up.

[vilnoori]

The odds would be better if there were a number of sightings in the area and if it was morning or evening.

[Deleted]

manfromanhatten said:

bushape said:

Arms!

Do you mean firearms? Its not one of my main priorities. Ive only planned on two rifles and a flare gun.

Bear Popper, you can buy flares for them too. Bear Poppers are small, about the size of a large felt pen.

[Deleted]

bushape said:

Anyone ever just walk up and down the banks of streams. With the myriad of them in our local mtns something,somewhere you would think would show up.

When I go trailriding I always check the river/creek sand bars, it is amazing the tracks you can find but haven't found Fluffy's yet.
Also I ride in the snow, lots of tracks but no Fluffy tracks(yet)

last time I went for a hike in the woods, felt like something was watching me, didn't feel threatened, but felt whatever was watching me, was curious.......???my dog kept looking back on the trail and letting out a low growl, if it was a cougar she would have gone nuts.............still don't know what it was but it followed me to the creek but it didn't cross........weird