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So, as a hunter's safety instructor, I find this most disturbing. You DO NOT use your rifle scope to examine / evaluate targets .. for any reason .. EVER. That is what binoculars and spotting scopes are for. I would auto-fail you from my class for such a foolish stunt. You cannot take back a bullet. There is no "oops" and no "do over". MIB

Hey Foxhill, thanks for the re[ply....yeah they really don't like the game cams, busted 2 up pretty good, and they didn't touch any treats for about 2 years at the place I always leave them. Hey JKH, always good to hear from you! October 7th is the big 70, but I'm fit, healthy, goofy as ever, and no health issues......running these woods works magic:) I would have to look back, but don't think I've ever posted a pic of myself on here, always wanted to remain anonymous so here you go.

I know of 2 stages of 'old fart'. Initial stage is 'old fart' and then one progresses to 'older than dirt'. When you think about it, dirt is really old. Always go to the silver hairs because we know stuff.

Don't go doing this anymore . You are not safe enough to be out with a firearm .

Tribute to @xspider1 for an excellent thread topic: "Different Circumstances" must include all the various habitats and differing potential threats or hunted quarry which might cause you to consider a different weapon. It must also consider even within your dwelling or camp, since that might be invaded by any manner of dangerous entity. I'll start the thread off with one of the most significant events of late which has both affected my own behavior and reinforced past beliefs: The Phil Shoemaker 9mm Peninsula brown bear shooting:

I for one am glad your back on the regular forum. Your knowledge and expertise is valued by me. We don’t always agree on everything and thats OK. I hope people on here understand what a privilege it is to have access to “been there, done that” forum members like you, BC Witness, Incorrigible, MIB, Airdale and countless others on here. In light of the constant trolling and cyber attacks on accounts here? No matter how you fall on the subject of Bigfoot? The wilderness knowledge here is just amazing and people should at least honor that. And sorry for your troubles!

My choice even though I haven't bought one yet would be a mini 14 for just about every thing for a long gun and a Glock 29 on my belt or chest depending on holster

While down in the Lower 48 (primarily the Southwest), and for defensive purposes, I felt very confident with a 9mm or 45acp, even to defend against black bear and lion. In the city I would have the magazine loaded with 124 grain Remington Golden Sabers, but I knew that when in the outdoors outside of cities I needed +P, higher velocities and a full metal jacket or similar design for greater penetration through large predators. That's how I carried. Then the Shoemaker 9mm shooting rocked the defensive handgun world. Phil was carrying the 9mm for the same reason why most guys want to: it's small, lightweight, unobtrusive, yet has 10 or more rounds ready to go. You feel underarmed, but feel better carrying it than not. His shooting against an 800-900 lb bear proved that +P 9mm solid rounds can be effective big bear defense. I now feel fine with my Sig P-365 daily carry under most circumstances, even in Alaska. It is loaded with an Underwood 147 grain +P FMJ in the pipe, and ten 124 grain Golden Sabers in the magazines, one mag in the gun and another in my pocket. The fully loaded gun, in a pocket holster, weighs a total of 26 ounces. I can consistently hit a salad plate @ 25 yards with three rapidly fired rounds. I carry two more 10 round mags in a tiny camera case in my car loaded with the Underwoods in case I'm going to walk into the woods away from my car. If I'm on a hunting/fishing/exploring trip, I'll keep the Sig on me in camp, but will carry holstered Glock 20 10mm loaded with Underwood 200 grain FMJs into the field as a sidearm. Admittedly, I would not want to shoot any bear with a 9mm, but I also don't want to carry 4 lbs of handgun and holster around with me in camp or on the side of the road, either.........or leave it behind because I'm tired of wearing it. Of course, if hunting, I'll use a rifle suited for the game sought. In my case here in Alaska, that can range from a 243, 30-06, 300 WinMag, to a 338 WinMag, depending on the game and expected field conditions. In open country above tree line, I bring the 300 WinMag (200 grain Accubonds) If in the forest, I'll pack the 338 WinMag (225 Swift A-Frames). If not hunting but in the woods, I carry a Marlin 450 loaded with handloaded 350 grain jacketed flatnosed bullets of three possible manufactures (Hornady Interlocks, Swift A- Frames, or Hawks). The 243 is Mrs. Huntster's caribou getter, or my snowmobile rifle. I consider my knives to be tools, not weapons. I also had a Colt 38 Special revolver that I kept in the Lower 48 that I liked to carry with snake shot in it, but it was stolen. I'm considering acquiring another pocket revolver for that, especially since Mrs. Huntster is whining about trips south in the spring and fall, which is when I want to be here. Since it will be exclusively for viper killing duty, the smaller and lighter, the better. But, really, I should just carry the Remington 11-87 12 gauge loaded up with quail shot for both bird and viper, so I just don't need another revolver. I'm hoping to carry the shotgun around in the Arizona desert this coming winter. It has been a few years since I've hunted birds.

