Knife for bears

Some posts are just polarizing.

I do not take the OP question as "What knife would you choose to carry to a fight with a Grizzly?" I take it as "If I accidently run into a grizzly and have to fight for my life with only a knife...?"

Best answer I ever heard to "If you knew you were going to be in a knife fight, what knife would you take?" If I knew I was going to be in a knife fight, I would stay home and watch old movies.....

Grandpa and I got trapped in a old small toolshed while 1600lbs of pissed off Black Angus tried to dismantle the shed to get at us. I would have been damned happy to have ANYTHING in my hands besides banding pliers.

Bill

On shotgun slugs. I saw a LARGE bull put down in a livestock sales parking lot after getting loose and banging up some cars. 20 guage slug.... dropped on his feet.
 
CWL said:
No. What's stupid is to enter into a situation unprepared for any of the realities that you may encounter, and then be unwilling to listen or learn from others.
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I think I agree with your statement. But I can't help but notice an over abundance of defeatist mentality on this forum.

When discussing SD involving anything from humans to cougars to bears or anything, there seems to be this idea that guns are magic and solve any problem just by owning one. And that no matter what you are facing, if you don't have a gun "just run away" ...and if you can't do that then you are 100% screwed and should just lay down and die. Because in "reallity" you'll simply never succeed.

Well in "reallity" people have successfully defended themselves from all mannor of two and four legged beasts using edged instruments.

There is a big difference from having a person say " I want to hunt grizzly with nothing but a pocket knife, only I'm not sure which to use." ...and having a person say "I can't carry a gun, but I can have a knife. And I wouldn't mind having a decent knife on me anyway because they are useful, and I like them, and even though they may not be guaranteed to be effective in a pinch, they at least could be, and are definately better than nothing in any case. So what are some decent ones to choose from?"

Of course going up against a bear with nothing but a knife isn't an ideal situation. Of course the chances of success will be slim. But not impossible. Simply dismissing the question out of hand with condecending smart assed comments all the time, doesn't really help much.

In the end, it's good to have options, and having a good knife on hand just gives you more of those. :)
 
^ I love the world we live in.....yup you saved yourself and your son but here's your ticket for protecting yourself.
 
This may have already been covered (don't have time to read the whole thread) but a grizzly's heart only beats about 12 times a minute. Bears that are shot in the heart can often run more than a mile, since it takes a while for their heart not beating to have an effect. When shooting an angry bear, destroying the skeletal structure by shattering a shoulder is the only guaranteed way to bring it down quickly without lucking into a head shot, and broken shoulder isn't dead, just stopped. If you then walk up to the broken shouldered bear and poke him with a knife, he'll grab you with his good arm and turn you into chunky human bits.

I understand your not wanting to hear it, but if the bear is actually wanting to kill you (versus just bored and killing you for the hell of it) and you don't have a firearm or a spear, you are dead. You are--say it with me--LOWER ON THE FOOD CHAIN. A mouse could ask--with equal seriousness--whether a paperclip or a thumb tack would be better to help it defend itself from a cat; and it would be equally hard not to laugh at the notion.

Often, bears can be scared away with noise/sprays/etc. If he gets close enough that you're in knife range, though...well, he's not going to stand up and stay still and present a heart shot for you. He has longer reach than you anyway and he'll probably be on all fours and running at you.

All of that said, what you want is penetration, so you'd want a thick, narrow, very long blade. I'm thinking a rapier. If you pierce the heart, you'll still be bear poop, but you'll have revenge because he will eventually die.
 
Codger_64 said:
IMHO, it is rather easy to see those who do not take the scenario of carrying a knife for the express purpose of bear defense seriously. Count me in that number. That said, if attacked by a bear I would use everyting I could to protect myself, a knife at hand, a whistle, road flare, habanero peppers, a squeeky toy, mentos and a liter of Pepsi, whatever. But I would not put myself in a situation like that with the idea of using a knife as my only means of self defense from a bear.
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Why not try to educate the origional poster who came here to learn, then to mock him, asking how much knife it would take to reach a Bears heart, is not the same as asking which knife should he use to hunt Grizz.
 
