Interesting article on bear spray vs. bear handgun defense
- Thread starter Alibiiv
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Firearms in National Parks (U.S. National Park Service)
Details about the carry and use of Firearms in National Parks.
HRM Johnny
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Thanks for a very interesting read.
I was up in Jackson, WY, visiting some photographer friends of mine a number of years ago. The only bears that I had encountered up to that point were the Mexican Black Bears in Big Bend National Park. Not much comparison there. So, I bought two big cans of bear spray. Why two and not three? My friend is a woman and the other photographer is a big ole Grizzly Adams looking dude and he said the same thing as Ken61 two posts up. We hiked back into some woods looking for an owl nest with fledglings on it so we could photograph them. It took about an hour to get there so not too far. On the way out we lagged behind Dan (bs'ing) and noticed that he had stopped. When we caught up with him he was standing next to a big pile of steaming bear scat. My friend looked at Dan and said, "I'll bet you wish you had bear spray now". He just looked at her and I laughed. I told Dan that if see a bear I'm going to toss her my can and run (wrong thing to do of course). He said I don't know. She can run pretty fast. I said yeah but as she runs past me I'll trip her and then throw her the can. We laughed, she... well... I can't type what she said here.
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The head ranger dude at Big Bend NP recently told a friend that they couldn't keep him from carrying in the park but if he fired the weapon he would be in violation :/ Big Bend NP has Black Bears and to know knowledge there have been no attacks. They also have Mountain Lions and that's a completely different story.Firearms in National Parks (U.S. National Park Service)
Details about the carry and use of Firearms in National Parks.www.nps.gov
Absolutely.
Yes. My wife and I go to the Smoky Mountains at least once a year and hike. I always have my Shield .40 on me, so far we haven't had any issues with bears, two or four legged.
ohlongarmisle
Well-Known Member
Never hike in bear country without two things,an aggressive canine who's not afraid to initiate an attack , enough where you can bring a lethal firearm in to play.Shown below a Czech import 100% trained including attack, can smell a bear well over a mile away, and we carry a Mossberg Maverick top folding 12 gauge loaded with Brenneke Magnum Crush slugs, with a couple 3 inch Federal 000 buck 10 pellets.The magnum crush hits at 3800 ft/lbs and is 666 grains never had any concern in Polebridge yet , despite 10 bear encounters in 12 years.
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Taj
Well-Known Member
fta0303
Well-Known Member
ohlongarmisle
Well-Known Member
Anybody who puts their life in the hands of bear spray, while knowingly hiking,camping in bear country deserves the Darwin award. Sorry to say it but these ain't teddy bears, how about the idiot last week who attempted a selfie with a grizzly and got mauled,
And or for the person who is self aware enough to understand that they're not handgun capable. Let alone cool enough to get it done with a handgun.
I get all the jokes and such regarding bear spray, but real world I'd bet that for all but those that practice a ton load with a handgun (especially from draw to fire and be able to hit CNS in under 1 second to 1.5 seconds on a fast moving and advancing target). I'd also bet that not more than 5 guys in 100 are capable of doing such a thing.........
But, I could be wrong! Have been so many times before in my life.
Bear threads are a hoot, it brings out all kinds of thoughts from all levels of experience and as always a lot of comments from those who just don't spend much if any time in G bear territory.
Flame away boys and girls...
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