Is this thread still going?
The opening line reads: "I don't live in bear country but I am pretty sure
YOU should never go in the woods hunting or hiking unarmed." (Emphasis added.)
If the original poster had said, "... I am pretty sure that
I should not go in the woods... unarmed." it would have been true but would not have lasted ten responses. It is almost always contentious when we start telling everybody what they should do.
FWIW, I do live in bear country, as in LOTS of bears, and when picking berries, fishing, scouting terrain etc. I am not armed outside of hunting season. I encountered three black bears while picking berries last summer, at close range. I carried a sidearm in my younger days and found it more weight and nuisance than of value to me. That's my decision in my AO and not even recommended to anyone else. Make your own call.
I've been threatened by grizzlies and black bears, a large bull moose, a mountain goat, a Stellar sea lion bull and assorted other critters. The goat at 10 inches and sea lion at two feet (I was in a kayak) scared me the most and I would have killed those two had I been carrying. On most of the bears, moose etc. I had a rifle in hand. Of different and deeper concern to me was a wild bunch of drunks one night at a trail head bivy my son and I did before starting a hike at dawn. In such areas I can see carrying and I might if I move back. When living where it is legal, I always have a concealed carry permit though have not carried. Lotsa factors and bravo to your personal choice for you.