I would choose whatever knife will fire these a large number of these in rapid succession:


Slugs.jpg
 
MIKE MACINTOSH said:
Why not try to educate the origional poster who came here to learn, then to mock him, asking how much knife it would take to reach a Bears heart, is not the same as asking which knife should he use to hunt Grizz.
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+1 :thumbup:
 
I am not aware of anyone who "trains" to sucessfully defeat an attacking bear with a knife. Well, other than LT. And given a choice, he would likely use a spear of some sort. You can learn to prepare for an encounter though to better your chances. My one encounter with an obstinate bear, many years ago, I fired six shots hoping the noise would turn the bear. It did not, but at least I had the good sense not to pump those tiny lead balls into the bear. I ran across a river and climbed a skinny tree. The bear was content to ravage my camp and make off with my game while I watched from across the river. Sometimes retreating is preferable to displays of valor.
 
sicily02 said:
Hi all,

[ ... ]

I want to say also, I have noticed here lately that when people ask questions there are some real smart assed comments being giving. Think about this every day there is someone in the world starting out in learning about survival and wilderness skills. They have questions and they are basic questions. So instead of giving smart assed comments you EXPERTS out there. HELP teach instead.
Rant over.
This a great forum and a great place to Learn and share wilderness skills let keep it that way.

Bryan
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This is very true, and what's more, the smart assed comments tend to fall into a fairly simple minded and familiar range. We've heard the jokes before.
 
MIKE MACINTOSH said:
Why not try to educate the origional poster who came here to learn, then to mock him, asking how much knife it would take to reach a Bears heart, is not the same as asking which knife should he use to hunt Grizz.
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Well, I think pointing out that stabbing an enraged bear's heart (even if it were possible) is not going to kill him in anything approaching a timely manner IS educating the original poster. I also think that the hilarity-tinged reaction people are having is healthy for anyone who might read this (not referring to the OP necessarily) and think, "Gee, I bet you COULD kill a bear with a knife."

Since brown bears store enormous amounts of fat depending on time of year (and thus change thicknesses regularly) and can range anywhere from 500 pounds to 2000 pounds, there is no set blade length that's going to be perfect for heart penetration, unless you just carry a sword.
 
BryFry said:
I think I agree with your statement. But I can't help but notice an over abundance of defeatist mentality on this forum.

When discussing SD involving anything from humans to cougars to bears or anything, there seems to be this idea that guns are magic and solve any problem just by owning one. And that no matter what you are facing, if you don't have a gun "just run away" ...and if you can't do that then you are 100% screwed and should just lay down and die. Because in "reallity" you'll simply never succeed.

Well in "reallity" people have successfully defended themselves from all mannor of two and four legged beasts using edged instruments.

There is a big difference from having a person say " I want to hunt grizzly with nothing but a pocket knife, only I'm not sure which to use." ...and having a person say "I can't carry a gun, but I can have a knife. And I wouldn't mind having a decent knife on me anyway because they are useful, and I like them, and even though they may not be guaranteed to be effective in a pinch, they at least could be, and are definately better than nothing in any case. So what are some decent ones to choose from?"

Of course going up against a bear with nothing but a knife isn't an ideal situation. Of course the chances of success will be slim. But not impossible. Simply dismissing the question out of hand with condecending smart assed comments all the time, doesn't really help much.

