Bear Spray

[RetPara]

Bear spray. Daughter has moved to Asheville and is doing a LOT of hiking. She will NOT consider Bear Spray in .357, .44, let .308 brands.

Need a recommendation on a aerosol and size to carry.

(I retire and move to Michigan to get her away from Fayetteville so she won't meet someone like me. What does she do? She gets a damn job in North Carolina and moves there. Fucking Wonderful.)

Thank you.....

 

[Ooh-Rah]

That shit scares me, wind going the wrong way and your f'ed.

Cabela's and Gander have the "good stuff". Here in MN it is locked up behind the gun cabinets - have to ask for it.

Make sure she watches a few YouTube videos on the brand that she gets - interested to see the cloud it creates and the distance.

You can also get a nifty bandoleer to carry it on - my neighbor carries hers on her morning walks - to include one of those HUGE orange bear whistles. Trust me on this, everyone in the vicinity of a "practice blow" better have ear protection on!

As I recall, one of the Cabela's up here has practice cans that deploy a red mist so that you can practice once or twice before you buy.

 

[medicchick]

I'm assuming she already has bear bells and everything in that regard. I used to see this at Fred Meyer and local gun shops in Alaska (has a holster) but I don't have first had experience. Not sure where in MI you are but I know there's a Cabela's and Gander Mountain or you could always take a nice drive to the UP and see what the locals recommend.

It can be a tricky thing to use if it's windy. You need to nail the bear and even then it doesn't always stop them, but the same can be said for lead. I carried lead myself, large caliber that had lots of friends with it.

 

[Ranger Psych]

Yeah, except that if lead doesn't work the first time, you keep fucking shooting.... where if spray doesn't work, it doesn't matter how much you spray since you're just adding taco sauce to the human con carne.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

it doesn't matter how much you spray since you're just adding taco sauce to the human con carne.

LMFAO!

 

[RetPara]

Not sure if bear bells really work that well. If they did; why does every talk being able to discern bear spoor from other because of the bells in it....

This is a GREAT reason to go to Cabelas which is 50.3 miles away. HH6 will even go in there now!

 

[medicchick]

Not sure if bear bells really work that well. If they did; why does every talk being able to discern bear spoor from other because of the bells in it....

This is a GREAT reason to go to Cabelas which is 50.3 miles away. HH6 will even go in there now!

They do work so you don't surprise bears, every hiking safety class in Alaska recommends them. There will also always be bears who just want to maul someone that day. Bears can be assholes.

 

[Gunz]

Do not act like this individual

Counter Assault Bear Deterrent Spray

 

[Ranger Psych]

bear. spray. is. fucking. stupid.

See, bear spray causes pain to the animal. Guess what happens when you hit the local bear that HAS ALREADY BEEN SPRAYED?

The same thing that happened when the security team I was on was doing bear hazing.

Day 1, bears broken into housing. We scare it off with a bird banger.
Day 2, bears broken into different part of housing. Banger goes off, bear says FUCK YOU, runs when tagged with rubber slug.
Day 3, bears fucking around housing deciding which place to bust into. Banger off, FUCK YOU, rubber slug? Bear charges and I drop the bear since my team leader was non-lethal and I was full lead slug to back him up.

If a bear has figured out an area as a food source it will continue to return there, and if something HAS NOT KILLED IT it will give no fucks about it after the first time it experiences it.

But hey, what do I know, I mean, who here has had to skin out a bear they dropped to keep their supervisor from getting mauled/killed?

 

[Il Duce]

@RetPara - no valuable input on your question of bear spray but, wanted to say I went to undergrad in Asheville and it's one of my favorite places in the world. The town and surrounding area is fantastic - hope you visit your daughter there often. I used to go up to the Blue Ridge Parkway almost every day - never saw a bear once.

 

[digrar]

 

[SARDUDE]

Wasp spray.

 

[snapt]

bear. spray. is. fucking. stupid.

