What is the best defense for a bear attacks?

G

Gunner

BANNED
Joined
Jul 15, 1999
Messages
302
Hey there I am currently looking into becoming a guide in Alberta but I am not sure of there gun laws! Does anyone know if a guide can carry a handgun there? If not what is the best way to get ride of a pesty bear? Pepper spray, a stick, what? Thanks.
 
IMHO since a knife isn't any serious defense against a bear this isn't a knife forum question. Go to a gun forum and find out about things like .416 Rigby (hunting), Winchester 1300 short barrel with 3" 00 buck or slugs (camp defense), or any number of other tools that might actually stop a bear.

------------------
I don't want my children fed or clothed by the state, but I would prefer THAT to their being educated by the state.
 
Allow me to direct your attention to this topic, http://www,bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000347.html

Enjoy!

P.S. Be sure to read the whole thing, there's some really good stuff in there. I'll see if I can find the "offspring of this particular thread.

------------------
Just because I talk to myself doesn't mean I'm crazy. What's wrong with getting a second opinion?


[This message has been edited by Roadrunner (edited 14 September 1999).]
 
heh...hey, let's try a "best knife vs a fire ant" thread again....lol
 
Don't know about the laws in Canada, but on the North Slope of Alaska, I have heard that a lot of the guides carry shotguns loaded with slugs.

Hey, wait a minute, where's the knife content?
wink.gif


If guns are illegal in provincial parks, the guides must all be carrying Claymoors, eh?
wink.gif


Harv

[This message has been edited by Steve Harvey (edited 14 September 1999).]
 
I have an older copy of 'Rifle' magazine where an author looked at what it took to bring down over 60 brown bear in Alaska. The most single shot kills were with the .375 H&H, considering all calibers it took an average of something like 4.8 rounds to bring down a bear, and one gent and his guide put 22 rounds of .338 Winmag into one. For some reason the .338 Win and .340 Weatherby did worse than the .300 mags, even excluding the tough one mentioned. As someone else mentioned 12ga slugs seem popular for a lightweight weapon. If you're going to be a guide a .375 H&H seems like a good bet, and besides, it's a nice classic round. What classic knife would go well with it, a Marbles maybe ?
 
Firearms are no good. The absolute best defense against a bear attack is Pepper Spray.

------------------
Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com

 
Don't try the girly spray you buy to ward off muggers. bear spray come is HUGE containers with a nice pistol grip. It is awesome stuff but don't spray it on the ground as that actually attracts several types of animals, maybe even bears.

Shooting a bear is no mean feat. If your goal is avoidance, keep your food sealed completely and all scents of food gone... next to impossible... and don't go where there have been lots of people already... bears associate people with food once they are desensitized... ooops, that rules out a lot of places....

all tht said, bears are only known to kill 2-5 people a year in North America... those fir ants kill over a hundred so maybe the other thread isn't so weird!

------------------
Dances with lemmings


 
First of all, speaking as a loyal Canadian, our gun laws suck. The current, Liberal government brought in a law a few years ago which is intended to register all guns in Canada (handguns have been registered since 1932, without any discernable effect on crime, of course). So you can't pack one (legally), although the Prime Minister, a pathetic hypocrit who assaulted a hapless protester during the last election campaign (thankfully, his guards got his victim away before he was seriously injured -- they had to buy the poor guy some new dental work, though), wielded an Inuit soapstone carving to defend himself and his wife when a knife-bearing lunatic broke into the prime ministerial residence in Ottaw a couple of years ago (the Mounties supposedly guarding the place were out having coffee and doughnuts or something). So you could legally defend yourself with a soapstone carving, the PM having set the precedent. The gun laws are sinking under their own weight, thankfully, although the government continues to lie about the cost of registering a firearm, along with just about everything else. Incidentally, according to the new gun law you can get up to 10 years for failing to register, so you'd be better off committing murder -- you'd probably be out in three or four years. The majority of the provinces and territories in Canada have challenged the gun law in Supreme Court, so there may be hope, at least if the highest court in the land hasn't been packed by the current government (no bets). As for grizzlies, they are far more plentiful in British Columba, although there is some strictly controlled grizzly hunting in Alberta. If you're serious about hunting them, a .338 is the minimum recommended, although plenty have been killed with a .30-06 and even .30-30s. Myself, I'd go with the .416 Rigby.

