Response and reply to my WDFW letter (new email)

[bearhunter59]

I'm all for letting you arrow-flickers and smokepolers carry a handgun during your respective season.  And I'm all for any one of you that gets caught using that to dispatch your wounded game getting your hunting license revoked for life. 

I find it interesting that you guys choose to go out there with a bow and arrow, and then claim..."Oh, I need my handgun to protect myself."  Pretty weak argument in my opinion.  You chose to go out there with a bow and arrow.  If your that worried about your "safety", then maybe you should stay home or take up modern firearm season.

Whiners..whiners...whiners...Looks like that is all this board is turning into....now I know why I don't check it out much anymore...

[Machias]

"And I'm all for any one of you that gets caught using that to dispatch your wounded game getting your hunting license revoked for life."  We are in agreement here.


Don't let the internet door hit your ass on the way out.   

[Kain]

Calling people whiners and assuming we are all law breakers, I would be glad to see you go also.   The right to carry for protection is for everyone at any time.  It isnt that we feel less safe while in the wood archery hunting it is that we should have just as much right to protect ourselves while we are hunting as any other time or any other group that is allowed to.  I believe this is why they changed the rule in the first place and I am happy they did.  I just dont like that they added the CPL requirement last minute and I believe it is in contradiction to the constitution and state law.
 

"And I'm all for any one of you that gets caught using that to dispatch your wounded game getting your hunting license revoked for life. "

I would be all for punishing this the same as any poacher out there.  I just dont think requiring a CPL is gonna do anything to prevent the law breakers from breaking the law.

[KillBilly]

This is amazing to me... I have never carried concealed or in open while Archery Hunting and have never feared for my safety or life once. What has you all so scared? The probabilities of you actually needing a pistol versus actually getting one into action soon enough to protect yourself are slim. In most cases you will never see it coming...

I'm not scared, there are no bogey men in my closets.....

[JoshT]

Chances of you needing a fire extinguisher are pretty slim too... yet I have one of those loaded in my kitchen and bedroom, you probably do too. I can draw my pistol and fire three shots in under 2 seconds... that's faster than an average man can cover 20 feet... I know, because I practice it... daily. I'm not scared of violence... I'm prepared to fend it off... always. I run into some shady characters in the woods every year... particularly when I'm hunting closer to a populated area. I've run across both meth lab dumps and grow opperations... you think these things are on the decrease?

I always have a pistol on my hip... I refuse to be a victim... I rufuse to allow my family to be victims... I refuse to let my countrymen be victims... I am part of a 'well armed militia'... that is my right and responsibility as an American.

[KillBilly]

Chances of you needing a fire extinguisher are pretty slim too... yet I have one of those loaded in my kitchen and bedroom, you probably do too. I can draw my pistol and fire three shots in under 2 seconds... that's faster than an average man can cover 20 feet... I know, because I practice it... daily. I'm not scared of violence... I'm prepared to fend it off... always. I run into some shady characters in the woods every year... particularly when I'm hunting closer to a populated area. I've run across both meth lab dumps and grow opperations... you think these things are on the decrease?

I always have a pistol on my hip... I refuse to be a victim... I rufuse to allow my family to be victims... I refuse to let my countrymen be victims... I am part of a 'well armed militia'... that is my right and responsibility as an American.

And I am skilled enough to accomplish the same with my bow. The difference must be confidence levels.

[JoshT]

I'll bet you a dozen arrows you can't draw your bow and fire 3 shots in two seconds... and I bet none of those shots would stop a crackhead with bad intentions brfore he could inflict some serious damage...

[Machias]

This is amazing to me... I have never carried concealed or in open while Archery Hunting and have never feared for my safety or life once. What has you all so scared? The probabilities of you actually needing a pistol versus actually getting one into action soon enough to protect yourself are slim. In most cases you will never see it coming...

I'm not scared, there are no bogey men in my closets.....

Ok one last time.  Killbilly what do you carry in your pack when you go hunting?  Do you take any firestarter?  Purification tablets?  First Aid kit, Map and Compass? Knife?  Cord?  Signal Mirror? Whistle? No?  Then your being reckless.  Yes?  Why?  Because they are part of a survival pack, things/tools you probably don't need but might.  That is all a sidearm is, another piece of survival gear you probably will never need, but the one time you do and it's in your truck or back home won't do you much good.  It has NOTHING to do with being scared and everything to do with being prepared.  I carried a sidearm for 20 years, every single day I worked.  Never used it once, but I would not have climbed into a patrol car without it.  Do you think every cop going to work is scared?  No they are being prepared.  Why does it bother you so much if I choose to carry one?  I'm not requiring you to carry one, your more then welcome to be a victim whenever you want.

[Kain]

So if your an archery hunter and you want to carry a sidearm like everyone else is able to you are scared and have no confidence in your archery skill?

I guess you are probably right about that.  I guess I am just not as Rambo as you are.  I dont want to have to protect myself and my family with a hunting knife and a bow. 

