Grin And Bear It

Let’s see if we’ve got this straight. After months of consideration, which followed months of meetings and collecting public comment, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Park Service reached what many believe was a pre-determined decision to “reintroduce” grizzly bears to the North Cascades of Washington State.

A lot of folks, primarily residents of the region, along with Evergreen State big game hunters, ranchers and others, have adamantly opposed the idea. Proponents largely don’t live in the area but tend to believe the ecosystem needs another apex predator, probably just so they can tell the relatives back east they live in “grizzly country.” The NPS revealed more than 12,000 comments were received as part of this process.

So, I did a little unscientific research via social media about this announcement, which came about one month ago. One inquiry to a contact very close to the situation, and who will remain anonymous, confirmed the NPS and FWS can legally do this, even if local residents think it sucks, which they do almost unanimously.

Two people simply remarked, “.45-70,” while others mentioned the .44 Magnum, 10mm, and even the .45 ACP, and one guy plans to dust off his .500 S&W Magnum if heading into the region. Pretty easy to see how they think this will turn out. The plan calls for a slow release of “three to seven grizzly bears per year for a period of five to 10 years to establish an initial population of 25 bears” from the Rockies or British Columbia interior.

This looks more like a political move to appease a certain voting bloc rather than a scientific and practical one. The concern among hunters is that they may eventually be booted out of the management scheme because they equate to competition for existing mule deer herds and other big game species, which are prey to grizzlies. It’s an election year, and the administration wants its faithful to vote, so they’re being tossed an incentive. “Save the Bears!”

Ranchers and hunters (gun owners) generally vote for conservatives, while bear advocates typically go in the other direction politically. To change the philosophy at the agencies, the leadership needs to change. The opportunity for such a change is coming in November.

What About Court?

This situation seems fertile for a federal lawsuit, maybe several. For the past quarter-century, I’ve had the opportunity to see up close how federal civil lawsuits work and based on how the courts have handled gun rights cases lately, a lot of attorneys are going to be busy with bears.

There will be the initial complaints followed by response briefs. Expect some environmental groups to request intervention as defendants. Then will come the response briefs from the plaintiffs. If a court rejects a lawsuit, plaintiffs will appeal, and if the appeals court reverses and remands, we’ll be looking at more court time, even before a trial. Depending upon how such a lawsuit goes, the losing side will invariably appeal. By that time, we’ll be talking about a couple of years and maybe a half-million dollars in legal expenses.

Take a lesson from gun rights litigation. There are two cases challenging bans on so-called “assault weapons,” one in Illinois, known as Harrel v. Raoul, and the other in Maryland, known as Bianchi v. Frosh, both involving the Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition. The Maryland case also involves the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the Illinois case involves the Illinois State Rifle Association. There are other assorted plaintiffs in these legal actions.

As this was being written, the Supreme Court actually distributed both cases, along with three others in Illinois, for a mid-May conference. All five cases involved semi-auto and magazine bans. By now, hopefully, the court will have decided to grant some or all of them certiorari. If all five are in the mix, they will likely be consolidated. A pro-rights ruling, probably sometime next year, would make the gun ban lobby simply crazy.

“We’re encouraged that these five cases, all essentially dealing with the same issue in two different federal court circuits, were distributed for Supreme Court conference at the same time,” SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb said in a press release at the time.

He was hoping this was a signal the high court is ready to move forward and make it official that semi-auto modern sporting rifles are protected by the Second Amendment and cannot be banned.

“These firearms are owned by millions of peaceable citizens, and because they are in common use, they certainly qualify for Second Amendment protection,” Gottlieb said.

These cases have been going on for a while, The Maryland case has been in the works for at least three years. Note: Three of the six conservative justices were appointed by former President Donald Trump. Elections matter.

So, if a bear case is filed, it could take considerable time before a ruling comes. Just sayin’.

There’s Always More

While all of this has been going on, a U.S. District Court ruling in Pennsylvania last month in a case known as Lara v. Evanchick resulted in a significant victory for young adults.

District Judge William S. Stickman, a Donald Trump appointee (presidents nominate all federal judges), enjoined the state from enforcing the state law prohibiting 18-20-year-olds from applying for concealed carry licenses and also from prohibiting young adults in that age group from open carrying firearms during states of declared emergency in the Keystone State.

Is that the end of it? Oh, no, it was just the first round. There will likely be more court at the appellate level before this issue gets resolved. That’s how these things work, and sometimes they drag for years because — in theory, anyway — liberal appeals court judges want to delay rulings because if they adhere to the Constitution and the high court’s guidelines set down in the 2022 Bruen ruling, there is only one way they can rule, and it would favor the Second Amendment.

So, liberal presidents nominate liberal judges and conservative presidents nominate conservative judges, you got that? For example, a federal judge in California ruled last year that the state’s ban on original capacity magazines is unconstitutional. Judge Roger T. Benitez is a George W. Bush appointee. The state appealed, and the case at this writing was in the appeals process.

Crazy, Right?

Back to the grizzly bear problem, because it represents yet another effort by the current administration to please their friends at the expense of their foes.

Years ago, Washington banned hound hunting for mountain lions. A few years ago, a big cat killed a mountain biker a few miles from my home. More recently, another feline attacked and seriously injured another mountain biker, again just a few miles from my front door.

Predator protectors won’t tolerate suggestions to restore more aggressive hunting of mountain lions, and while Washington’s wolf population has grown by some 20%, instead of delisting the animals and allowing some hunting, wolf advocates refuse to budge.

So, we’re back to people talking about packing guns on the trail when, a few years ago, they might not have considered it. Guys like me have always had hardware along when we travel off the pavement. Now that the traditional “summer season” is officially opened in the wake of the Memorial Day weekend, we may see even more folks at least carrying sidearms, and the grizzlies aren’t even here yet.

Speaking of Thompson/Center, the legendary company was recently acquired by a team led by Gregg Ritz, and it was received as good news by fans of T/C firearms.

My own adventures with T/C involve black powder guns. In my younger years, I hunted Washington elk with a T/C Hawken Custom, with all blue furniture from the butt plate to the muzzle. It’s a .50-caliber with adjustable sights and double-set triggers, and it shoots a patched round ball or conical bullet ahead of black powder or Pyrodex rather nicely. I’ll have to break it out now that the weather is improving and make some blue smoke.

According to a news release discussing the acquisition, Ritz said the company will honor the past while looking to the future.

I’ve also had some great times shooting both Contender and Encore single-shot pistols in assorted calibers. A new product line will reportedly be announced in 2025.

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