Bear defence...what would you do?

Scrap the bear spray unless you just want to taste good for possible bears. I would suggest both buck shoots 000 and some slugs. But the bear spray is completely useless. Never seen one piece of credible study that it is effective.

I'm planning a trim into the middle of nowhere in nothern ontario, Hudsons bay. just me and my boy who turns 15 next week. Man I'm getting old. Anyways, I was debating between a Rossi Marie's leg in 44mag 240jsp or the chiappa 357 that has similar muzzle energy and is more reliable action because theyre compact and I could get one of those thigh holsters, or my dominion grizzly 12.5 with box mag. The regs say slugs, if hunting bear, since im not hunting would 00 buck be enough and can I have a full mag? And last choice would be a 870 super magnum 12ga with slugs/ 00buck.

Ill get 3 cans of bear spray, and can I get my kid to carry one? Or just get him some clown shoes so he makes a lot of noise while walking?
 
My common bear defence practice while on canoe trips was to spray my tent mates boot soles and heels with cod liver oil. When she used to ask me why I never carried my bear spray I just told her there was no need as bears will not be bothering me!
 
If you are ever in an area where bears are very likely you should not be separated from each other. The place I regularly camp in the bush has lot's of bears around. Mind ya there only black bears but they live less then a half km from where we camp. I don't leave my son alone. Where you intend to go I suspect the bears would be much more confrontational.

I would have rather my son had something on him to buy time if I'm temporarily incapacitated by natures call. A pickaxe?
 
so what is wrong with him packing his own rifle ?

No pal, no hunting license. He is pretty good with a compound bow, but the little peep sight makes it fool proof. Here is a pic of him with the air rifle. In this pic I was just enjoying the outside, I don't know how I got to be an arm res. for the record, he got 4 in a row skeet with my brand new out of the box remington 870 super mag. I bet he could take a bear if he wasn't scared sheetless

 
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Bear spray in holster is a good idea for your son. Buy a couple of cans so that he and you can fire one off in a safe windless spot so that he knows how far it will spray and to familiarize him with the safety tab etc.

It only sprays 12 feet. If possible it is best to get a tree between you and the target to give you more time.
 
If a Polar bear happens around you don't have to piss it off. If it spots you, you are prey as far as it is concerned and you will be hunted.

That is a common belief, but as with all suppositions concerning bears, its not necessarily true. Yesterday we walked up on two of them, one immediately bolted, and swam out into Hudson Bay, the other lifted his head to look at us, then went back to sleep. The point is, regardless of species, you can't say with any degree of certainty that a bear will do this or do that, under any given circumstances. There are however any number of things he might do. Its due to this uncertainty that I get comfort from packing a firearm.
 
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I bet he could take a bear if he wasn't scared sheetless

The key to prevailing in a dangerous bear encounter is to remain calm and patient. The firearm gives you the confidence that this will turn out alright thereby controlling your fear. Naturally the more competent you are with that firearm the more confidence it ensues. Patience prevents you from shooting a bear unnecessarily, or too soon. The reason we're concerned about shooting too soon has to do with marksmanship. The purpose of shooting is to stop the bear's forward progression. Forward progression suggests motion, and motion complicates the marksmanship problem. The hunter's lung shot won't be effective soon enough, even though it has killed the bear. So if the shot is not in the chest, then it must either be a CNS shot or it must break a large bone, slowing the bear's forward progression, and giving us time to make a CNS shot. These are small targets on a deceptively large and moving animal, so your chances of success actually improve when the range is measured in feet rather than yards.
 
I always take a rifle, usually the .338WM, whenever I go out in the bush.


I don't ask permission...


I've seen something like 9 black bears in the last 5 days I've been out there. There's bears in every cutblock hitting the berries big time...
 
The key to prevailing in a dangerous bear encounter is to remain calm and patient. The firearm gives you the confidence that this will turn out alright thereby controlling your fear.

I do not want to hunt a bear. I do not want to see a bear. I do not want to startle a bear and vice versa. I just have to be in an area the frequent. There will be two of us, I never shot anything and while I'm not prone to freezing or running away I'm semi-worried about my first encounter with a creature that given my inexperience is perhaps above me on the food chain. I'd take my browning blr 450 marlin if it wasn't so honking big it would get in the way.

These are small targets on a deceptively large and moving animal, so your chances of success actually improve when the range is measured in feet rather than yards.

By the time the bears distance is measured in feet I have a problem- a big black hairy beary problem.

Does the shotgun plugged to 3 apply to bears?

How many of you actually met a bear when you didn't expect?
 
I do not want to hunt a bear. I do not want to see a bear. I do not want to startle a bear and vice versa. I just have to be in an area the frequent. There will be two of us, I never shot anything and while I'm not prone to freezing or running away I'm semi-worried about my first encounter with a creature that given my inexperience is perhaps above me on the food chain. I'd take my browning blr 450 marlin if it wasn't so honking big it would get in the way.



By the time the bears distance is measured in feet I have a problem- a big black hairy beary problem.

Does the shotgun plugged to 3 apply to bears?

