Don't shoot! Use Bear Spray!

[priv8ter]

Hunh?

My wife is taking Hunters Education class right now, and I was looking through this booklet she brought home. Unfortunetaly, I left it at home, so I can't say who wrote it. It wasn't the actual Hunters Safety Booklet, but rather a 40 page collection of Advertisement disguised as Articles.

For instance, 'How to pick a first hunting rifle' is an article that goes on and on about how great the Browning BAR or the Browning 'A'-Bolt are, with a matching half-page add for Browning on the same page. I'm okay with it though, for buried in some of the ad's, are some good nuggets of data.

Then I see an article on a page sponsered by a pepper spray manufacturer. The add is telling people not to use their gun to shoot the bear, because you might just make it mad. Instead, wait until it is within 50 feet, and hit it with a blast of seasoning...I mean, pepper spray!




So...I'm carrying a gun, and now I'm supposed to drop this gun, and dig a can of pepper spray out where ever I might be hiding it?

Sorry..I don not agree with that. I'll take my chances of just 'making him mad' with a rifle, instead of just 'making him mad' with pepper spray.

greg

 

[FRIENDLY]

Pepper spray

Who knows maybe some bears like their meat spicy

 

[FMarlon]

DUH! Haven't you ever watched the Food Network?

To quote Emeril "Bam! Kick it up a notch."

Maybe it's to make us taste better to the bear?

Or maybe the bear wants it's hair done? (BEAR SPRAY?)

 

[priv8ter]

yes!

Yeah, the article specified 'Bear Spray' which is stronger than usual pepper spray, I guess.

The wife asked me to take her see Hair Spray...I wonder if I could get off cheaper by just buying some Bear Spray, and claim I misheard her.

Truthfully, if I had my Black hawk in .45LC on my hip with some Buffalo Bore loads...it might be a better choice than my wifes NEF .270 for keeping a bear off.

greg

 

[priv8ter]

That explains it!

So, I looked at the article/advertisement calling for use of pepper spray, and...it's not a pepper spray company advertising...


It's the Sierra Club!

So of course, they would rather see a bear with iritated eyes eat someone, than think of someone shooting a bear.

sheesh.

greg

 

[Das Pferd]

I still say, if some people only trust the .45 to stop a man, why would they trust the .45 to stop a bear?

If a bear is charging you, you maybe have one shot that you must stop him with. Your pretty much screwed and will probably just piss the bear off if you do hit him.

I would try bear spray first, then back off.

Then an aimed shot if need be.

 

[RooK]

A Ruger Blackhawk with heavy .45 colt loads is not like the .45acp if that's what your thinking. Those loads are on the heels of the .454 Casull and exceed the .44mag in power. I would trust them well before I pissed off a bear by irritating its eyes. If criminals pumped up on adrenline can shake off the effects of pepper spray and still go about their business, I'm sure as hell not going to trust it on a bear.

 

[Dionysusigma]

Woe betide any who

A) Actually thinks Bear Spray might work

B) Accidentally uses it like "Bug Spray..."

 

[Coronach]

I dunno.

People who know bears tend to think highly of the stuff. This includes gunny types, not just the blissninnies.

Mike

 

[DigMe]

Yeah I've heard that bear spray is typically very effective.

brad cook

 

[rick_reno]

The wife asked me to take her see Hair Spray...

Hair spray would work if you've got time to get a BIC lighter out - shoot the hair spray over the flame and you can cook the bear with it.

 

[sturmruger]

Maybe they use the spray to ward off bears, not stop a charge. If a bear is charging you your best chance is to shoot straight and hope you hit something vital.

 

[BeLikeTrey]

quit bickering

Use Both at once

spray and blast!

don't spray and pray

 

[gbran]

Shotgun

Just got back from AK. I had 4 different guides for various trips I took there. Two of them did carry bear spray, but they all had guns. One had a Marlin Guide gun in 45-70, the others had shotguns....... 1st round was 00 buck followed by slugs. They said the 00 buck was for a face shot to buy more time for a slug shot. BTW, I fished for sockeye salmon within 50 feet of a couple of brown bears. We were in boats and nobody shot or sprayed the bears.

 

[sumpnz]

Q. So is that black bear poop or grizzley poop?
A. Well, it's got remnants of berries and grubs, so it's black bear poop.

Q. What about that pile?
A. That's grizzley poop.

Q. How can you tell?
A. It smells like pepper spray and has little bells in it.

 

[spacemanspiff]

i read an article last weekend about pepper spray, in Alaska magazine. was rather well rounded, had input from proponents of bear sprays as well as opponents.

i cant say whether or not the article was 100% factual, but according to it, those who use bear spray typically arent injured, while those who use firearms often are injured.

while i wouldnt put 100% trust in bear spray, i'd like it as an option. those who do know bears (not talking about treadwell) and their behavior will tell you that a charging bear is often bluffing, seeing how close he has to get to make you leave.

there was testimonial in the article of two hikers having a bear charge to within FOUR FEET of them before turning tail. now, you wont find me standing still while a bear is 4 feet away, much less 10 feet, much less 30 feet. in fact i wouldnt feel safe without at least 100 feet between me and said bear, and i was in a tank.

see, the data they have concerning bear encounters is mixed. some were encounters with a sow who had cubs, some were yearlings that didnt know how bears are supposed to behave, some were old boars, some were bears that had fresh kills they were protecting.

so a person cant say "oh dont worry guys, that bear we just saw that is charging towards us at 40 mph and covering 100 feet in mere seconds isnt going to hurt us".

the article even had pictures of fishers on the kenai river spraying a bear. kind of impressive, but alarming that the fishers looked so nonchalant while the bear was approaching them, as they were on the bears feeding grounds.

people often mistakenly assume that the biggest baddest rifle/handgun they own is going to protect them. unless you disrupt the bears CNS (i.e. brainpan) with good heavy slugs, that bear will still be in the fight. body shots wont do a whole lot of good, unless you have thousands of them hitting simultaneously.

one idiot buddy of mine (i keep idiots as buddies so i seem smrter) thinks his bling bling deable in 50ae will kill a bear with just one shot no matter where the bullet hits.

 

[KMD]

I have carried both(bear spray and Shot gun) but never had to use either one in 8 years of working in the woods in the Canadian North West. But I have run into a lot of people who have used the spray and they all give it high marks.

KMD