Bear aware

Due to the potential of creating a wildfire, all the Dangerous Wildlife Monitors in BC are forbidden the use of Bear Bangers.

Although I pack the spray, if a bear gets close enough to deploy it, he will be staring down Option 2 - every time.

I was directly involved in a few National Parks bear spray studies a long long time ago.
While effective on most, those that it enraged (causing them to attack the source) were without exception large mature boars.
PASS.

Cheers
 
agentaqua said:
Totally agree with the common-sense & experienced comments from Nog, Brutus & others. Bear spray is a last ditch "hail Mary" option - even if you can dig it out of your pack in time.

And do you want to wait until a raging grizzly bearing down on you is within 10-15ft to take a sole last-ditch counter measure?

Noise (bear bangers & firecrackers) are much better options - because they can be initiated from a distance - while the bear is often still making up it's mind about you (often when they stand up to have a look at you instead of running away). You can instead help it make up it's mind - and train it on how to respond to other humans down the road.

Pen-style bear bangers easily fit into your pocket and are quickly available - and have a range of ~50 ft (dependent upon windage).

If you are carrying a shotgun (not everyone has this option) - the larger firecrackers can be last loaded with slugs so they are 1st out of the pipe (and hopefully mean you don't need to use the slugs) - and they have a range roughly double that of bear bangers & double the bang/pressure wave. A pressure wave hit will quickly convince a reluctant bear to move along.

Critics of bear bangers (most of which have never used them) like to bring up the fact that they heard that you can mistakenly fire on behind a bear and drive it towards you. Well, like any projectile - practice & timing makes perfect. Practice a shot or 2 until you get the range & trajectory just right. Often, you have the time/space move back-n-forth and side-to-side to get just the right shot - just keep the adrenaline under control and still think.

Even if you can't land it close enuff to hit it directly with the pressure wave - I have never had to use more than 3 bangers (so have spares) on any reluctant, determined bear to get it to move away - even if they complain while they are moving away (clicking their jaws). They still move away and leave you alone - that's the important part.

Over 30+years of walking creeks and the tundra - I have a couple dozen close polar encounters, better than 100 close grizzly encounters and better than 500 black bear encounters. And I am still here, and I have trained many bears to avoid humans - that way - everyone lives.
Click to expand...
Just last week I had to fire off a couple of bear-bangers on my property when a decent sized blackie got too close to the house. I was also careful to make sure I didnt set fire to the grass. That would have been a bigger problem. Its pretty obvious why the bears are on the move--- food ! The next day Bambi and her/his mom , came wandering up past to the house. No doubt that is what was motivating the bear to come up to the house. Snack food !
 
I just did a 6 day rafting trip up in thick grizzly country. I saw their scat in the rainforest so I knew they were around—-no snow this year, they came out of hibernation early

I always pack smoked fish with me on these trips…not the greatest idea but that’s my only source of protein. It’s also very effective bear bait

This year I made a calculated decision —- I wouldn’t carry a garbage bag in my raft.

Every night I buried my garbage 100 meters away from my tent after washing it in the river. I’m also aware that bears like chewing on hypalon inflatable rafts so there was that driving the decision not to put a garbage bag in the raft.

I might get some bad karma downstream for not “packing it out” but side-stepping a bear incident is high on my list of outdoor activities.

I want to live a long boring life with minimal drama.



IMG_2104.jpeg
 
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agentaqua said:
Totally agree with the common-sense & experienced comments from Nog, Brutus & others. Bear spray is a last ditch "hail Mary" option - even if you can dig it out of your pack in time.

And do you want to wait until a raging grizzly bearing down on you is within 10-15ft to take a sole last-ditch counter measure?

Noise (bear bangers & firecrackers) are much better options - because they can be initiated from a distance - while the bear is often still making up it's mind about you (often when they stand up to have a look at you instead of running away). You can instead help it make up it's mind - and train it on how to respond to other humans down the road.

Pen-style bear bangers easily fit into your pocket and are quickly available - and have a range of ~50 ft (dependent upon windage).

If you are carrying a shotgun (not everyone has this option) - the larger firecrackers can be last loaded with slugs so they are 1st out of the pipe (and hopefully mean you don't need to use the slugs) - and they have a range roughly double that of bear bangers & double the bang/pressure wave. A pressure wave hit will quickly convince a reluctant bear to move along.

Critics of bear bangers (most of which have never used them) like to bring up the fact that they heard that you can mistakenly fire on behind a bear and drive it towards you. Well, like any projectile - practice & timing makes perfect. Practice a shot or 2 until you get the range & trajectory just right. Often, you have the time/space move back-n-forth and side-to-side to get just the right shot - just keep the adrenaline under control and still think.

Even if you can't land it close enuff to hit it directly with the pressure wave - I have never had to use more than 3 bangers (so have spares) on any reluctant, determined bear to get it to move away - even if they complain while they are moving away (clicking their jaws). They still move away and leave you alone - that's the important part.

