Bear Protection

[pmarauder]

Somewhere there was a story of a Californian family who came to Glacier park with their cameras, jingle bell walking sticks and bear spray..... Apparently, they thought the bear spray was like sun screen and applied it liberally to their arms, legs and face areas.....until the burn kicked in.
Surplus of idiots!!

 

[BigDMT]

Oh my god! I never heard that one! That's hilarious ;D.....but not surprising :

 

[Lazydays]

Yes, always go with someone slower than you.
Granted guys, 98% of my bear encounters are with black bears, I will have 2 to 3 encounters a year with them jut from my front door to getting into my pickup. As soon as I step out my front door I am in bear country. I have had to catch myself from kicking the sillly critters because they are just feet from the door when I open it and startle me. I keep a can of spray in the door of my truck for those times when there is one there waiting for me when I get home. Problem bears are about as bad as raccoons down south, they get into everything! Had one a few years ago that learned how to open car doors. They found out after a door closed behind him and he destroyed the inside of the car. We even had one step out and walk through downtown last year after the cruse ships dumped 7000 people off. Search the Juneau empire, both made the front page. The last population report I read showed 3 black bears per square mile in the Juneau area, and 1 brown per 10 square miles. Do I see people do.stupid things? Without a doubt! I was riding my Honda out the road last year and there was a good sized black in the bar ditch eating grass with 6 cars stopped to watch and one fella approaching withen 20 feet to take pictures, ON FOOT!

don't forget the sow and two cubs that just walked down the main drag of Cook City Montana in the middle of the afternoon. They walked upto a nearly new Ford Bronco, and she ripped the rear tail gate off the SUV like it was nothing. Reached in the bqack and pulled a five or six pound ham out of a cooler while everybody watched from indoors. Took the ham in her mouth and kept heading west! This happened about twelve years ago.
gary

 

[Glenn Powell]

Anyone remember the black bear in Washington that would search ice chests and only pull out the Rainer Beer? They finally found him drunk up a tree. No joke, made the headlines up here.

 

[Steve Blair]

Did they run him in or let him sleep it off?

 

[articmp]

Wouldn't see me in bear country with a can of Tabasco, that spray might spice up dinner, but I wouldn't want to have that as my only method of self defense. While I was up in the Great White North, I walked loudly, talked loudly, and carried a 308 and a 12 gauge pistol gripped mossberg loaded with slugs. I would have hated to have relied on either. If ya'll ever get a chance to see the grizzly in the hanger at Ft. Greely, then talk to the guy that was mauled by it, you will find out what the true stamina and raw power of one of those beasts is.

 

[pmarauder]

Anyone remember the black bear in Washington that would search ice chests and only pull out the Rainer Beer? They finally found him drunk up a tree. No joke, made the headlines up here.

That was up by Mt. Baker. I remember that. I used to live not far from there.....

 

[Immike]

My niece shot me in the face (accidentally) with a key chain spray can. I was in the kitchen sink for awhile and didn't really suffer much until I tried to wash it off my face and washed it my eyes. 20 min later I was fine. She on the other hand didn't do so well from the over spray. I didn't know she even got sprayed at the time. It was my daughter's birthday party and she left to go back to college and barely made it. The whole side of her head was swollen a hour later. I really wasn't impressed by the effects of it but she definitely was.

 

[AKShooter]

Well. My 2c. Sad reality the bear has advantage in blind charge. Especially at close range and you off guard or even on guard without some defense already prepped. Not much to help you. Spray firearm. He will get to you. More on the thing between your ears keeping you out of that, I'm positive I've been close to bears that simply move off. Now bears with cubs or food source. Just different. Hope it happens at a reasonable distance to employ a weapon. Certainly more on edge wih a meat pole or transporting quarters. But again just being smart on its location and keeping camp clean. 6 years hunting a lot in ak. Took a Kodak brown a few years back. Had a few encounters over the years. Actually look for bears more tha I find them. But most unwanted encounters are fishing where bears are feeding, bears used to humans For sure the worst kind. But for me weapon of choice is something that will dispatch in one shot. Firearm for sure. Shoot a 44 a lot. Most likely more than most guys shoot their personal defense weapon. And past that a centerfire rifle. Shotgun I guess is ok. Buckshot? Not me, wont get into brain , bone spine. You see officers with shotguns because that's their duty weapons. That damn show. But that's a different story

