Got stopped while OCing in Yellowstone today...

[Kaardomos]

I was on the return trip from Cascade Lake today when a park ranger stopped me. He told me a sow grizzley with cubs was spotted back up the trail about 30 minutes ago. He didn't say a thing about the gun on my hip.

 

[rhino]

Under those circumstances, I would have asked you if it was at least a .44 mag or bigger. Heh.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I saw some photos the other day of Sarah Palin and her family out on a family fishing trip. It's probably a good thing you were adequately forewarned.

 

[sharpetop]

That's the way it should be.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I was on the return trip from Cascade Lake today when a park ranger stopped me. He told me a sow grizzley with cubs was spotted back up the trail about 30 minutes ago. He didn't say a thing about the gun on my hip.

what gun?

 

[Mark 1911]

I found the mentality of LEOs as related to gun rights is noticeably different out west. Your encounter with the park ranger seems to demonstrate that difference. A firearm seems to be much more widely accepted in those parts because of the real threat from wildlife. I was in Alaska a few years back on a motorcycle trip. I stopped to chat with some Alyeska Security officers in Glenallen to see if it was OK to some hiking and photography along the right-of-way for the Alaska Pipeline because I was interested in photographing the caribou. They asked me if I was armed because they said, "where the caribou are, there will also be grizzly and wolves". I told them I only had bear repellent and they just laughed, they said sometimes that works, and sometimes it just pisses them off even more. They told me to park the bike next to a particular gate, so that in their words, "if your bike is still there in the morning, we will start looking for your body". I laughed. With dead serious tone one of them said, "we're not kidding". I told them I traveled from Indiana and crossed the Canadian border, that's why I didn't have a firearm. One of them said, "I would never be un-armed around here, and that's why I would never live in the lower 48". I found it very interesting that their expectation is that I WOULD be armed, total opposite of the general expectation of law enforcement in this part of the world.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Under those circumstances, I would have asked you if it was at least a .44 mag or bigger. Heh.

I have a college buddy (well, two, 'cuz they're married) who live in/in Kodiak, AK.

You know - the home of the Kodiak Bear...

He bought himself a S&W 686 (.357 mag) to carry while hiking.

I asked him why not something larger. He said that most folks use .357 and he wanted something not quite so punishing for range use / his wife's practice.

I'm not sure if he doesn't also carry a 12ga with him or not. I don't think his AR is his "woods gun".

 

[g00n24]

Ha I guess I just missed you at the park! My wife and I just got back from our honeymoon at glacier and Yellowstone. Beautiful country out there!!

 

[Liberty Sanders]

Under those circumstances, I would have asked you if it was at least a .44 mag or bigger. Heh.

Wife and I stopped in Yellowstone after our trip out to Wyoming last year to chase cows. I was carrying a Model 29.

 

[rhino]

Wife and I stopped in Yellowstone after our trip out to Wyoming last year to chase cows. I was carrying a Model 29.

Four inch or five?

 

[atvdave]

I was on the return trip from Cascade Lake today when a park ranger stopped me. He told me a sow grizzley with cubs was spotted back up the trail about 30 minutes ago. He didn't say a thing about the gun on my hip.

Looks like you are allowed to...

Laws & Policies - Yellowstone National Park

 

[mtgasten]

I was there about a month or so ago, and saw the same Sow and her Cubs, good stuff, cute little guys.

 

[Liberty Sanders]

Four inch or five?

Four...five inch 29's are quite rare.

 

[sparkyfender]

Four...five inch 29's are quite rare.

I learned that recently.

A friend bought a nice 5", and he was hoping against hope that it was a factory original. Checking with S&W, he found out it had been modified from the original, longer barrel length.

Oh well........ He got it for a decent price, but still......... He was disappointed.

 

[Kaardomos]

what gun?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenberry/7276439292

I was pleasantly surprised that they mentioned in the handout that firearms are legal.

 

[rhino]

Four...five inch 29's are quite rare.

I learned that recently.

A friend bought a nice 5", and he was hoping against hope that it was a factory original. Checking with S&W, he found out it had been modified from the original, longer barrel length.

Oh well........ He got it for a decent price, but still......... He was disappointed.

I think four inches is ideal for a defensive gun, whether against four legged critters or two.

I asked about five just in case. I remembered that Henry Bowman carried a five inch 629 in Unintended Consequences.

 

[bingley]

I asked him why not something larger. He said that most folks use .357 and he wanted something not quite so punishing for range use / his wife's practice.

If he's mainly concerned about bears, you can tell him he may not have to worry much about his marksmanship. According to a study, in most gun defenses in man/bear encounters, you're shooting from a supine position... into the mouth of the bear. In other words, the bear has knocked you down and it's on top of you.

 

[Liberty Sanders]

I think four inches is ideal for a defensive gun, whether against four legged critters or two.

I asked about five just in case. I remembered that Henry Bowman carried a five inch 629 in Unintended Consequences.

I remember that as well...it was from a special production run for a particular hardware store.

 

[rhino]

I remember that as well...it was from a special production run for a particular hardware store.

Should be required reading! I have forgotten to whom I loaned my copy years ago.

 

[Kaardomos]

So far my experience here has been:

2 kids asking why he has a gun( For one an older lady piped up with "because he's travelling alone)

A guy with a license from Tennessee asking about the laws here.

A guy from Texas with a license asking if OC was legal.

A guy from South Carolina asking about the laws here and talking about them trying to get OC passed down there.

And finally, I was watching a couple of wolves today when a lady came up to watch and saidsomething to the effect of "It's smart to be carrying." Afterwards I ended up talking to her husbandabout the laws here. He said that they were from Califoenia, at which point I said "I'm sorry" and that I knew how backwards their gun laws are. We talked for a little bit about the gun laws in the park before going oir seperate ways.

So far, I haven't had a single negative encounter, though I still imagine some poor sheep frantically trying to call park securitywhen most of the park is a dead zone.