> authoritarian government has made it very difficult to carry ANY firearm legally. That does tend to complicate things. There aren't any bear where I'm currently living, but a good friend I visit in PA has them everywhere around him. We don't carry guns to kill the bears, the crack of a pistol will almost always scare them off. Always fun going out to the kitchen, looking out on the back porch and seeing a bear sitting there staring in the window.