Smaller Calibers in Grizzly Country

Not sure if the bear spray and pepper spray are the same?
Long story short I have watched as a German Shepard police dog was given the command to attack the the running guy in the suit with all the protection
The dog grabbed his arm pulled him down , the guy had a can of pepper spray and empty’s it on the dog , the dog n get let go until
He was given the command from his handler to release
So I don’t have much faith in it if a bear has it on his mind that he’s going the get ya
 
bbobie said:
Not sure where you are chuck but I’m not far from the mt boarder also
There are more of these bears showing up in the bald as praries now
So I when we are out stalking mule deer with the stick and string it’s a good
Possiblity to run into one is very high
Quiet a few yrs a go my oldest son and I back packed into a hidden bowel to spend the night and spot some sheep
It wasn’t a long hike 3 1/2 hrs threw the bush up to a knife ridge
As we are coming to the top of the ridge I could hear something not sure what it was
I ran to the top and walked ahead looking could not see anything thing
We get to the box canyon my son starts cutting some spruce boys for a comfy bed
I look to the right and here is a big silver tip less then 100 yards away I call my son down I pick up the 338 and yell at the bear he turns looks right at us and starts running full bore for us
I tell my son start packing up we are leaving there was a little gully 25 yds in front of us I said if the bear come that close he sin trouble
He never did show up and it took us 2 hrs to get of the ridge and back to the vehicle so I don’t yell a them any more lol
I’ll never forget that head and silver rippling mussel chartering towards us , with the evening sun shining on that beautiful monster of a bear , my son young at the time says “that was pretty cool hey dad”lol
Sure was
Click to expand...

I can never understand what you did!
A bear charging at you and you ask you son to pack up stuff in order to leave?
He should be getting ready to fight the bear with you, not putting your pillow in your sleeping bag!
 
pepper spray for the police are not the same but if trained you habit to handle them is better. in france where we had a lot of protest marchs they cops are never crying when they are spraying the protesters not because they are immune but just trained.

in the army i was trained and after 2 times i was no more vomiting or crying ... just training.

a dog is trained and is not giving up. they can give their life for the handler.

plus the caipcine we have here for the civilian is that low it may not even scared them ...
 
Blackjack21 said:
You may laugh, but bear spray is a more effective deterrent against a bear in a close encounter than any hunting caliber you use- because shot placement is absolutely critical in order to stop a charging bear. Just try and make that shot while a bear is charging at you running 35 mph.
Click to expand...

On paper perhaps, but I will take pretty much any centerfire rifle over a can of bear spray. JMO.
 
Gatehouse said:
Yeah, when it works, it’s pretty good. When it doesn’t, it’s not so good. :)
Click to expand...


We used to have these welfare coyotes on the bombing range that had learned that the oil rigs were a source of easy food, as the roughies had been dumping the left over lunch buckets for coyote generations. It got to where if someone was carrying something 'yotes would show up. One in particular started biting guys on the heels.

That was funny as hell as long it was someone else was getting bit, but eventually he got me just above the boot-tops. It wasn't bear season, but there were cans of bear spray all over the command center and I started carrying one. It wasn't about defense; more like revenge.:) I didn't really think he'd try it again, but the very next evening he whipped around a corner and got another chomp in.

This guy isn't very scared, and stood barely 10 feet away while I transferred my lap-top bag to my other hand and got the retainer clip off. I was actually surprised he was still there, but he stood long enough to get about 3/4s of the can. I was expecting it to turn him inside out, but it didn't amount to much. He retreated slowly to the edge of the bush, and pawed his eye for awhile and came back. He laid on his back and held his leg up like a submitting dog will do; likely thinking that I'd hurt him and if he gave up I'd quit doing whatever it was. Naturally I gave him the rest of the can. Never saw him for 3-4 days after that, but he came back. Left me alone though.


Makes me think that if you're counting on pepper spray to save you, you may as well shower in straw-berry jam.
 
