Well this isn’t the first time the internet has seen a prank or hoax story surface, but it is one of the first (at least that I remember) that has surfaced surrounding a pair of prominent outdoors figures.
Cameron Hanes and Joe Rogan were the subject of an article published by Associated Media Coverage (no I will not give them the decency of a link), that went on to tell the heroic story of how Joe saved his good friend Cam from an apparent bear attack.
The story goes on to say that Hanes and Rogan were hunting sheep in Alberta earlier this week and their group came upon a brown bear in a clearing. After the apparent bear charged Mr. Hanes, it was Joe Rogan’s instincts that saved his life, pulling a .44 magnum from his holster, and shooting the bear four times.
The author even went on to involve Alberta’s Environment and Parks Department, stating that the department actually investigated the incident and that Rogan was very fortunate to have his .44 magnum on his hip.
This alone was enough for some to sound the alarm bells.
For those that don’t know, handguns are heavily restricted in Canada. In fact, according to the RCMP, “to be authorized to carry a handgun or restricted long gun for a lawful occupational purpose, such as trapping or working in a wilderness area, an individual must be a Canadian resident, have a firearms license with restricted privileges and obtain an Authorization to Carry (ATC) permit from the Canadian Firearms Program.”
Now I know Joe and Cam both have their fair share of clout, but I don’t imagine either would have gone through the arduous process of obtaining a said special license for carrying a handgun anywhere other than a licensed gun range.
Everything said, I have no doubt that both Joe and/or Cam would have done something like this in an attempt to save the others life, what hunting buddies wouldn’t?
While the headline might have been catchy, the story was full of holes and Cam promptly took to Facebook to dispel any truth to it.
At the end of the day, some publishers just won’t let a little thing like the truth get in the way of a good story.
#keephammering, folks!
