Packin' Poll: More Dangerous-Chainsaw or Handgun

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ISeeDeadBTUs said:
Because my mind idles too much, I often wonder . . .
Since I harvest BTUs in bear/rattlesnake country, and wouldn't have time to reach, could I use the chainsaw to fen off either? I am guessing that the bear would have run from the noise long before I would ever see him, not so sure bout the snake. Prolly slice my leg off trying to behead the groan. :-S

Oh yeah, those mean, ornery New York bears, out to get you. Goldilocks is not pleased.
Never got close enough to a rattler to check out the sex. You do that in N.Y. do you ? :p
 
Handgun versus bear is not the best idea. The noise of the saw should keep them away, but you might want to wear a bell or two to make some noise even when you aren't running the saw. They also make that pepper spray stuff, which is a bit easier to score a "hit" with than a handgun, since you can just "fog" the bear's general location.

It's also useful to know what sort of bears are in the area, since grizzly bears are much more dangerous than black bears. Look for bear scat, and then identify the type of bear:
Black bear scat usually has berry skins in it and smells somewhat fruity. Grizzly bear scat usually has little bells in it and smells peppery.

Joe
 
That is funny as heck!!! I just sent coffee out of my nose reading that post!
 
LMAO . . .ok, this is NY as in NEW YORK . . . if we got Grizzlies, we got problems. Actually the best deternt for black bears is man's best friend. Though my dog is big and scares people, he is a baby. But when he smells bear . . .!!! Supposedly the Shogun used them to hunt bear, but in any event, black bears are more scared of dogs than anything. The 44M is very effective assuming the hand remains steady. I remeber as a kid watching a Buffalo hop back up on it's feet after being shot with a 357M. Conversely, the buffalo (and I'm told jackasses, donkeys, horses, etc) disliked the dogs but - instead of running away - would make every effort to kill them.

Too bad I don't take the dog on these BTU-excursions as he seems to find ticks that way.

Best defense for the damn snakes is just to go when it's cold out.
 
I use my handsaw a lot more than any of my handguns so I'm voting that the chainsaw is more dangerous. Although I've never had an accident...I'm in the kill zone a lot longer with the saw. And if you spend significant time in the zone... 'S' can happen.
 
I have a 14 lb dog, no handgun and a 30 year old Stihl, so my weapons are somewhat limited.

I have been bit by dogs at least three times, but never shot or held up. Never hurt with a chain saw, either.

I think the honest answer is this: It all works somewhat by the hour, and also based on your experience and safety measures. Use any tool long enough, and stupid enough (like the avatar one member has of a friend cutting in sandals), and you will be hurting.

Yesterday, there was a story of a guy who had an itch on his back, so he reached around and scratched it with.....yes, his handgun! You can guess what happened next!
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051408dnmetitch.f81a31c3.html

One good thing about youth firearms training...I was six years old when I was taught all the basics, and at that age it actually soaks in. I think the camps had to be extra careful with all of us toddlers shooting on the rifle range....and while we didn't fear death (at that age), we did respect adults, authority and teachers.
 
Webmaster said:
I have a 14 lb dog, no handgun and a 30 year old Stihl, so my weapons are somewhat limited.

I have been bit by dogs at least three times, but never shot or held up. Never hurt with a chain saw, either.

I think the honest answer is this: It all works somewhat by the hour, and also based on your experience and safety measures. Use any tool long enough, and stupid enough (like the avatar one member has of a friend cutting in sandals), and you will be hurting.

Yesterday, there was a story of a guy who had an itch on his back, so he reached around and scratched it with.....yes, his handgun! You can guess what happened next!
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051408dnmetitch.f81a31c3.html

One good thing about youth firearms training...I was six years old when I was taught all the basics, and at that age it actually soaks in. I think the camps had to be extra careful with all of us toddlers shooting on the rifle range....and while we didn't fear death (at that age), we did respect adults, authority and teachers.

the men in my family all get together for a week at hunting camp every year. we have a semi trailer made into a very nice camp that we move 8 miles back from "civilization", and have been going to the same area since the early sixties. the younger generation all are invited to come when they are in the 6 year old range and older. the wealth of information those kids get from that week would be worth 4 weeks at school. firearms training. nature. alternative energy. survival. but its getting harder to do things like that due to the misconceptions about hunters. it seems that we arent very popular with the politically correct crowd.
during the ice storm a few years back, our hunting crew fared pretty well at their homes due to the fact that we all knew how to survive without modern conveniences. (at least for a short time)
 
ugenetoo said:
but its getting harder to do things like that due to the misconceptions about hunters. it seems that we arent very popular with the politically correct crowd.

Funny, I see just the opposite.
I know a lot of PC people, and never hear a word about hunters or fishermen, etc.
It seems as if a coalition of sorts has been forged between environmentalists and sportsmen...in general....and while you won't find me skinning a deer, at the same time I have more respect for someone who knows what goes into their meat than I do for someone who has to have others do the butchering.

In our neck of the woods - admittedly one of the most liberal and PC bastions in the country - we see virtually no backlash against hunters or even firearms in general. It's more live and let live. The "native" population tend to be hunters, fishermen and gun owners and the recent transplants (from Boston, NYC, etc.) tend to be PC, but there is no gap between them when it comes to leaving each other be.

Being from the original early "hippie" (boomer) generation, I was always taught "It's your thing, do what you wanna do" and "I can't tell you, who to sock it to".....in general, at least.

I think there is a back room deal going on - we won't complain about gay marriage and you don't complain about our hunting.
:coolgrin:
 
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