There is a Yeti in the back of everyone’s mind; only the blessed are not haunted by it. ~ old sherpa saying

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Shooting Sasquatch: A Gun Mindset?

Someone emailed me the other day about my Finding Sasquatch item for Trickster’s Realm on BoA. He had nice things to say, thank you. In that piece I said how I was adamantly “no kill” and, while the e-mailer agreed, he did point out that shooting one in self-defense is understandable. If one finds themselves being charged or attacked, what are you going to do? I admit I hadn’t thought of that, it just never occurred to me. This possibility might seem obvious to some field researchers, but as I said in the article, I’m not a field researcher. I’m also not a ‘gun person’ in the sense I don’t own one, and am not used to going out in the woods (or anywhere) with a gun, or thinking along those lines. I don’t have that gun mindset.

I’m not anti-gun; I think that if (er, when) we move to the country we might end up getting a gun. Rifle. Shotgun. I dunno, those are all different, right? LOL. Quite obviously, I’ll need to be better educated about it when the time comes.

But this point about going out in the woods with a gun in the first place when going Bigfoot searching, is an interesting one. Why go out with a gun at all? Does going out with a gun create a potential situation for disaster? (ie, Bigfoot being shot or killed.) Would having a gun prove to be a temptation, if one finds oneself faced with a Bigfoot?


I don’t know the answer to these questions, just something to think about.

4 comments:

Grafikman said...

That's an interesting dilemma. Perhaps we could draw from all the hunter's sighting reports where they *did* have a gun or rifle and they said they just couldn't shoot one because they appeared too human...

Then again, those who aren't hunters and haven't been trained properly in firearm handling might be foolish enough to go out looking for trouble and by pure chance run into a squatch. That would be a nightmare situation. One, because I personally don't think they travel alone. If one got shot, the others nearby would probably waste no time in exacting revenge. Two, if one was killed, it would suffer horribly until death and the weight would inhibit hauling the body through what may be miles of uneven roadless terrain.

Just my dos centavos...

LesleyinNM said...

We carry a big can of pepper spray with us in the woods. I suppose that may not scare off bigfoot, but I am not likely to meet bigfoot in the NM forest. Yeah, there are some reports of a bigfoot like creature, but not any at anywhere that I normally go.

I am not sure why people feel they need a gun when they move to the country. Maybe I don't live far enough from town to understand. Still, the most dangerous creature I have ever met in the mountains were humans with guns. I would have to say I would be more likely to have a gun if I lived in Albuquerque than outside of there because I would be more likely to need it. Honestly though, I doubt I will ever have a gun (other than antiques), just seeing one gives me the creeps.

Regan Lee said...

While I'm not anti-gun, I don't feel comfortable with one. My husband says when we move to the country, he might consider getting one, we've discussed it, I'm not sure why it figures in the realm of possibilities. If I ever did get one, you can be sure I'd be trained and know damn well how to use it properly. But I'd much rather be without one than have one.

LesleyinNM said...

I am not anti gun either. I believe that sane, non-criminal people have a right to own a gun if they choose.