I am a rural non-gun owner

[laundry_queen]

85. My grandmother

used to garden out in the bush. She had a little VW Beetle she used to drive out there to the garden. It was far from the house, because the soil was better near the river. She also did a lot of berry picking out in the woods. She never brought a gun with her despite it being bear country. More than one occasion, she had to chase away bears by banging her metal bowls together (that she used to gather berries with). It almost always scared the bears away. One time at the garden, however, the bear kept charging her (probably because she was picking the raspberries). She realized this bear wanted to kill her and eat her. So, to save her life (keep in mind this was an 80 year old woman) she started running towards the bear, throwing the bowl full of berries in the air, screaming bloody murder, banging the metal bowls, waving her arms. The bear stopped in his tracks and thought, 'WTF? This prey is too crazy for me!" And took off in another direction. No gun needed, although I think she probably should've at least carried bear spray. Her and my grandfather HAD guns (passed down from his father), but refused to use them aside from the occasional air shot to scare away a bear from the house. Yes, their house was truly in the boonies. They always had dogs, however, and that usually kept the small animals away. I agree, no guns IS a better world.