I'm not a hunting 'expert'. I'm just an experienced hunter, and an experienced bench and competitive shooter, and an experienced reloader. Phil Shoemaker is a hunting 'expert'. I found time to be on the internet over the past 40 years because I was on it before Al Gore invented it. I can also perform multiple tasks simultaneously. You can learn to do so as well. I suggest starting your education with a pack of chewing gum and a nice, long dock............

" Shall not be infringed "

The Old Guys! A great group to be in!

In many ways, as an Alaskan, I appreciate Canada's tough position in traveling through their country. I really don't want many Yankees coming here. Of course, they're free to do so.........by plane or cruise ship. Americans can bring firearms on domestic flights........per federal law and airline rules. Bringing contraband is risky. American shippers like UPS and FedEx are a big part of the problem in transporting guns. A police department in California shipped a stolen handgun that they recovered back to me (after lots of jumping through hoops). They sent it overnight air via FedEx to a local FFL I paid $50 to accept it. The bill from FedEx? $350. The combined bill for shipping and FFL acceptance was more than the value of the gun. The criminal who stole my stuff (most of which has not and never will be recovered) will be out of prison soon, and I'm still jumping through hoops trying to get two more recovered guns and loads of recovered ammo back from police. Over 87% of the guns used in crimes are stolen. One would think that they'd be "proactive" in prosecuting gun thieves, but I'm here to tell you that they're more busy prosecuting the owners of stolen guns than they are the thieves.

As I understand it, as I no longer have the necessary permits, Canadians can only have handguns if they hold an RPAL (Restricted Possession Acquisition License). Holders of these permits must undergo a criminal records check every 24-hours, and can only transport their weapons from their home to a certified shooting range, and back. They must do this without any stops along the way. This means that even stopping for gas is not permitted while your handgun is in your vehicle. It must be transported in an approved, locked case, and ammunition must be transported separate from the weapon in a manner that prevents them from easily being put together (ammo in the glove box, handgun in the trunk). If you are stopped by the cops for any reason, the fact that you have an RPAL will come up on the police computer and you will be asked if you have it with you. If you break ANY of the regulations regarding transporting your firearm, you CAN have it confiscated. This is what I've learned from talking to RPAL owners. As I don't have this permit, I'm not entirely 110% positive on any of this, but since quite a few handgun owners have given me the same information, I can be fairly positive that these are the laws.

Things I look for now in carry guns is weight , recoil , reloading and rate of accurate fire .I'm not hunting so I won't carry a big bore rifle or a heavy revolver anymore . Don't get me wrong I love wheel guns and own many but I fire semiautos faster and I am able to keep a smaller circle with a 10mm versus a .44 mag wheel gun . Lever guns I also like but again I go back to rate of fire . I'm not hunting so I don't need a bigbore to carry . If I get a jam with semi the drill to clear is pretty fast and smooth.Also I would say 99% of problems you might encounter in a jam is ammo or mag related for a semi . Mud and dirt in a gun can mess up any type of action so agree keep your gun as clean as you can when but it's not a big concern to me because I'm not low crawling through mud

Had my best friend and his son report back on a trip they just took. Got flown into Chamberlain basin airstrip. And then back packed out to the lookout at Arctic point. It’s a 72 foot lookout all galvanized overlooking the Salmon River. They saw Elk, some monster Whitetail bucks, heard Wolves one night and caught some nice 20” Trout. It froze on them one night, but over all was pretty hot and dry. Said the trail had only been partially cut out, and the Ranger station at Chamberlain no longer used mules (that’s progress for you I guess). The flew in and out on a Cessna 206. Cant wait to see the pictures!

No doubt. I was among the earliest participants of BFF 1.0 I can honestly say that BFF 2.0 is a huge improvement in every way. It is certainly the internet destination for sasquatch discussion.

I checked: it was 2002, but it sure seemed earlier..........

Actually, I forget when the Bigfoot Forum 1.0 opened it's doors, but I think it was back around the 1999-2000 time frame, so I've been playing here for @ 20 years.

