Self-Defense in the Great Outdoors
Please note that we are NOT the original writers of this blog post. All credit goes to the original writers. Find the original post as published at this link: https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/blog/self-defense-in-the-great-outdoors/
Large animals such as bears, wolves, mountain lions and even aggressive moose can injure or kill unprepared backcountry travelers.
So far as a favorite weapon for DLP, especially against attacks from big critters, .40-caliber service sidearms, .44 Magnum revolvers and shotguns seem to be the weapons of choice among those who carry firearms from the public and private sectors. Bear spray is a serious option as an alternative or complement to a firearm, and many believe it is equivalent to or better than a firearm for deterring animals or humans.
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In 2010, Public Law 111-24 made it legal to own firearms in national parks and refuges. You may carry a firearm, concealed or otherwise, so long as applicable federal, state and local firearms laws in the country where the park is located allow your ownership of that weapon. That law doesn’t, however, change prohibitions on the use of firearms in national parks or affect any hunting regulations. And even if it’s legal to carry a firearm within a park’s boundaries, it’s still not legal to release it.
Since many national parks overlap multiple countries, its important to understand the local firearms ordinances for all jurisdictions you’ll experience while hiking the back trails.
“More than 30 national parks are situated in more than 1 state, so visitors will need to know where they’re in those parks and which state’s law applies,” said Kathryn Warnes, grant management specialist with the National Park Service. National Park sites have been updated to include links to each state’s firearms laws. A firearm-carrying visitor’s responsibility becomes even harder when that individual crosses an international border.
According to a posting on the National Parks Traveler website, Part I offenses (murder, rape, robberies, etc.) increased by approximately 700 cases in 2012, up from 2,900 events the year before. Those numbers represent incidents from a foundation of over 280 million annual visitations to parks across the nation. Whether a firearm was involved was not included in the findings, but figures matter little if you and your family are confronted by a deadly threat.
These regulations were adopted with specific scrutiny toward every state’s laws (like non-restricting laws) regarding the carrying of concealed weapons. Certain areas within national recreation areas (visitor facilities, offices, etc.) still apply site-specific bans on firearms.
Back in 1990, Molly LaRue and Geoff Hood were killed at a remote shelter along the Appalachian Trail. Both of these murders sparked a massive manhunt and got lots of media coverage. But between 1974 and 2011, there were nine other strikes along the road that left 11 people dead. There is still plenty of argument among serious hikers about whether all of those people murdered were through-hikers or day hikers and whether or not the many more people murdered along the side trails really count as hikers killed on the Appalachian Trail. Regardless of whether the body count is 11 or 31, the simple fact remains that violent attackers do not care if you are on holiday or not. If you appear to be a victim, you will be preyed upon.
Defense Against Wild Animals
There are no definitive answers as to whether or not you should possess a firearm when adventuring within a national park or other similar place or that caliber to use if you do. Clearly, owners of firearms should be proficient and comfortable with their weapons if they will use them as effective and safe tools in defense of life and property. Public Law 111-24 now extends that right and responsibility throughout most of our national parks and other recreation lands also.
An Incident of Crime in the BWCAW
Don’t think you can read this story and just say,”Well, I do not hike in the wilderness.
Think about what a criminal actually looks for when choosing a victim. Like all predators, a criminal needs some sort of advantage. That usually means he’ll pick a goal he believes he can overpower, and he will often do so by working together with other criminals, ensuring greater numbers and getting the element of surprise or striking in a place where help will be slow to arrive.
(Sub)urban Trails Could Be Perilous Too
Enjoying a distant adventure, alone or among family and friends, combines the pristine grandeur of a wilderness setting with a challenge to your outside know-how and self-reliance abilities. A vital part of that is knowing how to prepare should you ever encounter a situation in defense of life or property (DLP). Even venturing into managed areas like national parks, designated wilderness areas, refuges and other outdoor recreation sites — especially those with expansive sections of remote backcountry — requires the sensible outdoor adventurer to keep a heightened level of DLP awareness and willingness.
