Knife for bears

cricketdave said:
Its almost hard to answer with any degree of seriousness. You would be much better off making like a squirrel and climbing a tree fast. Honestly if you stick a knife in a 1000lb bear all your going to do is get ripped into tiny pieces that much faster because he is going to be really pissed off. I doubt you could get enough penetration to actually do any damage and even if you did by the time it would have any effect on the bear your already dead and in tiny chunks stuck between his teeth.

That said, a really pointy long blade...maybe the laredo bowie or natchez bowie from cold steel, some long dirk type blade, something along those lines. Still not even a remote chance of working but hey gives you a choice.

cric
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halbschaf said:
Hello everybody

Being nwe in this forum, I hope my English might be good enough to make you understanding my issue.
What I´m interested in, looking for the answer since years and getting many different answers, is, how long the blade of a knife should really minimum be to reach the heart of an adult bear. That depends of the size of the animal, of course. In case of a black bear for example, let´s say around 300 pounds, I suppose a length of 6 to 7 inch should work. But what´s about a 1000 pound up grizzly?
Please let´s not talk about the chances anyhow and about such stuff, that a spear, hand gun cal. 500 or a cannon is by far the better choice let´s talk about the knives. It´s only for the psyche,because I´m aware about the chances. But nevertheless that´s extremely important.

Making survival trips in Europe, Canada and Alaska, I´ve been among dangerous animals lots of time. Last June tracking near Kodiak Island I used my bear spray and hurt myself never will take this kind of defense again. As I don´t carry shooting weapons, I have to trust in a good knife. Is anyone in this forum with anatomical knowledge? Have my doubts while looking at an 8 inch blade and thinking about the size of a very big bear . I know that the heart is not the best idea to kill a bear, but that´s what I like to know. Also it is said that the heart is pretty close to the chest wall similar to a human being. By having that in mind 8 inch might work. On the other hand the knife shouldn´t be unnecessarily long, as it has to be fast to handle that means as short as possible.
Also the tip shouldn´t be shaped as knives like Busses, as those seems to be not pointed enough, and the CS trailmaster for ex. might have a too thick blade, means to slow in action.

For any helpful informations in this issue thanks in advance. You´re the last hope.
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Maybe a becker bk 9
 
geargeek said:
No offense but, if you hurt yourself w/ pepper spray, would you be safe w/ a sword? Any weapon, even pepper spray, takes training and practice to be effective. Learn as much as you can about bears, their behavior, and how to be around them safely. If you go back to Alaska there are many opportunities to learn about bears; the national parks teach classes about them, and there are also guides and other experts to learn from. The original bear experts, the Native Americans, used to hunt bears with dogs, and long lances/spears. Now they use hunting rifles. A knife might make you feel better, and be useful for other things, but it won't work against a bear. Even if you did manage to mortally wound it, it would kill you first. If you are feeling afraid of bears on your trips, your best weapon is knowledge.
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pepper spray is ok if the wind isnt blowing in ur face. You should get a glock 20 and a chest holster. Maybe a 44 mag but a chest holster is best. Id still take bear spray. A bk 9, rtak 2, esee junglas might be good if you end up doing some mma ground fighting with smokey
 
halbschaf said:
Hello everybody

Being nwe in this forum, I hope my English might be good enough to make you understanding my issue.
What I´m interested in, looking for the answer since years and getting many different answers, is, how long the blade of a knife should really minimum be to reach the heart of an adult bear. That depends of the size of the animal, of course. In case of a black bear for example, let´s say around 300 pounds, I suppose a length of 6 to 7 inch should work. But what´s about a 1000 pound up grizzly?
Please let´s not talk about the chances anyhow and about such stuff, that a spear, hand gun cal. 500 or a cannon is by far the better choice let´s talk about the knives. It´s only for the psyche,because I´m aware about the chances. But nevertheless that´s extremely important.

Making survival trips in Europe, Canada and Alaska, I´ve been among dangerous animals lots of time. Last June tracking near Kodiak Island I used my bear spray and hurt myself never will take this kind of defense again. As I don´t carry shooting weapons, I have to trust in a good knife. Is anyone in this forum with anatomical knowledge? Have my doubts while looking at an 8 inch blade and thinking about the size of a very big bear . I know that the heart is not the best idea to kill a bear, but that´s what I like to know. Also it is said that the heart is pretty close to the chest wall similar to a human being. By having that in mind 8 inch might work. On the other hand the knife shouldn´t be unnecessarily long, as it has to be fast to handle that means as short as possible.
Also the tip shouldn´t be shaped as knives like Busses, as those seems to be not pointed enough, and the CS trailmaster for ex. might have a too thick blade, means to slow in action.

For any helpful informations in this issue thanks in advance. You´re the last hope.
Click to expand...
Listen to Joe Rogan podcast 1674 with Clay Newcomb, during the Era of muzzleloaders grizzly bear hunters regularly dispatched bears with bowies. They were probably halfway there and bayed with dogs, but the average blade length was guessed to be about 10-12".
 
