Bear Spray--The Facts

[OC-Trainer]

BEARanoia appears to be at an all time high. So it seems to be the right time for a resource thread with the most up-to-date information, data, and research on the subject of bear spray (deterrent).

First, the landmark "Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska" study.

What defines "bear spray?" The EPA (in the US) - Proper bear spray label here and here.

Bear spray report by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.





*Disclaimers*
Few topics are as polarizing as the bear spray vs. firearm debate. This thread isn't about that. Its purpose is to provide the most comprehensive information on bear spray (to date) in one, easy to find location. Please remember, no deterrent is 100% effective, 100% of the time.

Also, there is more, a lot more, to staying safe in bear country than just carrying bear spray and/or the right firearm. This is NOT of source for that information. Again, this is only dealing with bear spray.

Lastly, hearsay, gibberish, and incoherent posts add nothing of value to the thread. No "my cousin's-sister's-uncle's-niece's boyfriend said... type of posts. Don't bother posting something that can't be verified. Citations should be provided. Only two tags were used for this thread, bear spray and bear deterrent. Anything after that was not added by me. Please do not post the silly sign about bells and pepper, it's played out and the research is in, it is inaccurate. . Thanks...

 

[OC-Trainer]

A common fallacy is that bear spray is only used on "passive" or "curious" bears, not "charging" bears. This is simply not true.
Here are just a few examples:

The bear charged, biting one hunter in the side. His partner used pepper spray to drive the bear away.

Spate of bear attacks in Wyoming

The bear immediately charged the couple and came within nine feet when both individuals quickly discharged their bear spray.

Bear Spray Thwarts Grizzly Attack in Yellowstone

How about a video of it being used on a charging bear?

 

[OC-Trainer]

The Todd Orr bear attacks (Warning: Graphic)

Why he thinks the bear spray didn't deter charge. (Some graphic images)
It may be news to some that he also had a firearm with him during those attacks. He addresses that in the link above, as well.

Orr interview and incident analysis

 

[hrsaylor]

I was wondering how effective bear spray would be against a human..would my wife have to carry 2 types of spray In bear country(1 for 2 legged animals and 1 for bears)?

 

[glistam]

I was wondering how effective bear spray would be against a human..would my wife have to carry 2 types of spray In bear country(1 for 2 legged animals and 1 for bears)?

If I'm reading these federal labels posted above correctly, it's 2.0% capsaicin and other capsaicinoids and the rest is inert, meaning the contents of the can are the same as those used in human-directed spray (obviously, spray contents vary, but it is capsaicin-based). The difference seems to be in the canister and delivery mechanism (maybe propellant). However if I'm reading this right, it's technically against federal law to use bear spray on humans because it's using it in a manner other than intended (much like now-discredited use of wasp spray).

 

[OC-Trainer]

I was wondering how effective bear spray would be against a human..would my wife have to carry 2 types of spray In bear country(1 for 2 legged animals and 1 for bears)?

It is extremely effective against humans. One major caveat though...

Due to the fact that bear spray is registered with the EPA, it is considered a pesticide. Therefore it carries the same federal law warnings as any other pesticide.

"It is a violation of Federal law to use the product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling." You can see it printed on the can here.

With that said, there have been cases of it being used on humans. The key is that is was used as "last ditch."






Hope this helps...

 

[OC-Trainer]

If I'm reading these federal labels posted above correctly, it's 2.0% capsaicin and other capsaicinoids and the rest is inert, meaning the contents of the can are the same as those used in human-directed spray (obviously, spray contents vary, but it is capsaicin-based). The difference seems to be in the canister and delivery mechanism (maybe propellant). However if I'm reading this right, it's technically against federal law to use bear spray on humans because it's using it in a manner other than intended (much like now-discredited use of wasp spray).

Good to see you, glistam.

You're are exactly right. Even though it is technically considered a pesticide by the EPA, it is, in fact, just a more regulated pepper spray.

For example, Sabre Red is 1.33% capsaicinoids. Bear spray tops out at 2% capsaicinoids.

 

[OC-Trainer]

how effective bear spray would be against a human.

Here's another. Not used defensively, just someone foolish enough to test it out on themselves. As you can see, very effective.

 

[Sunray]

"...effective bear spray would be against a human..." Very, if you can hit the BG in the eyes. Capsaicin comes from chili peppers. Cayenne is capsaicin.
Quite possible you'd get arrested if you used it on people though. Another one if those, "Where you are matters." things. Hair spray will do the same thing and nobody will question why a woman has a can.

