I think you overestimate their fear of guns. It's not the gun, it's the person holding it. SCARED people with guns are dangerous, unpredictable, volatile. Calm, confident people with guns are just calm, confident people .. not a threat. It's the fear that turns the gun into a hazard. Humans telegraph fear quite loudly in our posture, motions, and so on. I've had a couple of sightings, camp visits at night, been punked / messed with .. and every time, minus one, I had a gun, often a hunting rifle slung over my shoulder, not something hidden. It ain't about the gun, it's about the human.