Well, then you might distract ...
Posted on 08/27/2023 6:29:24 AM PDT by marktwain
One of the most quoted and controversial figures used in the debate about how effective bear spray is “98%”. The figure is sprayed about (pun intended) promiscuously and irresponsibly. From thetrek.com, quoting Tom Smith:
Ninety-eight percent of people who used bear spray escaped injury (with 2% being knocked over but not killed) as opposed to only about 50% of people using guns.
The number traces back to a paper authored by Tom Smith and Stephen Herrero, published in 2008. The paper is “Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska“. It is the seminal paper that launched bear spray as a supposedly credible deterrent to stop aggressive bears. In the 72 incidents used in the paper, only one involved a hunter. He was stalking a wounded bear. 30% were people involved in bear management activities. Aggressive bears accounted for 25 incidents or 35%. There were ten incidents where bears charged people or 14%. All three injuries occurred in the ten incidents where bears charged people. If we consider the bear spray success rate only for aggressive bears and count injuries as failures,
….the success rate for aggressive bears is 88%.
There were 175 people involved in the 71 incidents. The incident which was subtracted from the 72 is not explained. The 98% figure is arrived at by dividing the number of people injured by the number of people involved. The paper does not mention how many of the 175 people had bear spray or sprayed bear spray. We know bear spray was sprayed in all 72 instances. In ten of the seventy one incidents, bear spray had negative effects on the person using the spray. Six of the 71 instances were deemed a failure to stop the undesired behavior of the bears.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
Being born and raised on the edge of Smoky Mtns Nat’l Park, I didn’t worry much about black bears, but the times I HAVE been out in the west, I always carried the Ruger...
Dolphins,,,
That brings a whole new set of challenges.
I would bet bear spray works great against a curious or young bear. I’ll bet it makes an aggresive bear bent on attacking really mad.
What I have observed, in studying the subject, is bears who are seeing a person as prey, are not as concerned with bear spray. They retreat, but then they come back, sometimes multiple times. If a bear keeps coming back, it is likely interested in you as prey. One of the great advantages of firearms is the bear is usually killed. Then it cannot come back, and is removed from the gene pool.
As bears who have a tendency to view people as prey are removed from the gene pool, bears who avoid people tend to dominate the gene pool. All species of bears in North America have shown this effect. Even polar bears were commonly avoiding human hunters by 1914.
There is/has been a trend in the last few decades to "protect" predators. It used to be that people would routinely kill wolves or cougars or bears because you couldn't be sure if one day that animal would attack you, your pets, your children or your livestock. That changed to "we need to protect those animals". Like you said, predators had a cultivated fear of humans. But that is now gone for the most part.
98% of bears prefer the taste of bear spray?
How Was the “98% Success Number” for Bear Spray Computed?
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By surveying bear scat ...
How about if I just toss a breakable jar filled with honey?
Well, then you might distract ...
I’ve heard the Groom Creek attack may have some kind of previous interaction between the 365 lb healthy bear and the older man enjoying his morning coffee but have yet to find ‘Official’ data.
Most excellent
I’d bet 100%.
Where I live, tourists carry bear spray. Locals carry a major caliber firearm.
“I thought it was calculated by the bears.”
You are correct. They randomly sent surveys to bears in the woods asking their opinion of the best bear sprays they have encountered and tabulated the answers to come up with the definitive number of the success rate of spray versus firearm usage. Government paid for the survey and the people that did it moved to Tahiti.
wy69
Digging a little finds that David Montano dispatched the Bear with a ‘30-30’ rifle.
Mr.Johnson died from the mauling and the bear also from two shots, one at the base of it’s scull and one heart-lung area.
I thought Winnie the Pooh was banned and cancelled.
I’m sticking with my Glock 20 loaded with Buffalo Bore 220 gr. That’s the go-to combination in Alaska for bear protection.
> How about if I just toss a breakable jar filled with honey?
Depends who you toss it at.
I seriously thought about going to a Hi-Capacity Semiautomatic...But revolvers have several advantages for me.
Springfield Echelon was calling.
.
Point and pull trigger ‘Bang’!
No ‘Bang’ ?
Philly Reload.
Ditto, I am now in your beautiful neck of the woods. I love hiking here. One option was moving to idaho, having Grizzlies anywhere near would scare the heck out of me. I wouldn’t even dare go hiking. They are totally different animal, as you said.
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