Just for you chuck.

Mother and one year son killed by polar bear.wo days after a polar bear killed a 24-year-old woman and her year-old son in the Bering Strait village of Wales, community members continued to grieve as questions linger over what may have contributed to the fatal mauling.

Summer Myomick was leaving the Kingikmiut School in Wales with her young son, heading to the village clinic Tuesday afternoon in whiteout conditions with poor visibility, when the polar bear attacked, Alaska State Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said.


https://www.adn.com/alaska-new...a-community-reeling/

Didn't know they had polar bears in Wales.

Grizz

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams1:
Didn't know they had polar bears in Wales.

Grizz

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Just for you chuck.

Mother and one year son killed by polar bear.wo days after a polar bear killed a 24-year-old woman and her year-old son in the Bering Strait village of Wales, community members continued to grieve as questions linger over what may have contributed to the fatal mauling.

Summer Myomick was leaving the Kingikmiut School in Wales with her young son, heading to the village clinic Tuesday afternoon in whiteout conditions with poor visibility, when the polar bear attacked, Alaska State Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said.


https://www.adn.com/alaska-new...a-community-reeling/

Very sad. Polar bears and crocodiles both scare the hell out of me. Don't know why but I find grizzlies and black bears less so, probably irrational as hell.

Traumatic article with a very sad ending.

PDS:
Ra that late last night,early this morning.
Wanted to make sure you knew about it, I see you did.

This Wales, is a small village along the Artic Circle. This 24 years old lady and 1 yr old boy had been staying in the school while repairs were being done on their house. She went out in a hard Blizzard and met up with this bear. All very likely known from the article.

George

The title says it.

Wales AK.

Maybe some thought it was UK can not help that some people have a hard time with reading comprehension.

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Just for you chuck.

Mother and one year son killed by polar bear.wo days after a polar bear killed a 24-year-old woman and her year-old son in the Bering Strait village of Wales, community members continued to grieve as questions linger over what may have contributed to the fatal mauling.

Summer Myomick was leaving the Kingikmiut School in Wales with her young son, heading to the village clinic Tuesday afternoon in whiteout conditions with poor visibility, when the polar bear attacked, Alaska State Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said.


https://www.adn.com/alaska-new...a-community-reeling/

Very sad. Polar bears and crocodiles both scare the hell out of me. Don't know why but I find grizzlies and black bears less so, probably irrational as hell.

What scares me the most? Chimps and stray dogs. And of course 2 legged, upright hairless vermin.

Chuck, your fear of polar bears are not at all unreasonable. I worked in the Proudhoe Bay oilfield for many years and polar bear are treated very different than arctic grizzly up there. Polar bear are the apex predator in the arctic that sees anything that moves as potential food.
Boy could I tell you some stories over a few beers.

Well I'd love to do that. Haven't been to SCI since the last one in Reno. If you're ever in Colorado we could go out and shoot my 500 Jeffery too!

The government protects dangerous predators and does not card about us .It's crazy Montana the grizzlies are in huntable numbers so are popat bears in Alaska. IF THEY ARE hunted they start to fear mam and will run. I saw this in Alaska with grizzlies at the dump .

One should not walk around among animals that can harm or kill you, whether they be two or four legged, without a firearm sufficient for self-protection under the circumstances.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
One should not walk around among animals that can harm or kill you, whether they be two or four legged, without a firearm sufficient for self-protection under the circumstances.

Spoken like a person living with the circumstance of not always walking among animals that can harm of kill you and also living with the luxury of possession sufficient firearms.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
One should not walk around among animals that can harm or kill you, whether they be two or four legged, without a firearm sufficient for self-protection under the circumstances.

Spoken like a person living with the circumstance of not always walking among animals that can harm of kill you and also living with the luxury of possession sufficient firearms.

I suppose.

Certainly not always.

Sometimes, however.

Unprepared or stupid dies.

Don't be that way.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
One should not walk around among animals that can harm or kill you, whether they be two or four legged, without a firearm sufficient for self-protection under the circumstances.

Spoken like a person living with the circumstance of not always walking among animals that can harm of kill you and also living with the luxury of possession sufficient firearms.

I suppose.

Certainly not always.