What knife ya got for this bear. BTW, thats my hand there next to it and I wear and XL glove:

zxpZTjb.jpg


Found this while we were cutting up some deadfall for firewood a few weeks back. now thats a bear! Bout Sasquatch size:

NI0iHdP.jpg
 
We have 600lb+ BLACK BEARS where I am. Seen many. There are plenty of people that have killed them using sticks and stones. A few years ago when they paused the hunt (now paused again), the biologist came by my home to put some deterrent into the "bear proof" cans (even the best cans like Barracuda not very effective) and he pinged 20 + Tagged bears within a few miles (like 3) from my house.
Must be 10× that many.
I tried to get him to tell me what frequency the trackers were set at which would seem to be a help to avoid known bigguns but he laughed.
 
ElementalBreakdown said:
There are plenty of people that have killed them using sticks and stones.
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Well of course! We all know words will never hurt them!

But seriously, got any way to back that claim up? What is "plenty of people"? BTW, an entertainment podcast is not evidence. We've got plenty of bear in PA, never heard of one killed by sticks and/or stones (or words, to be clear). People here carry a gun if the intend to kill an attacking bear...

Personally, if I wasn't carrying a gun (which I do), bear spray, a large pointy stick, big knife/machete, and then stones, in that order would be my choice for bear defense. I would feel really stupid if I just had stick and stones though. Really really stupid. Honestly, making noise is a more effective deterrent than stones.
 
craytab said:
Really really stupid. Honestly, making noise is a more effective deterrent than stones.
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Yeah, I like bear bangers. They are especially good when discharged from a firearm and use plenty of lead. I have very little faith in bear spray. The spray has no range, is just as likely to disable you as the bear, the delivery system is always questionable and it is unlikely to discourage an animal that intends to do you harm.

Perhaps I would consider it if bear spray were available in military m2 flamethrower sized rig, with that level of range and capacity. But, even then, a firearm or ballista would be easier and more practical.


n2s
 
Alaskan rangers swear by both. I carry it always - a kid from Rutgers U. got killed and eaten a few years ago less than a mile from my front porch.
I have firsthand experience with its effects I was packing for a trip and my backpack was under my bow rack, an arrow with a field point fell off my bow rack onto my pack and pierced the canister hung on some webbing and I didn't realize what the hissing was for a second and got a face full. I barely managed to get up the stairs and into our bedroom where my wife was sleeping... Less than 5 seconds stumbling into the room She could barely breathe and immediately woke her up out of a dead sleep and helped me flush it off. Gasping within 30 seconds...
No doubt a face full of the actual liquid would turn around any bear.

I hear you about making sure that you are upwind when using it, but it's more like mace than pepper spray, it closes airways vs. just being an irritant.

Lots of close calls. Yet NJ makes it illegal. And we can't carry handguns.

I'll take any tool I can dealing with bears, they are absurdly fast and unlike wolves, mountain lions, etc. are not generally shy.
 
Ok. So your average f dick pig killing knife is 21cm. And they kill pigs up to about 100kg.

Now a bear is about 300kg so all you need is a f dick style knife that is 63cm long.
Or 24 inches

Simple really.


And so cold steel katana machete.

Problem solved.
 
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Bears don't have thumbs, bears can't use knives.
If I were going to buy a knife for a bear it would probably be something in the ulu type knife that way they could slide their paw into it and use it that way. Otherwise bears don't have thumbs bears can't use knives.
I thought for a minute that you were possibly trying to figure out what knife to use to kill a bear and then I thought that's just the stupidest shit I ever heard, why would you choose to fight a bear with a knife.
The correct answer is, you wouldn't, because bears will kill you and eat you. If you kill a bear with a knife it is dumb freaking luck. Why would you go into a situation where you are basically depending on dumb freaking luck? You are just as likely to kill a bear with a knife as you are with a rock. Don't be stupid, take the bear spray cough and sneeze and cry a little bit, and have at least a 20% chance of being alive. Good luck you should stay home.
 
heresthedeal said:
Bears don't have thumbs, bears can't use knives.
If I were going to buy a knife for a bear it would probably be something in the ulu type knife that way they could slide their paw into it and use it that way. Otherwise bears don't have thumbs bears can't use knives.
I thought for a minute that you were possibly trying to figure out what knife to use to kill a bear and then I thought that's just the stupidest shit I ever heard, why would you choose to fight a bear with a knife.
The correct answer is, you wouldn't, because bears will kill you and eat you. If you kill a bear with a knife it is dumb freaking luck. Why would you go into a situation where you are basically depending on dumb freaking luck? You are just as likely to kill a bear with a knife as you are with a rock. Don't be stupid, take the bear spray cough and sneeze and cry a little bit, and have at least a 20% chance of being alive. Good luck you should stay home.
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A jeez. We've all been answering this question wrong for over a decade!
 
