Close Range Bear Defense

[Speedo66]

Yep. Once your nose is attuned to that smell it's a pretty reliable indicator.

I live in the rural northeast. 25 years ago if you even saw a black bear it was probably running away. Sadly that is not the case any more. I have encountered several bears who were not afraid of me. They also can get pretty damn big up here, just like whitetails. Bigger than in Georgia, I'd wager.

Even bigger in PA, like almost 900 lbs. big, especially if you feed them donuts and pies like this guy did to one bear for 17 years.

Poor Bozo, probably suffered from diabetes and a heart condition.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/town-mourns-bozo-the-black-bear-killed-by-hunter/1862702/

 

[DustyGmt]

I didn't look for velocities, but I'm not sure whether to be surprised or not that data is hard to find. One more thing to consider (and this is interesting stuff to me) is the weight of 00 buckshot. It seems the weight is fairly low, according to this most excellent resource I found:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/00-buck-how-much-does-the-shot-weigh.519937/

Which makes me wonder what kind of penetration buckshot will actually make through bear fur and hide. A hit to the face with such a load may well be all it takes to turn a Grizzly (if not just kill it with a CNS hit). I just wonder how the velocity would affect performance of relatively small and lightweight lead balls. Because I get the feeling that 00 buck at slower speeds, probably won't do enough damage for a fast stop if it misses the CNS.

On the other hand, it might work very well. I confess, I've never had to shoot a charging bear, so I just don't know.

I know I've seen alot of shows on Alaska on discovery where you see game wardens on patrol and when they respond to a call about a grizzly down in a populated fishing hole or something, I notice alot of them are carrying marine magnum 12ga's and it looks to be some of them are 14"-16" SBS's.... I'm sure it has more to do with being handy working in and out of your vehicle, perhaps a lil more weildy if you have to hike up a ways to get to a call, but I doubt they'd carry em if they weren't effective.

Can't say for sure though. Can't find alot of info on the Terminal Ballistics of 00buck out of a short barrel..... I'm sure it gets the job done, but the shorter you go, the closer you gotta be to make it count. I'd want a minimum of 20" bbl. IC w/ rifle sights to feel comfortable against a griz. Then again, I think I might prefer a 45-70 or .44 lever gun to the 12ga....maybe not...

 

[WrongHanded]

I know I've seen alot of shows on Alaska on discovery where you see game wardens on patrol and when they respond to a call about a grizzly down in a populated fishing hole or something, I notice alot of them are carrying marine magnum 12ga's and it looks to be some of them are 14"-16" SBS's.... I'm sure it has more to do with being handy working in and out of your vehicle, perhaps a lil more weildy if you have to hike up a ways to get to a call, but I doubt they'd carry em if they weren't effective.

Whilst I would assume that a government agency would not issue an ineffective weapon, I also assume they are factoring cost and training into the equation fairly heavily. Pump action 12ga shotguns are simple, reliable, fairly cheap, easy and cheap to feed, and can also use non-lethal loads. They make a lot of sense for an agency-issued platform.

For a one-size-fits-all general purpose LE long arm in that environment, they're hard to beat.

 

[gobsauce]

The 750,000 black bears of North America kill less than one person per year on the average, while men ages 18-24 are 167 times more likely to kill someone than a black bear. Most attacks by black bears are defensive reactions to a person who is too close, which is an easy situation to avoid.

https://bear.org/how-dangerous-are-black-bears/#:~:text=The 750,000 black bears of,an easy situation to avoid.


I've had multiple run ins with Black Bears. Most of them ignored me, the rest of them took off.

I think I should clarify that I didn't deliberately approach the bears. They were all random encounters while hiking and I backed away(or the bear did) as soon as I was aware of the bear's presence.

FWIW you can usually smell them.

What uhh.. what do they smell like?

 

[The Night Rider]

What uhh.. what do they smell like?

It's really hard to explain. They smell like bears. Imagine 20 wet dogs

 

[gobsauce]

It's really hard to explain. They smell like bears. Imagine 20 wet dogs

Interesting. Living in west Texas, never seen a bear outside of the local zoo.

 

[The Night Rider]

Interesting. Living in west Texas, never seen a bear outside of the local zoo.

I used to work in a zoo in Florida. We had a retired Russian circus bear there. Oddly enough, he didn't smell.

But a wild bear USUALLY you can smell it before you see it.

I've also found trees out in the woods where the Bears have scratched

 

[Zerodefect]

Bear dens are muddy and stinky. After spring, I've never smelled them. The black bears that I've petted, didn't smell.

Bear spray with a Glock 23 for backup. Never felt like I needed more. The spray works well.

 

[Armored farmer]

I've been close enough to smell them a few times....its pretty much how they smell at the zoo.

 

[Buzznrose]

I think bear spray is an option in the right conditions, but add a strong cross or head wind and you can get screwed (or seasoned?) in a hurry.

 

[The Night Rider]

Good book to read if you're likely to run into a bear.



