BYU Study Says Bear Spray More Effective Than Guns
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]
By Rocky Thompson- rockythompson
This entry was posted on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2008 - 12:31 P.M. and is filed under Story, Backpacking, Camping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:05 pm
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.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:46 am
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.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Wow, Knocker. You’re putting us all in stitches with those Holocaust jokes. Keep ‘em coming, asshole.
April 9th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Thanks Jose… I love it when I can stir up a response.
April 25th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
[…] A powerhouse of a book, Wilderness Medicine weighs in at 2316 pages, so it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ll be safe if you pack it in your GoLite bag for the trek up the Appalachian Trail. Pack bear spray? No, leave it at home—I’m sure this thing covers bear attacks somewhere. Over 90 contributors cook up ways to deal with stitching up skulls and setting broken femurs in the backcountry. I can just imagine what it’ll be like if I buy this book and then need to use some of its wisdom on the trail. I’d be looking down at my friend’s broken knee trying to remember what I read in the book—just like a high school science test except said friend wouldn’t be able to help me cheat. […]