[This message has been edited by Alberta Ed (edited 14 September 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Alberta Ed (edited 14 September 1999).]
 
For defense/ backup go with large caliber, heavy bullet weights. Guides are not the ones shooting, usually, unless something has gone wrong. So be sure to be shooting with a stopper- .458s, .416s, even 45-70s are sound choices.

Erik

Pepperspray? Go right ahead. But as a guide, you have to take into consideration that the bear is wounded and charging...
 
Well Gunner, as an Alberta resident all my life I may be able to answer your questions. First off all handguns are restricted weapons in Canada and therefore a restricted weapon permit must be obtained to own one. A second permit is also required to transport the weapon, and then only from your residence to the range(or shooting competition).

Handguns cannot be brought into the forest for hunting or defense(from bears). I believe a rifle would be the best choice for you. I suppose you could use pepper spray but then you will have a pissed off bear who may not be able to see, but will probably sniff you out.

Avoidance(if possible) would be be the best route. Just don't provoke the bears(with a stick or anything) and most likely they will leave you alone. I met a bear in the woods before, I let him be and he let left me alone.
 
An attacking 1600 pound Kodiak brown bear would run right through any pepper spray. Here in Kodiak where we have over 3000 bears the best defense is avoidance....and if you can't avoid them, make noise. They really don't want anything to do with us and usually our 2-3 attacks per year are because someone surprised a sow (momma) and her cubs or you actually run into them while they're eating.

My kids and I go through the woods making lots of nosie...wear bells, slap our hands, etc. When they hear the nosie Kodiaks take off. I think they think we smell bad or something.
wink.gif


Of course a 454 Casull as back up or a 45-70 is helpful during an attack but avoidance and prevention is usually the best course of action.

Knives are useless. Some of these guys are over 10 feet tall.

Trivia: Kodiak brown bears usually try to avoid humans and there has not been a fatality recorded on the island here in over 100 years. The same can not be said about their more aggressive cousins on the mainland.

------------------
~Greg~


 
You mean like this fracmeister? www.sos-direct.com/images/sos-3fmh.jpg

Of course you all now have a family portrait! That is me, my wife Lori and Daughter Jenna on the spray. I have been making sprays for about 10 years now. Get a good 10% or better (15% is damn good) but most important is the SHU rating of 2,000,000 or better. Fogger only and no stream spray.


There is a lot of talk about sprays, here are the facts.
www.sos-direct.com/about.htm



------------------
Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com

 
Everyone seems to recommend some type of pepper spray for bears. I have no reason to doubt that this works; it's probably very effective. There is something about pepper spray that is ironically important to keep in mind though: Mountain lions are very attracted to the scent of pepper spray. They can smell it from miles around and roll around in the stuff like catnip. Where I tend to camp, mountain lions are a more serious threat than bears, so I go sans spray.
 
The good thing about pepper spray is that it is not an irritant like CS or CN. It will work on Mt. Lions as well. Even though it may attract them from a distance. My suggestion is to not spray pepper spray unless you absolutly need to or unless your hot sauce is just not hot enough
smile.gif


Keep this in mind.

A jalapeno is rated at 5,000 SHU
A Habenero is rated at 300,000 SHU
A good pepper spray is rated at 2,000,000 SHU

------------------
Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com

 
Take pepper spray, or I should say try to take pepper spray into Canada and you'll have no concerns about bears. When you are released from jail, the bears will be long gone. Pepper spray is illegal in Canada, at least in Ontario. I would check with Candian customs to verify legality in Alberta.

------------------
(!)
 
I have heard that you can legally purchase large pepperspray units within Canadian borders to repel animals (ie - bear and dogs, NOT HUMANS) but that you cannot bring the units over the border between Canuckland and the USA.
Jeff
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top