Bear Attack in Canada Last Week Settle Guns vs Spray

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Upgraded my usual carry to a 44 special snubby while walking the dogs at night when we had a mountain lion in the neighborhood. (Small dogs) I'd want 44 magnum at minimum for brown bears.
 
My only brother lived in the Matanuska / Susitna area of Alaska for many years - and did the subsistence hunting thing for his family - every year (moose, caribou, bear, etc). He advised that in the interior parts of the state where he hunted - the grizzlies were attracted by any gunshot looking for a fresh kill. His normal weapon in the field there was always a 375 H&H rifle - not for the game he hunted but more for the possibility of a bear at close quarters where the kill was... He made a point of never hunting alone as well. One man worked the field dressing while the other stood watch up on top of a big tundra buggy for elevation (after getting a kill they'd remove the guts, cover the carcasse intestine areas with cheese cloth then hike back to base camp for the buggy, driving it to the site of the kill for transportation back to base camp). Many times over the years their kills were in or near alder and willow thickets where the brush made it very hard to see an advancing bear until it was too close for comfort. He also described being on the receiving end of bluff charges as the animal tried to move hunters away from their kill. In the thickets you could hear the bear and see it coming - but not the bear itself...

He passed away more than a year ago now, and all I've learned about that area was from him. Wish he were still around. Me the fisherman - him the hunter... Funny thing - he always pointed out that native Alaskans were a lot more worried about moose than bear, since the moose kill folks up there every year... mostly in car crashes.
 
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It's a sad story no matter how you look at it , bone chilling , God bless those people and their dog who I have no doubt died valiant , I can say this because I have owned border collies and I know their traits . They all suffered one of the primal fears of man , death by a predator. .....I agree with a couple of other posts about not going some place in the wild where I am not allowed to be armed . I will say I am a big advocate of a spear as a walking stick , but a casull is better . .....May we all learn from their sacrifice.......God bless their souls , and God bless that Valiant dog named Tris ..
 
…I wonder if the victims were mostly eaten by the bear that was behind schedule putting on fat.
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Nope, AFAIK there is but a single recorded instance of a grizzly/brownie actually eating a human after killing it. This out of many dozens of human kills by bears. While anything is possible, this just doesn’t fit these bears’ behavior. Black bears are another matter and are known to eat humans on occasion.

I hunted Kodiak for most of the 27 years I lived in Alaska, and saw brownies up close on almost every trip. I was only charged once, and he stopped around 15 yards away once he realized what we were. I came close to shooting him, but was glad I waited. I often wonder how many bear are shot making a false charge with no intention of actually chewing on the human. OTOH I wonder how many human lives could have been saved had a firearm been judiciously employed.


.
 
We live and recreate in prime black bear territory. Trips beyond the backyard usually consist of spray carried weak-side and a high-penetration sidearm carried strong-side (open or concealed as necessary).

I find the posts by the "If I ever ... in bear country" people quite amusing. It's like me pontificating on how to deal with alligators or copperheads.
 
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How many who insist on the big, heavy recoiling calibers actually practice at least somewhat realistically with them?

Ive posted some of this guys videos before and he has some good info to be gained from them. I agree with his conclusions too. If I were to be wandering around somewhere where Im actually "in" the food chain, Im carrying a handgun in the most realistic caliber I can shoot best with in a realistic manner and one that has as much on board ammo as I can get. And personally, Id be happier it was a backup to a short and handy auto 12ga. too.

www.youtube.com

10mm & 44 mag vs Charging Bear Target

I revisit the 10mm vs 44 mag for bear defense question with the new and improved charging bear target and get some really interesting results.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
D.B. Cooper said:
Additionally, I don't like 10mm because most 10mm is just 40S&W +P unless you load your own. Buffalo Bore and, my preference is the HSM Bear round for my 44 mag may be an exception. (I load my own bear defense rounds.)
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First off, there is no 40s&w +p.
In a perfect world I would carry a 50bmg in bear country.
In my area a 9mm would drop a black bear,
If I ever end up in real bear country, what are the percentages I will end up face to face with a grizzly /brown bear?
I would love a low recoiling semi auto 300 win mag in pistol form If I had my choice.
Most people haven't seen a charging bear, I would love to have the most powerful handgun (really long arms aren't perfect in this situation) in the most powerful
caliber with the most stopping power (I know a mathematical estimation) with the HIGHEST CAPACITY!!

