Bear defense tactics: Pros & cons of guns vs. bear spray.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

http://rr.com/news/topic/article/rr/845 ... arks/full/

The above article is an interesting read which gives some
pros and cons on the use of guns vs. bear spray to protect
yourself while on the trail.

Although a gun and bear spray are quite different weapons,
after reading this piece I now think of bear spray as more like
a shotgun since your aim with it can be approximate, as opposed
to a gun where your aim must be true.

I guess if I was in the woods I'd take both and hope to use the gun
as primary.

The man who was attacked was a retired Baltimore LEO who
used a .41 Magnum revolver to kill a bear who had attacked him.
It was his 3rd shot into the bear which killed it.

Those hikers with inferior calibers should up their caliber.

SIA

[The Annoyed Man]

After reading one of Wiley Clapp's articles about hunting bears in Alaska with a handgun.... ...I would not do it. He nearly got eaten. After having fired all six very hot .44 magnum handloads into a bear's chest from point blank range. The guide who was with him killed the bear with a .470 Nitro Express rifle. Homey don't play that.

The best thing to do in bear country is to wear those little tinkle bells on your clothing or walking stick and carry bear spray. The tinkle bells will alert a bear that something is coming so you don't surprise one. You can tell you're in bear country by the scat they leave. Bear scat is easy to identify because it is full of tinkle bells and smells like bear spray.

[Oldgringo]

The best thing to do in bear country is to wear those little tinkle bells on your clothing or walking stick and carry bear spray. The tinkle bells will alert a bear that something is coming so you don't surprise one. You can tell you're in bear country by the scat they leave. Bear scat is easy to identify because it is full of tinkle bells and smells like bear spray.

The scat ID above applies to Grizzlys. Black bear scat has berries, seeds and bugs in it.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

TAM:

Wiley Clapp purposely went bear hunting with a revolver? Really?

Of course there's people that think bungee jumping is a fun afternoon,
or jumping off a cliff into a lake too. Some of those people are now
called deceased or quads.

SIA

[y5e06]

didn't read the article. However I go to the Colorado Rockies multiple times a year and often end up in very secluded areas both hiking & fly fishing. Bears up there are smaller than say the big browns in alaska. I bought the biggest can of bear spray Sportman's wharehouse had and take that with me. It has a 4yr shelf life I believe. Some of the articles I've read had me convinced to pick up the spray. A pistol is just a wee bit hard to draw when you're in teh middle of the river wearing chest waders.... Being that I am also a card carying CHL'er I take my BIL's 357 mag Ruger security six and carry it open or concealed depending on what I'm doing. yes, a 44mag or something would be better, but neither of us have one and his pistol fits just fine in my S&W's holster. Then again, teh bears I'd expect aren't kodiak monsters.

If I the little lady goes w/ me I give her the spray to tote even though we aren't really far apart.

oh, the 1st time open carryng was very liberating

[The Annoyed Man]

TAM:

Wiley Clapp purposely went bear hunting with a revolver? Really?

Yeah, it was in an article he wrote years ago about hunting Alaskan brown bears. He and his guide had been out hunting all day, and when they got back to the cabin, which I guess was in a secluded area, the front door was slightly ajar. Clapp walks in and confronts a large bear inside the cabin. He said the bear reared up on its hind legs and roared at him. He brought the muzzle up on his Ruger Redhawk, which as I recall was loaded with maximum pressure loads pushing bullets of over 300 grains in weight, and fired all six rounds into the bear's chest from just the short distance inside the cabin, and the bear did not go down. The guide stepped into the room behind Clapp and let the bear have it from his .470. On autopsy, it was found that not one of the .44 magnum bullets had penetrated the chest cavity. All were stopped by muscle and ribs.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure it was Wiley Clapp, although I may be mistaken about that. The story was in some magazine like Guns & Ammo or something to which I subscribed years ago. I might be wrong about the name, but the story was so hair-raising that I never forgot the particulars of it. It must have been 10 or 15 years ago that I read it.

The scat ID above applies to Grizzlys. Black bear scat has berries, seeds and bugs in it.

