Took an interesting class last summer, "surviving a griz attack". They had a bear head posted on a target on rails that came at you for about 30 feet, and you had to get your bear spray out and hit the target before it got to you. I think only 1 person out of the 20 or so students was successful. Then the instructor gave us the best way to use bear spray on a charging bear, shoot from the hip (which is about the right height for the bears head), and don't try to get it out of the holster! Once we did that we were all able to hit the bear before it got to us. (Side note, take the cover strap off the spray while hunting in bear country to save time). With this in mind, having it on the hip makes more sense to me. If its on my chest, I would worry about the spray getting on my face. Also, in an active charge you supposedly only have 3-6 seconds before the bear gets to you. We met with a grizzly trainer and he said that grizzlies had been time at 2.9 to 3.3 seconds in covering 50 yards! We also received a presentation from a person who had been charged by a grizzly and mauled twice in the same day by the same bear. I carry spray on my right hip and a .44 on my left.
