|
|
|
Welcome to Outdoor Life
Subscribe to Outdoor Life
and enter to win $5000
Animal attacks
So you're elk hunting in the Yellowstone region and a grizzly comes charging out of the brush at you: bear spray or firearm?
A hunter using the two-hand ready carry for his rifle would have to let go of his rifle with one hand and try to use bear spray with his free hand. Is that a safe maneuver? Some one-handed rifle carries would require a right-handed hunter facing a charging grizzly to use his bear spray left-handed.
An October 2, 2009 press release from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP urges hunters to use bear spray) claims that research shows "in 76 close encounters with black, brown, and polar bears in Alaska, bear spray was 92 percent effective in deterring them . . . in a separate study of 278 incidents, firearms were only 67 percent effective."
Is anyone familiar with the reasearch and studies on bear spray and firearms? Something doesn't add up here.
OutdoorLife.com is part of the Bonnier Outdoor Group Network
Copyright © 2009 Bonnier Corp. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Print
Email
Share
I am sorry, If there is a chance that I would be in that 8 %, I will go with a gun. I would probably carry a side arm in a holster with me. My favorite for right now is a Smith 629 Classic Hunter in .44 mag. If I was in bear country, I would probably have it loaded with something big and heavy, alternating with something light and fast. I can shoot that gun fairly fast and with reasonable accuracy.
Like the old joke says you can recognize grizzly bear scat because it smells like pepper spray. I don't want to be the meal for the bear that doesn't know he is supposed to leave when the pepper spray hits.
I wish I could post a certain episode of "Canada In The Rough", a weekly tv show about hunting in Canada.On this particular episode Mr Thomas Pidgeon(host) was instructing new Bear hunters what to do if charged on their way to their treestands.A bear archery target was the threating animal, and the host pointed the bear spray and let it fly, unfortunately the wind suddenly swirled and it instantly dropped Mr.Pidgeon like a rock, gasping and wheezing for breath and pulling at his eyes.He was completely blind and unable to stand.....if the target had been a real bear it could of had its way with the blinded man.Experts say the bear spray will stop a charge more readily BUT you must be 100% upwind or your target or you may suffer the effects of the spray, which could make a bad situation so much worse.I have spent considerable time in both black and grizzly bear country and have never carried bear spray instead opting for a large cailber firearm.
278 firearm defense compared to 76 pepper spray.....
So what happen in the 202 pepper spray cases they didn't count?
Perhaps Bo is right about grizzly scat smelling like pepper spray.
While in Alaska I heard of several case as bigjake describes...
Plus you can not pack pepper spray in your luggage and fly even bush pilots will not allow it in their planes.
Pass the gun please and hold the pepper
I got chased once by mama bear. Had no gun our pepper spray wasent the best time of my life but I did learn a few things. Like running is good for a mans heath if I couldnt run like a deer back then I probly would of been just a bear attack headline . Another thing I learned is never go out in the woods without a gun why not say pepper spray well if you seen the rage in her eyes you would under stand that nothing would of stoped her from protecting her young accept a quick visit to the after life. Another thing I want to say is it happens so fast you have no time to think just react make sure its the right reaction because it could be your last reaction. Good luck to all and pack some heat it might be good 4 your heath did u hear that obama guns can be good for a humans heath.
I just gota add treestand hunting and store baught jerky dont mix. Why you ask I took my nephew out for his first hunt braught some snacks and sweet so the young boy would stay longer in the stand. Anyways sitting there I hear something moving close to the tree I move a little to look under the stand the it makes a weird huff like growel then it was gone in a blink of the eye. I asked the young man did you see that he says no but I herd it . I was amazed I used this same stand for 13 years never had any problems with bears but when we climbed down I see a big chunk of jerky that the boy droped.
I just gota add treestand hunting and store baught jerky dont mix. Why you ask I took my nephew out for his first hunt braught some snacks and sweet so the young boy would stay longer in the stand. Anyways sitting there I hear something moving close to the tree I move a little to look under the stand the it makes a weird huff like growel then it was gone in a blink of the eye. I asked the young man did you see that he says no but I herd it . I was amazed I used this same stand for 13 years never had any problems with bears but when we climbed down I see a big chunk of jerky that the boy droped.