Sometimes, however.

Unprepared or stupid dies.

Don't be that way.

One can always find a reason or excuse for ones actions.

Carrying a self-defense tool falls into that category.

When it comes to carrying a self-defense firearm and you don't want to. Or you decide that you don't want others doing so.


It seems people go out of their way to convince themselves and others not to.

So they don't feel bad about not doing so.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
One should not walk around among animals that can harm or kill you, whether they be two or four legged, without a firearm sufficient for self-protection under the circumstances.

Spoken like a person living with the circumstance of not always walking among animals that can harm of kill you and also living with the luxury of possession sufficient firearms.

I suppose.

Certainly not always.

Sometimes, however.

Unprepared or stupid dies.

Don't be that way.

One can always find a reason or excuse for ones actions.

Carrying a self-defense tool falls into that category.

When it comes to carrying a self-defense firearm and you don't want to. Or you decide that you don't want others doing so.


It seems people go out of their way to convince themselves and others not to.

So they don't feel bad about not doing so.

You not a clue what it's like to be a low income young mother walking between buildings carrying a one year old son in an above the Arctic Circle white out blizzard.
You look like an idiot telling us you know anything about Arctic Circle Alaska in January.

Quick with the name-calling, aren't we?

To suggest that we have no sympathy or feeling for a woman and child killed under these circumstances is way out of bounds.

I have enormous sympathy for these unfortunates, but that does not keep me from drawing a moral from this story and far too many like it.

Be prepared and be smart, or pay the consequences.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
One should not walk around among animals that can harm or kill you, whether they be two or four legged, without a firearm sufficient for self-protection under the circumstances.

Spoken like a person living with the circumstance of not always walking among animals that can harm of kill you and also living with the luxury of possession sufficient firearms.

I suppose.

Certainly not always.

Sometimes, however.

Unprepared or stupid dies.

Don't be that way.

One can always find a reason or excuse for ones actions.

Carrying a self-defense tool falls into that category.

When it comes to carrying a self-defense firearm and you don't want to. Or you decide that you don't want others doing so.


It seems people go out of their way to convince themselves and others not to.

So they don't feel bad about not doing so.

You not a clue what it's like to be a low income young mother walking between buildings carrying a one year old son in an above the Arctic Circle white out blizzard.
You look like an idiot telling us you know anything about Arctic Circle Alaska in January.

Scott

My statement has nothing to do with the mother or chelid killed by the bear any more then yours does about carrying at a wedding.

But your statement. Makes my case about people who think they should tell others they don't need to carry a side arm for self-defense.

I do know and have proven it many times handguns are very effective when defending ones self against bears.

No matter where one lives.

"whiteout" here usually is blowing snow, not fog or some other obscure. I'm sure we can verify the details, but it was likely wind to more or less 30mph, and a temp of more or less zero fahrenheit.

So with a one year old in both hands, the 20 year old mother's vision completely obscured by the wind and snow, the one year old mostly un impressed with being outside in this whiteout, what exactly does a bear defense gun have to do with anything? Why not suggest she should have had a B-1 bomber or the Hammer of Thor? Hey! She could have been chauffered by Dale Earnhardt jr in his stock car!

Nuts. I forgot that Polar bears are white! A white bear attacking two little kids in a whiteout!

I can see how having a .454 Casull strapped to her belt or clenched between her teeth would have been better.

It's just that and only that you guys assertions are the collection of the most well rounded ignorance anyone could hope to formulate

Reading the the whole thread I am not the one who brought handguns up.

As I stated before when one does not want to do something one can find any excuse to not do so.

If one is fanatic enough about it they try and convince others to do something they don't want to do.

So they do not feel bad about not doing it themselves.

Scott, on Svalbard Island Norway the government requires one to be armed. They have one of the highest population of polar bears in the world if not the most.

There have been several people saved by shooting polar bears with handguns there.

They have artic weather just as severe as any in AK.

As far as handguns are concern. They are easily use one handed.

But of course you had to bring up one of the biggest to bolster you claim about use ability.

I suggest you call Phil and ask him about smaller handguns.

