I'm sure this has been talked about before but I can't find anything on here so I'm wondering if anybody has any links to any articles or studies that have been done on which is more effective? Everything that I've found says that bear spray is the better choice but I have had a hard time convincing my hunting buddies of that. Everybody says that "I'm a way better shot than everybody else and would have 5 rounds in the bear before it ever got close to me". But if a bear can charge 50 yards in 3-4 seconds and you are carrying a bolt action rifle, I have to disagree. So if anyone has some good reference material I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
Bear spray or gun?
- Thread starter Flatrock
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RUT JUNKEY
Well-known member
....I'd carry both. . . .
RobG
Well-known member
Hands down, bear spray. This month's Montana Outdoors had an article on the subject. http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/2014/bearspray.htm#.U7_8dbGsLxU
I know of two cases in the last few years where the victim of a bear attack was accidentally shot by a partner trying to hit the bear. One was a fatal shot.
I know of two cases in the last few years where the victim of a bear attack was accidentally shot by a partner trying to hit the bear. One was a fatal shot.
RobG
Well-known member
Just don't leave it on your car seat in the sun...
SFC B
Well-known member
x2 if in Grizz country. My first choice would be a wheel gun in 44mag or above though and here are my two main reasons. 1. As a former LEO I have seen first hand that OC is NOT effective on everyone. I have seen perps (even none "high" perps) walk right through it. I would not like to be the guy that finds the "exception' bear. 2. The possibility of wind diffusion and blow back. I have had many days in the high country with high sustained wind, what then? My personal preference, and yes I know what the research says, but I would rather have more control.
roadhunter
Banned
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Have one explode in your truck?
What is the shelf -ife of Bear Spray? Does it lose it's effectiveness over time?
Reason I ask, is I had a canister that was a few years old . . . that when I picked it up it had no "compression", it was "empty". To my knowledge it never released any spray. It was kept in the house.
So, how often should you get a new canister of Bear spray?
Reason I ask, is I had a canister that was a few years old . . . that when I picked it up it had no "compression", it was "empty". To my knowledge it never released any spray. It was kept in the house.
So, how often should you get a new canister of Bear spray?
idahofishnhunt
Well-known member
http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/2014/bearspray.htm#.U8AKXPldWSq
Maybe this will shed some light on your dilema.
Maybe this will shed some light on your dilema.
RobG
Well-known member
A few years. There should be an expiration date on the bottom of the can. It is something to note when you buy the stuff.
RobG
Well-known member
I guess I can technically answer that with a negative
It happens a lot around here. I know of one lady who had one go off in her truck and the insurance company declared it totaled. She bought it back and took it to one of the car detailers and got it cleaned for a couple hundred bucks (deal of the century). She then used the difference to keep her business afloat. The stuff melts some types of plastic and I believe her leather seats were ruined. Store it in a pack or otherwise covered and you will be ok.
So it isn't like guns. You can just leave them laying around and nothing bad could happen
MThuntr
Well-known member
I carry Bear Spray on my backcountry work details...I think trying to hit a bear with a pistol on a charge would be pretty tough. I'd hate to shoot a bear (especially a sow with cubs) that was only bluff charging.
We sprayed a can of Bear Spray at my boss's house that was expired in 2010...it worked like new.
We sprayed a can of Bear Spray at my boss's house that was expired in 2010...it worked like new.
JohnCushman
Well-known member
On the HT bear hunt thread this was discussed at length with statistics and everything else and the bottom line was that you were better off with bear spray
ida homer
Well-known member
It's easy to sit back and say you could put a bullet between the eye balls of a charging bear from the computer at your desk. Watch this if you guys haven't seen it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUG8UPsgE3U
Even if you were to hit it the chances are very slim that a bullet would even phase a bear that was charging to kill, not to bluff. We shoot unaware critters in the vitals and they still run 10, 20, and 50 yards etc. Bear spray in the woods, but a pistol in the tent at night. Glad I don't hunt in grizzly country!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUG8UPsgE3U
Even if you were to hit it the chances are very slim that a bullet would even phase a bear that was charging to kill, not to bluff. We shoot unaware critters in the vitals and they still run 10, 20, and 50 yards etc. Bear spray in the woods, but a pistol in the tent at night. Glad I don't hunt in grizzly country!
Ben Long
Well-known member
I always say, anything is fair in self defense. Most folks my age and older were raised on magazine articles featuring gunslingers mowing down charging grizzlies. It can work that way, but most often doesn't.
I think the article posted above is about the best recap of the hard numbers. Bear spray is NASTY stuff and it works. What's more, it rarely makes matters worse, while guns often do. I want my hunting partners to carry spray if they have to chase a bear off me. I can recover from being sprayed by pepper a lot quicker than I can recover from a bullet hole from a 300 Mag. Pepper spray is cheaper than a 44 mag, and a heck of a lot lighter on the hip. I think 90 percent of my hunting/fishing/hiking is in grizzly country and it's a pretty easy choice for me.
I think the article posted above is about the best recap of the hard numbers. Bear spray is NASTY stuff and it works. What's more, it rarely makes matters worse, while guns often do. I want my hunting partners to carry spray if they have to chase a bear off me. I can recover from being sprayed by pepper a lot quicker than I can recover from a bullet hole from a 300 Mag. Pepper spray is cheaper than a 44 mag, and a heck of a lot lighter on the hip. I think 90 percent of my hunting/fishing/hiking is in grizzly country and it's a pretty easy choice for me.
sra61
Member
Don't apply to the skin!!
A couple of years ago we were working on the Going to the Sun Highway construction and we heard a lot of sirens going down the road. That doesn't happen all that much so later we asked what had happened. Some gal with her kids down at Lake McDonald Lodge had sprayed her kids down with the bear spray! I guess she neglected to read the can and packaging? Apparently the children found it to be less than enjoyable and they got a quick trip to the E.R.! Let that be a lesson guys!
A couple of years ago we were working on the Going to the Sun Highway construction and we heard a lot of sirens going down the road. That doesn't happen all that much so later we asked what had happened. Some gal with her kids down at Lake McDonald Lodge had sprayed her kids down with the bear spray! I guess she neglected to read the can and packaging? Apparently the children found it to be less than enjoyable and they got a quick trip to the E.R.! Let that be a lesson guys!
There was a recent article in Traditional Bowhunter Magazine talking about this very subject. People using pistols often shoot themselves when being attacked. The article also mentioned that a 44 Magnum has roughly the same ballistics as a 30-30, and no one would go after grizzlies with a 30-30. Bear Spray has been proven to be 100% effective for deterring bears both Grizzly and Black Bears. I will be in Alaska this fall carrying Bear Spray in lieu of my awkward old shotgun.
sbhooper
Well-known member
You are correct, as far as effectiveness on people, but bear spray is a whole different level of nasty. I am retired law enforcement and so I know something about the pepper crap. I had a class mate that could take that worthless junk in the face and never slow down. I refused to carry it, as it is only marginally effective if someone is really bent on doing you harm.
Good bear spray is in a whole different category. It is like comparing jalapenos to ghost peppers. I will trust the bear spray over a panicked person with a marginally effective hand gun. Even a rifle can be problematic.
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