Kazak_Hstan posted:

Shenandoah National Park has black bears. You do not need a gun to defend yourself against black bears. You don't even need bear spray. You need to assert yourself and not be a pussy, and they will back down. You also need to store your food and other attractants properly, which will remove the reason black bears mess with camp sites in the first place.

Assuming you can carry a gun in Virginia, which I assume you can, you can legally carry a loaded, operational firearm in Shenandoah National Park. You cannot, however, use your firearm for any purpose other than defending yourself. In the extremely unlikely event you were actually attacked by a black bear and shot it in defense of life or property, we would not criminally charge you. If, however, you negligently caused the situation, for instance by improperly storing your food, or shot a bear in a situation that did not actually pose a reasonable threat to you, you will be cited for multiple offenses.

If you choose to carry a firearm you do not need something especially stout to kill a black bear. Any larger handgun round is more than sufficient, as is more or less any thirty caliber rifle. A twelve gauge shotgun loaded with slugs is a very fine bear defense option. The short range of the platform is not an issue because you should not be defensively shooting a bear at long range. Given Shenandoah is a well-visited park with lots of people around, you should also consider that high velocity rifle rounds keep going for quite a while, and one of your basic responsibilities as a firearm user is that you are responsible for what is behind your target. When I expect to deal with a problem brown bear I carry a shotgun. It is more than sufficient for any black bear you would need to deal with.

However, I advise park visitors, in both brown and black bear country, against carrying firearms in favor of bear spray. This is for several reasons. First, the research literature (see especially Stephen Herrerro's work) shows it is more effective than firearms in deterring bear attacks. Second, it does not kill the animal. As you are visiting the park, you presumably value the resource, and should try to avoid harming it if you can. Third, and this is probably a causal factor in point one, you need to be very proficient with whatever firearm you carry. When the bear charges you is a very poor time to find out whether you can shoot a tight group on a dynamic target under stress. And finally, a lot of people let their guard down in bear country when carrying a gun, because they figure they can solve any bear problem by shooting the bear. This is a good way to get sloppy, which invites problems.

Leave your gun at home. You don't need one. Keep a clean camp and observe best practices in bear country. Take bear spray if you really are worried.

Don't bring drones to national parks. They are loud and annoying to both other visitors and wildlife. They currently require a permit under superintendent's compendium in all units of the national park system. You will not be issued a permit. Drones will remain banned under compendia until we go through the rule-making process and get it into the CFR.

If you are in a hot air balloon and do not land or do anything to the park, you are under the jurisdiction of the FAA, not the National Park Service. If you shoot from your hot air balloon into the park, you will be under the jurisdiction of the national park service, and given that you are airborne in a flying contraption and highly unlikely to be imminently threatened by a black bear, that jurisdiction will probably be asserted to your disadvantage.