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Remember never go Armed into the wild for our black bears never hurt People..Only a fool goes unprepared where he is not on top of the food chain..The National parks and our National Resources Police would rather this child die than have hikers able to defend themselves in the wild..More Madness of the ECO nuts and tree huggers who have gained control in too many of our government agencies.

Guns are legal in the NF to bad more people don't carry. But a lot of people have brought into the idea that guns are bad and bears are nice.

I am sure the mother wished now she would have been armed and knew how to shoot.

Any gun is better then your fists.

We live with bears up here and often see them while hiking. Sometimes they come by for a visit and drink from our pond and go on their way.

Arming yourself is a good thing to do, but carrying a portable radio is another alternative as it alerts the bears to your presence and allows them time to get out of the area.

Most attacks happen when bears are surprised or a female has cubs and you get too close.

Nothing more vicious than a mama bear with babies!

"Remember never go Armed into the wild for our black bears never hurt People..Only a fool goes unprepared where he is not on top of the food chain.."

I totally disagree. There are certain thing you do and not do while in areas that are inhabited with bears. Sadly most people are not trained or do not follow the rules. Never feed bears. Keep all food in bear bags suspended between trees. Never keep food in tents. Have your tents placed well away from eating areas and bear bags. Never approach a bear no matter how cute. Do not make any sudden moves around them. And finally depending on the type of bear your actions could save your life in event of attack. Some you lay down and play dead others you fight like your life depended on it. Guns are a poor choice. Make a bad shot and wound it you probably just sealed your fate.

We used to haul our horses to the Cherokee National Forest to ride the mountain trails and roads. I always carried my pistol in a holster attached to the saddle horn. One day I became separated from the rest of the family and encountered a jeep full of rowdy drunks. They considered harrassing me until they saw the pistol on the saddle. They left. Well, along came a park ranger. He was concerned that I was that far back in the mountains on horseback alone. I explained that the rest of the family was up there somewhere and he noticed the pistol. He didn't say a word about it but his face changed. He wished me a nice day and told me to try to catch up to the rest. He never mentioned the gun. I guess he figured a female alone on horseback in the mountains needed all the help she could get. LOL I often rode alone and ALWAYS carried the gun and a self-defense knife strapped to my leg, inside my pants leg. I didn't have a carry permit at that time but TN is usually pretty cool when it comes to self-defense, especially when it's a woman alone. They use a little common sense. I have had a permit for five years and always carry when I'm alone.

I grew up in these mountains and personally it's not the wildlife such as bears that worry me. All that I've ever encountered, with the exception of wild hogs, were very shy. It's the two-legged predators that I worry most about.