>>Don Baccus wrote:

>Use of firearms - even by experienced folks - is less than 100% effective,
>too. Herrero documents a surprising percentage of maulings and deaths
>on armed folks. This is especially true when there's enough cover for
>the bear to arrive by scent, but invisible to you. That last minute
>crashing of branches doesn't give much warning. And a 12-gauge shotgun
>with solid round, or 30-06, is kinda unwieldy in brush. Despite your
>praise of .44 handgun usage in relation to an outdoor writer who saved
>himself using one, I think most, if not all, bear experts would be very
>lax to prescribe this as an adequate weapon.
>
>None of these tools is going to be near 100% effective.
>

Absolutely correct - there is no 100% effective defense/deterrent when it
comes to bears. Educating yourself from as many different sources as
possible would be the best place to start.

As for praise for the .44 handgun - I only mentioned it because its what he
had available to use at the time. His rifle was knocked from his hands
during the attack and with the bear on top of him, it was his only
alternative besides rolling up in a ball, playing dead and hoping for the
best.

>Nearly all records of griz predation occur at night, usually in tents.
>The preferred griz weapon - rifle or 12 gauge with slug - is unwieldy
>in tents. And unwieldy when you're being munched.

True, but there are few, if any, alternatives with enough firepower.
Pepper spray probably wouldn't have any effect through tent walls except on
the person doing the spraying.

>>Anyone want to be first in line?
>
>Do you want to experiment with using a firearm under similar circumstances?
>
>I doubt it - a "yes" answer would be pretty crazy.
>
>So, no, I don't want to perform such experiments with pepper spray or
>ANY weapon.

I was joking around on that question, Don....

>I've said all along that weapons work very well when a well-trained person
>is wielding them. The numbers of hunters who form a big piece of the pie
>chart of griz attack fatalities makes it clear than simple recreational
>use of weapons doesn't necessarily impart the skills needed to stop a
>griz charging at 35 mph.

Quite possibly related to the fact that they are in grizzly country more
often than normal folk, not because they are armed. And just because
someone is hunting doesn't mean they have much knowledge along these lines.
Unfortunately, there are some dummies out there toting guns. I've met more
than a few.

>Herrero thinks a hunter in that situation tends
>to try for a kill shot, rather than the chest shot intended to break a
>clavicle - which is why he devoted a sub chapter to effective firearm
>use against charging grizzly bears. He was hoping, obviously, that
>hunters and others who routinely carry firearms in such country will
>read and learn.

An educated hunter should have done his homework before going on the hunt.
There is no better shot than the one that puts a bear down on the spot -
breaking the clavicle. Good point.

>So - pepper spray may fail against a motivated, charging bear. We have
>documented evidence of attacks where use of firearms, even heavy firearms,
>have failed. Does this make weapons worse than, the same as, or better
>than, pepper spray in such a scenario?

As stated earlier, I believe, it all comes down to personal choice - got to
use some good ol' fashioned common sense and all the information you can
gather in making it. Where I may prefer one, you could easily prefer
another. And I know some people who believe the danger is way overstated
and go with nothing more than a walking stick. Personally, I would hate to
kill a Grizzly or any other bear in self-defense. The law here in Alaska
states that you must salvage the hide and skull (and meat on a black bear
during the fall/winter months) and turn it into the Department of Fish and
Game. You don't get to keep it. I think this is a good law and probably
prevents a lot of unnecessary bear kills. I wouldn't look forward to this
job, anyways. Thats a lot of weight to carry out of the backcountry!

***** As for bird watching and avoiding bear confrontations - be on the
alert for any obvious concentration of corvids. This may indicate that a
bear kill is in the area.


Andy Sorensen
Anchorage, Alaska
ajstudio at ptialaska.net