G2SS vs. "Be Prepared"

[NJCubScouter]

Muckraker says:

 

That's easy to say for someone from New Jersy, there being no "feral dogs" in or around New Jersy forests.

 

If you say so. I have never seen or heard of any wild dog packs in New Jersey, but I don't know why there necessarily wouldn't be. There are still enough secluded forest areas for them to hang out in the northwest part of the state (basically the same place the black bears are.)

 

Sure there are plenty of bears and enraged turkeys and rabid raccoons, but feral dogs certainly are something different. Bears usually only disturb campers when they smell food, and they live a good distance from the camps.

 

Yeah? Remind me sometime to tell you the story of arriving on a Friday evening at a district Cub Scout camping weekend, to find a very large black bear right in the middle of camp. I don't know where its home was, and I suspect it had gotten used to the fact that for at least the past week, nobody had been around, so this was a good place to snack on whatever it could find. Probably the families who had used the camp the previous weekend had left the odd scrap here and there. The bear in fact had no desire to be in our vicinity, and after watching us watching him across the vacant parade field for a few minutes, began ambling off to quieter pastures. Needless to say, extra precautions were taken that weekend to make sure nothing tasty was accessible to the bear(s). But for the adults and boys who were there, I'd say a big black bear is considered something "different" as well.

 

This is not the only time I have seen a black bear in northwest New Jersey, but it is the only time I have not been in a vehicle at the time. I did have the experience of driving along and seeing what turned out to be Mommy Bear and her cub standing in the middle of the road ahead, and fortunately she got the hint that the middle of the road was not the place to be, sufficiently ahead of the arrival of my now-slow-going vehicle. Maybe this is an everyday experience in some states, but it is not something that happened much in New Jersey until fairly recently.

 

As for wild turkeys, enraged or otherwise, my car did have a close encounter with one once. It suddenly appeared right in front of me. Neither my car (a minivan at the time) nor the turkey emerged unscathed, though my car could be repaired, and while the turkey was able to leave the scene, I suspect that it was injured beyond repair, unfortunately. The same was true in my one direct encounter with a deer, while I did have some damage, the deer was the definite loser in that contest, and after getting up and stumbling away, I doubt it got very far.

 

As for handguns, the person who started this thread mentioned police officers being able to carry them. It happens that 2 of my fellow Troop Committee members are police officers, and although I have seen them at countless meetings and several weekend camping trips, and each has been to summer camp at least once with my son, to my knowledge they have never had their weapon with them at any Scouting function. While I would understand if they felt the need to be armed at all times (and I believe they are permitted to be), I am happy that they apparently do not, at Scouting events.

[hops_scout]

"It happens that 2 of my fellow Troop Committee members are police officers, and although I have seen them at countless meetings and several weekend camping trips, and each has been to summer camp at least once with my son, to my knowledge they have never had their weapon with them at any Scouting function. While I would understand if they felt the need to be armed at all times (and I believe they are permitted to be), I am happy that they apparently do not, at Scouting events."

 

That may have something to do with the fact that I believe they most likely carry concealed when not on duty. Some even carry concealed as a backup.

[Fat Old Guy]

We have a couple cops involved with my troop and they are usually armed unless we're going into a jurisdiction where their badges don't carry any weight. Most don't know that they are packin' heat but I do.

[fotoscout]

Firearms are not the answer here. This is a task for your local Animal Control / Wildlife Officers / Fish and Game Warden. If there is a real threat to the staff and campers, then some action must be taken immediately. Your Council has not provided a safe environment if these wild animals present a real hazard to the staff and campers.

 

We have time tested precautions for camping in Bear country, and other prudent measures when camping with raccoons or skunks or any of the other critters that are normally encountered. I would think that there are similar prudent measures to employ when camping with feral dogs in the area. If not, you should get on the phone ASAP and have something done about it.

 

Of course if you really insist on using a firearm, pause for a minute and think about this.. The dogs will attack as a pack. Theyll jump you before you can get off maybe one or two shots. Then as the dogs are tearing away at you, your hand will begin to experience involuntary spasms causing you to unload more rounds. Those rounds may hit a dog, but most likely they will hit a fellow Scout or Scouter. At least youll have company in the hospital emergency room.