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150925-grizzly-bears-attacks-science-animals-bear-spray/

How a Potent Pepper Spray Became the Best Bear Repellent

"To find out if bear spray is as effective as guns, Servheen and colleagues with the U.S. Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team conducted a ten-year analysis in the 1990s, which found that people who defended themselves against bears with firearms suffered injury 50 percent of the time, while those outfitted with bear spray evaded injury most of the time.

“Although no product is guaranteed to work or always 100 percent effective, I’m not aware of any case, among many I’ve reviewed, of a person dying when deploying bear spray the way it is supposed to be used," Bartlebaugh notes.

A 2008 study backs up this claim. Between 1985 and 2006, scientists found that bear spray was 92 percent effective in deterring attacks from the three species of North American bear in Alaska. In the study, 98 percent of people carrying bear spray who got into close encounters with bears were uninjured."
 
phil1212 said:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150925-grizzly-bears-attacks-science-animals-bear-spray/

How a Potent Pepper Spray Became the Best Bear Repellent

"To find out if bear spray is as effective as guns, Servheen and colleagues with the U.S. Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team conducted a ten-year analysis in the 1990s, which found that people who defended themselves against bears with firearms suffered injury 50 percent of the time, while those outfitted with bear spray evaded injury most of the time.

“Although no product is guaranteed to work or always 100 percent effective, I’m not aware of any case, among many I’ve reviewed, of a person dying when deploying bear spray the way it is supposed to be used," Bartlebaugh notes.

A 2008 study backs up this claim. Between 1985 and 2006, scientists found that bear spray was 92 percent effective in deterring attacks from the three species of North American bear in Alaska. In the study, 98 percent of people carrying bear spray who got into close encounters with bears were uninjured."
Click to expand...

Bear spray maker says bear spray works.
 
I am hesitant to trust an agency that probably is against bear hunting when they are advising on bear defense methods.
 
92-98 percent sounds a bit too optimistic IMO.
I remember reading about an American couple in Yosemite(?) that died after expending both thier canisters bear spray on a stubborn grizzly.
Then suddenly these fatal attacks become rather difficult to find on the internet.
 
Gatehouse said:
92-98% effective is pretty optimistic. I’m at 50% effective.

It’s a tool in the tool box, just like a gun.
Click to expand...

I myself would tend to agree with 50-50 chance.
Much like strange people it's hard to predict exactly what a bear may or may not actually do.
I have only had about fourteen close range encounters with BB. However one of them went south. Thankfully a chain saw was started and scared him off. I was distracted while helping two friends build tree stands on private property. It's rather amazing how quickly we can climb a tree when scared. This is my meager experience in Ontario and Alberta. Lol
 
Dogleg said:
Every time I hear about how great bear spray is, it always seems to come back to people who love bears, hate guns, hate hunting, sell the stuff or are actively cheering for the bears.
Click to expand...

in Haines, Alaska, the bear patrol have bear spray but also a revolver and a shotgun and those bears are bigger than our little grizzly ...

our own COs call the bear spray, bear seasonning that should tell us a lot about how they trust that tool ...
 
Dogleg said:
Every time I hear about how great bear spray is, it always seems to come back to people who love bears, hate guns, hate hunting, sell the stuff or are actively cheering for the bears.
Click to expand...

Haha, this in a nutshell describes most of the people I know that carry bear spray. When I asked them how good it works they can’t answer me as nobody has had to use it on a bear, they all work in forestry to some extent. Faller/spacer/loggers/planters, a couple of them are gun owners but are far from gun nuts. I will say their situational awareness levels are always on point when we’re in the bush, which is an important skill to have.

They get real uncomfortable when the topic of bear hunting comes up, I feel it’s another tool to be able to use. I prefer having a gun in my hands over spray on my belt, but I like to be able to shoot small game if I see it as well. Can’t kill grouse with bear spray like I do with my 12g.
 
I don't choose my rifle based on bears unless I am hunting a bear. Even then, it's usually my 270. I suggest to anyone going into bear country to spend more time learning about bear body language and behaviour than they do on cartridge selection, and a bit more time repressing the urge to want to find themselves facing an opportunity to shoot a bear without a tag.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom