winkosmosis
Explorer
I don't understand the 12ga/judge/shotgun comments. What on earth makes someone think a gun is the right tool for fending off a bear? Maybe if you've never heard of bear spray it would be excusable.
Bears and Overlanding
- Thread starter KevinR
- Start date
Bugspray
Adventurer
You WILL understand when you empty that can of bear spray and Grizz keeps coming, and now hes REALLY angry. What are you gonna use harsh language, threaten to call the police? Trust me a face full or two of buckshot will make it think twice, hell even that might not be enough.....
winkosmosis
Explorer
A face full of buckshot will cause pain but IIRC it won't penetrate the skull. So now you have an angry grizzly with a face full of lead charging you. He's not going to think twice and leave you alone.
Bear spray will go into his eyes, his nose, and his mouth, making him unable to see or smell, allowing you to escape, and sparing his life.
BIGdaddy
Expedition Leader
...unless its windy?....Where I camped up in bear country in montana, its windy as f$$$$. Not sure if the spray would be concentrated enough. But otherwise, I think spray is the best/first choice.
This seems fairly effective...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io6fgjbFMP0&feature=related
as does this..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEgJxdhtDhU&feature=related
both of these bears we're non-aggressive, though. Not to be confused with a charge. Do you think you could
hit a bear moving this fast with spray or a gun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6GcWhlGF3o
not being able to use a gun OR spray effectively is what scares me!! haha!
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dzzz
™
Yes. Spray in front and let him run into the spray. It would be better for the bear if the guy spayed him. The trouble with guns for bear protection. Would you shoot in this scenario? (I'm not directing this question to bigD)
Not a very serious charge. Just trying to get the guy away from the berries or whatever. I expect that bear can move at least twice that fast. The bear would run if the man charged it. Probably. If not it would be a million view youtube video.......
Looks like he's holding a big can of bear spray.
Mr. Leary
Glamping Excursionaire
The gun is not the solution. It is a last resort. The loud bang it produces could be used well before an aimed shot! There is no argument that in most scenarios, bear spray is best!
Faol
Observer
If something that can cover 30 to 40 feet per second decides to charge, bluff or not, I will be doing my best to kill it. Maybe I will kill it, maybe it will kill me, but I would not be taking the "awww look at the pretty bear" approach.
Wind works both ways. When you spray the bear when they are upwind from you, the spray becomes a seasoning for the bear's meal.
When dealing with an apex predator, PETA type responses are assinine and naive. Ask that grizzly man idiot how that worked out for him. We have free will, they do not. They work off of instinct.
Wind works both ways. When you spray the bear when they are upwind from you, the spray becomes a seasoning for the bear's meal.
When dealing with an apex predator, PETA type responses are assinine and naive. Ask that grizzly man idiot how that worked out for him. We have free will, they do not. They work off of instinct.
Von Petrol
Observer
This past summer I did The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Antelope Wells, NM to Banff National Park in Canada, just respect the bears and they will respect you. I past this guy the last day riding into Banff. He was about 20 yards away.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Having guided countless days in brown bear country in Alaska, I have to respond here. As a guide, I sprayed several browns. HUGE browns. All with satisfactory results. Our other guides sprayed numerous bears with equal success. Shooting a bear is more likely to cause a bear to go completely bonko and slap your noggin into the weeds.
I think all of this gun discussion as it relates to bears is bad news. Every year thousands of bear encounters are successfully navigated without resorting to guns.
I also think more people should take a better look into why bear spray works at all. A bear's nose is massively more sensitive than even that of a bloodhound. A bear could smell a tic-tac from 100 yards. Imagine what happens to that nose when it gets several grams of pepper spray dumped on it. It's an overload of the senses, not just adrenaline from the pain of a bullet or buckshot. Pepper spray almost shorts out a bear's brain. I've seen sprayed bears dart into the woods like they've been hit by Zeus' hand and I've also seen sprayed bears nearly crumble into a pile of wheezing fur as if they were temporarily lobotomized.
One of our friends in Alaska worked with the State Troopers as an animal attack investigator. He was a serious advocate of spray.
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Mr. Leary
Glamping Excursionaire
No need to turn this into yet another gun debate. Most encounters can be navigated successfully by letting the bear know where you are, and not sneaking up on it or threatening it. A hungry bear in a camp is not intent on killing... it is intent on an easy meal. Take the easy meal away, and the bears will go away. While I disagree with your notion that shooting a bear will encourage it to attack, I do agree that a gun is not the proper choice for bear defense. I will choose my family over a bear every time, but will also take steps to ensure that I have other options should a bear encounter happen. I am the visitor to its home, but have the natural right to defend myself if attacked.
Desolation
Adventurer
matt s
Explorer
Those are both good links.
R_Lefebvre
Expedition Leader
How safe would an electric fence be for use with a camp with kids who don't know any better, or aren't careful enough? Can they be injured? Or is it just VERY unpleasant?
Desolation
Adventurer
They are going to yell, scream, etc... I remember on the farm my sister who was about 3 at the time walked up to the fence and grabbed the wire with both hands and it didn't hit her, for a long time when it did, she learned her lesson and that was the last time she grabbed a wire on a fence post.
Set the fence, don't turn it on till you need it, teach the child not to touch the wire with it turned off, make a game out of it, turn on the fence and hope for the best learning experience.
DaveM
Explorer
I agree that spray is the preferred first option for a charging bear. The gun is a last resort, for use only under dire circumstances with an aggressive bear. And I would never use buck shot, only slugs. If vocal warnings or pot banging don't work, the best option without spray is to retreat to your vehicle and let the bear do as he pleases. I see the gun as an absolute someone is about to be mauled option and even then the circumstances would have to be just right to allow it's safe use. But since I already own one and don't have spray, it comes with me when in bear territory.