i've already posted here but i'll add one more story to why i carry. in addition to the cats, bears and 2 leggers... moose are my least favorite animal in the woods to piss off. out of the hundreds i've encountered working near them during spring, summer and fall, i've never had a really bad experience with them at work. in the woods i can only think of two instances but one stands out.
i was hunting archery elk late one september during our extended archery season on the wasatch front. this was in a heavily used area and i often don't think of it as the true great outdoors due to all the hikers, bikers and dogs that can be encountered on any day. this particular day i was hunting in an area that had been productive several times in the past. by early afternoon i was a bit tired of the snow wet boots and ready head home for some chore work. i had hiked down the steep mtn side for a half hour and held up just before the upper trail. i heard bike derailers and voices. the voices were expressing concern about a moose they had seen. i chuckled to myself as they seemed quite worried. after a few minutes had passed, i put my bow on the pack and crossed the main trail to use a more vertical game trail to avoid all the exercise enthusiasts. this trail would cut off 10 minutes of hiking and keep me out of view longer which i rather enjoy. the only issue there is the occasional downed tree and creek near the bottom. well, i made my way thru there and back to the main trail only to be met by a rather large black bodied bull moose. he was staring me down with the crazy eyes, you know, the ones where you can see the sclera (whites) jumping out at you. funny how i noticed that first but the laid back ears, popping and lip smacking should have been the dead give away that he was really pissed. i was on his trail and he was having a bad day. typically i'd wait my turn to use the trail but in an attempt to diffuse the situation i took to a slow back peddle. the bull threw a hoof to the ground, dropped the head and started to trot my way. with some concern i picked up the pace and he broke out into a canter. that was enough for me to bail from the trail and start hopping large downed trees like flo-jo doing some olympic hurdles. the moose began to slow and continued to follow as i crossed the creek. by that time there was a decision to be made. my EDC made it's way out of my pocket and a round was chambered. i know, it should be there all the time but i have kids and would rather not have one in the pipe just in case i slip up and they get curious. back to the moose...he must have had some sense of self preservation because it was at that time that he slowed and veered off at a distance of 15'. now i'm not sure if that was his idea of a false charge but it was more convincing than it needed to be. i often wonder what would have happened if i would have froze. i believe my tail would have been stomped. there's not much my fists would have done against his hooves and antlers if his determination would have held.
no one needs a gun until they do