>I don't place much credence in this sort of anecdotal evidence.

True, I did not give you much to go on, but this guide has been at the biz
for many, many years. That adds up to many experiences with the brown
bear, and most likely has more life experience to draw upon than the
average person, even some experts. Regardless of our personal views of
hunting, He knows his stuff too. (He is very quick to point out that he
believes a cow moose with a calf can be much more dangerous than even a
wounded bear!) Just as you trust your expert, I highly regard this man's
outdoor abilities. He doesn't trust pepper spray for one major reason.
Chris Maack mentioned it earlier - the cans are less than reliable. If
they do spray, I'm sure they can be effective. But if they don't, you may
as well toss it at 'em. I once purchased a very large can of spray, tested
it at home the very next day and got nothing more than a minor squirt of no
more than 10 feet. I would have had to hit the critter in the eyeball for
it to do any good. The store was not happy about replacing it either,
thinking I was pulling a fast one on them. Needless to say, I don't trust a
can of pepper spray (although a firearm can misfire too).

>Read Stephen Herrero's "Bear Attacks - Their Cause And Prevention" for
>detailed information on how to use a rifle to stop grizzly bears, as well
>as detailed information as to why this isn't an option for most folks (it
>takes an >expert marksman).

I would agree with this - the average joe or joanne venturing into bear
country would be much better off with something other than a gun. And
there is no better way to prepare yourself for bear country than by reading
the several good books on the subject.

>Since black bears mostly bluff and (in the statistic sense) rarely hurt or
>kill folks, if you're in grizzly country worry about griz.

We've had some pretty nasty occurrences with black bears here in Alaska,
and those 'statistical' occurrences, though small, do still cause severe
injury. But as for the statement 'if you're in grizzly country worry about
griz.', the two do, at times occupy the same country. This year, I saw a
gorgeous brownie and a brown phase black bear use the same path within two
hours of each other. The day before that, a nice black was walking towards
me on that same path before it headed for the alder brush. This was the
day I saw my first Chestnut-backed Chickadee's, by the way (have to get a
bird in here somehow!!!)

>>More often than not, it seems most people are not prepared for an attack
>>regardless of what they are carrying for protection. While working through
>>thick alder brush, its fairly difficult to maintain ones sense of sanity
>>much less readiness for a bear encounter. Often, the
>>spray/firearm/flare/whatever gets buried in a pack somewhere and is useless
>>if needed in a hurry.
>
>Evolution in action! The bear deserves cheap munchies in this case. Who
>would hike through thick alder brush in griz country without some means of
>defense in reach??? Crashing through such traditional get-killed-by-griz
>stage >sets with your pepper spray in your pack?

Not evolution, rather stupidity...but many folks who really don't know
better can and do find themselves in this kind of situation fairly easily -
alders do seem to grow thick everywhere up here (nasty bushes) and if you
get off the beaten path, you are bound to end up in either that or devil's
club (or forbid the thought - both!) Back country travel can be extremely
difficult at times, thats for sure. Some folks unfortunately are not
prepared for it and can, and do, get themselves in all sorts of trouble.
As to the sympathy aspect, I hate to see anyone get chewed up, broke up,
messed up, or killed regardless of how it occurred (even the experts get
into bad situations.) I hate to see anyone learn the hard way.

>This is a classic griz kill scenario - a bear surprised too close (in its
>humble mind) to run. Griz with cubs and griz guarding carcasses are other
>such scenarios. In essence, when griz feel they need to defend something
>(and perhaps the denning site fits their "need to defend" criteria?) they
>attack, and due to their size vs you or I, win. Quickly. No contest. One
>or two blows.

Yep, pretty typical, except for the fact that this particular event is
unusual in that this occurred in the dead of winter. I believe that has
never happened before in Alaska, at least thats what the experts are
saying. I would hate to be in that situation regardless of my choice of
defense. In this case, I don't believe anyone was carrying any type of
deterrent - they didn't think it was necessary.

>Dropping a full-grown griz charging you is not an easy task. Read the
>reference I've provided above. It is easily done if you have the skills....

I would never say its easily done, but it can be done....

>if you don't, a firearm will prove ineffective or even counter-productive,
>as a
>wounded griz is likely to be more dangerous than an unhurt one. The
>pepper spray argument lies on the fact that you don't have to be quite so
>precise in aim, and it's easier to learn to use. It's also a weapon of
>last resort, as is
of course a firearm (as you acknowledge).

Our local outdoor writer would beg to disagree. He had a bear on top of
him before he knew what hit him. The only thing that saved him was his
ability to maneuver his .44 enough to unload it into the brown bear's belly
that was busy chewing on him. Without the gun, he may have not walked out
of the woods that day.

>Oh, Herrero is one of the leading griz experts in Canada, and stood next to a
>dismounted Mountie who dropped the largest griz (not brown, but interior griz
>still in the 1000+ lb range) measured in interior Canada as it came to them in
>full charge, after having killed fishermen outside Banff. He knows his shit.

This doesn't sound like your typical grizzly event. And I noticed they
went armed with more than pepper spray ;o)

>Anybody who cares about these issues should read his book and treat anecdotal
>evidence as entertainment which might, but which doesn't necessarily, contain
>useful information.

It all comes down to common sense and personal choice. A person should
read up on the subject before heading out into bear country. It is the
wise thing to do. Regardless, most people will come home safely no matter
what as most bears will avoid human contact.

Sorry this was so long.

Andy Sorensen
Anchorage, Alaska
ajstudio at ptialaska.net