77 mm?

Since Huntster has been a member here for 14 years, I'm sure even you can do that math.

Yeah, me, too. AFAIC, that's cause to take action. I dive for cover and prepare to return fire.

Being Liberals, they're all about ideas. But also being Liberals, they tend to be so wildly incompetent that they have zero clue on how to execute those ideas. At the moment this leaves us in limbo. After requesting tenders for various aspects of a confiscation in the last four years, they haven't even found somebody to design a program to accomplish said confiscation. So we wait. And hopefully the Conservatives, who have and enormous lead in polls, win a majority and reverse the legislation as they've said they would. An election is due by October 2025 at the latest. It really is an outdoorsman's paradise. Moose, elk, black bear, mule deer, and white tail are all literally in my yard.

Yup. This has been going on, back and forth, since the beginning, starting with slavery. I suspect it will continue until major revolution/civil war and a new government, which I'm pretty confident will not be an overall improvement. I'll note that even in nations seen as oppressive hunting rifles are commonly owned, both scoped and not.

Actually, the U.S. Constitution is primarily the foundation of rules for the federal government, and each state was required to create their own constitution (ratified by Congress and SCOTUS) prior to statehood acceptance. Every state has a "Second Amendment", but some were poor comparisons to the U.S. Constitution. For example, here is the California: Compare that to Article 1, Section 19 of Alaska's Constitution: All 50 states have a similar article/section. Some are great, some suck...........just like the state itself. Frankly, if the people of California want to live communist drones, more power to them. I enjoy watching the place burn, both in the cities and the wilds, by forest or social mismanagement. Let them suffer the consequences of their stupidity; repeatedly. I don't want to visit Sudan, Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, et al, so I don't go there. I don't want to visit California, either, but because I have family there, sometimes I have to go. I was raised there, but had the wisdom to get out young. I return on occasion at my peril. When in Rome, do like the Romans do. If you don't like what Romans do, don't go there. Spend your money in more favorable locales. Let California go the way of Sudan, Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, etc.

Yeah we are not Canada and no one should have to ask permission to the state to carry a firearm . Constitutional carry should not stop at some state borders . It should be through the entire 50 states . It's bull crap some communists states think they can limit the 2nd . What would happen if a few decided only one religion will be practiced in our state . First Amendment: Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition Second Amendment: Right to bear arms Third Amendment: Restricts housing soldiers in private homes Fourth Amendment: Protects against unreasonable search and seizure Fifth Amendment: Protects against self-testimony, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and due process Sixth Amendment: Right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, to be informed of the charges, to confront witnesses, to compel testimony, and to legal representation Seventh Amendment: Right to a jury trial in federal courts for civil cases where the claim exceeds a certain dollar value Eighth Amendment: Prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments Ninth Amendment: States that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been spelled out Tenth Amendment: States that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated in the Constitution

I've never had a jam in my Glock or Keltec, including when shooting cheap box store ball ammo, or surplus bulk ammo, or at the range. I have jammed a round on load in my Remington 700! Took multiple minutes to unjam. Part of the problem is you get quite a bit of leverage with the bolt and slam it home when gentle pressure is all you really need. Entirely my fault. I carry a multi piece cleaning rod, patches and oil. that started when I carried a muzzle loader the first time and filthy black powder fouled the barrel. It fired but the next round was way off. So now I swab it out before reloading. And just left the gear in my pack. Haven't even used it in the modern stuff, except at the end of the trip or if the gear gets damp.

Appreciate the offer, sir! It's hard to compare the two as I haven't lived in Washington but I suspect it's comparable in that the urban centers dictate much of the politics and ideology that the rest of the province/state has to live under. I had opportunities to go south as a lineman when the mandates where on and I was out of work. We were very close to going, as at least there are places there where we could be among people who share our values. A couple of guys on our crew did, and stayed. If I had opportunities in Alaska (I even chatted with @Huntster on the phone to get an idea of the place), we probably would have gone. Ultimately, we decided to stay. We live on property in north central BC and if things ever "go down", which is sadly becoming increasingly possible, we are far better situated to deal with it here. If anything, we'll get a bigger property (100+ acres) and go further west towards the coast (and further from people).The exceptional hunting and fishing opportunities are a major factor.

How bad is Washington state compared to BC? My grandfather was Canadian. When Washington gets worse, I’ve threatened just to go back up. At least the hunting and fishing is better. Well if you come down here bud you can shoot mine and make an informed decision! More than welcome!

