Packing, ... sort of

[Saltamontes]

I have never hunted, nor do I have the intention of doing it. Furthermore, I have never fired a gun, yet from time to time I find myself in out of the way, very isolated places in pursuit of trout. At these places however, you run the risk of running into some wildlife that could present some danger to your well being. I have considered ?packing? when I head out with my kids, just as a means of protection, but the thought of killing an animal, even in self defense, does not appeal to me. Once again, I have never fired a gun, and due to my inexperience, carrying and attempting to use a gun in a moment of desperation could/would more than likely be a disaster. Were I to go this route, I would take all training required, and spend countless hours at a shooting range until I was fully confident I could use a gun safely. Success would only be measured when I had to use it to defend myself and family after killing a beautiful animal. Not exactly my choice.
My question is the following. Is there a tranquilizer gun out there in the market available to the general public? I would feel much more comfortable with such a thing. All I would be after is 5 to 10 minutes head start to get the h_ll out of the way, believe me, I could cover a lot of ground if I knew there is something out there chasing me.
I have asked around (hunters) and nobody is aware of such tranquilizer gun available. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe there is a market for such product, especially among those of us who just want to experience the outdoors without being mangled/eaten in the process.
Someone said, ?think of all the criminals that would get one to commit their crimes?, my reply was simply that if a criminal were to commit a crime, he would more than likely use the real thing, am I wrong?
Also, I was told, people would buy them to ?torment? the wildlife. I disagree, if the darts were on the pricey side (which more than likely would be), say $ 20 a dart, I can?t see too many people firing these things at $20 a pop just to put an animal to sleep for a while.
I understand a tranquilizer dart does not stop a bear/cougar on its tracks, but if I knew within 5/10 minutes I would be O.K. I could run around for those minutes until the dart did its thing.
I know about bear spray, but the thought of using it when a charging bear is 10-15 ft away is a bit too close for comfort. Worse yet, if one of my kids is attacked, I may not be 10 ft away to assist. Keep in mind my daughter is mentally handicapped, and while she loves the outdoors, she is 100 dependent on the decisions I make.
I love the outdoors, camping, fishing etc. And I would feel more comfortable if I knew I could protect my family if needed.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this idea has some merit.

Your comments please,
Saltamontes

[ducksterman]

Are the critters you might have to shoot all the same size and physiology?

Tranquillizing animals has to be very exacting and controlled.

[Saltamontes]

Good point ducksterman, that is something I was not aware of. I am mainly concerned with bears (blacks and grizzlies) and cougars.
Saltamontes

[rainbowchaser]

I don't believe you can avoid an enraged bear or cougar for several minutes until the tranks take effect. Darts are not going to be very effective against an animal that is allready attacking. Allso the dart guns I have seen used on T.V. do not appear to be as easily carried as a pistol and require marksmanship skills that you would have to learn. I'm not an expert on bears having only seen them in the wild a few times but I believe you would do better to get the pepper spray reconmended for bears and being steady enough to spay it directly into the animals eyes. I do agree that if you are not accustomed to handling guns you are better off avoiding them. Accidents with the pepper spray are a lot less lethal.

[PaGuy]

a better alternative would be to carry bear spray, but it wont work against cougars and moose, it is very efective against bears i cary it all the time when I am exploring here and it makes me feal safe

[Daniel J]

My vote is also for pepper spray or some kind of "spray".
5-10 minutes of avoiding a charging animal is a really really really long time to be at that level of physical activity-not to mention that there might be more than one person with you, who you don't want to be left behind.
A tranq dart will not buy you enough time to get things together in an emergency animal situation. All the nature people who use tranq darts are the ones actively hunting for the animal. They are prepared for this. You and me in the woods are not out looking to down a moose or bear.
And whether the spray works on all animals or not I'd still spray whatever was coming at me.

[GrayGhost]

Saltamontes
you don't need a gun or spray(but bear spray don't hurt to have in someplace). What you need is to pay attention to where your at and what is around you. Most attacks happen is when you surprise the animal. Believe it or not most animal find the smell of humans very offensive, so pay attention if you don't surprise them and you know their there, there shouldn't be a problem you need to protect your self against.
Ghost

[Daniel J]

Oh yeah,
We are all aware that fly fishing usually involves using lures that are the result of dead forest critters?
If you'd NEVER want to kill something from nature............. ????????
I don't know what is in you fly box since there is pretty much a synthetic alternative for anything nowadays. I use lots of them tool.

[MNFisher]

Here's the way I see it.

A tranquilizer doesn't take effect immediately - in fact, there is often a long lag time. There isn't a human alive that could out-run a bear or a cougar for 30 seconds, much less 5 - 10 minutes.

The chemical and dosage is generally specific for a particular animal - there isn't commonality for bears and cougars. Dart guns must be shot at relatively close range and are not as accurate as say, a rifle.

Finally, often tranquilized animals don't survive anyway - either from stress or improper dosage. (They do have to be properly cared for when tranquilized)

I think you need to decide how concerned you are about defending yourself/family or killing an animal - and how likely such an event would be where you plan to be. If your concern is high, a firearm is your best option. If you're not very comfortable using - and experienced with - a gun, I believe you are better off without one. Pack the pepper spray, make some noise when moving through the wild - and know that being attacked by an animal is very rare.

[Marco]

Dear Saltamontes,
Somehow I can't get the picture of you being close enough to dart the animal and then running around in circles and around bushes to give time for the tranquilizer to fire up out of my mind ( Great run-on sentence). Three Stooges comes to mind. I fish mostly in Wyoming's remotest areas of Teton and Y'Stone NPs. Firearms are not allowed so I do pack a sizable cannister of what is commonly called "Pepper spray" to deter possible sticky situations.I have not heard that it is innefective for cougar or moose but I doubt that very much. I do also ,however, occasionally "pack" just to be safe. I'd rather go to jail than to hell to which I'm surely destined if I don't repent and change my wicked ways, but that's a story for another time. My firearm is a .380 Walther PPK for to emulate 007. This weapon is way too small to be effective at most any range except to aim for the beasts tonsils when he opens his mouth to savor a piece of my head or other vital handsome part of my torso. Your fear/disdain of guns in somewhat a politically correct one. To even have a slightest doubt about using a firearm to protect yourself or your family against ANYTHING is an idea totally beyond my comprehension. But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
In any case, do whatever you think is best for you and those who rely on you. YOU are the ultimate judge in that regard.

Mark