Bear Spray - Have the studies been misleading?

[tdot]

Does Bear Spray Work?

The science is clear, right? Not so fast, according to, well, science.

www.outsideonline.com

This is an interesting article where the author does a deep dive analysis into some of the studies relating to Bear Spray and Handgun/rifle Effectiveness during bear encounters. His conclusions are more data driven then emotion driven. I'd not seen it before, hopefully it's helpful.

 

[5MilesBack]

My opinion is that if people really "need" studies, reports, research, and others to tell them what they should do or how to do it, then they're probably better off avoiding those situations or activities altogether.

 

[tdot]

I grew out of that at 19.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I carry spray, a knife and a sidearm, keep my head on a swivel and figure my death is predetermined. Works for me.

 

[bsnedeker]

Is anyone else REALLY sick of this topic? Bear spray has been proven to work in real life situations. Sidearms have been proven to work in real life situations. There are also real life examples of both of them being ineffective. Just carry what makes YOU feel comfortable and go about your business

I'm with Bruce....I carry a sidearm and spray (I just carry a small pocket knife that I don't think is going to help me, lol) and keep my head up because that is what works best for me.

 

[gelton]

Is anyone else REALLY sick of this topic? Bear spray has been proven to work in real life situations. Sidearms have been proven to work in real life situations. There are also real life examples of both of them being ineffective. Just carry what makes YOU feel comfortable and go about your business

I'm with Bruce....I carry a sidearm and spray (I just carry a small pocket knife that I don't think is going to help me, lol) and keep my head up because that is what works best for me.

Did you read the article? I think it's a helpful post even if this topic has been rehashed over and over again. It brought up some facts that I was not aware of. Like the effectiveness of guns study was done on bears that were actually charging while the effectiveness of spray study was done on bears that were acting as if they might charge.

Yet everyone compares the two studies as if it is an apples to apples comparison even though it isnt.

Learn something new every day and for that, I am appreciative of the OP.

 

[bsnedeker]

Did you read the article? I think it's a helpful post even if this topic has been rehashed over and over again. It brought up some facts that I was not aware of. Like the effectiveness of guns study was done on bears that were actually charging while the effectiveness of spray study was done on bears that were acting as if they might charge.

Yet everyone compares the two studies as if it is an apples to apples comparison even though it isnt.

Learn something new every day and for that, I am appreciative of the OP.

No, because I don't care about studies on this topic. It's not going to change anything about what makes me more comfortable in the back country.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[TSAMP]

Article is garbage. It didn't even discuss which camo pattern pisses bears off most. Doesn't matter to me cuz I run solids and know Kung fu.

 

[Ron.C]

Is anyone else REALLY sick of this topic? Bear spray has been proven to work in real life situations. Sidearms have been proven to work in real life situations. There are also real life examples of both of them being ineffective. Just carry what makes YOU feel comfortable and go about your business

I'm with Bruce....I carry a sidearm and spray (I just carry a small pocket knife that I don't think is going to help me, lol) and keep my head up because that is what works best for me.

I couldn't agree more.

Here in Canada, we can't carry handguns so that is a moot point for us, but I don't know many guys that would not love to be able to pack a sidearm. I know several guys that carry a defender style shotgun or small 45/70 AND BEAR SPRAY when bowhunting in Griz country.

And from reading threads on various websites it's obvious allot of people are scared @#$% of grizzlies. In any case, I wouldn't want these folks with me on a hunt, let alone if they had a handgun.

At the end of the day there are so many variables in each encounter that it's clear (to me) there is no guarantee either firearm or spray will work in every situation. But having multiple options is a good thing.

 

[gelton]

I couldn't agree more.

Here in Canada, we can't carry handguns so that is a moot point for us, but I don't know many guys that would not love to be able to pack a sidearm. I know several guys that carry a defender style shotgun or small 45/70 AND BEAR SPRAY when bowhunting in Griz country.

And from reading threads on various websites it's obvious allot of people are scared @#$% of grizzlies. In any case, I wouldn't want these folks with me on a hunt, let alone if they had a handgun.

At the end of the day there are so many variables in each encounter that it's clear (to me) there is no guarantee either firearm or spray will work in every situation. But having multiple options is a good thing.

Correct on the guarantee part but there is no way I am carrying a side arm and bear spray, in fact, from my perspective those that are scared @#$% are the exact ones that would carry both.

For me, I might be going down, but if I do it's in a blaze of glory not a cloud of pepper spray.

 

[WRM]

Article is garbage. It didn't even discuss which camo pattern pisses bears off most. Doesn't matter to me cuz I run solids and know Kung fu.

I'm pretty sure it's Vias, and bears train the Shayetet 13 in krav maga.