When I lived in Nome I remember a man going missing in Wales. He was walking across the street from his mother's house to his in a white out, something he'd probably done thousands of times. That time he got the angle a little wrong and they found him in the spring. It is NO joke. If there is a polar bear lurking in that you are dead 1000 times out of 1000 no matter what you do. Imagine being 100% blind and deaf and getting attacked by an axe wielding professional athlete. There's zero way to defend yourself in that circumstance except to not get into it in the first place, and that's tough when that is the day to day environment you live in (the wind blasts out of the north pretty much all winter long there). Very sad.

No matter the situation no mater the scenario.

I can find a single or a couple of stories to back it up. Or I can make up an no win situation.

The facts of the matter over all is handguns are a very useful tool is one is defending themselves.

Against two or four legged predators.

As far as the person missing in winter. I wonder if alcohol was involved.

It is a huge problem with natives and has cause many to make wrong choices.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
No matter the situation no mater the scenario.

I can find a single or a couple of stories to back it up. Or I can make up an no win situation.

The facts of the matter over all is handguns are a very useful tool is one is defending themselves.

Against two or four legged predators.

As far as the person missing in winter. I wonder if alcohol was involved.

It is a huge problem with natives and has cause many to make wrong choices.

How many Polar Bears have you killed (or seen) in WI? WI don't have winter compared to the ARCTIC! People who live this for real don't need your story back up BULLSHIT!

Facts are facts.

If you don't like them provide others and prove me wrong.

Being prepared does not mean you will not die.

But it sure gives you a better chance than being unprepared.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Being prepared does not mean you will not die.

But it sure gives you a better chance than being unprepared.

Being prepared most likely means you also have a better mind set.

And a better mind set will help one survive if needed.

This is a sad situation.

I don’t know why she went out in a whiteout, but I’m sure she had a reason.

In this case, a gun, bear spray, etc. would have been useless.

Having a dog might have helped, but who knows.

She may have had to go out - get food or medical care, who knows- so I don’t see how her mindset could have necessarily been different.

Yes, you live around dangerous animals and you do tend to become complacent.

But how would a gun that you would have to carry inside your clothing or in a flap holster protect you from a contact event?

The only real choice was not to go out in those conditions or do so. Until you live there, you can’t really say what you would do.

The eskimos (probably not the correct PC term) have been living up there forever. They live as they have. I can’t attach blame to this lady or her child.

quote:

But how would a gun that you would have to carry inside your clothing or in a flap holster protect you from a contact event?

You must not have spent much time being armed in sub zero weather while armed.

Nor have practice in such conditions.

Will I have spent hundreds of days and nights working is such conditions.

The coldest temperature recorded at Wales AK was negative 40F. The coldest temperature recorded in the area I worked was a Negative 55F.

We might not have as long as winter as Wales but weeks of intense cold -30 and 40 below. in northern MN and Wis. are well documented. With some days even colder.

But then it is a well known fact a week of -35 below is colder in AK then the lower 48./s/

Whiled armed with proper gear even highly secure holsters it is not that hard to have a 1.5 to 2 second draw.

If one has the desire to do some more research on the subject one could find themselves better informed.

Sorry, I guess as a USPSA/IDPA/3 gun competitor/CCW holder/dangerous game hunter I have no clue…

A sub 2 second draw from retention with a child in your arms? Ok. Maybe on a range as a high level gun user. Interestingly, most IDPA guys on a range from concealed with a retention holster are more like 3 seconds. That’s on a range when you know within 5 seconds you are to follow your known plan… and these guys are actually better than most LEO’s.

Then again, in a white out with a white bear, I guess you have plenty of time to see the bear, decide to act, get your child out of your arms (flap holster or unzip jacket otherwise snow and ice in the gun) and then make a good shot on the attacking bear.

I’ve not hunted polar bear, but brown bear can cover 30 feet in about a second. So the bear is less than 1 second (probably) from hitting her and the kid…. Reaction time alone is greater than that.

Situational awareness is key, but this is a situation that the deck is stacked against the young lady. I can guarantee you would have not done any better with your handgun in the situation described.

I’m not anti gun or anti pistol, but it’s hardly a panacea, and your commentary leads me to think you think she caused this outcome… if only she had a pistol, this would not have happened! Bull.