In the end, it's good to have options, and having a good knife on hand just gives you more of those. :)
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Don't get me or I would think most of us wrong. If I were to be attacked by a bear or any animal I would fight it with whatever I could, be it a knife, a rock or bear(pun intended) hands, until death or the attack stopped. I just think the idea of carrying any knife or choosing a knife based soley on how well it could defend against A BEAR or any animal is misguided, and foolish. Im not saying a bear can't be killed or fended of with a knife, I know it is possible, its happened. But it is incredibly more likey you will be mauled to death before you can even pull your knife. A long spear like the Assegai or Boar spear from Cold Steel would be much more effective, due to the much greater reach 7 feet as opposed to 7-10 inches and would penetrate a lot more effectively. A large caliber firearm would be best. But since the OP stated he/she was not interested in a spear or firearm these things could not be suggested, and we were reduced mostly to sarcasm.
 
tribalmagnum05 said:
Don't get me or I would think most of us wrong. If I were to be attacked by a bear or any animal I would fight it with whatever I could, be it a knife, a rock or bear(pun intended) hands, until death or the attack stopped. I just think the idea of carrying any knife or choosing a knife based soley on how well it could defend against A BEAR or any animal is misguided, and foolish. Im not saying a bear can't be killed or fended of with a knife, I know it is possible, its happened. But it is incredibly more likey you will be mauled to death before you can even pull your knife. A long spear like the Assegai or Boar spear from Cold Steel would be much more effective, due to the much greater reach 7 feet as opposed to 7-10 inches and would penetrate a lot more effectively. A large caliber firearm would be best. But since the OP stated he/she was not interested in a spear or firearm these things could not be suggested, and we were reduced mostly to sarcasm.
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I do not disagree with you. :) I just took the OP's question not so much as: "I'm gonna hunt bears with my knife." but more like: "Well, I'll probably have a knife on me anyway, so why not try and choose one that at least stands a chace of doing the most good."

To be honest, I got the same initial knee jerk reaction to the OP's question that most people have. I too think that: { you+ knife vs bear = not good at all }

...But neither do I advocate the idea of: "if you can't shoot something then you should just give up." or: "if you think you could EVER use a knife for SD you're dumb." ...which seem to be very common recurring themes around here.


.
 
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BryFry said:
I do not disagree with you. :) I just took the OP's question not so much as: "I'm gonna hunt bears with my knife." but more like: "Well, I'll probably have a knife on me anyway, so why not try and choose one that at least stands a chace of doing the most good."

To be honest, I got the same initial knee jerk reaction to the OP's question that most people have. I too think that: { you+ knife vs bear = not good at all }

...But neither do I advocate the idea of: "if you can't shoot something then you should just give up." or: "if you think you could EVER use a knife for SD you're dumb." ...which seem to be very common recurring themes around here.


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I'am sick and in the hospital hooked to a vent rite now .so maybe I'am a little cranky today. but I took the OP much the same way. it got my dander up a bit to here people say its better to do nothing because the odds are against you than fight. I've seen great things achived in my life time by people who were willing to buck the odds,and do things others said coulden't be done
 
You can successfully defend yourself with a pen against a human assailant, if you're fast and mean enough...or a bear I suppose, if your ninja skills are good enough to stab through its eye and into its brain. If the OP's skills are that good, however, why ever would he need our advice?

As to the assertion that old time explorers were supermen who successfully fended off bears, lions and probably tyrannosaurs with nothing but their trusty knives, explorers were carrying firearms in the 1500s, and though they certainly had knives to fall back on, they sure as he'll weren't the go-to tool of choice for going after large carnivores. They also tended to explore in large groups, and hire guides. And they STILL died a lot. I love the Davy Crockett song as much as anybody, but I think it important to point out that no, he didn't actually kill him a bar when he was only three, nor did he ever grin one to death.

Again, since the size of bears varies so much, what more are we supposed to give as an answer? You'd need a very long knife that's narrow and rigid. You'd also need the bear to stand on his hind legs and roar for a few seconds like they do in the movies (even though they can't actually vocalize when standing like this) so that you'd have a clear shot at his heart when it's the closest to the surface. You'd also do well to find an asthmatic bear, so that your stabbing of his heart will have a more rapid effect on his oxygen supply. It'll also help if God hates the bear and loves you.
 
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