Alaska/BC 2007

[Christophe Noel]

The spray you want to find is called Counter Assault. She's a big can. Nasty, nasty, nasty stuff. Even when you successfully spray it, you invariably get a good dose yourself and it sucks. Imagine what it's like for the bear.

You can find it through REI or other outdoor gear suppliers in the US and Canada.

Funny bear spray story: The police in Skagway, AK are the butt of many jokes. During the spring the bears come out and eat dandy lions on the side of the road for hours. Citizens and police alike often see bears on the road side and spray them. It tells the bear not to hang out on the roadside where they can get run over and it gives humans a chance to try their skills at spraying bears. Usually keeps bears and less smart tourists from crossing paths, too. Sort of a win, win.

One day one of the Skagway cops rolled up next to a bear in his Police Blazer, grabbed his bear spray and aimed out the passenger window at the bear. Just as he started to spray he realized....."probably should have rolled down the window." He gassed himself in his closed car with a massive, gushing stream of pepper spray. Keep in mind this spray comes in a can the size of a small fire extinquisher!

I would have loved to see that bear's face. That cop was BUMMIN' for days.

 

[Schattenjager]

Oh crap

Gosh – this is a hot topic and one that needs to be responded to responsibly. There was a couple attacked yesterday. Both the man and the woman were scalped – the woman may not live. May not want to if she does… Her brother was interviewed on the radio this AM and he said that an internet site had “informed” them that guns are useless – pepper spay will work. (Now how is that possible? – Guess these know nothings have never heard of a bear having adrenal glands) That is the advice the couple followed and it got them chewed up. Once the bear was kill by the Police the Game Warden made a point of commenting on the fact the bear had a face full of pepper spray. Larry Kaniut of Bear Tales fame goes to my church and we shoot together often. He tells a story of a guide and hunter that encountered a 900 pound costal brown. The guide shot three times with a 45-70 (big bullet) and hit the bear twice. With the lungs blown out, sever bleeding, and a broken shoulder, the bear killed both men. So… if you love animals and don’t want them to get hurt – just donate to the Timothy Treadwell fund and keep your sorry advise to yourself. You can get people killed. I have been here for three years and very active in the woods – I have had three bear charges, as many Moose and was once in the middle of a wolf pack. You darn well better be in good with the Lord AND have a 12 ga shotgun. If you can’t tell, ignorance makes me angry – especially when it serves someone’s ideals at the expense of truth.

Three type of lies: Lies – Dam Lies – and Statistics.

Here is my bear spray: I built the 12ga Mossberg just for bear protection - Tactical sling, EoTech Holographic sighting system, Knox Recoil absorbing stock, smithed action, and slugs from Africa for Cape Buffalo protection.

 

[Grouseman]

Bear

Sch,

Amen Brother. I'll have my 12 ga. Silver Pigeon loaded with slugs when going into bear country.

Grouseman

 

[Alaska Mike]

Bears and men are children of Gaia, the Earth Mother...

...sorry. That makes me giggle.

If you have some sort of combat arms training, I would say that a large caliber weapon wouldn't be a bad idea. That's real combat arms training, not rifle range, "I used to shoot squirrels when I was a kid" training.

If not, potent bear spray and bells work very well in preventing attacks and deflecting all but the most determined bruins- like those that you pissed off when you wounded them with your ineffective shooting.

Simple rules-
1.) If a bear wants the fish, give them the fish.
2.) If you're walking through brush where you can't see a decent distance in most directions, make some noise.
3.) Don't get between (or near) momma and the cubs.
4.) Don't store food in your tent or anywhere near you. Bear-proof canisters are nice.

Most real attacks up here are caused by the human, not the bear. They suprise the bear, make them feel threatened, coat themselves with all sorts of cooking smells (yum), or generally do something very, very stupid. The minority of attacks are caused by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even bears have bad hair days, although considering they're rather furry the consequences are a bit more severe.

Treadwell was an idiot, and he got what he asked for (literally). We get all kinds of looneys that come up here looking to find themselves, and the lucky ones don't die and move away after a few years. Others like Treadwell and Christopher Mccandless (Google them if you're interested in how natural selection works) become part of the flora and fauna.

You can have an incident with a brown in Anchorage- especially when the berries on the hillside are ripe or the salmon are running. I've met smaller browns on the bike trails and around Campbell Creek, right next to one of the major arteries in the city. The biggest one I ever got up close and personal with was within 50 yards of a busy highway, and my bike seemed like scant protection. Don't tell my wife- she wouldn't let me ride anymore. At any rate, I'm still more or less intact and I don't pack (at least in town).

Use some common sense, be aware of your environment, and take a few extra precautions when traveling in bear country, and you probably won't end up as bear kibble.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I once had a bear guide from AK tell me he normally carried a .375 H&H at arms while hunting and after the client shot and the bear disappeared into the brush, he unslung his Rem 870 in 12 ga. He said it was loaded with bird shot for the first round to blind the bear and mess up its smeller, then the next six shots were slugs.:gunt:
On my trip I never had any "close encounters" with browns other than in Hider where they walk through the RV park. We also had a black with cubs cross our path near the Copper River. Our dog was leashed.
We always wore bear bells...Alaskans call them bear dinner bells :chowtime: and always kept the dog on a leash. Dogs have a bad habit of making bears mad, then run to the owner for protection with the bear in hot pursuit.
Just a little more to think about.

 

[BlueHZT60]

I'll be short and sweet.

5-12 hours days to get to Anchorage. Gas prices will be much higher than you think. Bear Spray & Guns will be surrendered at the border (BC). The third night of camping in rain with mosquitos may lean you toward a motel in Whitehorse. Go out of your way to visit Atlin BC, Tok is great fun on 4th of July. Gravel Pits make great camp sites. Don't worry about the bears - just be bear smart, like a good chunck of this thread suggests. Bob