How many of you actually met a bear when you didn't expect?

When you're in bear country, your state of mind must always be alert to the possibility of seeing a bear. 99% of the time this will turn into a non-event as the bear disappears at top speed. What we're concerned about here is the 10th bear; that odd ball whose life experience has taught him that he's more likely to prosper by being an assertive #######. But its my contention that any given bear can be a dangerous bear under some circumstances. A starving bear is bad news. A startled bear can be. A bear on a food cash definitely is, so if you smell something dead, don't go and investigate unless you want to see a bear up close and personal. A female accompanied by cubs is a red flag, and if you get too close the cubs will want to check you out, which is a train wreck waiting to happen. If you get inside a bear's personal space, his reaction to you will be much different than if you're not. You might never see a bear, or you could see him on your very next excursion, you just don't know, but you should always be alert to the possibility of seeing one. If you feel surprise when you see a bear, you are not in a suitable state of mind - your response should be, "Hey, there's a bear, I thought that might happen and I know what to do about it!"

A feeding bear is a dangerous bear, regardless of species . . .


Here's a potential train wreck; the locomotive is just to the right of the cub . . .


Always be alert to the possibility of seeing a bear, even in unlikely places . . .


Further, if you carry a firearm for self defense, it might be a good idea to hunt with it first, even if hunting holds no interest for you. It drives me crazy when I see bear monitors here who have no big game experience, yet might be responsible for the safety of a number of people. They might be bear savvy folks, but they aren't gun savvy folks. Until you've killed a big animal, you have no way of knowing what to expect when you drop the hammer. Don't be one of these guys who fires the shot, and brings his rifle down to waist level so he can admire his handiwork. Keep the rifle at your shoulder, the sights on the animal, get another round int he chamber and be ready to shoot again.

I strongly advise you to purchase the trilogy of books on bear attacks by Garry James Shelton, "Bear Attacks, the deadly truth, Bear Attacks II, myth and reality, and the Bear Encounter Survival Guide." Also get Stephen Herrero's book "Bear Attacks, their causes and avoidance." The information in those books will have you much better armed the next time you go into bear country or encounter a bear.

The purpose of waiting to shoot until the bear is feet away is twofold; first, it dispels any doubt that the bear means to do you harm, and secondly it simplifies the marksmanship problem. Of course for this technique to be successful, you must practice with your firearm until competent, close shots aren't always easy shots, and things will be unraveling very quickly. You must also pre-program yourself, to reduce the lag time between realizing you have a problem and when your react. For example, when I was in Tanzania, I realized that if an animal ran to my right, I would be slow and have difficulty getting on him without sweeping others in the party, so I decided early that I would shoot left handed. Later that day, a warthog scooted off quartering to the right, and I made as pretty a running offhand shoot as you'd ever see, and I made it left handed.

Until bears grow feathers, there is no requirement to plug your shotgun to 3 rounds. However you should confirm that in you local jurisdiction, and it would only be true when no bird season was open.
 
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So many commenters on CBC always say something like : "Why do you need a gun? Just use bear spray."

Some guys went camping up in remote Manitoba and somehow one of the guys shot his friend mistaking him for a bear, and the top rated comments were like: "Why do you need a gun on a camping trip?"

I can't help but shake my head at comments like that, but then again what do they know? If I was going into any remote area I would rather a rifle than bear spray any day.

Just had to comment about this - a few years back a friend and I had a few rums and tested out the bear spray on each other.

Not that bad really, if I was determined it wouldn't stop me. Granted, a bear has a more sensitive nose, but still. Interestingly, one of the cans was older, and it was noticeably weaker. (One can brand new, one can a year old) CS (tear) gas is a LOT worse
 
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"...This is not a Firearms Politics News Article..." Isn't about hunting either.
The MNR is highly unlikely to tell you it's ok to carry a firearm while fishing. There's no hunting season for Pepe and ammo suitable for hunting small game is not suitable for Yogi either.
 
Cheers.

Niggles


MNR




Carrying a firearm is not the best solution if you are truly concerned about black bear attacks. You may consider acquiring commercial bear deterrent devices like “bear bangers” and other noise making equipment or repellent sprays. These items can be effective in the very remote chance that you encounter a curious bear while you are camping or hiking and are also much safer than firearms for both bears and people.




Niggles



MNR


dafuq? how is it not the best solution...? its the only solution that fully removes the treat imo... bear sprays or bangers could work but aren't guaranteed. pretty sure a well placed shot would guarantee the treat removed...

also are you serious... you need to have the gun packed away to prove you aren't attempting to hunt with it during big game season? if you have it locked away you are not going to have time to grab it before being mauled by a bear if it so chooses.
 
When you're in bear country, your state of mind must always be alert to the possibility of seeing a bear.

.....

The purpose of waiting to shoot until the bear is feet away is twofold; first, it dispels any doubt that the bear means to do you harm, and secondly it simplifies the marksmanship problem.

.....

You must also pre-program yourself, to reduce the lag time between realizing you have a problem and when your react.

I think you and I share similar nightmares.
 
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