If she had not gone out, maybe… but you can’t say this was preventable, we don’t know all the circumstances.

Who knows why she went out with a baby unarmed in white out conditions where a man-killing polar bear was known to be about?

One must assume she had no choice but to go outside.

But she did have a choice whether to be prepared, as best she could, or not.

It is not enough to say that, had she been prepared, say, with a proper handgun in her hand and ready in her pocket, with the proper training to use it well, she and her child may have died anyway.

Sadly, we'll never know.

Which does not change the fact that it is better to be prepared than not.

Phil Shoemaker has recently written of killing a half-crazed grizzly bear at close range with six rounds fired rapidly from a 9mm S&W semi-auto.

OF course, to be able to do that, he had to be armed with the handgun in the first place.

That is the point.

quote:

Sorry, I guess as a USPSA/IDPA/3 gun competitor/CCW holder/dangerous game hunter I have no clue

I guess we are talking qualifications.

As a IPSC,TRC,PPC, Tactical, rifle, shotgun, trap, skeet shooter competitor. a big game hunter.

Having shot bears with rifle, shotgun and handguns. Having to finish off 3 that were trying to do me harm. After they were wounded by others at inches and feet.

Law enforcement instructor holding instructor certificates in Rifle, shotgun, handgun, patrol rifle, police shotgun, police handgun. From 3 different certifying organizations. Being a certified OIC, TRO on Wis. biggest military base. So I could run, instruct and train on their ranges.

Having ran my counties 4H firearms program in air rifle, rifle, shotgun and handgun program

Being an instructor for over 4 decades.

Having been a member of my 500 plus man department firearms and use of force committee.

Having been the senior firearms in instructor at a state police academy.

In that capacity trained, certified, hundreds of law enforcement officers. Developed, taught, hundreds of training scenarios.

Some of them requiring only the use of one or the other hand to draw fire and hit a target in under a 1.5 second standard. I seen it done thousands of times from a retention holster. In the cold in the snow in the rain.

In all kinds of weather because they had to be done.

Having taught the state certified CCW course. So people could qualify for their CCW lic.

Running my own private self-defense training company.

Let along carrying handguns for self-defense for almost five decades.

Still having to shoot and pass the states law enforcement shooting standard to maintain my HR218 qualification. That allows me to carry in All 50 states.

I guess my knowledge Pales to yours.

Sorry, I guess as a USPSA/IDPA/3 gun competitor/CCW holder/dangerous game hunter I have no clue

So yes you a pretty much clueless.

Maybe she had thought about a handgun for self defense and decided against it due to small children in the household?

Self defense is a personal subject, and condemning her because she didn’t have a gun is every bit as bad as the antis not wanting you to have one.

I’m all for people having a choice, but this “you need to have a sufficiently powerful firearm to be prepared” is incorrect.

If you are unable to do what you need to for firearm safety, the odds are much more stacked in favor of gun accident/suicide than bear attack.

If you want to carry a gun for self protection, I’m all for you exercising your rights… but there are good reasons not to for some folks.

Playing Monday morning quarterback in a case where a young mother and child died seems somewhat tasteless and trying to imply “if only she had a gun…” would make a difference is wrong. Blaming her makes her family feel better how? Especially when the situation was such it is unlikely that it would have changed a thing.

The only statement I see mentioning condemnation is from you.

No one said you should be forced to carry a firearm for self-defense.

Except for the government of Svalbard Island Norway.

If you feel the need to convince people they do not have tom carry that is up to you.

I feel the need to lay out the facts that a handgun is useful for self-defense then leave up to the person to decide.

So you think you can teach everyone, every time to do that?

Geez, you are better than Barnhart, Rob Leatham, and every other instructor I’ve been with.

Can you teach some people to do it sometimes? No doubt. A select few on demand? Ok. All? You tell me.

Can I do it? Occasionally. Consistently with a race gun on a range.

Somehow I doubt you did much training in -30 F weather. Usually it gets cancelled then. I’m right on the border with you. Heck, put on the gloves that wandering around in -30 F and see how you do. Better than I? Probably.

You have impressive credentials. Too bad you don’t understand statistics and probability. I have not seen that level of consistent performance… certainly not by line cops… and I’ve shot plenty in WI, with plenty of WI LEO’s. My experience of their performance is that you are not talking day to day performance.

