Guns Blazing

Topics like sexual harassment, CPR, and workplace safety are standard fare for employees undergoing new hire training all over the United States. Shotgun training is a section of the new hire orientation that, while perhaps not unique to, is indicative of Alaska.

The Kenai Peninsula is bear country. As our bear safety instructor explained to a woman who had just had her grocery cart knocked over by a bear charging through parked cars, "Even the K-mart parking lot in downtown Soldotna is bear country." Because many of our worksites are further from help than the K-mart in Soldotna we are required to be familiar, if not proficient, with firing a two inch slug from the 12 gauge shotgun our crews are required to carry in the backcountry.

To become proficient we are asked to hit a target three times from thirty yards. Then hit three targets, once each, at 25 yards, 20 yards and 15 yards. The last test is a bear-shaped target mounted on a sled and dragged towards you simulating a bear charge. A hit in the "golden triangle", the area between the two eyes and nose of the bear, is considered enough to stop the charge. If you look at the target below you won't worry much about Martha. The hole in each eye and nose are hers from the same three shot sequence. Not bad for a flatlander who doesn't own a gun.