How do you find the ergonomics of a Black Hawk/SAA style grip if you had to draw and fire quickly? I've shot Vaqueros and own a single six and while I love the history and aesthetics of an SAA style revolver, I would never choose it as my sidearm. I just find it an unnatural shooting grip. I notice lots of guys in Alaska seem to be partial to that exact gun in 44 mag but I would personally choose a 629 (or similar) if I wanted a revolver for wilderness carry. Man, I hope we get to buy handguns again when we skid the Liberals next year in Canada.

Yes. My 1911 will stove pipe. BUT. I have a Ruger Black Hawk .44 mag. But I cannot mount a light and laser on it. And in the middle of the night when things go bump outside? I only have to find my pistol. I don’t have to find a pistol AND a light. I think smith and Wesson makes a dbl action with a picatinny rail. .357 mag I think. A Mauser style controlled feed bolt has control of the casing once it’s stripped off the mag. So if the bolt won’t go to battery you can eject the shell with a good pull on the bolt. A push feed bolt on the other hand doesn’t have full control of the shell until it goes to full battery. So if you pull the bolt before if goes to battery you will be fishing a round out of the chamber. I have had a Winchester 92 jam on me one time. Somehow the casing stove piped after the shot. 🤷‍♂️ Never had that happen with any rifle chambered lever actions. Either Winchester or Marlin. I have also had a Browning BAR jam on me right in the middle of killing a Bull Elk in central Idaho. Because of it I only got one shot off, and didn’t find the Bull til the next morning. There is nothing wrong with a lever gun and revolver combo. But the older technology is harder to mount the new widgets to that helps older eyes in the middle of the night. When I was a young man? I was a cowboy and always had a .44 mag on my hip. I did try a DE .50 briefly and couldn’t get rid of that boat anchor fast enough. A cowboy mainly packs a pistol in case he is getting drug. And it happens. Especially with any lace up boot. My Ray Holes saddle I had custom made had tapaderos and I never looked back. Your boot cannot slip through the stirrup. And they help keep your feet warm.

Even recently I was testing various manufactured self defense loads in a certain semi auto handgun, and the load that I liked the most (velocity with proven bullet design) jammed regularly. Not the other loads, just that one. I sold the gun.

^ I'm seeing a definite propensity towards semi-autos vs bolt/lever action rifles and double-action pistols. I get that semi-auto is less recoil, faster shots per second and generally more rounds per re-load which are all significant deciding factors. But I just have to ask; particularly in regard to semi-automatic pistols, do y'all ever have issues with those things jamming? I've seen that happen many times with semi-automatic pistols. With bolt action rifles, I think the spent shell has to be pulled out? I've never seen that happen with a lever action 30-30, or with a revolver (although the shells can stick sometimes on a revolver so they don't just fall out when re-loading). I definitely believe that semi-autos will jam more if they are not used very often and/or if they are not properly cleaned and oiled. I just don't know that much about that because I still have an inclination to stick with my lever action 30-30's and double action .357/38 caliber revolver. Perhaps I should carry all of the above!?

Somebody is eating good.

So, yes, answering the OP, Bigfooters are well known to get very jealous and hateful towards other BF-ers. Has been going on since the early 60's. Didn't the 4 horsemen hate each other?

I think I've only been here for about 20 years : / lol BTW, I watched that entire video with Phil Shoemaker and very much appreciate his expertise and his explanation of that event. Fascinating! Thank-you for sharing that, Huntster. 9mm, full metal jacket perhaps better in that type of situation than my 357 revolver with a jacketed hollow-point due to better penetration and much less recoil. I have to remember: Only the shots that hit their mark really matter and "Don't try to out-swim a bear."

I don't know if he's a reconstituted version of a previous pest, but I think he got a bit angry after being roundly chastised for examining a turkey hunter through his rifle scope, and he's lashing out.

If I could afford to feed the thing, I'd love to have one, too!

1) I would just tell a select few, post it on here and leave it at that. 2) Remington 7mm mag BDL when hunting, Either my rugar 357 mag or my 20 gauge turkey shotgun when hiking, because they are light weight. I rarely carry two guns with me. It's either a long gun OR a pistol. I have taken deer, elk, bear, mt. lion and coyotes with the 7mag. These Roosevelt's elk that live in the coastal rain forests of Oregon, my back yard literally, weight about a third more than the American (Rocky Mountain) elk. They can go over 1000 pounds. No problem for the 7mm mag.

