Bear spray or gun?

[TwistedSage]

A statistical (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report) fact is that when using a bear spray, 100% of the humans escape intact and without damage, while when using a gun, 50% of the time both the human and the bear will suffer injury or death.

That sounds wildly inaccurate to me. It is my understanding that while spray may prevent an attack, if that attack is going to happen and the bear is set on it you'd better be able to kill them. If you truly feel your live is in danger try your damndest to act accordingly.

 

[Sytes]

A prime example how one's extreme opinion (same as extreme partisan banter) can harm the legitimate statistics that do present a higher survivability and much less physical harm by the use of OC vs a firearm. Personally I carry both. Sometimes one over the other...

ABSTRACT We present a comprehensive look at a sample of bear spray incidents that occurred in Alaska, USA, from 1985 to 2006. We
analyzed 83 bear spray incidents involving brown bears (Ursus arctos; 61 cases, 74%), black bears (Ursus americanus; 20 cases, 24%), and polar
bears (Ursus maritimus; 2 cases, 2%). 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. All bearinflicted
injuries (n¼3) associated with defensive spraying involved brown bears and were relatively minor (i.e., no hospitalization required). In
7% (5 of 71) of bear spray incidents, wind was reported to have interfered with spray accuracy, although it reached the bear in all cases. In 14%
(10 of 71) of bear spray incidents, users reported the spray having had negative side effects upon themselves, ranging from minor irritation
(11%, 8 of 71) to near incapacitation (3%, 2 of 71). 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. (JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 72(3):640–645;
2008)

https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/bear_cougar/bear/files/JWM_BearSprayAlaska.pdf

 

[mdhunter61]

I apologize for bumping this old thread but I want to tell few words about this.
The use of a bear spray is humane, and also prevents you from killing an innocent bear that might seem aggressive just from appearance. Add to this the fact, that even when shooting a bear, you might only wound it and that will make it go all grizzly over your hide.

Pepper spray is the best way to go; it will repel any bear, from an attacking grizzly to a docile black bear. A statistical (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report) fact is that when using a bear spray, 100% of the humans escape intact and without damage, while when using a gun, 50% of the time both the human and the bear will suffer injury or death.

So it's better if you will have bear spray than weapon. I bought Counter Assault Bear Deterrent 10.2 oz. it's very good bear spray. It comes with a holster, so you get a larger sized canister with an easy to reach the application.

One video for you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlaJsnEzjNE

This has already been proven false on more than one occasion. Have you had much experience with different types of bears in the wild? The 125 pound black bear you might encounter walking your cat in New Jersey, is a lot different than the 700 pound grizzly that is hungry and mad about a bad salmon run in Alaska.

 

[homers]

4 year old thread bumped by a first time poster from NJ. Let the thread die.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Bear spray has 2 advantages:

1) You can always have it quickly accessible on your pack belt strap.

2) You can see the cone of spray, unlike a bullet which off by a few inches may go through an ear on a charging bear.

Bear spray has 2 disadvantages:

1) May not be effective in high winds when a charge from upwind is more likely than a charge from down wind.

2) Can't fly with bear spray which can be a problem in Alaska with commercial airlines.

 

[Sytes]

4 year old thread bumped by a first time poster from NJ. Let the thread die.

These are the typical annual threads along with a few other choice topics. Aside that, new members - new questions. At least, no matter the extreme slant used, this new person opted to use the search function before creating another of the same... X number of thread topics.