Ammo for the fight to have weapons in national parks! Bear Attack in Yellowstone

[Musketeer]

Food was properly stored and the camper was asleep in his tent when the grizzly attacked. Amazing that he is still alive.

Remember this story when discussing the ban on firearms in national parks.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,385645,00.html

Campgrounds Near Yellowstone National Park Closed After Bear Bites Camper

Friday , July 18, 2008

AP

HELENA, Mont. —
A bear attacked a person sleeping inside a tent early Thursday, leading authorities to close two campgrounds near Yellowstone National Park.

The camper suffered bite and claw marks on his arms while protecting himself. His name and age weren't disclosed. Authorities said he was taken to West Park Hospital in Cody, Wyo., which refused to release any information.

As a precaution, the U.S. Forest Service closed the Soda Butte campground, where the camper was attacked, and the nearby Chief Joseph campground, both in the Gallatin National Forest. The sites are along U.S. 212, a few miles from the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Forest spokeswoman Marna Daley said the bear was believed to be a grizzly. She didn't know how many people were evacuated from the campgrounds.

The camper apparently had stored his food properly, Daley said. She didn't know if he was camping alone.

The Forest Service said in a statement that the campgrounds will remain closed "until the bear is located or the immediate concern subsides."

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks will decide how to deal with the bear. In previous cases, problem bears have been relocated to more remote areas.

 

[gdvan01]

I'm not really thinking that if you get attacked by a BEAR while you are ASLEEP....that a firearm is going to do you any good. I think a change of underwear would be of more use.

 

[Musketeer]

Two Items

1. It is the clear existence of life threatening animals which is the justification.

2. If I were sleeping where such animals were known to populate I would have my weapon very very close! If your first notification of a problem is a bear eating your head there is little you can do, if you hear it outside first though...
RAH:

Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.'

 

[Sparks2112]

If your first notification of a problem is a bear eating your head there is little you can do

I just scared the crud out of the other people at my office I just laughed so hard when I read this. For some reason it reminded me of the "Front towards enemy" print on claymores, even though it's not the same at all, same feel though? Anyway, good point.

 

[kamerer]

Musketeer - just a friendly piece of advice - it would be best to edit your post to make it exactly accurate. The attacks were near (very near) Yellowstone, But not IN Yellowstone. They were in a NF where possession of a handgun for self defense is legal.

Now of course the few miles distance doesn't change the reality of it, but it's just best to be exactly accurate so others don't pick at you. I don't recall the approximate area a male grizzly stakes out as his turf, but it's well over several square miles and these guys would almost certainly also be Park denizens and not just Gallatin NF residents...

Also, keep in mind it's not just storing food up high and properly that matters. Cooking a good distance downwind of the camp site, and putting the clothes you cooked in into the hoisted food container is also required. They will smell the cooksite and come and investigate, and the clothes, too, if you happen to be wearing them. All of the cases I've read of bear entering a tent has involved breaking one of these guidelines.

That said, it's not like the guy "asked for it." He might have been less than entirely careful, but that still doesn't mean he gets to be dinner for someone. He should be able to defend himself, his traveling companions, and his livestock if he had any, from a lethal and unprovoked attack. This natural right exists whether he is on one side or another of an arbitrary political line drawn by men - a line animal predators have never agreed to recognize!

 

[ssilicon]

Ban of firearms in these parks makes NO sense as criminals will just completely ignore the ban anyway. That leaves honorable citizens who would cause no harm with a gun, to be defenseless against wildlife or criminals. There is no upside to a ban, only downsides.

 

[MedicineBow]

Funny stuff.

I've spent more nights in bear country than I can count.

It's a very amusing idea that some Rambo-wannabe is going to do anything good with a gun resting next to him on his stinky socks when Mr. Grizz crashes the side of the tent in the middle of the night.

It's extremely unlikely you could A) comprehend what the hell was happening, B) locate your trusty piece (probably now under Grizz's foot), and C) get finger on trigger, with barrel NOT pointing at your own forehead.

Then, your problems really start. The most likely results, if you foolishly decided to pull that trigger:

A. Shoot self in leg. (This may not be so bad, as pain will distract you from terror as you wait for bear to decide what to do with you.)

B. Shoot sky. (This may actually startle bear. Best of all possible worlds.)

C. Shoot tent mate. (This may not be so bad, if disabling tent mate allows you to make escape, giving tent mate to bear.)

D. Shoot bear. (Worst of all possible worlds. Will anger bear. Dinner will be served.)

 

[Musketeer]

Musketeer - just a friendly piece of advice - it would be best to edit your post to make it exactly accurate. The attacks were near (very near) Yellowstone, But not IN Yellowstone. They were in a NF where possession of a handgun for self defense is legal.

You are correct. I first saw the headline in Fox News as IN Yellowstone, when I clicked on the story and read it I never picked up it was really NEAR Yellowstone.

Will I be able to do something with a gun should a bear decide to eat me after I go to sleep.

Maybe yes, maybe no.

Hearing it would be a BIG help. No matter what though I have a better chance with a gun against an angry bear than with none. I am not saying it is a good chance, but certainly better than none!

 

[Socrates]

Last time I talked to John Linebaugh, he'd moved back to Cody. He said grizz were back, and, he was going to build a .338 OKH.

Do NOT feed the bears, or the trolls..