See, bear spray causes pain to the animal. Guess what happens when you hit the local bear that HAS ALREADY BEEN SPRAYED?

The same thing that happened when the security team I was on was doing bear hazing.

Day 1, bears broken into housing. We scare it off with a bird banger.
Day 2, bears broken into different part of housing. Banger goes off, bear says FUCK YOU, runs when tagged with rubber slug.
Day 3, bears fucking around housing deciding which place to bust into. Banger off, FUCK YOU, rubber slug? Bear charges and I drop the bear since my team leader was non-lethal and I was full lead slug to back him up.

If a bear has figured out an area as a food source it will continue to return there, and if something HAS NOT KILLED IT it will give no fucks about it after the first time it experiences it.

But hey, what do I know, I mean, who here has had to skin out a bear they dropped to keep their supervisor from getting mauled/killed?

Curious what kind of bears these were and where? I carry spray (generic from Cabela's) in grizz country and maybe I'm naive but I don't when only black bears are present. I would think a very low percentage of bears are conditioned to it so it would maintain its effectiveness in most cases?

Out here in Yellowstone/GTNP country its mandatory a lot of places, though I personally believe it to be more important to travel in numbers and be loud.

Guy on a local trail deployed it straight into the wind while trying to deter a sow and incapacitated himself. Luckily his 2 malamutes stood their ground and scared her off.

With it now being legal to carry a firearm in both parks I've never understood why folks don't carry shotguns in the sketchier parts of the park where densities are highest. Pretty commonplace in AK and like Ranger Psych pointed out slugs are the way to go.

A guy was killed and partially eaten a few weeks ago, no bear spray and traveling alone. Who knows if even a firearm or spray would have saved his life.

Also, a tourist killed her child a few years ago by spraying them preemptively to deter bears causing respiratory arrest...
I saw some campers in BC spray a ring of bear spray around their tent only to wake up to a black bear licking it up, they like the taste of cayenne apparently.

 

[AKkeith]

Also, a tourist killed her child a few years ago by spraying them preemptively to deter bears causing respiratory arrest...
I saw some campers in BC spray a ring of bear spray around their tent only to wake up to a black bear licking it up, they like the taste of cayenne apparently.

What idiots. HAHA :wall::wall: There are studies that bears are attracted to bear spray that isn't deployed into their eyes.

What Bear Spray Doesn't Do - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

 

[Ranger Psych]

Curious what kind of bears these were and where? I carry spray (generic from Cabela's) in grizz country and maybe I'm naive but I don't when only black bears are present. I would think a very low percentage of bears are conditioned to it so it would maintain its effectiveness in most cases?

Out here in Yellowstone/GTNP country its mandatory a lot of places, though I personally believe it to be more important to travel in numbers and be loud.

Guy on a local trail deployed it straight into the wind while trying to deter a sow and incapacitated himself. Luckily his 2 malamutes stood their ground and scared her off.

With it now being legal to carry a firearm in both parks I've never understood why folks don't carry shotguns in the sketchier parts of the park where densities are highest. Pretty commonplace in AK and like Ranger Psych pointed out slugs are the way to go.

A guy was killed and partially eaten a few weeks ago, no bear spray and traveling alone. Who knows if even a firearm or spray would have saved his life.

Black and Brown bears in Alaska. The one I had to drop was a black bear. I always had 2 long guns (shotgun and AR) plus pistol on myself as well as the wife carrying her pistol when we were offroading up there. Then again, I've also had the pleasure of "interacting" with wolfpacks and also refusing to download from live to blank during training when a sow and 4 cubs was seen less than 100m away from our shoothouse we were training at, crossing and frolicking at the only entrance in/out from the range. The Corporal in charge of the ASP tried to throw a hissy fit until my squad leader and the PL + PSG walked up and I briefed them on what I had seen and what our overwatch plan now was until it came time for someone to relieve us to continue training. No complaints after that point, but my PSG also was an avid outdoorsman and few fucks given in general anyway.

