WARNING

That sounds like it would make a bear very angry.

therex wrote: Maaaaaybe better than bear spray?

nope.

statistics from the fish and wildlife service says that guns only stop 60% or so of grizzly attacks. The bear spray stops in the high 90's.

http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/bear%20spray.pdf

Maybe if I you were a super avid hunter/guide you'd be better off with a gun, but the tale of the tape shows guns don't work better.

When I was a kid I got to listen to my grandfather and one of his old coworkers shoot the breeze one night about their old bear hunting trips. The one story that stands out the most is the one where my grandfather had yo pull his friend out from under the dead bear. He had shot it with a .308 at about 100 yards "first shot should have blown his heart clean out", he claimed to have hit it 3 more times in the time it took the bear to cover the distance to him, and it still got in a swat before keeling over. So point blank with that smith 500? No thanks.

1st shot probably did blow his heart up. But bears blood pressure is so low the bear could travel 100yds before bleeding out. So point blank, nothing short of an RPG would stop a bear in its tracks. 308 is about the smallest you'd want to shoot a bear with (and that is one of the reasons I got one). We usually kept 338 or 444 rifle close at hand in camp, knowing we would have to shoot and run hoping the bear would drop before catching us.
A moose is also dangerous, 1500-2000lbs of mass that doesn't really care what is in its way, just walk through or over.
Learned when I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska.

ignorant wrote:

therex wrote: Maaaaaybe better than bear spray?

nope. statistics from the fish and wildlife service says that guns only stop 60% or so of grizzly attacks. The bear spray stops in the high 90's. http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/bear%20spray.pdf Maybe if I you were a super avid hunter/guide you'd be better off with a gun, but the tale of the tape shows guns don't work better.

Partially because people underestimate just how big a weapon you need to STOP, not just mortally wound before it rips your head off, something the size of a grizzly. That S&W 500 would do nicely, but not even a .44 magnum is reliable for anything bigger than a black bear.

Bear spray CAN be effective, yes. But sorry, I'm not going into grizzly country without a suitable firearm. Smith .500 revolver or .45-70 lever, please.

Don't get me wrong; guns aren't magic bear death rays. Obviously you have to hit the thing, and a miss with a .500 is no better than a miss with a .22.

The other problem with handguns is that they run out of ammo pretty damn quick when your fingers get all antsy about the big, furry, large toothed, drooling thing bearing down on you. Anywhere from 5 to 10 shots and you're done. And the bear is still coming because he's dead and doesn't know it yet.

My worst encounter with a bear was accidentally getting between a mama black bear and her cubs. Came around a corner as the cubs crossed the path and we surprised each other. I shouted at her and she roared back and then realized her cubs were behind me. I kept facing her and let her get around me to join the cubs. She continued to back away from me as I stood in the path trying to look invincible, but not aggressive. When she and the cubs were out of sight in the woods, I suddenly had an urge to take a leak. And I realized just how lucky I'd been that I hadn't caught any fish yet that she could've smelled and followed in. BIG sigh of relief!

I think the best advice I've ever heard on avoiding bears is to not be where they are, if you can. If you can't, carry something that will make noise. I've heard of small bells on your belt, or whistling, or talking as you go. And carry the bear spray, a couple cans of it, close to hand. And practice using it before you go out into bear country.

And don't go thinking it's a damn zoo. YOU'RE in their territory, not the other way 'round. You're lower on the food chain, in their eyes. Nothing personal; that's just the way it is.

We see this dude in our yard here in NJ all the time. Right now, he's a teenager. Sometimes we see a real big one......I'm pretty sure it's his momma.

Marjorie Suddard wrote: "Pack your bear spray: there's going to be run-ins," Margie

don't know what they're advocating for bear spray, but what I've been reading says that (this works for self-protection against other "humans" also) bee/wasp spray is as good if not better for self protection... sprays farther and is very debilitating

I think I'd be packin' some carb cleaner. It might not fend him off but at least I won't taste very good after Mr. Bear gets a facefull of that.

Going though Prince William Sound once, I was talking with the pilot. He said he hunted Kodiak bears on Kodiak Island. They used combat shotguns loaded with slugs. The grass was real tall in the summer and you couldn't see them. You could smell them, though. If you got between a female Kodiak and her cubs, your only chance was to hit it in the shoulder with the 12ga slug, to break it's shoulder while it was charging you. Then it would go down.

Marjorie Suddard wrote: D'oh! Margie

They already took care of this problem in Springfield with the Bear Patrol.

EricM wrote: Moose are more dangerous than Bears.

Mind you, a Moose bit my sister...

No Realli! She was Karving her initials on the moose with the sharpened end of an interspace toothbrush given her by Svenge- her brother-in-law- an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian movies: "The Hot Hands of an Oslo Dentist", "Filling of Passion", "Huge Molars of Horst Nordfink"...

Mynd you, moose bites Kan be pretti nasti...

We apologize for the previous two comments. Those responsible for them have been sacked.

I was taught the best thing to do if you have a handgun is shoot yourself so it won't hurt when the bear tears you apart.

ignorant wrote:

therex wrote: Maaaaaybe better than bear spray?

nope. statistics from the fish and wildlife service says that guns only stop 60% or so of grizzly attacks. The bear spray stops in the high 90's. http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/bear%20spray.pdf Maybe if I you were a super avid hunter/guide you'd be better off with a gun, but the tale of the tape shows guns don't work better.

Linky no workie on my end, could be the gub'ment computer, though.

Mikey52_1 wrote: And don't go thinking it's a damn zoo. YOU'RE in their territory, not the other way 'round. You're lower on the food chain, in their eyes. Nothing personal; that's just the way it is.

This is basicly what I used to tell my SCUBA students. As long as you don't act like a sick or dieing fish you'll be okay but remember your the slowest thing in the water so don't piss off anything with teeth.