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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1174 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 28, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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I've been hiking a lot again. At least one day long hike per week and, thankfully, I've even engaged in a few 2 - 3 day overnights. Wonderful stuff.

Question for the motte; what are your thoughts on being "armed" on the trail. I put "armed" in quotations because this could mean one or more of;

  • Pocket knife
  • Large pointy stick
  • Inconvenient and heavy rambo style "survival" knife
  • Pistol
  • Shotgun / rifle toting.

Bear in mind I am specifically asking about a non-hunting situation. While I am experienced enough to agree with the adage that the most dangerous critters you will encounter are the two-legged kind, I sometimes have these intrusive thoughts about encountering something like a rabies ridden buck. That would be frightening.

So, open question. Not looking for advice per se, just everyone's thoughts.

Coyotes and wolves will not come near you unless they have rabies. Mountain lions and black bears also very rarely hunt people.

As for deer- they’re strong but they’re going to run away. Feral hogs are not your friend but if they threaten you, you’ve got bigger problems.

Unless you’re in grizzly bear country, or particularly scared of snakes, you don’t need anything more than a hiking stick.

black bears also very rarely hunt people.

A friend of mine had a black bear break his leg years ago. He heard a noise on his porch and went out to investigate. He spooked a poor black bear so badly that it took off running and knocked my friend clean off the porch.

Obligatory.

100% agree. I am not in grizz country and have encounter all of the animals you've described -- 99% of the time by seeing their backside moving swiftly away from me.

But, again, I get tripped up by the catastrophic-low-probability event; rabid animals of any type - accidentally walking between a cub and mother at precisely the wrong time.

accidentally walking between a cub and mother at precisely the wrong time.

Finland has a fairly sizeable brown bear population (grizzly is basically the same species, just somewhat larger) but unprovoked bear attacks are really rare. A brief search through a national news site shows that there was only one unprovoked attack within the last 10 years and that wasn't serious (the bear struck a guy who fell down, after which the bear left and the guy got off with a few scratches). The rest have all been hunting situations gone bad or a dog aggravating a bear and the owner getting attacked when trying to fend off the bear (and even then they've been very rare). If you make noise and look around, the bears will just hide and avoid you.

Grizzlies are much more aggressive than Eurasian brown bears and it’s entirely reasonable to worry about an unprovoked attack if you’re hiking in grizzly country. It’s not a super likely scenario but it isn’t ridiculously implausible either.

For black bears you should be fine- between a cub and mother is not a safe place to be, but if you are moving away from between a cub and mother she’ll let you. Thats grizzlies that chase people down.

Rabid animals are a very low probability event.

If you’re really still worried a nine mm might be worth it for peace of mind.

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