A new study reported in the Salt Lake Tribune says that properly used Bear Spray is much more effective at stopping a charging bear than a gun.
If you’re roaming bear country, your best protection against an unpleasant encounter is a can of bear spray, not a gun, according to Brigham Young University wildlife biologist Tom Smith.
Smith’s team, which included Stephen Herrero, a world authority on bear attacks, has studied 600 bear encounters in Alaska over two decades. In 72 incidents in which bear spray was used properly, the bear stopped charging more than 90 percent of the time, according to a study Smith published in the April edition of the Journal of Wildlife Management. People using guns, by contrast, stood a one-in-three chance of failing to deter the bear, according to an earlier study.
A gatling gun loaded with bullets coated in pig fat would probably still get the job done, but the crucial point here is using the bear spray properly. If you sprayed half of it on your Mary Jane Farms food to give it some kick, it probably won’t help. The study makes no mention of portable electric bear fences.
via Trout Underground [GetOutdoors]
ByRocky Thompson
holy crap! its Teddy Ruxpin. looks as though he has grown up since I last saw him 15 years ago. funny, he never mentioned he wanted to be a junkie when he grew up.
I just wolf down a 3 pack of fish tacos with a growler of Murphy’s before I hike… that way I can just gas the bears like a shower-haus at Auschwitz.
On a serious note, I think guns are better served for the 2-legged predators in the wilderness… rapists and psychos love the desolation of the great outdoors, and are by far a more probable health hazard than bears. Bear spray is a good place to start for animal control, but it is not a valid substitute for deadly force. It may be a good first resort, but not a very good last resort. Sometimes, deadly force is the only thing that works in a very desperate situation.
Wow, Knocker. You’re putting us all in stitches with those Holocaust jokes. Keep ‘em coming, asshole.
Thanks Jose… I love it when I can stir up a response.