I had some trouble with feral dogs in Oregon when I was kid. Ran into a pack in the hills west of Portland while on a "road run" for cross-country. From that time on, I carried a sawed off shovel handle on my runs. I suppose it was hickory. In any case, it was light, and stout. I noticed that no dogs ever bothered me when I carried the "staff". (Dogs aren't stupid). Most people aren't, either.
Wouldn't do much good against a gun, I suppose, but I suspect most "under achievers" are looking for folks who appear to be easy marks. There's something about a guy with a stout stick that says, "I'm NOT an easy mark, pal." It's legal and psychologically effective. Maybe old Teddy Roosevelt wasn't so far off, eh? (Of course, given my druthers, I'd still rather carry my Sig P220.
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