Depends on where you are. In southern California, black bear scat has pieces of patio furniture and McDonald's wrappers in it.

[VoiceofReason]

I will probably never be in a position to defend myself against a bear but I have heard that a pistol is no good against one. Well I have been thinking on this.

A blast of hot pepper bear spray in the bears face compared to 9 hot 45 slugs in the bears face.

Let’s see, with the 45 slugs, if the bear could still see you, he/she might have to bite you with fewer teeth, if his/her jaw still worked.

Seems to me either one would serve as a deterrent, and I have never heard of the wind blowing bullets back in the shooters face.

[y5e06]

oft quoted study
http://gf.state.wy.us/downloads/pdf/Reg ... 0spray.pdf

Of the 72 cases where persons sprayed bears to defend themselves, 50 (69%) involved brown bears, 20
(28%) black bears, and 2 (3%) polar bears. Red pepper spray stopped bears’ undesirable behavior 92% of the time when used on brown bears,
90%for black bears, and 100%for polar bears. Of all persons carrying sprays, 98%were uninjured by bears in close-range encounters... Bear spray represents an effective alternative to lethal force and should be considered as an
option for personal safety for those recreating and working in bear country.

http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/spe ... 0spray.pdf

since 1992, persons encountering grizzlies and
defending themselves with firearms suffer injury about 50% of the time. During the same period, persons
defending themselves with pepper spray escaped injury most of the time, and those that were injured
experienced shorter duration attacks and less severe injuries.

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF12/1245.html
there are others out there to read.

[The Annoyed Man]

Apart from a shotgun filled with slugs and a large-caliber revolver, I wouldn't go with anyone faster than me

That's why I'm not going with you! There is no way I'm faster than anybody else.

[rdcrags]

y5e06,

oh, the 1st time open carryng was very liberating

I open carry out there in the wilderness areas 5 months every year. My place is in Summit County. Where do you go?

TX CHL 1997
CO CHP 2005

[y5e06]

My place is in Summit County. Where do you go?

my sister's place is basically in the Pike NF at around 8500ft, just outside woodland park in teller county up 64. that is my jumping off spot for my adventures. for the fish I hit 11-mile canyon, spiney, dream stream, s. Platte, cheeseman, etc for some good trout wrangling.

[rdcrags]

[quote][my sister's place is basically in the Pike NF at around 8500ft/quote]

God's country, for sure. I know you enjoy it. I haven't fished since I was a kid; I just hike, every day. I hope all of you can spend some time in the High Country. I'm sure many of you do. Most Texans go to Durango because it's closer.

Many people don't realize it, but Texas oil money saved the fledgling ski industry in Colorado when it went belly up. Now a thriving industry where the snow is said to be the best in the world for skiing because it is so dry.

Texas is great, too. I was born in Galveston.

Ralph

TX CHL 1997
CO CHP 2005

[TLE2]

There's an old saying: "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you".

However, if alone who could I outrun?

[Skiprr]

Just a recent news item related to the topic:

Backpacker shoots, kills grizzly in Alaska park
Associated Press, updated 5:48 a.m. CT, Mon., May 31, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A backpacker shot and killed a grizzly bear with his handgun in Alaska's Denali National Park, officials said.

A man and woman reported that they were hiking Friday evening when the bear emerged from trailside brush and charged the woman, park spokeswoman Kris Fister said in a statement.

The man fired nine rounds from his .45 caliber, semiautomatic pistol at the animal, which then stopped and walked into the brush.

The two reported the shooting to rangers, who restricted access to the Igloo Canyon area for fear that the bear was wounded and dangerous.

On Saturday, rangers found the dead bear about 100 feet from the shooting site.

Park officials are determining the justification for the shooting. It's legal to carry firearms in that area of the park but illegal to discharge them.

Rangers said it was the first known instance of a grizzly bear being shot by a visitor in the wilderness portion of Denali, formerly called Mount McKinley National Park.

What I find of particular note (I'll ignore the investigating justification thing) is: "The man fired nine rounds from his .45 caliber, semiautomatic pistol at the animal, which then stopped and walked into the brush." And we don't even know how large this particular grizzly was...'course, we also don't know how many times it received good hits, either.