Consider an incident that happened on a border lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) several decades before the passing of the law. Randomly shooting into the air and environment using a variety of weapons, a half dozen drunk guys, operating boats powered by outboards (illegal on a section of this particular lake), raided several remote campsites and spent hours terrorizing canoe campers on Basswood Lake. It was a rare episode that has not been repeated (at least within the remote BWCAW) in the years since. Nonetheless, those campers were defenseless against this attack. Under the revised legislation, members of those campsites could lawfully possess weapons to use in self-defense. Whether such counter-actions would have evolved into a much more dangerous situation fuels an ongoing argument.
Lest you believe that only people hiking in the remote wilderness must fear an assault, know that the amount of people robbed, raped or murdered while walking or jogging on urban or suburban trails is too large to tally here. I wouldn’t know where to begin except to say that criminal predators know that many people out on jogging trails are unarmed. Don’t be like most people. There are plenty of good options for carrying a gun while jogging or hiking. You don’t have to leave your gun in your home just because you want to exercise.
Public Law 111-24
Backcountry Backup: Defending Your Life and Real Estate
Many of the laws involving adjoining countries struggle. In the case in which a part of a few states lie within a park boundary, it is up to each person to confirm the status of laws in each of these particular states.
I’ve said it before and will say it again here: Movies aren’t reality, and we should not get our training from Hollywood.
As distasteful as it might be, you cannot forget about your own personal defense when you are on holiday or participated in outdoor recreation. A criminal doesn’t care about you or your feeling of safety. In actuality, it is just the opposite. No matter where you go or what you do, it is your responsibility to defend yourself. Be ready. Always.
Though extremely rare and highly unlikely, the most common life-threatening, animal-related situations within our national parks and other similar recreational areas involve large, carnivorous animals such as brown bears, black bears, wolves and mountain lions. A confrontation with a moose can result in a deadly kick or being crushed by a massive set of antlers. Then there is always the human threat too.
The elements listed above are not exclusive to dark alleys in large cities. For those who have ever seen the film Deliverance, you know what can happen if you’re not prepared to defend yourself when help is nowhere nearby.
The article Self-Defense in the Great Outdoors appeared first on USCCA.
Defense against attacks by wild animals has always been a legitimate concern among those who frequent the backcountry of America in areas where there is a heightened chance that one might encounter a huge carnivorous animal. However, incidents leading to death are very rare. According to an article in the Journal of Wildlife Management, through a 25-year interval in Alaska, 52 brown bears and 38 black bears (5% and 3%, respectively, of the overall bears killed during this period) were dispatched in defense of life or property. However, during the period from 1985 to 1996, bear attacks did result in 36 injuries to individuals and six deaths.
Recreational vehicles are almost constant targets for criminals. Assuming the occupants of RVs are elderly couples or young families traveling with children, you can see why a big motor home would make a fantastic target. Are you ready to defend yourself and your family inside an RV? Do you know the laws surrounding personal defense as you traveling from state to state? Planning a road trip means more than simply checking gas prices and searching for road construction.
Many times, the threatening hand dealt to you does not permit you the choice of playing the avoidance card. Instead, you may be pressured, sometimes traumatically, into the”flight-or-fight” mode. In the backcountry, where access is limited to flying, floating or footing it in, an effective escape is not often a viable alternative either. Carrying a firearm may be your only lifesaving alternative and ultimate DLP plan of action.
Opponents, however, feared its passing would cause a heightened possibility of gun-related accidents in otherwise pristine and safe environments. The legislation is still too new to have been subject to sufficient statistical scrutiny to confirm or dispute the concerns regarding occurrences of firearms-related violent behavior in national parks.
While the question of whether it’s legal to carry a concealed weapon in a national park was answered by Public Law 111-24, the need to carry a firearm for DLP in those parks and other backcountry recreation areas has been one of personal preference and ongoing debate and discussion.