I got chased once by mama bear. Had no gun our pepper spray wasent the best time of my life but I did learn a few things. Like running is good for a mans heath if I couldnt run like a deer back then I probly would of been just a bear attack headline . Another thing I learned is never go out in the woods without a gun why not say pepper spray well if you seen the rage in her eyes you would under stand that nothing would of stoped her from protecting her young accept a quick visit to the after life. Another thing I want to say is it happens so fast you have no time to think just react make sure its the right reaction because it could be your last reaction. Good luck to all and pack some heat it might be good 4 your heath did u hear that obama guns can be good for a humans heath.
Post a Reply (200 characters or less)
I wish I could post a certain episode of "Canada In The Rough", a weekly tv show about hunting in Canada.On this particular episode Mr Thomas Pidgeon(host) was instructing new Bear hunters what to do if charged on their way to their treestands.A bear archery target was the threating animal, and the host pointed the bear spray and let it fly, unfortunately the wind suddenly swirled and it instantly dropped Mr.Pidgeon like a rock, gasping and wheezing for breath and pulling at his eyes.He was completely blind and unable to stand.....if the target had been a real bear it could of had its way with the blinded man.Experts say the bear spray will stop a charge more readily BUT you must be 100% upwind or your target or you may suffer the effects of the spray, which could make a bad situation so much worse.I have spent considerable time in both black and grizzly bear country and have never carried bear spray instead opting for a large cailber firearm.
278 firearm defense compared to 76 pepper spray.....
So what happen in the 202 pepper spray cases they didn't count?
Perhaps Bo is right about grizzly scat smelling like pepper spray.
While in Alaska I heard of several case as bigjake describes...
Plus you can not pack pepper spray in your luggage and fly even bush pilots will not allow it in their planes.
Pass the gun please and hold the pepper
I am sorry, If there is a chance that I would be in that 8 %, I will go with a gun. I would probably carry a side arm in a holster with me. My favorite for right now is a Smith 629 Classic Hunter in .44 mag. If I was in bear country, I would probably have it loaded with something big and heavy, alternating with something light and fast. I can shoot that gun fairly fast and with reasonable accuracy.
Like the old joke says you can recognize grizzly bear scat because it smells like pepper spray. I don't want to be the meal for the bear that doesn't know he is supposed to leave when the pepper spray hits.
I got chased once by mama bear. Had no gun our pepper spray wasent the best time of my life but I did learn a few things. Like running is good for a mans heath if I couldnt run like a deer back then I probly would of been just a bear attack headline . Another thing I learned is never go out in the woods without a gun why not say pepper spray well if you seen the rage in her eyes you would under stand that nothing would of stoped her from protecting her young accept a quick visit to the after life. Another thing I want to say is it happens so fast you have no time to think just react make sure its the right reaction because it could be your last reaction. Good luck to all and pack some heat it might be good 4 your heath did u hear that obama guns can be good for a humans heath.
I just gota add treestand hunting and store baught jerky dont mix. Why you ask I took my nephew out for his first hunt braught some snacks and sweet so the young boy would stay longer in the stand. Anyways sitting there I hear something moving close to the tree I move a little to look under the stand the it makes a weird huff like growel then it was gone in a blink of the eye. I asked the young man did you see that he says no but I herd it . I was amazed I used this same stand for 13 years never had any problems with bears but when we climbed down I see a big chunk of jerky that the boy droped.
I just gota add treestand hunting and store baught jerky dont mix. Why you ask I took my nephew out for his first hunt braught some snacks and sweet so the young boy would stay longer in the stand. Anyways sitting there I hear something moving close to the tree I move a little to look under the stand the it makes a weird huff like growel then it was gone in a blink of the eye. I asked the young man did you see that he says no but I herd it . I was amazed I used this same stand for 13 years never had any problems with bears but when we climbed down I see a big chunk of jerky that the boy droped.
I got chased once by mama bear. Had no gun our pepper spray wasent the best time of my life but I did learn a few things. Like running is good for a mans heath if I couldnt run like a deer back then I probly would of been just a bear attack headline . Another thing I learned is never go out in the woods without a gun why not say pepper spray well if you seen the rage in her eyes you would under stand that nothing would of stoped her from protecting her young accept a quick visit to the after life. Another thing I want to say is it happens so fast you have no time to think just react make sure its the right reaction because it could be your last reaction. Good luck to all and pack some heat it might be good 4 your heath did u hear that obama guns can be good for a humans heath.
Post a Reply (200 characters or less)