Boddington backs bear spray

[Yellowknife]

I work in brown and black bear country. To use bear spray I would have to pay thousands of dollars to charter a freight plane. For some locations that plane would end up being a C130. Just for a can of bear spray.

I can take a firearm any where for free.

I also work in bush Alaska on a regular basis. As Ray says, traveling with bear spray can be challenging. Most small fixed wing or rotorcraft charter companies will let you bring it IF it can be stored outside to aircraft. Some will let you bring it inside the aircraft if it's sealed in an airtight secondary container (mil surplus ammo cans are popular). However, if you are traveling on a regular scheduled flight to a village, both of those options are usually non-starters and it would have to come on a freight plane.

The flip side is that some clients are (justifiably) wary of having any random worker in the field with a gun. Some people are scary with weapon! To combat that I am certified as a "Bear Guard", have a CCW permit, AND often have a clause in my contract that allows me to carry.

Bear spray certainly has it's uses, and I recommend it to people on a regular basis. There have been several times I would have used it if I had it. However, it also has the many drawbacks that have been mentioned in this thread.

Yk

 

[Vance in AK]

I'll start by saying I carry a gun not spray. BUT, truth is most folks couldn't hit a charging bear in the CNS with a handgun (probably not a long gun either) 25% of the time & would be better served with spray.

 

[Lukem]

I'll start by saying I carry a gun not spray. BUT, truth is most folks couldn't hit a charging bear in the CNS with a handgun (probably not a long gun either) 25% of the time & would be better served with spray.

I'd guess 25% might be high from the average, untrained hunter. I'll also add that a properly placed bullet won't always do the job either. I watched a mt lion take a .44 between the eyes, one broadside through the ribs as it was coming out of the tree and 2 more in the skull at point blank from the houndsman before it stopped tearing the dogs up. Guns provide a peace of mind, but they aren't as sure of a thing as some might think from either the accuracy or effect standpoint.

I'm not saying one is better than the other. They each have their place. Get training in both and most important of all, know what you're doing when in bear country.

 

[tipsntails7]

I'd guess 25% might be high from the average, untrained hunter. I'll also add that a properly placed bullet won't always do the job either. I watched a mt lion take a .44 between the eyes, one broadside through the ribs as it was coming out of the tree and 2 more in the skull at point blank from the houndsman before it stopped tearing the dogs up. Guns provide a peace of mind, but they aren't as sure of a thing as some might think from either the accuracy or effect standpoint.

I'm not saying one is better than the other. They each have their place. Get training in both and most important of all, know what you're doing when in bear country.

^^^^ This

 

[Mike7]

I could sure see bear spray being helpful if surprised in thick brush, because of its ability for immediate deployment when shot from a chest holster. I could also see it being helpful over a scoped rifle when hiking in limited light...and it is a lighter addition to a rifle than a pistol is when in griz country. Around here, I only carry it for protection from overly aggressive domesticated dogs when out jogging, as I carry the pistol when archery hunting.

The spray will work into some wind, and I found the blowback irritating but not overwhelming the one time I did use it.

I would be concerned about blowback if I were a person with asthma though. I could feel a little airway irritability after using it for an hour or so, and I have no history of asthma.

 

[husky390]

I like how they cut the camera just after he sprayed it. I wonder if there was some coughing afterwards? Personally, I've never carried the stuff, but I've never been in big bear country. I could be wrong, but I can see it being used to buy some time and distance to draw your weapon and take aim, but I would not want to solely rely on the spray.

There was a Canadian documentary on bears attacking and eating people up there. In one test, they sprayed the bear spray on a river bank and sure enough a bear came in, sniffed and licked the ground and then started rolling in the spray.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Yes, it's a well known fact that bears like the pepper that is in the spray. It is not designed to spray around your camp to keep the bears away it is designed to spray in the face of a charging bear. The bottom line is that most dangerous bear encounters are surprise encounters both for the bear and you. If you feel confident enough to draw your weapon aim and fatally fire upon a charging bear at a few feet away in a fraction of a second then you fly at it. Keep in mind that if you wound the bear even fatally and maybe it was just a bluff charge that bear will now pounce on you and rip you to shreds. A cloud of pepper spray is claimed to work 92% of the time while when a firearm is introduced into similar situations the attack is emanate 68% of the time. I spend a lot of time in big bear country and have been closer to grizzlies then I was comfortable with but have never had to shoot or deploy spray in self defence.
Keep in mind the best defence is planning ahead, clean camp and being aware of your surroundings. But even with all precautions being followed shit can still go south fast.

 

[South Cox]

I pack spray almost all of the time when I'm in bear country. In CA you can't pack a gun during archery season and I don't think I'd want to be bothered by the extra weight anyway. Interestingly, the first can of spray I bought was 10% capisicum, now they're only 1.8%.... the .44 magnum just got reduced to a rimfire. None the less, I still carry it. It's not very fun to have a bear on your back, chewing on your shoulders. Tried it once, don't intend to again.