I hope this post doesn't highjack this thread because I think this is an interesting and important discussion. This thread does, however, remind me of a story...

One of my fishing partners is, quite often, carrying a side arm when we fish, which is fine by me. A couple of years ago we met in Montana to fish. We were going to be in definite "bear country". Before our trip I asked him if he would be packin'. He said he would be. I told him that was good, and by the way, I had just gotten a new .22 cal. pistol that I would have with me as well. Of course, his reply was, "What are you going to do with a .22 pistol if we encounter a bear?" My reply...

"Shoot you in the leg!"

Now back to more important discussions!