6 rounds of 44 mag or 454 casull are amazing!! 15 rounds of 10mm are great too!!

Please look up a video that shows a charging bear, it will change your aspect!!

Edit: grammar correction
 
This guy would not leave. We couldn't even get to our boat. I finally hit him with Bear spray and he left and never came back all though others did. My Son was backing me up with a M-1 Garand or I wouldn't have left the cabin. The young one in the window showed absolutely no fear of us. Smokey 5.jpg Smokey 3.jpg
 
D.B. Cooper said:
What grabbed my attention was the statement "One can of bear pray had been fully discharged, but htis bear was not to be determined."
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Actual quote: "One can of bear spray had been fully discharged, but this bear was not to be deterred," he reportedly added.

Alway's take big bore medicine into the woods. You never know when it will be needed.
 
I have more to worry about from bears than some of you guys.
All of us that use a smoker or bbq grill know that fat is flavor.
I'd be delicious!
 
D.B. Cooper said:
Never, for a second, do you forget that you have it on you.
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I dunno. I've carried my Ruger 3.75" Bisley Super Blackhawk in a Simply Rugged pancake holster while motorcycling, and forgot it was there. It's not a small gun, but it snugs up against the body well. Shoots 300g hard cast like a dream. The Bisley grip makes a big difference in a fast recovery.
 
i wouldn’t bring pepper spray alone into biped apex predator turf, so i wouldn’t bring bear spray alone into quadraped apex predator turf. if the rules say no firearms then i don’t go. “be prepared.”
 
trackskippy said:
How many who insist on the big, heavy recoiling calibers actually practice at least somewhat realistically with them?

Ive posted some of this guys videos before and he has some good info to be gained from them. I agree with his conclusions too. If I were to be wandering around somewhere where Im actually "in" the food chain, Im carrying a handgun in the most realistic caliber I can shoot best with in a realistic manner and one that has as much on board ammo as I can get. And personally, Id be happier it was a backup to a short and handy auto 12ga. too.

www.youtube.com

10mm & 44 mag vs Charging Bear Target

I revisit the 10mm vs 44 mag for bear defense question with the new and improved charging bear target and get some really interesting results.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
Click to expand...
After watching that video, it seems a 10mm is a pretty good choice
 
HKGuns said:
Never take bear spray to a gun fight.

A woman saw a Mountain Lion where I go to the beach to take sunset pictures. Never carried my .44 there until after that report, never go there without it now.
Click to expand...

What would you do if the Mountain Lions are frequent visitors to your own driveway and attacked the neighbors dog last year?
 
What would you do if the Mountain Lions are frequent visitors to your own driveway and attacked the neighbors dog last year?
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Ironically, from a statistical standpoint, the neighbor's dog is more of a threat to your life than a mountain lion or a bear.

From 1890 to 2022 fewer than 130 persons have died in all of North America from mountain lion attacks.

From 1800 to present, fewer than 200 persons have died in all of North America from bear attacks.

Annual fatalities in the U.S. from dog attacks run about 30-50.

That means it takes mountain lions and bears combined a few decades to kill as many people as die in dog attacks every year.

Realistically, if you want to protect against animal attacks, carry your gun and/or pepper spray all the time and watch out for dogs.
 
Of course there are. That's a big part of what makes them a much more likely fatal threat. Doesn't change the bottom line though. If you want to be really be prepared against fatal animal attacks, it doesn't make sense to put a lot of effort into worrying about mountain lions and bears while ignoring the threat from dogs.
 
Right. Their numbers and proximity are a big part of why they're hundreds of times more likely to be involved in a fatal attack than a bear or lion. The why of it doesn't really matter from a practical perspective. Dead is dead.
 
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