 

[hrsaylor]

I thought bear spray affects the lungs as well as the eyes? When the bg takes a breath he can suck in the vapor.
And hair spray does the same as bear spray?

 

[OC-Trainer]

I thought bear spray affects the lungs as well as the eyes? When the bg takes a breath he can suck in the vapor.
And hair spray does the same as bear spray?

Yes, bear spray will absolutely affect the lungs. Probably even more so than the eyes. Taking away a bear's sense of smell is tantamount to removing the vision of a human being. This is one of the reasons bear spray solely comes in a shotgun-like spray pattern.

To put this into perspective:

Bears are thought to have the best sense of smell of any animal on earth. For example, the average dog’s sense of smell is 100 times better than a humans. A blood hound’s is 300 times better. A bear’s sense of smell is 7 times better than a blood hound’s or 2,100 times better than a human.

A bear's sense of smell.

 

[JeffG]

I was wondering how effective bear spray would be against a human..would my wife have to carry 2 types of spray In bear country(1 for 2 legged animals and 1 for bears)?

As a CCW instructor, this question comes up from time to time. Although Bear Spray would be very effective on a human, the potential for badly contaminating a closed space like a home, car,church, tavern, or daycare has to be considered. While I would not purchase Bear Spray for the express purpose of using it on human attackers, if I had it handy from my hiking trip, a human attacker might find the Scovill heat units rating "overwhelming".

 

[Sarge7402]

If I'm reading these federal labels posted above correctly, it's 2.0% capsaicin and other capsaicinoids and the rest is inert, meaning the contents of the can are the same as those used in human-directed spray (obviously, spray contents vary, but it is capsaicin-based). The difference seems to be in the canister and delivery mechanism (maybe propellant). However if I'm reading this right, it's technically against federal law to use bear spray on humans because it's using it in a manner other than intended (much like now-discredited use of wasp spray).

<Deleted>you are a wee bit off the mark here. OC that is used on humans is 0.2%!!!!! Bear spray is 2.0%. Go ahead and use bear spray on someone that does not pose a threat against your life and you're probably going to get charged and as a mimimum sued for excessive use of force.

 

[Sarge7402]

Remember OC doesn't just take away ones ability to smell, it drastically effects one's ability to breath by causing the mucus membranes at the back of the throat and else where to swell up and run excessive amounts of fluid into ones throat mouth and nose.

Try a wiff of it on your self before you try it out on someone else and I think you'll find it hard to justify using it on someone who isn't out to kill yor

 

[glistam]

<Deleted>you are a wee bit off the mark here. OC that is used on humans is 0.2%!!!!! Bear spray is 2.0%. Go ahead and use bear spray on someone that does not pose a threat against your life and you're probably going to get charged and as a mimimum sued for excessive use of force.

Not so. Fox Labs is 2.0% and the UDAP Jogger Fogger I have in my hand right here is 15%. Says it right on the can. Both are designed for use on humans.

 

[OC-Trainer]

This infographic should help visualize the differences. Currently, only one product in the US is hotter than bear spray. That is the UDAP "World's
Hottest" line of defense sprays.


.

 

[Youngster]

I once knocked a can of 5 years expired Frontiersman Xtra 1.0% bear spray off a shelf in my bathroom, it hit the floor and *pssht* deposited a small glob of content, and my goodness was that ever potent!

I swear it took me an hour, wearing a gas mask, running in and out as long as I could stand, and still coughing up a storm, to clean it up. I was worried that we might have to evacuate the entire floor of my apartment.

The brutal coughing, the nose running like a faucet, the burning eyes and skin even though I never actually got any on me... I've been hosed in the face with regular pepper spray, this was worse.

Heck, the clothes I was wearing, as well as my bathroom towels, burned my skin through a couple of washes, just from absorbing the vapor in the air!

I can't imagine anything taking a good shot of that stuff and still being a problem.

 

[Torian]

This stuff must be significantly worse than getting tear gassed, which I have been. That stuff cleaned out my sinuses, caused difficulty breathing, and basically made me half-blind, but this sounds much worse.

 

[OC-Trainer]

@Youngster @Torian

Thank you both for sharing your experiences.

Unlike teargas (once you are removed from it, it wears off), OC exposure is the gift that keeps on giving - like the "Jelly of the Month Club."
The whole day, and sometimes the whole week, through. It is hard to fully appreciate how devastating atomized OC is, unless or until you've experienced it. It's truly night and day from the streams or gels. Although bear spray is the most well known form of atomized OC, it can be purchased for use against humans, too. This dual action is reason I believe it is superior to the other spray patterns, and why I spoke so highly of the cone/fog patterns in the "Pepper Spray--The Truth" sticky.

