Ken you're not alone, as I don't carry a firearm also, unless I am specifically hunting or targeting something. When I am walking in the woods, or fishing, I never carry a weapon. I've never felt threatened, or needed to defend myself against any of Indiana's resident wildlife population. Perhaps I am just fortunate.
If I decide that I need to dispatch a muskrat or two, then I make that the reason for taking a rifle down to the ponds. I refuse to carry one with me while I'm fishing on the chance that I might see a muskrat, as I have noticed that not only am I less likely to see the "critter", but my fishing suffers also because I'm too busy watching the pond's surface, rather than my line.
It serves my purpose far better to make either a dedicated fishing trip, or critter removal trip, rather than combine the two. I get better results that way.
As far as your mother chasing the bears away by banging on a skillet, she sounds like a woman with an ample supply of intestinal fortitude, and I admire her for it. My own Grandmother was much the same way.