Just saying. Like driving defensively. You can do what you can to avoid it. But sometimes the head on collision happens to good people wearing seatbelts. Talk all you want about preparing Best defense is avoidance And why the heck are you even worried about this guy right now, I'd be more worried that he thinks he will even have a bear sighting in early march...... then to find anaggresive bear right out of the den? I'd be more worried about the guy coming down the trail with a pistol gripped shotgun than any bear. I carry concealed in city limits, open anywhere else. But again, just my thoughts

 

[BigDMT]

I'll be carrying a 44 magnum loaded with 300gr Hornady XTP's this fishing and archery season. That's plenty of power to make a fella feel a little more at rest in grizzly country

 

[AKShooter]

Dang, can't leave without another comment, a line has to be drawn between "guides" sure the fellas you speak of are fisherman guides, carrying a pistol or shotgun for "show" Basically, end of the day a very good and effective noise maker,,,, again, this guy is taking guided fisherman on rivers that bears frequent and that rivers where bears get used to seeing them. Not many hunting guides I've run across carry a pistol or shotgun for "show" well neither, typically a large bore rifle, and its not for show.

These topics always come up this time of year,,,why, not sure. Funny again the OP was made because this guy was actually worried about walking into the woods this time of year with his family,,,,,worry more about frostbite, food, raingear, running out of gas, ,,,, Forgot you mentioned Juneau, black bears for the most part anyway, some bowns for sure, thats a whole different beast, like pooling high school football and the NFL, just not the same. I take back my comment regarding buckshot for black bears, heck yes, 3 in the tube, should serve you well

I own bear spray and carry it sometimes, but you post like its the "best" option, pull in reports, bla, bla, bla. Best defense is something you are proficient with, if thats not a firearm, well, that sucks, at least you have bear spray

 

[Glenn Powell]

I feel in his situation, spray is best. Its not like I told the fella to grab his fly rod and a can of spray hop in a skiff and run over to Admiralty island, in September : your absolutely correct about avoiding high concentrations of bear activity and having your A-Game on when you put yourself in those situations. Bear spray works, plane and simple, so do firearms in the hands of those who know how to use them, and are willing to learn how to use them properly, effectively and safely.

As to buck shot, sorry, not a fan, never used it, or seen it used. What I have seen though is a penetration test I did with my .32 cal. flintlock. It shoots a. 308 cal. round ball, which is a single buck shot. 30g of powder penetrated farther then 60g. The 60g charge did a lot more damage to be sure, but looked like a dime when recovered. Conclusive? No, but make me hesitate on weather it will penetrate the skull. Big, fat, slow, hard solid bullets have shown the best penetration in the few tests I have done in wet and dry news paper.

Yes, the bears have started to poke there heads out down here, garbage cans have been attacked already. Its looking like we will have an early spring. The snow is gone except in open areas, and the motorcycles are already on the roads.

 

[Lazydays]

I'll be carrying a 44 magnum loaded with 300gr Hornady XTP's this fishing and archery season. That's plenty of power to make a fella feel a little more at rest in grizzly country

none of my business I already know, but at least let me recommend the Speer 300 grain solid nosed bullets. They seem to be built a little heavier than the XTP's. The Sierras are even worse.
gary

 

[Lazydays]

one thing a lot of folks forget about is that just because you got a big bore weapon, you must learn to shoot it fast and accurately. I personally like the .450 Marlin, but it's a beast to shoot past three shots. Yet I can take the .444 with 300 grain bullets at about 2000 fps without a hitch. Whatever you decide to carry, learn to use it first!
gary

 

[AKShooter]

Yes, for your friend bear spray is the best option. A pistol grip shotgun is worthless. To manage recoil of what you should be shooting. It's basically from the hip. Trade it in for a shoulder able weapon. Or get the entry handgun

Bullets. Hardcast. Slow and heavies deliver best penetration. Look at commercial ammo for bear defense. Hardcast. Not looking for a good blood trail here. Looking for DNR hits. Most heavies are not going the speeds to take advantage of an expanding bullet. Use google. Not first time it's been discussed. Load down your hand cannons for practice and then practice with full loads. Marginal frontal shot with angles still may do damage down the line. Shoulder spine. Gut even. Penetration rules for this type of defense. Broken record but why do African guides carry solids. Blood trail is not right answer

10mm and the autos. Ya have to go to a jacket but they have decent ones too

Bear spray. Handgun. Should be outside the body. Ready to deploy. I have a buddy who puts spray in his pack. Pretty useless

Again I'll say buck shot is good for black bears. In a save my ass deal. They are not tough. Skin one ever? Past that what are we talking live weight. 125-325. ?

