I should have included the fact that guns allow you to go places a person probably shouldn't go without protection. I've been in very remote places at night by myself and you just never know who or what you'll run into. One thing though. I would have never gone to those places without a firearm or two with me. I usually had my Sig P220 with me in those days and I never felt like I was undergunned. I didn't worry too much about bears or mountain lions or bobcats even though all were a possibility. But 2 legged skunks can show up anywhere. I've passed through groups of hunters standing in the middle of a trail giving me the evil eye. I got 10 feet off federal land and had a compound bow pointed at my back because I was looking for a place to turn around instead of backing up half a mile. I've cruised through the middle of a pot field so big it didn't even look like pot. It was 18 feet tall. I've rode past where meth cooks had been with their mobile setups just a short time after they had left. I was cornered on a trail by 3 men who were armed with knives on their side and were very aggressive even after I told them I had permission to ride there. They still threatened me. Just lucky for them they didn't take if further. I could have needed a gun in any of those situations. People can be downright mean. I also rode right through the middle of a pack of feral dobermans, a mother and fully grown pups that were half starved and mean. The ATV saved me that day but it could have required a substantial amount of solid work with my pistol. Practice matters. Guns matter.
I've been in other situations where I didn't have my gun too. I had a bear shadow me for 100 yards because the tourists had been feeding them no doubt. It stayed just out of sight behind some thick brush but it go so close I could smell it. I didn't have my gun because it was a state park and guns were prohibited. I left that park as soon as I could make it back off that trail. Guns matter.
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