Will bear spray stop a charging bear or at that point are you basically fucked?

Bear spray is proven to be highly effective.

Firearms, not so much.

 

Wow wtf is this and where do I watch videos of ppl shooting em

 

Nvm.. https://www.tcarms.com/firearms/interchangeable-platforms/encore-pro-hunter/platform

This forum is gonna be the death of my wallet

 

Bear spray works. It puts up a "wall" in front of you that the bear will hit. One of my guys use it when we were working in Alaska. It was a large Black Bear and wasn't on a full charge. More of a "what are you and are you food" walk, but he used it and the the bear ran away. The three main problems with bear spray is 1) the bear has to be with in 30ish feet for it to be effective. 2) Wind has to be at your back or at least quartering away from you. 3) Limited quantity with no way to refill.

Guns can be effective also, but there are some down sides. 1) you need a big ass caliper. If I carry, I have a .44 mag or a 45-70 if I'm going to be in Canada. Most of the time, if I have anything, I just have a can of bear spray. 2) You need to be able to hit something moving up to 35mph (or about 50 fps) with only a few seconds to get your shit together. That means, identify the threat, draw your gun, get on target, and make a really good shot the first time. All of this in less than 3 seconds if your in the brush while your adrenalin is through the roof.

Personally I carry a can of bear spray. The last thing I want to do is kill a mom that's just protecting here cubs, or worse yet, just injure a bear. Now you have a really pissed off bear on your hands.

All of that being said @KalamaKid is right. As long as your not by cubs or a food stash, 99% of the time bears want nothing to do with you. Working in the woods, I will purposely think out loud just so a mom with cubs or a sleeping bear hear's me coming. This gives them time to get out of there. In reality it's a Moose in the rut that you have to worry about. Those assholes are just flat out pissed off and mean.

 

Check out Joe Rogans podcast with adam greentree, steve rinella, or the one with remi warren. All have very personal, up close encounters with big browns.

 

If my voice sounded like that I would spray myself in the face to shut myself up.

 

This topic is discussed on other forums (Rockslide, Outdoorsdirectory etc..) to death. To sum up my years of reading these topics and this is the honest to god truth.

1) situational awareness and proper behaviors is your best defense.
2) If you decide to carry a gun (where allowed) or pepper spray be sure it’s on you 100% of the time and you are proficient when deploying it.
3) Yes, a 454, 460, or 480 Ruger are awesome none of them compare to a rifle or a 12ga.

But none of those big powerful guns are worth a thing if they’re too heavy that you don’t carry all the time or you can hit said bear. Basically a 22 in your hand, that you can hit a bear in the eye with is better than a 375 H&H that is back at camp or a 460 that you can not hit a thing with.

In the rare occasion I carry for bear protection (fishing in AK, hiking in MT) I carry a Glock 20 in a Kenai chest holster.
https://gunfightersinc.com/kenai-chest-holster/ chest holsters are great because they’re on you all the time. Even when nature calls. Not the same for a traditional waist holster on belt or backpack. Also when wading in water your gun is high and dry and accessible.

For me this is the most reliable and proficient choice, as i am very very comfortable with operating Glocks. I also have a 44 Mag that I’d never even consider carrying because I’m just not that proficient with it.

Long story short bear spray is great, but watch the wind, guns are great too, where allowed, but using your brain is your number 1 defense. Be safe.

 

Is that the optional isis package?

 

Someone has got to have a video spraying their buddy with bear spray. Let’s see that.

 

Y’all are overthinking this, only two things needed in bear country is a small .22cal pistol and always have a “buddy” with you.

 

She sounds so cute

 

I wanted to eat her kayak

 

Me too

 

Mods need to move this thread. Don’t see how it should be in a 3rd gen focused discussion. More of an open topic. I like the memes and shit, but when I log into certain sub categories, it should be organized as such

Sorry bear

 

Bear spray works fine.

 

Woke dawg...bear. Whatever

 

There is nothing more 3rd gen than this topic. Christmas morning, people are off work. It’s only just now about to take off.