I'm sure Range Control and ADFG would have shit themselves had we had to take down a sow w/ cubs....with a full infantry fire team's worth of party goodies.

 

[Yellow Bastard]

I thru hiked the Appalachian Trail earlier this year. From Georgia to Maine. I only saw one bear the entire time but I did start early. At first I wasn't going to bring a gun but I ended up packing one not for the bears but for the people. It was only a .38 special but at least it was something.

If she doesn't want to bring a gun then the only other answer is bear spray. I heard the bells dont work too well, and after a while it will drive you crazy. Spraying bear spray into the wind will cause some of it to come back at you but bear spray is pretty powerful, there would have to be a pretty good breeze going through for it to really come back and blind the user.

 

[Red Flag 1]

I thru hiked the Appalachian Trail earlier this year. From Georgia to Maine. I only saw one bear the entire time but I did start early. At first I wasn't going to bring a gun but I ended up packing one not for the bears but for the people. It was only a .38 special but at least it was something.

If she doesn't want to bring a gun then the only other answer is bear spray. I heard the bells dont work too well, and after a while it will drive you crazy. Spraying bear spray into the wind will cause some of it to come back at you but bear spray is pretty powerful, there would have to be a pretty good breeze going through for it to really come back and blind the user.

I agree with your idea of going armed, and for several reasons. Self protection is the number one reason, and the most deadly predator out there is man. I live rather close to Afton, Mtn, Va. A friend of mine has a home just off the trail. He winds up shooting two or three Eastern Diamondback Rattlers every year. Down in the valley, I've had a couple of Copperheads that I had to deal with. A third reason, would be to provide yourself with some food if you had to.

I'm happy to hear you made the full trek. You must have a lot of storys to tell, and a great time to reflect on. Congratulations on making all the way!

 

[Yellow Bastard]

I agree with your idea of going armed, and for several reasons. Self protection is the number one reason, and the most deadly predator out there is man. I live rather close to Afton, Mtn, Va. A friend of mine has a home just off the trail. He winds up shooting two or three Eastern Diamondback Rattlers every year. Down in the valley, I've had a couple of Copperheads that I had to deal with. A third reason, would be to provide yourself with some food if you had to.

I'm happy to hear you made the full trek. You must have a lot of storys to tell, and a great time to reflect on. Congratulations on making all the way!

Thanks! A lot good and bad times. The one bear I saw was actually right before the Shenandoah Nation Park. Was only a small one but it did kind of jump me when I saw it. Immediately reached for the gun but it ran off. I heard a lot of horror stories about people getting robbed or stalked on the trail. And of course people always bring up "Deliverance". I made sure to sleep with the gun next to me every night.

 

[Centermass]

The best deterrent is having someone else with you, who is also a lot slower.......:die:

 

[Scholar]

I don't know that this has a ton of bearing on the conversation, but I've personally witnessed how bear spray doesn't always work. I live in East TN, about an hour away from the black bear capitol of the world (the same type of bear the OP is dealing with in his question), and I hike. A lot. Over the summer there has been quite a bit of bear aggression and most has flown under the radar, with the exception being a kid who literally almost got eaten out of his hammock.

I was doing a sectional hike of the AT in June and during my connection spur from the trail head to the main head, I spent the night in a shelter. That evening another hiker had an encounter just yards from camp. Apparently a mother and cubs had come our way and had walked right up on the hiker. He had his spray ( don't know the brand, but nobody out here carries the cheap shit) and gave the sow a face full from an uncomfortably close range. I don't think she even slowed down. His next move was to grab the nearest object ( a deadfall maybe as big around as my wrist) and gave her a good whack on the nose as she closed the distance. That probably saved his life.

I can't carry a firearm due to age restrictions, but if I could you can bet I'd be packing. Bear Spray may have some merit, but a cast lead bullet offers a much more reliable solution to the problem of something trying to eat you.