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If you make loud noise, be big and frightening, black bears tend to run off. Pocket air horn is good for this but you can also just shake your arms above your h

If you make loud noise, be big and frightening, black bears tend to run off. Pocket air horn is good for this but you can also just shake your arms above your head and go 'blahfhahabfwhehe'! Grizzly bears, whole other class of animal. If you're going to hang out with grizzly bears, it's a good idea to have, at the least, adequately rated 'bear spray' and the knowledge of how to use it: https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2019-08-27/are-you-sure-you-know-how-to-use-bear-spray https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2019-08-27/are-you-sure-yo... But in terms of equipment and training, a gun is worth a tremendous amount of peace of mind. Notably, because of polar bears, it is forbidden to leave town in Svalbard without a gun.

prottog 4y ago
I'm a big fan of guns, but if I had to pick between a gun and a bear spray for the (exclusive) purpose of bear control during an outing, I would almost always pick the spray. Guns big enough to be effective against bears are heavy and cumbersome, and I dare say marksmanship good enough to be effective in a standoff against a bear is hard to come by for the average gunowner. Of course, in remote enough situations where you might come across a grizzly, I would have a gun on my person in any case.
- blamazon 4y ago
  Spray also seems to me much less deleterious for the biosphere and such. Apex predators are crucial low-quantity members of food chains and it seems possible that a grizzly sprayed by humans one or more times will take the hint and avoid close human interaction. Or maybe they just learn to fight through it and we're double effed... I'm not signing up for that research program.
- landemva 4y ago
  Shotgun and slugs, with a sling for carrying. Slugs tear through whatever is in the way. I do have the big spray canister with holster, and that setup seems finicky. Though I haven't done live practice with it.
_8j50 4y ago
> ... 'blahfhahabfwhehe'! I will practice that.
2devnull 4y ago
I did the ‘blahfhahabfwhehe’ thing at a cougar once, and she just stared at me.
- akiselev 4y ago
  The point is she didn’t pounce at the delicious blahfefe staring at her. :-)

prottog 4y ago

I'm a big fan of guns, but if I had to pick between a gun and a bear spray for the (exclusive) purpose of bear control during an outing, I would almost always pick the spray. Guns big enough to be effective against bears are heavy and cumbersome, and I dare say marksmanship good enough to be effective in a standoff against a bear is hard to come by for the average gunowner. Of course, in remote enough situations where you might come across a grizzly, I would have a gun on my person in any case.

blamazon 4y ago
Spray also seems to me much less deleterious for the biosphere and such. Apex predators are crucial low-quantity members of food chains and it seems possible that a grizzly sprayed by humans one or more times will take the hint and avoid close human interaction. Or maybe they just learn to fight through it and we're double effed... I'm not signing up for that research program.
landemva 4y ago
Shotgun and slugs, with a sling for carrying. Slugs tear through whatever is in the way. I do have the big spray canister with holster, and that setup seems finicky. Though I haven't done live practice with it.

_8j50 4y ago

> ... 'blahfhahabfwhehe'! I will practice that.

2devnull 4y ago

I did the ‘blahfhahabfwhehe’ thing at a cougar once, and she just stared at me.

akiselev 4y ago
The point is she didn’t pounce at the delicious blahfefe staring at her. :-)