Hart - Uh - I got a problem with your other post here.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>2. Guns are to be used on humans only. I do not believe that bears or mountain lions really exist any longer in the usa. If you do find one; you are expendable, the endangered bear or lion deserves to live more than you.[/quote]
You have GOT to be kidding. Bears, Mountain Lions, Wolves and the Boogie Man do indeed still live in the USA - in the LOWER 48 even.
In Utah, I have seen ALL THE ABOVE - with the exception of the Boogie Man, who I saw down town in Panama City... but thats another story. These creatures do live in places where they can come across people... real people - not those played on TV.
These animals can also indeed attack people. I remember very clearly when I was attacked by a black bear while camping in the pacific northwest. Another forum member here has a whole webpage dedicated to the truths about bear attacks - he is an expert in the subject since he was severly mauled by one.
While I was not attacked by it - I was within 30 yards of a Puma last year here in Utah. Puma - Yup - Mountain Lion... aka Couger. Also known as a freakin big angry cat. Pound for pound, a cat will tear the hell out of a dog... and this cat was bigger than most dogs I see locally. Looked like it could have weighted in about the same as me. Or at least its teeth seemed that big.
It ran off - after making me about soil my linens... Had it felt more threatened and attacked me... well. I would have had to defend myself. Because I firmly beleave that a human life is worth far more than some critter. Especially my own or my loved ones. This treehugger animal loving mentality makes me quite ill. Humans are the top of the food chain for a reason. If your Darwinistic then you know we evolved for a good reason. If your a creationist you know that God gave us animals for our use. That can mean blowing them away if they threaten us. Population limitation by natural selection or failure of adaptation is no justification for forfeiture of self defense rights. 2 legged or 4 legged or winged, or scaled - doesnt matter. There are far less Hill's in this world than there are pumas or bears...
"Sometimes scare off bears" That aint good enough. Not if that bear is coming after you and that little .22 didnt scare him off. Then what are you going to do? Run? Sure... go for it. After all, better you die than that poor endangered bear!