I think about the "what ifs".  Call me scared or paranoid if you want but I like to be prepared.  There is an elementary school right across the street from my house.  It has a great big sign that says "Drug and weapon free zone".  Now to me that is just a great big target sign for anyone that might be looking to do something bad.  My point about people under 21 not being able to carry is the same thing.  You are just telling any criminally minded person that that person has no way of protecting himself.  Well other than a bow, and if you are KillBilly that is enough, but for the rest of us mortals we might want a little more firepower, IF we ever need it.

[KillBilly]

In all my years of hunting I have always carried the things I might need. I have never carried a handgun on a Bow hunt yet. I don't expect to need one and am not going to start now. I don't run into any of the types of people you describe where I hunt. Being in law enforcement is not in the same category as hunting. If Thought I might have to arrest a deer or bear, I might carry but what the heck, that's not what this about. Back when I hunted with a handgun as my primary modern weapon I thought it would be cool to carry both... shoot a bear if I se one and kill a deer of elk with my bow. But it wasn't legal back then. I usually have a hangun in my vehicle but is not for any specific reason and it usually is concealed and I couldn't get to it easily most of the time. I still don't feel like it is necesary for me to carry while bow hunting. That is my opinion.

[Kain]

I can respect you not wanting to or feeling the need to carry.  I have never carried while archery hunting either because it was illegal.  Im 33 and have never been in a situation where I needed to protect myself with a gun.  I hope none of us ever needs to use one either.  But like they say "its better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it".  I am very happy that the WDFW changed the rule allowing us to now carry.  I just have a problem with them being able to make rules for two groups of hunters that makes them give up their rights and circumvents the state law that allows the exception for needing a CPL by requiring a CPL.

I dont see how this is whining or being scared but I have trouble looking at things from a different point of view. 

[Machias]

Killbilly, you keep making statements to degrad or make fun of someone who would like to carry a sidearm.  Why?  I"M NOT TELLING YOU, YOU HAVE TO CARRY.  Your a tough guy, great, why does it bother you if I want to carry?  Why does it make one single bit of difference if I want to carry a sidearm, for WHATEVER my reasons are?  It has nothing to do with being scared, has nothing to do with confidence level, sheesh when you make snid little comments like that...     You have a sidearm in your truck, Why?  Do you have one at home, Why? Is it because you may need to defend your person or property? I mean your line of thinking and reasoning why do you even have a sidearm?  90% of Americans have never had a home invasion, but they still have the right to protect themselves and in my mind should have that capability available to them.  Your reasoning about well I couldn't even get to it to use it if I need to cracks me up, you sound like all the other anti-gun nuts out there that arugue against the 2nd Amendment. They are always saying folks can't even get to their weapons in the house so why have them.  There is a bunch of reasons that it makes sense to carry one IF YOU WANT TO.  Can't think of a single reason why you shouldn't be allowed to, if you know of some reasons please enlighten us.

[Kain]

Must be something in the air lately.  Just lots of arguing going on everywhere. 

MH vs regular hunters.  Archery hunters wanting the same right to protect themselves from threats unknown and people that just think they are whiny babies that are scared of the boogeyman.    

I am asking everyone to just take a deep breath and try to use common courtesy with each other.  I honestly dont understand how this went from having a problem with a CPL clause to a debate about if people even need guns for protection.

I used to sell security systems.  The number one group of people that bought systems were those who had just been robbed.  Makes no sense to me.  Everyone think it will never happen to them until it does.  People think that the country is safe then a group of terrorist drive planes into some buildings.  Eight years later people are already thinking we are safe again.  Oh well. 

The world is not the same as it was 30 years ago and it isnt for the better IMHO.

[KillBilly]

Killbilly, you keep making statements to degrad or make fun of someone who would like to carry a sidearm.  Why?  I"M NOT TELLING YOU, YOU HAVE TO CARRY.  Your a tough guy, great, why does it bother you if I want to carry?  Why does it make one single bit of difference if I want to carry a sidearm, for WHATEVER my reasons are?  It has nothing to do with being scared, has nothing to do with confidence level, sheesh when you make snid little comments like that...     You have a sidearm in your truck, Why?  Do you have one at home, Why? Is it because you may need to defend your person or property? I mean your line of thinking and reasoning why do you even have a sidearm?  90% of Americans have never had a home invasion, but they still have the right to protect themselves and in my mind should have that capability available to them.  Your reasoning about well I couldn't even get to it to use it if I need to cracks me up, you sound like all the other anti-gun nuts out there that arugue against the 2nd Amendment. They are always saying folks can't even get to their weapons in the house so why have them.  There is a bunch of reasons that it makes sense to carry one IF YOU WANT TO.  Can't think of a single reason why you shouldn't be allowed to, if you know of some reasons please enlighten us.

Fred, I am not trying to degrade anyone seriously... I just stated that I don't understand the need for it or the recent concern for protection. It wasn't there 20 years ago and I still do not personally feel threatened. No degradation intended.. sorry if it came off that way.

[Machias]

It's funny Montana, Idaho, Alaska their muzzleloaders and archers have always had the option of carrying a sidearm.  No problem.  I guess they are all just scared and their confidence levels are low.