Posted on 07/02/2019 6:09:33 AM PDT by w1n1
Which is Better when you're on a walkabout in Bear country?
is it better to have both? Not one or the other. One thing about bears out in the woods they can be quite stealthy, not your typical Yogi bear hanging out at the dumpster.
If you're in their neck of the hood (bear country) while on a hunt, hike or fishing they see you. You may never even see them. Bears may follow at a distance or run from you. Then there are the bears that size you up for their next meal.
So yes, arming yourself with shotguns and large caliber rifles would be wise. Many people complain of lugging the heavy rifle around the woods. Some even complain about bear spray.
Youtuber American Backpacker has the solutions and it involves both firearms and bear spray. They also stated that using a bear spray is more effective than firearms, based on research done by Fish and Game Department. Bear spray are effective because the spray affects their senses: sight, skin, nose and lungs.
They go on to do a light comparison such as: Bear spray is easier to deploy than a firearm, point and spray. Firearms needs to have good shot placement. Shot placement will likely falter while a bear is coming at them.
The studies that were conducted by Fish and Game Department. Do you ever wonder how they gather the information in order to advise hunters and hikers on the use of bear spray. There are hunting folks that will tell you if they already have their gun in hand, why would they drop it just to pull out their bear spray on a charging bear. Read the rest of bear spray or guns.
Mace used against human attackers is much stronger than bear spray. It is because the people that regulate such things are not in favor of bears suffering.
Use the bear spray on yourself as the bear likes spicy foods....
“Bear spray are effective because the spray affects their senses: sight, skin, nose and lungs.”
Yeah, but don’t try that with Mexican bears, they are immune to it because they eat so much spicy food.
To deter a curious bear spray that is slowly moving too close, spray is very good. For an attacking or bear that shows any sign of upset at your presence, gun. And if you are hunting and have a gun in your hands, the answer is obvious.
“Brown bears are black bears. “
No, Browns not Blacks. Browns are Grizzly, Kodiak, Kamchatka, etc.
Blacks are a much smaller and distinct species.
Timothy Treadwell was unavailable for comment.
Here he is....
I listened to this guy. I choose a firearm. You can start the first shot a lot farther away than you can use bear spray. You also have 5 or 6 shots with a firearm. Just the noise might be enough to dissuade the bear. If not you have 4 more shots at least to stop the bear. In the exitement, you may fumble the bear spray can which could be lethal. With the firearm, you’ve got more tries after the first shot. Again, I choose a firearm.
Port Armstrong Alaska salmon hatchery
https://youtu.be/mpLVnyu_msQ?t=410 Check out the reaction of the bear to the rifle shots at about the 7:45 mark
Check out the reaction of the bear to the rifle shots at about the 7:45 mark in the second video
If you aren’t hunting then you should consider bear bells, bears usually would rather avoid you if they hear you coming.
That sounds like a good idea.
Simply not correct.
There has not been serious comparison of bear spray and guns in real situations.
Guns, especially pistols, have proved to be very effective.
Bear spay, less effective, or , at minimum, different.
The bear spray v. firearm "research" is junk science.
The research is the opposite. Several black bears have continued to attack after being sprayed.
Most black bears give up the attack after being shot.
This is because most black bear attacks are predatory in nature.
These were all the cases where pistols were used to defend against bears that we could find (which could be documented).
The use of pistols was 95% effective.
Read the three cases where pistols failed, and it is easy to see why.
Bear spray has had a number of failures as well.
The comparison between bear spray and firearms most often cited, is for wildly different circumstances. It is junk science.
We have found about 7-8 more cases where pistols were effective since the article was published. The next update will bring the total to over 70 cases.
That is not a feature, it is a bug.
One of the big benefits of using firearms is the bear is usually killed.
Bears that attack humans should be killed, and almost always are... eventually.
Bear spray has uses, for "hazing" bears that are merely curious, for example.
I live in Grizzly country. When working around my place I carry a 44 mag. When hiking in the back country, I carry a 454 in a chest rig and spray on my belt. Never had any encounters that made have to choose. Most likely a sudden charge would cause me to deploy the gun. If I saw a grizzly at a distance i would grab the spray and wait until I was sure that the bear was intent on harming me. Mother moose actually cause me more concern and mountain lions are always on my mind. Once the bears are hibernating I carry my Glock 20.
That should handle it. {:0)
That’s the nice thing about choices. A 4” .357 with stiff loads is pretty comfortable to carry and is my preference in black bear country.
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