Thanks for the post. Love these tales. I used to carry bear spray all the time in Montana forests (and these days, river bottoms on the prairie), but because so many of these Ammoland reports mention spray failure, I always carry at least a pistol, my 30-06, no bear spray. If I am wingman for another hunter, I leave the rifle behind and carry a 12-gauge, extended tube, alternating 00 buckshot and slugs, 9 rounds. The shotgun is heavy as heck, but I do not fit it with a sling because I want to have it in my hands at all times, finger on the safety, one 00 in the chamber. I have long ago determined the grizzlies do not deserve warning shots, either.
Where we hunt, lions are more scary to me because they are so danged sneaky. More than once while backtracking to camp, I have found lion tracks in the snow trailing me in the morning.
You are welcome.
The stories are as accurate as possible.
There are many myths, bad reporting, and bad research about the effectiveness of pistols, rifles, bear spray, and bear attacks out there.