Bear Spray

[colbysmith]

Thinking about buying some bear spray before traveling into bear country. (South end of Inside Passage this summer, and then Alaska portion next summer (2019)). Just wondering what others recommend or have used or purchased. I'm looking at Counter Assault off of Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WAUWQQO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

[Brewkid]

Picture a wildlife advisory sign....

Due to the frequency of human-bear encounters, the B.C. Fish and Wildlife Branch is advising hikers, hunters, fishermen and any persons that use the out of doors in a recreational or work related function to take extra precautions while in the field.

We advise the outdoorsman to wear little noisy bells on clothing so as to give advanced warning to any bears that might be close by so you don’t take them by surprise.

We also advise anyone using the out-f-doors to carry “Pepper Spray” with him is case of an encounter with a bear.

Outdoorsmen should also be on the watch for fresh bear activity, and be able to tell the difference between black bear feces and grizzly bear feces. Black bear feces is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear shit has bells in it and smells like pepper.

Buy a shotgun.

John
Scallywag

[Pacificcoast101]

There is a book that is commonly sold in Alaska called Alaska Bear Tales. It has lots of stories of mauling and bears shot several times who continue mauling.

[hardee]

Colby, I bought mine in Canada and don't remember the brand. I gave it away before I came back because I didn't want to carry it across the border. I am getting less worried about taking it across the border as I hear of more folks doing that.

Another device that was recommended to me was one of the canned air horns. I found on of the small ones that fit in a vest pocket and carried it when hiking, too.

Harvey
SleepyC

[JOHN C]

I have heard from forgotten sources that bear spray can just piss them off.

Max at Kwatsi recommended an air horn. Since he had lived up there for many years, we just assumed it would work so we started carrying one when ashore.

I forget which is which and besides, it sounded bogus, but for one kind of bear, you are supposed to act big, scary, and aggressive and for the other, you are supposed to curl up in a ball and play dead. This was according to a ranger in Glacier Bay Park, but I cannot imagine doing either one.

Everyone agrees that making lots of noise is a really good idea so you do not surprise them.

John

[Foggy]

Stay in your boat.

Aye.

[colbysmith]

Some points from my own choices and things I've read

- Not interested in personally messing with guns on my boat or in crossing the border.
- Those bear bells are pretty much worthless. (Not enough noise). Recommendations are to just shout Hey Bear and clap frequently so you don't sneak up and surprise a bear. Also traveling in groups of 4 or 5 is good.
- Very loud air horns have been mentioned, but still not as effective as the bear spray.
- If you do carry a gun, you better have one that kills and don't miss. Otherwise you've just pissed the bear off.

"According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report, law enforcement agents and experienced hunters who use firearms to defend themselves suffer injury about 50 per cent of the time, while people defending themselves with bear spray escape injury most of the time and injuries that did occur were less severe (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). University of Calgary’s Dr. Stephen Herrero found similar results. This is why bear spray is often carried in the backcountry by biologists, professional guides and hikers/campers.
Even a skilled marksman with steady nerves may have a slim chance of deterring a bear attack with a gun.” – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "

- If you have to use the bear spray, you'll probably need a clean pair of shorts. (You don't use it till the bear is within 30-60 feet while charging!)
- I believe it's play dead with Grizzleys, act big with Blacks, but I'll have to watch those videos several more times.

I'm not concerned with having the stuff on board crossing the borders, from the various threads I've read. I also don't plan on purposely getting up close and that personal with a bear. However, situations can arise/happen that aren't planned on. Just seems to make sense to have the bear spray from everything I've read, but just wondering if anyone else has information as too which spray is better.

Oh, and Foggy, I've read some stories where the bear came onto the boat! Colby

[Peter & Judy]

I've spend most of my life hiking in bear country in the Canadian Rockies and have had Grizzly bears and cougars sighted on my bison ranch here in the foothills of the Rockies. Over the decades I have encountered bears, both black and grizzly at least 30 times. One weekend I had six bear encounters with both black and grizzly bears in Kananaskis Country, Alberta. My biggest piece of advice is the be aware in bear country and to make your presence known to the bear. I frequently make noise, yell 'hey bear' and keep my eyes and ears open. Bear Bells are useless. I also carry bear spray on my belt as well as bear bangers. Both are easily available in Canada at most outdoor stores. I have never used the bear spray, but last year I fired a bear banger at a sow grizzly with a cub that was charging us at Atlin Lake, BC. She stopped and looked and went the other way. Below is a link to my Atlin Lake trip. I understand that bear bangers are illegal in the US without a permit, as was noted in a comment in my Atlin Lake report. They are fired from a pencil flare gun which I carry both flares and bangers with for safety. I have never carried a firearm for protection and I am not sure if I ever will. A recent study have now found that bear spray has been proven to be more effective than fire arms in warding off bear attacks. One thought is that the bears you may encounter on the coast are bigger, due to their salmon diet, than the mountain bears and probably less habituated to people than the bears you might find in a area like Banff National Park. This probably makes them more dangerous.