There is a reason police departments, for example, use streams (almost always a level 1) on the cadets instead of anything stronger. If they used a cone delivery (like bear spray), the dog and pony show would be over.

 

[Coltdriver]

I witnesses two girls being harassed in their car by two men who were following them and giving them a hard time. It was a warm Dallas evening in the summer.

I was stopped at a light eastbound. In the near west bound lane opposite the light were the two women. The men pulled up to them in the lane next to the curb. The female passenger blasted a bear spray into the drivers side window of the men's car. It went right through and could easily be seen coming out the passenger side window.

The light turned green, the women sped away. The men jumped out of their car screaming and tearing their shirts off. The harassment came to an abrupt halt. I was highly impressed with the effectiveness of the bear spray.

 

[OC-Trainer]

I like the organic flow of this thread. Piggybacking on the subject of how bear/OC spray crushes the lungs, it is a good time to mention the cautions again for those with any sort of pre-existing lung condition. Please use extra caution when using atomize OC sprays.

I also should just reiterate, for those who haven't read the other pepper spray thread, I am not affiliated with any defense spray company. I am retired from that industry. With that out of the way...

How quickly does it overcome the lungs? What happens when a can of bear spray goes off in a car. Be sure to always follow the label instructions on the cans.

Then there's this. I ran out of words to describe it. Perhaps the best example of the physiological responses to an OC exposure every captured.

 

[OC-Trainer]

I forgot to mention, the last video I linked, with the snake oil salesmen, you can pretty much disregard everything he says about pepper spray. He is incorrect about virtually everything. The "antidote" obviously didn't work, and it never went to market. The guy who got sprayed turned out okay, too. But wow, what a video...

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So, how much does wind play a part with bear spray deployment?

Well, extremely high wind can certainly decrease the range of bear spray. Naysayers immediately dismiss bear spray because of any sort of wind.
But most incorrectly assume that a low double digit wind will render the spray useless, and that simply isn't the case. Furthermore, a great deal of bear spray deployments aren't in wide open fields. The deployments take place surrounded by trees and brush, walls of brush, in fact. To assume that bear spray just trickles out of the can like Lysol, or something is false. Obviously the developers of bear spray would have factored in weather conditions.

How fast are we talking? Depending on volume, some have been clocked at 65+ mph out of the can. Let's see it in action:
(notice this man's surroundings, very typical of the types of terrain where spray would be deployed.)



Here's another video showing the sheer force at which it leaves the canister:

 

[glistam]

Regarding bear's sensitivity to capsaicin, I managed to find a clip of the Mythbusters I mentioned in a previous thread. This was an interesting experiment in that it focuses on a curious bear rather than one on the attack, seeking a large supply of food in a vehicle. All previous folk/internet rumor methods failed to dissuade the animal from raiding the van. However a very liberal application of ground cayenne was considered so noxious to the bear that he decided he preferred being shocked by an electric fence in an effort to get away from it. Worth noting this is just regular food grade seasoning, not the ultra-concentrated oil used in sprays, although it very large quantities. DISCLAIMER: This is not a suggestion for a way to defend yourself from a bear attack or even protect your campsite. It's just to illustrate how much bears dislike capsaicin.

Fun fact: According to commentary, the trainer had a canister of spray in each of his back pockets, so he could always reach one if the other arm was "occupied."

This link contains a time-skip to the relevant part which is at the very end:
Youtube Link

 

[JShirley]

I witnesses two girls being harassed in their car by two men who were following them and giving them a hard time. It was a warm Dallas evening in the summer.

I was stopped at a light eastbound. In the near west bound lane opposite the light were the two women. The men pulled up to them in the lane next to the curb. The female passenger blasted a bear spray into the drivers side window of the men's car. It went right through and could easily be seen coming out the passenger side window.

The light turned green, the women sped away. The men jumped out of their car screaming and tearing their shirts off. The harassment came to an abrupt halt. I was highly impressed with the effectiveness of the bear spray.

How did you know it was bear spray?

 

[OC-Trainer]

During a meeting in Missoula, Montana, in early December 2016, something extraordinary happened. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, the government entity comprising federal and state agencies involved in the management of grizzlies in the northern Rockies, rescinded the long-standing “six-second rule” when it comes to suggested requirements for bear spray

The New West: Confronting Your Own Moment of Truth Grizzly Bear Spray.