Not sure if you read the whole thread, but some of us live where there's no possibility of handguns and firearms seasons in general are absurdly short.
I said that all of my hunting crew does in fact carry spray, but we also all have big knives because there is literally no other option besides spray and knives.
Like you said, pretty much as good as a rock - and if you search it up you will find relatively recent accounts of desperate people using both rocks and knives-sometimes successfully - but given the choice of a rock which might not be handy vs. a big knife which will always be handy, I will take the knife.

Obviously it's a terrible situation, but none of us are staying out of the woods because we can't carry guns.
 
ElementalBreakdown said:
Not sure if you read the whole thread, but some of us live where there's no possibility of handguns and firearms seasons in general are absurdly short.
I said that all of my hunting crew does in fact carry spray, but we also all have big knives because there is literally no other option besides spray and knives.
Like you said, pretty much as good as a rock - and if you search it up you will find relatively recent accounts of desperate people using both rocks and knives-sometimes successfully - but given the choice of a rock which might not be handy vs. a big knife which will always be handy, I will take the knife.

Obviously it's a terrible situation, but none of us are staying out of the woods because we can't carry guns.
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Who are you replying to? Use the quote function please.

Still waiting on all the bears killed with sticks and stones links...
 
I
halbschaf said:
Hello everybody

Being nwe in this forum, I hope my English might be good enough to make you understanding my issue.
What I´m interested in, looking for the answer since years and getting many different answers, is, how long the blade of a knife should really minimum be to reach the heart of an adult bear. That depends of the size of the animal, of course. In case of a black bear for example, let´s say around 300 pounds, I suppose a length of 6 to 7 inch should work. But what´s about a 1000 pound up grizzly?
Please let´s not talk about the chances anyhow and about such stuff, that a spear, hand gun cal. 500 or a cannon is by far the better choice let´s talk about the knives. It´s only for the psyche,because I´m aware about the chances. But nevertheless that´s extremely important.

Making survival trips in Europe, Canada and Alaska, I´ve been among dangerous animals lots of time. Last June tracking near Kodiak Island I used my bear spray and hurt myself never will take this kind of defense again. As I don´t carry shooting weapons, I have to trust in a good knife. Is anyone in this forum with anatomical knowledge? Have my doubts while looking at an 8 inch blade and thinking about the size of a very big bear . I know that the heart is not the best idea to kill a bear, but that´s what I like to know. Also it is said that the heart is pretty close to the chest wall similar to a human being. By having that in mind 8 inch might work. On the other hand the knife shouldn´t be unnecessarily long, as it has to be fast to handle that means as short as possible.
Also the tip shouldn´t be shaped as knives like Busses, as those seems to be not pointed enough, and the CS trailmaster for ex. might have a too thick blade, means to slow in action.

For any helpful informations in this issue thanks in advance. You´re the last hope.
Click to expand...
Feel like the most important factor here, is regardless of the size or type of knife, you want someone else using it to poke said bear. Then you can safely run away.
I realise this introduces logistical and ethical issues to the already complicated issue of bear fighting, but I can't tell you who to choose or why, or even how to convince them to poke an angry bear with a knife while you run away.
What I can assure you is making someone else fight the bear, will greatly reduce your chance of dying immediately!!
 
If you research the people that have killed or deterred bears with knives, you can see exactly what was used.

The important thing is that if it is a mama bear, she may not be deterred for any reason. Other people have used knives that are not that large, it is to make yourself not worth the effort, not to really go for a kill.

If you Google videos, there are people that have killed black bears with blow gun darts, so shot placement is key.

Remember that bears' vitals are not the same as deer or elk, they are farther back.
 
Well the good news is as long as someone has a negligent discharge of their bearspray when they're trying to put their pack on that person won't be eaten by a bear this week. Or wait; was that the bad news?
 
ElementalBreakdown said:
If you research the people that have killed or deterred bears with knives, you can see exactly what was used.

The important thing is that if it is a mama bear, she may not be deterred for any reason. Other people have used knives that are not that large, it is to make yourself not worth the effort, not to really go for a kill.

If you Google videos, there are people that have killed black bears with blow gun darts, so shot placement is key.

Remember that bears' vitals are not the same as deer or elk, they are farther back.
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I'm not asking about knives. I'm asking you to back up your statement with evidence, that people out there are killing bears with sticks and stones. I'm not googling squat. You said it. Now back it up or kick rocks, bud.

ElementalBreakdown said:
There are plenty of people that have killed them using sticks and stones.
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^^This was you, no? That is how you quote someone btw. Let's see the evidence of these "plenty of people" walking around NJ dispatching 600 lb bears with a rock.
 
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Danke42 said:
Well the good news is as long as someone has a negligent discharge of their bearspray when they're trying to put their pack on that person won't be eaten by a bear this week. Or wait; was that the bad news?
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You know the answer....
 
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