http://www.c-brats.com/index.php?sid=db72fa20dd73172ed33a698027fd53f0

[Brewkid]

I'll try and make this story short.
Grew up in Kenai, Alaska. My wife(girlfriend at the time), two friends and myself were backpacking. At the end of the trip there was a long gravel road about 2 miles, strait and long with just a little hill. At the end of that road was the restaurant where my truck was parked. The group of us were about half way there when out of the woods walked a very large grizzly. He was about 50 yard in front of us. I was carrying a 45 at the time and my wife had a 22 strapped to her pack for stupid chickens. You're taught to stand together to look bigger and make lots of noise. So we did, grouped up we all yelled hey bear, go away bear, you know, noise...

Turns out that only interested him and he started heading right towards us...

40 Yards my pistol is out and on him, my friend is getting really nervous so I pull my wife's 22 from her pack and hand it to him. He responds, "what am I suppose to do with this?" I said, "You go stand over there and shoot him and when you piss him off and he attacks you, I'll get him from behind!" Apparently I'm not that funny...

30 Yards, I'm about to shoot and.....down the road comes a van, spooking him off into the woods long enough for us to scurry by stopping only long enough to look at his massive paw prints.

35 Yards past the last seen spot of him and he walks right back onto the road. He was probably only a matter of feet in the bushes watching us as we passed. He stops, looks at us and then crosses the road and dips back into the woods.

I've hunted(bear included) and fished for years, still do. Seen plenty of grizzly and black bear. Black bear have always ran when I yell at them, I've yet to raise my voice at a grizzly again.

I guess in the end it's all what your comfortable with. If your in tall grass and catch them off guard you'll probably not get a shot off of either. Most folks back home carry a large caliber pistol, or a shot gun. Pistols off the table for traversing Canada so.... I'm sure there is someone that can speak to pepper spray, I just don't know anyone that carries it....

On a funny note..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3qhEIZBlX8
I'd have had bear for dinner

John
Scallywag

[Pacificcoast101]

My first wife and I were backpacking across the Kenai Peninsula one Summer. We spotted a few grizzlies out looking for food but they paid us no attention. At one point we had to walk through reeds that were taller than I for about fifty yards. When we got to the end of the reeds a couple asked us if we saw the mother and her two cubs. We hadn't but were told they had just crossed the path in the reeds less than a minute before we came by.

I came up on a large moose a few miles later that scared me more than the bears. I rounded a corner and came within six feet of it. He snorted and I kept moving.

[JamesTXSD]

When driving the meal cruise boats in Grand Teton National Park, we carried bear spray on the boats, and with us when we went on the island for meal service. If you have never been exposed to that stuff, it is seriously nasty - I'm told about 10 times more potent than Mace used on people. A can of it leaked a couple drops in the boat when my young first mate was handling it - had to send him to the clinic for treatment, because (in his young wisdom) he touched his face and eyes with it on his hands.

Last I recall for going into Canada, you are not allowed to have Mace, but bear spray is OK as long as it says "Bear Spray" on the can.

As far as the bells and pepper smell in the scat, we used to tell visitors this for determining the difference between a brown bear and a black bear: If it chases you up a tree and kills you, it is a black bear. If it pushes the tree over and kills you, it is a brown (grizzly) bear.

[Brewkid]

As far as the bells and pepper smell in the scat, we used to tell visitors this for determining the difference between a brown bear and a black bear: If it chases you up a tree and kills you, it is a black bear. If it pushes the tree over and kills you, it is a brown (grizzly) bear. [/quote]

I stole that from the picture in the link below!

http://www.outdooroddities.com/2008/07/23/grizzly-bear-warning-sign/

[Foggy]

[Peter & Judy]

If you have never used Bear Spray, here is a short video that shows you how.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIvpLzHiCrg

[localboy]

I believe in firepower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCP0Xhx6sfw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUG8UPsgE3U

Notice, they did not shoot the bear. THey scared the bear. And it worked...

Only pepper-spray I've used is LE version. Still carry it. I have also had the "privilege" to be sprayed with it in training...and in the field. If you are light skinned/eyed, the effects are worse. I had an academy classmate who was of Mexican decent. When he got sprayed he laughed and said "That's it?" It had zero effect on him. Once must be accurate and know the wind direction when using it. The "foggers" are worse; they blow at the slightest breeze although in general, one need not be as accurate when discharging them.