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Thread: Bear Spray

  1. #1

    Bear Spray

    I am hiking more and more off trail in the forest. Using the GPS, I am cutting the corners to hidden streams. On Indian Nation lands in AZ, I can not carry my pistol, so I bought a big can of Bear Spray and carry it on my belt.

    We have had three Black Bear attacks this summer. Yogi bear looking for the pickanic basket type attacks in the camp grounds.

    Not my scenario.

    Do you have to deal with bears?

    Give it up...
    Japan: Tsuttenkai, Jolly Fishers, member since 2010

  2. #2
    smallstreams.com supporter and plankowner
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    With this summers contains I'm thinking of some spray, myself for southern CO.

  3. #3
    I grew up in rural NE Minnesota, and I live now in rural NW Wisconsin. Both of these states are half forest, and both have plenty of black bears. In recent years the number of bears has been increasing and they are expanding their range, and they are coming into towns to look for food.

    At our last home we had bears in the yard often. We took in the bird feeders at night, and the bears still climbed up on the decks. My wife had four of them come around the side of the deck and surprise her from twenty feet away. They were surprised too, and she asked them to go back into the woods, and they did. We had one come in the front yard in broad daylight, our dog saw him out the window and went nuts, and I threw rocks at the bear to chase him away. At our current home I’ve found bear scat on the driveway. A big sow has a winter den on a neighbor’s land. She’s never bothered the neighbor’s 150 sheep. The neighbor took out a couple bales of straw and some old carpet to make her den more comfortable, and he hopes this good bear stays. If this bear leaves or is killed by a hunter or hit by a car, another not so nice bear may move in.

    Since childhood I’ve had many fishing, hunting, camping, and berry picking encounters with black bears. I’ve never been afraid to go in to the woods when there are bears around. They try to avoid people. Our woods are so dense that it’s possible to get close to a bear before he knows you’re there. Once when fishing a small stream, I looked up and saw a cub in a tree about six feet from my head. I didn’t know where mama was, and I decided to quit fishing. A couple years ago I was fishing a little bigger stream and came upon a sow in a big oak nursing two cubs while another cub scrambled around in the branches above her. I was about thirty feet from her before I knew she was there. I talked to her, and she decided I was not a threat and let me fish through. I have many other bear stories.

    The most difficult bears are the big old ones with worn down teeth, or other physical problems that make it hard for them to find enough food. They’re hungry, and their hunger makes them bolder.

    We have had a few documented bear attacks in Minnesota and Wisconsin. There have been problems in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. People have fed bears at their campsites, and those bears lose their fear of people. In NW Wisconsin we had a Boy Scout seriously hurt when a bear came in to the tent. The boy had a contraband candy bar in his sleeping bag and the bear wanted it. The Scout was lucky and he lived.

    Through fishing clubs and other associations I have met at least a couple hundred trout fishermen. I don’t know anyone who carries a gun, or who carries bear spray in the Upper Midwest. Just about everyone has met bears in the woods, but we don’t think we need guns or bear spray.

    Some trout fishermen from the Upper Midwest will buy bear spray when they go to fish where there are grizzly bears. I don’t know anyone who has used it.

  4. #4
    I've encountered quite a few black bears here in NM and southwestern CO while hiking, hunting (elk, not bear) and fishing . A few have even made me do a double-take since they've been large and cinnamon-colored, and I've read about the "Ghost Grizzlies" of SW CO one too many times. In one case, I had an arrow knocked while hidden under some gambel's oak, thinking an elk was coming my way. The bear got close enough to get my heart thumping (15 ft.), but wanted nothing to do with me once it figured out what I was. Anyway, in all encounters actually, the bears have turn and run as soon as they catch my scent. Had they decided to run at me, I don't think I could have un-holstered a sidearm or bear spray and gotten a shot off if I needed to. A word of caution from experience, keeping bear spray in your car/truck can be disastrous if the can overheats and explodes, especially in the cab of a small pick-up truck while driving!

  5. #5
    Reading, reflecting, thanks for the posts.

    It does not hurt to have it along, or a pistol. Hope I never use either.
    Japan: Tsuttenkai, Jolly Fishers, member since 2010

  6. #6
    I don’t know anything about modern handguns and loads. What kind of gun do you need to stop a bear at close range?

    I had an uncle who taught soldiers to use handguns in WWII. He said that a .38 would kill an opposing soldier but wouldn’t stop his forward momentum on a bayonet charge, and the dead soldier falling forward might still reach our troops. They switched to .45’s, which had slower muzzle speed but heavier bullets and more impact, and the .45 would stop a man charging with a bayonet.

    Most of our bears are bigger than most men. But WWII was a long time ago, and maybe the loads are different now.

    Like Ryan, I don’t know that I’d be able to get off a shot if I was surprised by a bear. If I knew the bear was there and had time to bring my gun up, then I’d have a chance.
    Last edited by gusstrand; 07-02-2012 at 04:06 PM. Reason: Making it "enemy nonspecific." :)

  7. #7
    Uhh, to my Japanese friends, please do not take Ernest's comments as pointed towards Japan or it's beautiful people. Ernest is old and wise and he does not mean anything bad towards Japan, just an illustration of his knowledge.

    Ernest, I don't carry weapons to kill bears, I don't carry weapons at all. One time I kept a small pistol in my fishing bag and I placed it there because of bears and it did not make me feel any better.

    If I meet a bear and it is too close, I will fire a shot or three into the ground first, I am programmed for peace.
    Japan: Tsuttenkai, Jolly Fishers, member since 2010

  8. #8
    No worries - I made Ernest's post a little less specific :)

  9. #9
    You got a tough job Gus, you are up for it.

    I got bear spray now, I doubt I'll carry it much and the pistol will go in the bag far less if ever.
    Japan: Tsuttenkai, Jolly Fishers, member since 2010

  10. #10
    Bear spray is a must for me these days. You're right it's one of those things you never hope to have to use.

    Typically yes the bears are more scared of you than you are of them, but just in case one bear becomes bold I want to have some sort of protection on me.

    I will always carry it on my belt and probably won't go on another trip without it.

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