The bulk of the bear population in Maryland is in Garrett and Allegany counties. Those counties also have a fair number of coyotes. In addition, feral or wild dogs occasionally get in packs and can be very dangerous.
Mountain lions? Who really knows for sure?
I have asked in the past and will ask again now for the elected state officials to work the legislative process or the Department of Natural Resources officials to work the administrative process to make it legal for a bowhunter in Maryland to carry a firearm while hunting.
Other states have.
Other states have recognized that you cannot prejudge a person to be guilty of committing a violation by the mere fact that he or she has a firearm while bowhunting.
It’s a jungle out there. Well, it’s not consistently a jungle out there, but any wildland situation where you are left to rely upon your own wits and abilities has jungle-like potential.
Survival of the fittest and all that. In this case, survival of the one with bigger teeth, sharp claws and superior strength.
Let’s be honest with one another. Surely there are people bowhunting on private lands who always carry firepower in the event that they need it to protect themselves or a companion. Maybe even on public lands.
Is that event likely. No. Is that event possible. Yes.
Just because it is unlikely that a bowhunter will be attacked by a bear doesn’t mean that it should be illegal for that person to prepare for the eventuality. You don’t put windshield wipers on your car only on days when rain is predicted.
If it is true that folks are already toting hoglegs or slinging slug guns over their shoulders while bowhunting and if it is true that people who do such a thing would shoot any bear on sight then where are all the dead bruins that have been whacked?
Left to rot in the woods, you say. Maybe, but most bears that have met some illegal demise are eventually discovered and investigated and there has not been a rash of such activity.
We presume that drivers will use the accelerator pedal within the framework of the law.
We presume that when someone purchases drain cleaner that they will use it on the bathroom sink, not put it in the beef stew.
There is no reason to presume that a person would illegally use a firearm that is carried during a bowhunting trip.
And, if that person is the one who ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time dealing with a bear or bears or with a dog or dogs, the firearm may save life or limb, even if the gun is used merely to startle the animal rather than shoot it.
I would like it to be illegal for bowhunters who bait deer to carry a firearm. By baiting deer you are baiting bears and you are asking for trouble. Maybe you could keep the bears away by putting up signs around the bait site saying, “This corn for deer only.”
Or you can use the method suggested by the Humane Society of the United States, that being to “Stand erect and boldly proclaim ‘bad bear.’ ”
Let me know how that works out.
Contact Outdoor Editor Mike Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.
Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors
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