Axe as self defense

Ask a Russian how to kill a bear. :)

There's a great story in one of my Russian poetry books about an old woman lamenting that her son forgot to take his axe with him and got killed by the bear.
 
If you're in Grizzly bear country forget knives and axes. Carry a big-azz gun.

Grizzly%20bear%20paw.jpg
 
Besides their size, I believe they're the strongest pound-for-pound mammal in N. America as well. Better to not let any bears come close...noise, bear spray, caution, and prevention are what I've always been told.
 
Davy Crockett kilt himself a bar when he was only three...

But I'd have to say that for us regular mortals the question of hatchet vs. knife for use on a bear is just the question of what you want your last act of defiance to be. I like knives, so with the assumption that it doesn't actually matter, I'd go with the knife.
 
However this thread does remind me of an awesome story from back home in Alaska. I asked my dad if a person could kill a bear without a gun, and he told me this story:

When my dad was a kid in Barrow there was an old Eskimo lady who went out on the ice to tom-cod (ice fishing on the ocean). This being Barrow in the winter, it was of course during the long night. Out of the dark a polar bear attacked her. All she had were her clothes and a tom-cod stick. She was wearing big sealskin mittens. So she shoved her arm down the bear's throat and it choked to death on her mitten. She lost her arm, but she killed a bear with a mitten.

edit addition:

The moral of the story: Don't mess with old Eskimo ladies.
 
SC T100 said:
Besides their size, I believe they're the strongest pound-for-pound mammal in N. America as well.
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Back in the 1800's a sideshow operator set up a fight between a grizzly bear and a lion. They fought each other to a standstill for about 30 minutes until the bear realized he could just charge right through the lion and over power him. Then the fight was over.

Horrific thing to stage a fight like that. But now you know........
 
When you enter grizzly country first thing you notice is that big stones and boulders have been rolled and turned over everywhere as if there was a excavation backhoe working the grounds. Those massive shoulders are not for show, pure muscle for operating huge forearms with bucket-sized claws. All this just to get at their main food staple of marmots (an alpine version of woodchuck) which burrow under the rocks.
 
Square_peg said:
If you're in Grizzly bear country forget knives and axes. Carry a big-azz gun.

Grizzly%20bear%20paw.jpg
Click to expand...

I would also highly recommend working on flexibility. If it doesn't help during the fight with the bear at least you will be flexible enough to kiss your own a$$ goodbye. Truthfully though, this is what nightmares are made of. Most people that survive are just plain lucky, or the bear lacked the determination to kill them. It's still better to have different measures to deter/kill if needed.
 
Sosa said:
Do polar bears eat marmots?
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Where'd that picture come from? That poor old bear is rather 'wanting' in the canine teeth department which makes me wonder if it's a game park or petting zoo.
 
As everyone else has said the only real bear defense is pepper spray or a firearm. However if I had the unfortunate experience to defend myself without either of those, I would rather have something than nothing. When trekking in the woods I have made it a habit to carry either a larger fixed blade knife or a hatchet or both for simple preparedness. I have hiked in Alaska a number of times with nothing more than a Hudson Bay axe. Part of the reason I often choose a belt axe over a long knife when hiking "public trails" is because the axe has the image of a tool and a long knife gives the image of a potential "unfriendly or Rambo type." I do this because I will probably meet more people than bears while hiking. Carrying a sidearm in grizzly country is understood, a long knife is often not, because its seldom effective against bear; so its not viewed as bear protection, and thus can make other hikers uneasy (unless its more a machete type of knife).

Which would I prefer in a bear encounter--well both, but I would rely primarily on the knife. I prefer one of the two I already have--a large 11" bowie or my 11" customized Martindale paratrooper. I want a knife that is long and heavy enough for an effective slasher or stabber. Both of these knives will do that. The bowie is better suited to fighting and stabbing than the Martindale with its hilt, however it makes some people look at you cross-eyed if carrying it publically. The Martindale paratrooper has more of machete look and is perceived more as trail tool. Its also designed as striking/slashing tool. Mine is thinned along the upper edge for better stabbing penetration. It has the weight to slash brush or limbs or cut fire wood so this is probably what I would be carrying in bear country. If the bear plays with you a bit instead of simply running you down, slashing is a better option than trying to close with it and stab it. In slashing a knife will be much faster than an axe with the added benefit of being able to stab from the bottom.

Many of those who survive these encounters do so by feeding the bear an arm to protect their vitals from being bitten. If you are lucky enough to give him your left arm you can maybe stick him with the right arm. Its all just a crap shoot as to how they will attack and whether you will have any opportunity to defend yourself at all. I would rather rely on prudent measures to avoid the confrontation, a lot of good luck, or divine intervention than surviving with a knife. But I'd still rather face one with knife than with just an axe or my bare hands.
 
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So the plan is stick your left arm in the bear's mouth then stab him with your right arm ? I like the slow friend idea better.:eek::eek:
 
LEGION 12 said:
So the plan is stick your left arm in the bear's mouth then stab him with your right arm ? I like the slow friend idea better.:eek::eek:
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I suppose many things are better than feeding a bear your arm, but feeding him your friend isn't a great option either ... I can't remember what the sources were where I read the idea of feeding the bear your non-primary arm ... but I came across this a few times in bear attack survival stories
 
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