Even the buck slug buck. Ever actually get the chance to get through all three you may have some explaining to the troopers. Ya forgot. Always have bears tags in the pocket if its a possibility. Makes the paper trail pretty simple

 

[mdavis78102]

My wife and I were on a cruise up the coast from Vancouver to Anchorage. As we walked along the deck of the ship, my wife commented she was really enjoying the Cruise and wished to do more of them. But, we would probably have to arrange them around hunting season. There was a gentleman limping along behind us, and mumbled that his wife has to do the same thing. I inquired where he was from, and what type of hunting he did. Turns out, he was from Michigan, and used to hunt bear, but not anymore. Being curious, I asked him why he no longer hunted bear anymore, and he explained that him and a buddy were attacked by a black bear. Evidently, his hunting buddy shot and wounded (and pissed right off) a black bear, which preceded to tear their ass up. He said he was crawling under his four-wheel drive truck, even up into the wheel wells trying to get away from it, but it kept dragging him out for more punishment. I asked if he sustained any major injuries, and he pulled up his pant leg to show us his prosthetic leg. A good reason for a limp... My wife said that was a horrible story, and she was really sorry something like that happend. I said, "Well, I hope it got a little of your buddies ass, for wounding it!" He said, "Yea, it killed him." Crap! Be carefull what you say....

On the same trip, a Park Ranger told us the best bear protection he had (and was carrying a 1911 in .45 ACP) was the bear spray. He said if you ever spray a bear with it, you almost feel sorry for the bear afterward. The foaming agent in the spray fills their sinus cavities, and they claw unmercifully at their face with their claws, sometimes putting their eyes out.

 

[Glenn Powell]

Personally, I have S&W629 and 686, identical. Shoot 38 special in the 686, almost as much fun as a 22. My personal issue is I physically can't shoot more than 30 rounds or so with a hand gun, my hands cramp up something fierce, even with a 22. But that is me.

Some if the blacks we have down here can be on the tough side. The one we got last year was 6'9 nose to tail, a big boy, but not a monster. Took a hard hit on the shoulder, which broke it, and a glancing blow through the head, broke the jaw and cheek bone. He stood there and watched me cover a quarter mile to get more ammo to my buddy. He ran off and left his pack with me. One more hit square in the chest and he just wondered off in the brush. 200g partition pushed by a Max load of RL22 300 WinMag. I gained a whole lot of respect skinning and quartering that bear. Very impressive bone and muscle structure. 6 footers, not so impressive, much like a good sized deer. He was guessed at 400lb, by a rancher who field judges weight on a daily basis, even after taking into account hair length. Skull was guest 3/8" short of book by F&G, 16 years old, and the oldest taken in that unit that year was 23, the year before the oldest was 29.

Typically I will keep my can of spray in the side pocket of my carhart pants, it fits in most of mine. Those velcro "holsters" are grade a junk.

 

[Valar]

Bear spray has been proven best protection. I Hike on the At with Black bears I carried spray. I will not even bother with that any more. If you are killed bye a Black Bear It was your day to die! Much more likley to die in a car accident getting to the trail. Now In grizzley country that is a different animal Bear spray Yes and a heavy side arm for backup. May not even be enough but again when my day comes well Im goin! I carried Bear spray and a pistol on the Appalacian Trail Last year. Never again folks. Black Bears typically are skitish. Attacks are extreamly rare with proper food handling! Grizzlys are much more of a extream preditor than Black Bears. If a choce of gun or spray I will take spray. A Large canister in a close charge is a huge deterent. Bullets might just tick a big grizzley off in a panic situation! My opinion!

 

[BigDMT]

Watch this video. It shows how just the sound of a gun being fired into the air can be enough to scare a bear away. This is just one example, but definitely not the only time it has worked effectively. So my point is that "you can't give a bear a warning shot with spray" to avoid confrontation. I can fire a round in the air if a bear seems threatening to me at any distance.

Watch how close this bear gets and still does a 180 degree turn and flees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3VdxHvQqsk

 

[BigDMT]

Here's another video of how effective a gun blast can deter a bear attack. This sow grizzly is coming in for the kill at full speed from the brush in the blink of an eye to protect her 3 cubs leaving only a split second of time for this guide to react. The report of his handgun turns her around instantly. No way you jokers would have been able to deploy bear spray as fast as this guide fires a shot. Folks with spray in this situation would probably be that evenings dinner for this sow and her cubs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUG8UPsgE3U