So I could go and have any of your trainees pulled out off the street and have them do this on demand? Your fail rate is what? If I pull the guy on court bailiff duty, he passes on spot check? 1.5 seconds weak hand from a locked holster in winter gear?

If the 1.5 second draw is pass/fail, is it done cold? You have actually seen “1000’s of times” in subzero weather? Sorry, my BS meter is pegged on that one. Have you seen it happen? Sure. So have I… on rare occasion.

Since you are such an expert… what is the average reaction time to visual data? Audible? What percentage degradation do you get in low light?

I get some training is better than none. Somehow I doubt you offer a performance guarantee.
I get having a weapon is a better chance of fighting a threat than not.

You said I have no clue.

I gave the data to show I have a clue, I may not be an expert, but I have a clue. I have done force on force training. Not as a trainer, but been there, done that. I have been shot at. I can count it only on the fingers of one hand, so lots of folks with way more than me.

I expect I have been in a potentially deadly animal encounter a lot more than you. (As in within 10 yards of a potentially dangerous animal). If I was a betting man, I’d be willing to bet more than a house payment on that.

I have been around lots of brown/grizzly bears (black bears I can’t even begin to count)…


Edit to add…. After looking at what your qualification is to maintain under HR218, you expect me to be impressed with that qualification?

Sorry, no 2.5 second draw required. Huge time allotment. Nothing further than 15 yards, with a big target…. Color me unimpressed. The hard part is to prove you were ex LEO.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

Sorry, I guess as a USPSA/IDPA/3 gun competitor/CCW holder/dangerous game hunter I have no clue

I guess we are talking qualifications.

As a IPSC,TRC,PPC, Tactical, rifle, shotgun, trap, skeet shooter competitor. a big game hunter.

Law enforcement instructor holding instructor certificates in Rifle, shotgun, handgun, patrol rifle, police shotgun, police handgun. From 3 different certifying organizations. Being a certified OIC, TRO on Wis. biggest military base. So I could run, instruct and train on their ranges.

Having ran my counties 4H firearms program in air rifle, rifle, shotgun and handgun program

Being an instructor for over 4 decades.

Having been a member of my 500 plus man department firearms and use of force committee.

Having been the senior firearms in instructor at a state police academy.

In that capacity trained, certified, hundreds of law enforcement officers. Developed, taught, hundreds of training scenarios.

Some of them requiring only the use of one or the other hand to draw fire and hit a target in under a 1.5 second standard. I seen it done thousands of times from a retention holster. In the cold in the snow in the rain.

In all kinds of weather because they had to be done.

Having taught the state certified CCW course. So people could qualify for their CCW lic.

Running my own private self-defense training company.

Let along carrying handguns for self-defense for almost five decades.

Still having to shoot and pass the states law enforcement shooting standard to maintain my HR218 qualification. That allows me to carry in All 50 states.

I guess my knowledge Pales to yours.

Sorry, I guess as a USPSA/IDPA/3 gun competitor/CCW holder/dangerous game hunter I have no clue

So yes you a pretty much clueless.

To be clear, I am condemning no one.

Neither will I assume that this woman was somehow, for some reason, unable to obtain and use the best means to protect herself and her child.

Many women these days, including women with children, acquire and learn how to use weapons and go about armed, both in the woods and on the streets.

It is indeed a personal choice, which reminds me of the old NRA saying, "Refuse to be a victim."

Some will; some won't.

The whole going on about a woman who died by bear attack because she didn’t arm herself is a condemnation. Going on about living in AK without carrying a gun when you are outside is a condemnation.

My experience in AK is that they have a lot of day to day experience with the great bears. Somehow, while complacency can be an issue, I doubt it’s ignorance of the bears that is the problem.

No doubt women can defend themselves if they want to and take advantage of their opportunities. But a gun is not a cure all, and even the best trained people can get killed.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
To be clear, I am condemning no one.

Neither will I assume that this woman was somehow, for some reason, unable to obtain and use the best means to protect herself and her child.

Many women these days, including women with children, acquire and learn how to use weapons and go about armed, both in the woods and on the streets.

