my wife and i hike alot . we have seen bears at a distance so we did not feel alarmed so much. snakes are another threat if you don't see them at a distance. those are what worried us the most. hiking we never had any very  close calls. but while blackpowder hunting twice i came face to face with a bear and it is very hard to remain calm when this happens. i have no desire to kill a bear whether they are in season or not! blackpowder hunting you were not allowed to have a sidearm of anykind before and a knife just doesn't settle my nerves much either. like i said before, having the shakes with a bear so close and only having one shot-well that did not make me feel any better! i am in my mid forties so i don't think i am goin to outrun any bear. because i use a doe and fawn bleat that might be what draws the bear also. my friend has had coyotes do this. not one but a pack he said. this is why i applied for a concealed weapon permitt. 

i live in the beautiful shenandoah valley in virginia. skyline drive is close and in years past there have been hikers who were killed and not found for quite some time. it is sad that people can be so evil in their ways. this also is another reason i applied. not to mention the mugings and attacks that now are in our area. everyone thought we were safe from this since we were away from d.c.   NOT ANY MORE!

for good law abiding citizens this was a great thing to happen for us to be able to protect ourselves if needed.

GOD BLESS AMERICA--------CHRIS,SHERRY AND JESSE HEISHMAN