 

[tdot]

Is anyone else REALLY sick of this topic? Bear spray has been proven to work in real life situations. Sidearms have been proven to work in real life situations. There are also real life examples of both of them being ineffective. Just carry what makes YOU feel comfortable and go about your business

I'm with Bruce....I carry a sidearm and spray (I just carry a small pocket knife that I don't think is going to help me, lol) and keep my head up because that is what works best for me.

Wow, sorry to get you so worked up, had no idea it was such a touchy subject... cap locks and everything. I'll make a note that discussions of Bear Spray are as likely to offend as BLM and rigged elections.

I only posted the article as it was a different angle on a heavily discussed subject. Up here in Canada Bear Spray is pushed as the ultimate bear solution and the conclusions of some of the studies mentioned in this article are often quoted. My personal beliefs are very different and I carry a rifle for Bear protection. Never really considered spray until a few weeks ago when we were taking our 2 and 3 year old camping into a wilderness area and given the situation and other guests I considered a rifle inappropriate. In the past 2 years I've shot a charging bear at 7 yards, scared off a bear at 5 yards with an infant strapped to my chest with a bottle of milk in one hand and a pacifier in the other. Both situations I had the wind in my face, which is the only reason the bears hadn't disappeared before I saw them.. The morning while we were packing to go camping there was a bear on our front porch only seconds before I opened the door at midday. So my wife was mildly nervous to be camping without the rifle, so I spent 10 minutes, researching the different spray options available in Canada and also in stock in town. Since I've always only 1/2 paid attention to discussions of bear spray I was surprised to see so many articles and discussions quoting conclusions that were very different then what I would have expected. I only saw this article while looking for holsters for the bear spray as it seems we'll be taking it on a few more camping trips this summer.

Anyways, just threw it out there, you're welcome to ignore it if it triggers you. Maybe it'll help others who come to Rokslide to learn vs those who already know everything.

 

[Sourdough]

Hi.......I am "Sourdough", and I am one of those sissy men "afraid" of bears.

(and women)
(and snakes)
(and alligators)
(and wood wasps)
(and sharks)
The truth is I am afraid of everything that moves in the wilderness, till I can identify what it is that is moving. Today a Spruce Grouse with chicks, and baby Hare, and a Redback Vole, each frightened me. And that was in my yard.

 

[CoStick]

Wow, sorry to get you so worked up, had no idea it was such a touchy subject... cap locks and everything. I'll make a note that discussions of Bear Spray are as likely to offend as BLM and rigged elections.

I only posted the article as it was a different angle on a heavily discussed subject. Up here in Canada Bear Spray is pushed as the ultimate bear solution and the conclusions of some of the studies mentioned in this article are often quoted. My personal beliefs are very different and I carry a rifle for Bear protection. Never really considered spray until a few weeks ago when we were taking our 2 and 3 year old camping into a wilderness area and given the situation and other guests I considered a rifle inappropriate. In the past 2 years I've shot a charging bear at 7 yards, scared off a bear at 5 yards with an infant strapped to my chest with a bottle of milk in one hand and a pacifier in the other. Both situations I had the wind in my face, which is the only reason the bears hadn't disappeared before I saw them.. The morning while we were packing to go camping there was a bear on our front porch only seconds before I opened the door at midday. So my wife was mildly nervous to be camping without the rifle, so I spent 10 minutes, researching the different spray options available in Canada and also in stock in town. Since I've always only 1/2 paid attention to discussions of bear spray I was surprised to see so many articles and discussions quoting conclusions that were very different then what I would have expected. I only saw this article while looking for holsters for the bear spray as it seems we'll be taking it on a few more camping trips this summer.

Anyways, just threw it out there, you're welcome to ignore it if it triggers you. Maybe it'll help others who come to Rokslide to learn vs those who already know everything.

How many people are killed by bears in Canada each year?

 

[JohnnyB]

Great article. I do carry both options at times and am not particularly concerned about bear attacks.
I like that spray may give me an option with a sow and cubs that may prevent orphaning cubs.
For what it is worth, this only applies to grizzly country for me.

 

[MuleyFever]

This bear survival guide has some good info.

 

[tdot]

How many people are killed by bears in Canada each year?

No idea. Canada is a big place. But I know there's usually a death or mauling at least every few weeks in the papers, those are usually in the Western provinces. I usually have 10-20 bear encounters in a year, other then when I'm Bear hunting, all have ended peacefully except the one I shot last year and one I threw my mountain bike at a few years ago, both were my fault.

 

[5MilesBack]

I grew out of that at 19.

Most people do, but if Covid showed us anything it's that a very large % of our population has to have others to tell them what they should do.

 

[Beendare]

Delete

 

[alaska_bou]

My opinion is that if people really "need" studies, reports, research, and others to tell them what they should do or how to do it, then they're probably better off avoiding those situations or activities altogether.

I don't think it is a matter of being told what to do. I think most people want to educate/inform themselves thourgh studies, reports and research so they can make their own informed choice. This is true for any topic or subject.