Stephen Herrero is the foremost expert on bear attacks in North America

 

[d2wing]

I spend my summers in Northern Minnesota. A big cinnamon bear walked through my campsite last summer. We are seeing more black bears all the time. If I were to carry a shotgun it would have slugs in it. Individual pellets don't have enough energy and penetration to suit me. I carry anywhere from 9mm to 44 mag when I am in the mood, but really, I walk through the deep woods unarmed most of the time. Odds are extremely low of being attacked. I was once chased by a Bull moose.

 

[Spug]

What uhh.. what do they smell like?

To me they smell a bit like a human armpit that hasn't bathed in too long.

 

[Cvans]

I was once chased by a Bull moose.

I would much rather deal with a bear than a Moose. Your lucky your still here to tell the story.

 

[mokin]

To me they smell a bit like a human armpit that hasn't bathed in too long.

That's funny.

Reminded me that there is going to be a Rainbow/Gathering of the Tribes out this way later this year.

 

[Antihero]

What uhh.. what do they smell like?

Like musty garbage.

It's pretty overpowering and definitely out of place. Infinitely easier than realizing that the forest is quiet and that "bird call" is in fact not a bird call

 

[gobsauce]

that "bird call" is in fact not a bird call

Oh Lord.
What does that mean?

 

[Antihero]

Oh Lord.
What does that mean?

Usually cougar, they make some very odd sounds.

 

[The Night Rider]

Usually cougar, they make some very odd sounds.

I woke up one night with a Mountain Lion screaming in my back yard. Sounded like a woman being murdered.

 

[crstrode]

In general, when defending yourself from a bear at close range, a Bible works as well as any sort of gun.

 

[kalielkslayer]

I’ve never carried hiking in the woods because of bears. But most times I’ve seen one, I had a rifle in my hands.

I do carry hiking behind the house because of a couple of run ins with mountain lions. 1st one my bird dog treed and when I got there, it laid on a branch, calmly looking at me. Damn thing acted like it watched me every evening when I was hiking. 2nd encounter was even closer.

But raiding bears are a different story. I had one in my garage 2 consecutive nights last year. Then ran out of the garage and looked at me. I went back in the house and grabbed the Glock. 5 seconds later as I start down the stairs, he’s coming back in. 2 warning shots caused him to walk away.

Next night a similar event I can’t describe in detail.

But when any wild animal loses its fear of man, they are dangerous.

When I carry a sidearm in the woods, it’s because of 2 legged predators.

Edit: I’ve never smelt one, even when I was in a confined area with one.

 

[GooseGestapo]

OOO-Buck and Brenneke 1-1/4oz slugs.
I’d prefer a 14.5” bbl and modified choke.
(But there is that pesky NFA)...

 

[X-Maker]

About a year ago near Hope, AK, which is about 15 crow-miles from here, there was a guy killed by a brown bear. They found an empty can of bear spray laying near the carcass. His carcass -- the bear was gone.

After a 20-minute standoff I once sprayed a bull moose that had charged and forced me to jump behind a 6" diameter birch tree. I was gagging from the stuff but the moose acted like I had squirted it once with a water-pistol.

One early fall morning about 20 years ago my friend John McConnahy was hunting grouse along Bird Creek (also about 15 crow-miles from here) when two brown bear cubs emerged out of the alders. He immediately flipped his safety off and started backing away but it was too late -- the sow came barreling out for him like a bullet-train. When I saw him later in the grocery store he was pretty sure his first shot of #6's from his old Winchester side-by-side had missed, but his second shot hit the sow square in the face, stopping her like an invisible brick wall. He was able to slip away while the enraged bear pawed its face, trying to remove whatever it was that had hit her. John turned so white telling me the story I was afraid he was going to pass out.

That (and many other reports of bear attacks, and one I was object of) has brought me to two conclusions:

1. If you are the object of a SERIOUS bear charge you are going to have time to use what is in your hands and that's likely it. Several people have been mauled to death with their unfired weapon laying beside them -- they were sent flying before they could get a shot off.

2. Because they come so fast, and in bounding leaps, even if you can retain your composure you have an extremely difficult target on your hands, at least until it is only feet away. An adrenaline-loaded bear can still kill after you have blown its heart up. Therefore, I think a shotgun loaded with #6's is probably your best bet for extracting yourself from the situation uninjured, because of the far greater margin for error allowed with the large pattern compared to a bullet. No animal that has ever walked the earth could maintain a charge through a blast in the eyes with a load of 6's.

I shot a deer once with 00 buck and was not at all impressed with the penetration of the pellets. F&G here did penetration tests here 30 or so years ago and found that you are far better off trying to stop a bear with a .30-06, which is NOT considered to be adequate for a charging brown bear, than with shotgun slugs, due to the slugs' poor penetration.

 

[JFrank]

I woke up one night with a Mountain Lion screaming in my back yard. Sounded like a woman being murdered.

White tail doe’s make an weird sound also similar to a woman screaming.

 

[KodeFore]

No one mentioned polar bears. What do you need to defend against them?

A ticket to Hawaii