Over 30+years of walking creeks and the tundra - I have a couple dozen close polar encounters, better than 100 close grizzly encounters and better than 500 black bear encounters. And I am still here, and I have trained many bears to avoid humans - that way - everyone lives.
Click to expand...
I was told a 12 gauge was the only decent deterrent. Loaded with Slug,SSG, Slug. Made sense.
 
brutus said:
45/70 does a good job too, 12g use slugs, no ssg unless you want a **** off grizz coming at you lol
Click to expand...
Never had to use it so no expert. It was what the guy teaching the course recommended for a bear gun load. He claimed the slug slowed them and the SSG was to kill them, as I remember. That’s why he recommended alternating between the two loads. Never practised it in real life against an attacking bear so can’t vouch for it from experience.
 
ziggy said:
Never had to use it so no expert. It was what the guy teaching the course recommended for a bear gun load. He claimed the slug slowed them and the SSG was to kill them, as I remember. That’s why he recommended alternating between the two loads. Never practised it in real life against an attacking bear so can’t vouch for it from experience.
Click to expand...
Ssg is like a load of 22 size pellets, no penetration on a big bear, aframe quality slugs will finish a bear, lots have the believe( not me lol) ssg in the face to kind of disorienting the bear and put a few slugs in it after, I skip that part and hit it with heavy lead instead
 
ziggy said:
It was what the guy teaching the course recommended for a bear gun load. He claimed the slug slowed them and the SSG was to kill them, as I remember. That’s why he recommended alternating between the two loads. Never practised it in real life against an attacking bear so can’t vouch for it from experience.
Click to expand...

He was wrong. Period.
As such he should NOT be in any position to give his erroneous opinion, especially in a teaching role.
Slugs only. High quality slugs as noted above.

Cheers
 
When I met my wife years ago, I trained her with A 12g for bear encounter, as I spent lots of time up north in heavy grizz country, her shoulder was black at the end of the session lol, but her confidence went way up
 
ziggy said:
Never had to use it so no expert. It was what the guy teaching the course recommended for a bear gun load. He claimed the slug slowed them and the SSG was to kill them, as I remember. That’s why he recommended alternating between the two loads. Never practised it in real life against an attacking bear so can’t vouch for it from experience.
Click to expand...
I’m no expert either but I though ssg was six steelies about the size of a slug split six ways so it could spread a bit and do greater damage was how it was explained to me too during my course back in the day
But slugs do a fair bit of damage I’ve shot 18 inch trees and a lead slug goes through never tried ssg
Reports please lol
 
Loghauler said:
.30 of an inch makes 30 calibre ?
Click to expand...
lol, a few 50-60 grain pellet, spreads out and loose velocity real quick, all your doing is pissing a bear off, I mean you could get lucky and survive 😂😂, stick with heavy quality slugs, your chance of being lunch are way smaller. Ssg is like shouting a 22 multiple time a bear,do yourself a favor and go buy a box, laminate 2x layers of 3/4 ply 2feet by 2 feet, put it down range at 25 yard and give her, then come back on here and tell us the results , then do it again with good quality slugs
 
brutus said:
lol, a few 50-60 grain pellet, spreads out and loose velocity real quick, all your doing is pissing a bear off, I mean you could get lucky and survive 😂😂, stick with heavy quality slugs, your chance of being lunch are way smaller. Ssg is like shouting a 22 multiple time a bear,do yourself a favor and go buy a box, laminate 2x layers of 3/4 ply 2feet by 2 feet, put it down range at 25 yard and give her, then come back on here and tell us the results , then do it again with good quality slugs
Click to expand...
I’m not arguing I’m just saying I’d have to see it .30 isn’t a 22 ! And you can get them in steel so I’d like to see it first rather than make assumptions
 
Loghauler said:
I’m not arguing I’m just saying I’d have to see it .30 isn’t a 22 ! And you can get them in steel so I’d like to see it first rather than make assumptions
Click to expand...

Steel does NOT penetrate nor carry it's velocity nearly as well as lead.
That is the reason waterfowlers up their shot size for ducks & geese when they have to use mandated steel shot.

I have used 000 lead shot (.360 diameter), Foster slugs and Brenneke slugs on bears.
The shot did not penetrate well at all. Stopped upon meeting bone at close range. Pass.
The Foster's penetrated better, but not nearly enough for my liking.
The Brenneke's penetrated the best - often a pass through.

Try the test out noted by Brutus above.
He may be somewhat off target when it comes to voltage in salt water, but in this case he is bang on.

Cheers
 
IronNoggin said:
Steel does NOT penetrate nor carry it's velocity nearly as well as lead.
That is the reason waterfowlers up their shot size for ducks & geese when they have to use mandated steel shot.

I have used 000 lead shot (.360 diameter), Foster slugs and Brenneke slugs on bears.
The shot did not penetrate well at all. Stopped upon meeting bone at close range. Pass.
The Foster's penetrated better, but not nearly enough for my liking.
The Brenneke's penetrated the best - often a pass through.

Try the test out noted by Brutus above.
He may be somewhat off target when it comes to voltage in salt water, but in this case he is bang on.

Cheers
Click to expand...
As I said I’m not disagreeing if I’m going to grizzly country some of their tree scratch’s I’ve seen start at nine feet and go up to where I couldn’t measure so I believe you about the big guys
I’m just saying even the military uses ssg for their stuff and cops big difference between the two I know I’ve seen grizzly sign and that was enough to make me leave the area
Videos of guys blasting multiple times with high velocity thirty cal show that it does Not drop them even though it’s gone out the other side at a high rate of speed it’s all about kinetic energy or stopping power
Can you get 10 gauge ? In slugs ?
 
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brutus said:
lol, a few 50-60 grain pellet, spreads out and loose velocity real quick, all your doing is pissing a bear off, I mean you could get lucky and survive 😂😂, stick with heavy quality slugs, your chance of being lunch are way smaller. Ssg is like shouting a 22 multiple time a bear,do yourself a favor and go buy a box, laminate 2x layers of 3/4 ply 2feet by 2 feet, put it down range at 25 yard and give her, then come back on here and tell us the results , then do it again with good quality slugs
Click to expand...
Guess you never read my post about a slug going through an 18 inch tree it was a “ Douglas fir “
 
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