This is an interesting exercise - seeing as how mis-identification is usually the armchair skeptic's go-to hand-wave of choice. How realistic is it to have an encounter - to the extent that you choose to go all out and make a report about it - and never realize you were looking at a bear or a moose or some hard-core outdoorsy dude in a ghillie? I've seen reports of 45 minute continuous Bigfoot sightings by naturalists in broad daylight, or vehicles being attacked by these creatures for a number of hours with terrified occupants inside. I'm trying to get my head around how likely mis-identifications of Bigfoot actually are, given the lofty position this 'explanation' always occupies on the list.

I always have my recon bag with me. Housed within is a 1911 I converted to .460 Rowland and also a clamshell grip that gives you a picatinny rail. I have a stream light, light and laser combo. I haven’t been shooting big rifles and shotguns because of my shoulder. But I have a guide gun and a 870 pump with extended mag I would carry as a primary in Bear country.

^Yep, chiggers, ticks and other human predators (I won't say the M word (mosquitos), are no fun at all! They are very dangerous. And, I get the desire for defense against predators, completely. Gracie also got ticks and I have been extracting those and spraying alcohol on her for days (she hates it). I read that if you find the ticks and remove them within 2-3 days that limits their disease transmission.. Anyway, this makes me think of two potential new BFF topics: 1.) If you saw a Sasquatch(es), close to 100% positive ID, what lengths would you go to, if any, to convince others that they exist? and, 2.) What arms are your minimum to carry under different circumstances? In the woods and in the big bad city, I feel better carrying at least a 3-inch folding knife because, I am convinced that 'Big Foot' (and other more dangerous monsters) are absolutely real.

It's happened to me too. I put up my binos and right in the glass is a scope pointed at me. Meaning the barrel of a loaded gun was a trigger bump away from killing me. We had a talk.

Ooopsy deadsy………

I agree.

Nope. In my experience on the BFF, most participants here actually welcome the Sasquatch doubters. That is of course, the doubters who are willing to participate in honest discussions without trolling and without pretending to know things which are unknown. "It's not about believing BF exists or not, I know the answer to that." - MIB That is good for you and for the very few others who have had multiple, unmistakable encounters, MIB. I wish I could say the same thing (i think ), although many witnesses have indicated that 'knowing' is both a blessing and a curse. To most of us, as things stand, it is absolutely a matter of believing, or not believing. That is all we have because, as you know, there is no iron-clad Scientific proof that they exist. If that were not the case then, denying their existence would only be for the realm of those who simply deny as sort of a way of life, much like those who think that we never walked on the moon, etc. etc. etc. lol

Forgive me, I am a scientist by nature. If you need to show me the door, go ahead (but be polite, please, that is scientifically appropriate). Sasquatch is just as likely to exist as s/he or they are not likely to exist. What tips my mind in the direction of likely is that people I trust (with my own life and the life of my family members) have had direct sightings. They have no reason to lie about what they saw, they are not attention-seeking. Instead, they whisper, with goosebump-covered arms, periodically cranking their neck in a backwards direction as they talk about what they saw. They are forever impacted. I believe that reaction is real, and believe that it is not sensationalized or manufactured. I've tried (again, I am trained as a scientist) to manufacture goosebumps. My attempts were laughable. Could someone better/smarter/faster than me do that? Sure. I am confident that the people I am speaking of are not capable of that. (For pete's sake they can't make a decent gin and tonic, and all it takes to do that is gin and, well, tonic.) So, I started my own sasquatch journey as a skeptic, intrigued by all sorts of stories I had read (way back to my Scholastic book orders in elementary school). I drift into the believer category based on the experience of individuals I hold in very high regard. @Patterson-Gimlin, you are a scientist as well. I totally understand and respect the consistency of the position you have long taken (and the good humor you demonstrate when people around here kindly poke at you). I appreciate you raising this topic. I also recognize that when a family member has an experience, it is not all that dissimilar to what I have described here. I haven't seen this creature with my own eyes. But I have heard numerous times from trusted friends about what they saw, and the details they repeat to me over years are way more consistent than any lab notebook notes I compiled during my graduate student years. So....in spite of my statement that the scientific likelihood of sasquatch existing is a 50/50 proposition, I can't discount the details I have heard from people I trust. Sometimes that makes me feel like my brain is going to explode because it just doesn't make logical sense. But...it doesn't NOT make logical sense either.

Welcome Jetboil , king88kayo & Old Sasq !