Knife to carry in Bear country

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If there are deer or wild turkey in an area: you can bet that there will also be bear...

... and since they don't pay my property taxes: I will be outside!
 
Stay in the car, or at home until the "problem bear(s)" have been relocated or otherwise eliminated by the rangers/authorities.
The chances of fending off any bear attack with a knife (or handgun) is in the vicinity of nil.

You say "no firearms and no bear spray" What about a felling axe (not a hatchet/tomahawk) or splittling maul, a 5 foot blade Claymore sword, or a spear or pike? Something that lets you defend before the bear is chewing on you?
 
I hope we're going to be done with this thread soon because, when we are, I have another thread I'd like to start.

"What Knife Do I Need To Defend Myself When The Chinese Army Invades Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey"

Folder? Fixed Blade? Super Steel? Stainless? Rough Rider? . . . .
 
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Bob Denman said:
Did you ever see the videos about bear hunting with spears?
Click to expand...
Ancient man took down mastadons with spears, even bone spears...but almost certainly not one person alone.
If you could get a strong enough spear handle and secure it to a good blade long enough to penetrate all that bear fat, muscle and sinew and you could generate enough leverage to penetrate possibly by by having the bear fall on it ,then I guess it can happen that one person can actually do it. More likely snack time for the beast.
There was movie a while back with Anthony Hopkins called The Edge where the hero, Hopkins, is stranded in Alaska with a giant Kodiak bear hunting him and all he has is a beautiful folding knife made by the late great Canadian knifemaker, Brian Lyttle, and he kills the giant by making a spear and having the supergrizz fall on it. Except.
I've seen the knife. It's a beauty. No way could it penetrate deep enough to kill that bear. It's stupid.
Brian's work was masterful. I was a big admirer.

But our ancestors did know how to kill these monsters, and some giants were hunted to extinction.


www.theguardian.com

Mastodons were hunted in North America 800 years earlier than thought

Humans were killing large mammals in North America long before 'Clovis culture', study of mastodon remains suggests
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
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HJK said:
I've been close to grizzlies and polar bears and they are both awesome. But only the polar bear has to kill to eat and it is the top of the food chain, with the possible exception of an Orca when the bear is swimming. One day in Resolute a whale washed up on shore and that attracted the polar bears. The whole town came out to see them and all the inuit came alive to go out and look at them. They hold a very deep spirtitual connection up there for these folks. They are seriously protected and back then there was a quota of 2 for the season at a value of $10k each, usually awarded to german tourists. Magnificent animals, and the hides are huge. Two campers shot and killed one that got into their tent and were forced to go back and get the hide because that was part of the quota. It cost them $10k even in self defence.

Everyone in his right mind in bear country should have a gun. I often didn't, but then again i said you have to be in your right mind...


I think the chances of surviving an encounter with an angry Polar bear or grizzly are pretty slim. A grizzly can break the back of a moose with one swipe, and your chance against an angry moose is also next to zero, unless you get this guy:
View attachment 1634156
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They’re beautiful creatures indeed.
 
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Thank you all for lots of great responses, some serious and some pretty funny,
And lots of very interesting information to boot.
The "No Firearms" is a reality based on local gun laws and location. But the "No Bear Spray" was only to eliminate that suggestion.
Obviously I am going to carry Bear Spray. And I always carry one if my knives when in the woods anyway, knowing that a knife is an absolutely
last ditch weapon and no one should count on it as a "Bear Defense" from the start. But to discount it as "useless" and not carry seems pointless to me. "
As for type of knife, seems any large (over 5") fixed blade that can "stab" should do it. Perhaps the longer the blade the better penetration so maybe
more than 6".
Several folks pointed out the fact that weapons that provide a greater distance buffer like spears and swords are better than a knife which is true but
carrying one around isn'treally an option. At least not in 2021 anyway.
 
Mister Coffee said:
I hope we're going to be done with this thread soon because, when we are, I have another thread I'd like to start.

"What Knife Do I Need To Defend Myself When The Chinese Army Invades Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey"

Folder? Fixed Blade? Super Steel? Stainless? Rough Rider? . . . .
Click to expand...

Nothing. The Chinese People's Liberation Army woundn't stand a chance against the Englewood Cliffs NJ Upper Middle Class Liberal Suburban Soccer Mom SUV Battalion.

PS. I grew up in EC as a kid.
 
In my opinion a spear is only going to be useful if the bear gives you a warning it’s about to attack and from a distance. I live and work in the mountains of East Tennessee(Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/GSMNP), which has one of the densest black bear populations in the states. The most I carry trail running is a Tasman salt in my waistband and occasionally a good sized rock in each hand to throw.
A good dagger or serrated hawkbill is my long winded suggestion.
 
I loved Legends of the Fall and nobody wants to go out like a punk, but the best thing to have when you're duking it out with a bear is a cyanide tablet (just don't take it too soon or you'll feel silly when it wanders off). I still carry a blade in the bush as a tool and of course because I'm even less interested in trying out foxy boxing on a bear's nose to see how that goes, but I wouldn't want to count on reenacting the ending of Legends of the Fall for the win.

 
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