It is indeed a personal choice, which reminds me of the old NRA saying, "Refuse to be a victim."

Some will; some won't.

Thanks for pointing it out. If I was perfect I wouldn't be here

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
The whole going on about a woman who died by bear attack because she didn’t arm herself is a condemnation. Going on about living in AK without carrying a gun when you are outside is a condemnation.

My experience in AK is that they have a lot of day to day experience with the great bears. Somehow, while complacency can be an issue, I doubt it’s ignorance of the bears that is the problem.

No doubt women can defend themselves if they want to and take advantage of their opportunities. But a gun is not a cure all, and even the best trained people can get killed.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
To be clear, I am condemning no one.

Neither will I assume that this woman was somehow, for some reason, unable to obtain and use the best means to protect herself and her child.

Many women these days, including women with children, acquire and learn how to use weapons and go about armed, both in the woods and on the streets.

It is indeed a personal choice, which reminds me of the old NRA saying, "Refuse to be a victim."

Some will; some won't.

There is a big difference between saying that someone deserved to die because of questionable behavior, which no one here has done, and instead simply trying to draw appropriate lessons from the incident.

The former is condemnation; the latter is simply observing and learning.

A very wise man once said, "Only fools are forced to learn from their own mistakes. Smart people learn from the mistakes of others."

And, of course, nothing is a cure-all.

But anything one can do to give himself a chance of survival is better than doing nothing at all.

quote:

But anything one can do to give himself a chance of survival is better than doing nothing at all

IE. wearing seat belt, wearing a helmet on open air vehicles, wearing a PFD when in on watercraft.

Having a fire extinguisher where needed, having a compass, knifes and matches along with other survival items. Carrying a Personal locating device.

Of course we think them as common sense.

But recommend someone carry a handgun that might have just as much chance of saving ones life.

Why does that bring out the haters.

I agree about learning an appropriate lesson.

So given that what happened occurred, where is a gun going to solve this problem?

Obviously situational awareness is the first step. We don’t know why she went out, but we do know it was cold, her hands were full with a child, it was whiteout conditions, and that polar bears are ambush hunters.

Given that, where is a gun helpful? I don’t disagree that she should have armed herself if she wanted to, but I also doubt that anyone living in rural Alaska doesn’t have access to a weapon if they feel the desire. That speaks to she likely didn’t want one.

Could a point be made she was complacent around bears? I don’t see that being factually reported. Increased education on situational awareness and the threat predators can pose is probably the most bang for the buck option.

Is the community somewhat relaxed about reporting problem bears in the village? I don’t know. That wasn’t clearly stated in the article.

Would bears be less inclined to loiter around human habitation if we were actively hunting polar bears? Maybe. Likely a more useful supposition than giving every native a pistol and some minimal gun training.

Something else? That I’d leave up to AKFG and the village. They have the information, we don’t.

It does seem whenever a bear attack comes up there is the usual chorus of “always carry a handgun in bear country!” here. It ain’t that simple.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
The whole going on about a woman who died by bear attack because she didn’t arm herself is a condemnation. Going on about living in AK without carrying a gun when you are outside is a condemnation.

My experience in AK is that they have a lot of day to day experience with the great bears. Somehow, while complacency can be an issue, I doubt it’s ignorance of the bears that is the problem.

No doubt women can defend themselves if they want to and take advantage of their opportunities. But a gun is not a cure all, and even the best trained people can get killed.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
To be clear, I am condemning no one.

Neither will I assume that this woman was somehow, for some reason, unable to obtain and use the best means to protect herself and her child.

Many women these days, including women with children, acquire and learn how to use weapons and go about armed, both in the woods and on the streets.

It is indeed a personal choice, which reminds me of the old NRA saying, "Refuse to be a victim."

Some will; some won't.

There is a big difference between saying that someone deserved to die because of questionable behavior, which no one here has done, and instead simply trying to draw appropriate lessons from the incident.

The former is condemnation; the latter is simply observing and learning.

A very wise man once said, "Only fools are forced to learn from their own mistakes. Smart people learn from the mistakes of others."

And, of course, nothing is a cure-all.

But anything one can do to give himself a chance of survival is better than doing nothing at all.