Do you carry bear spray when hunting?

[Big Chris]

New hunter from ontario here. I become a bc resident Jan 1 and want to scout some areas for next year's deer season. I figure I'll bring the 12 gauge for small game. Being from ontario we only see black and brown bears the size of a big German Sheppard maybe and they spook pretty easy. Even a sow with Cubs will bolt as soon as she sees or smells you. Never seen a grizz before. Talking to hunting buddies at work it seems like everyone has a grizzly story lol. Do you guys carry bear spray or just rely on your rifle?

[Wild one]

Personally I don’t carry bear spray well hunting with a firearm/bow, camping, or fishing. I have never seen the need to.

everyone has there own opinion

[Jelvis]

I'd go rifle up the shoot, And on safety, in areas where your allowed to carry a rifle ,to shoot at bears etc -- the bear spray I never used --

Jel -- good luck hunter in BC with all of us together -- hunting and hiking and scouting -- jogging and walking the wilderness -- Good Luck Big Chris

[mpotzold]

I would never rely on bear spray to stop a charging bear.

If using a shotgun make sure you have some good quality solid slugs along.And forget about buckshot-it simply lacks penetration.

A big caliber rifle is best. I personally use the 45/70 Guide Gun loaded with 540 gr. bullets, a 375H&H loaded with 300 gr. bullets & sometimes a Defender loaded with 3"mag Brenneke slugs when retrieving game.
We do have a couple cans of bear spray at camp in case a curious bear appears.

[mpotzold]

I would never rely on bear spray to stop a charging bear.

If using a shotgun make sure you have some good quality solid slugs along.And forget about buckshot-it simply lacks penetration.

A big caliber rifle is best. I personally use the 45/70 Guide Gun loaded with 540 gr. bullets, a 375H&H loaded with 300 gr. bullets & sometimes a Defender loaded with 3"mag Brenneke slugs when retrieving game.
We do have a couple cans of bear spray at camp in case a curious bear appears.

Finally came across a bear attack story from 1996.

After reading it over 20 years ago never believed in the authenticity of Herrero's & Tom Smith's bear spray studies done a few years later.
This was the first major spray failure with many more to come!

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/opi...rado/26055389/

[Busterpayton54]

Finally came across a bear attack story from 1996.

After reading it over 20 years ago never believed in the authenticity of Herrero's & Tom Smith's bear spray studies done a few years later.
This was the first major spray failure with many more to come!

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/opi...rado/26055389/

have you ever read their study? It seems to me there is an original publication and an amended version.

I can not recall the exactly number of incident used in the study, I believe it was in the 180's. Incidents included in the "it works" column included spraying through fences, through slightly opened windows, on curious bears, and on camp gear. Anything that involved spray and no bear/human contact. Yes, even though it's known to be an attractant, spray it on a cooler, attract a bear, it licks the cooler and leaves.. "it worked"

i belive of al 180 something incidents, only 6 deployments were on bears deemed to be acting aggressively. Of those 6 times 4 resulted in bear making contact with the human, 2 of those resulted in serious injury.

Now ow I don't clam to be a mathematician, or an expert in extrapolating data but my logic says only those 6 incidences are of value, the spray was only 23% effective. Failing 67%.

My link to the original study is now broken.

in fact I can no longer find it on the web. That study is listed as reference 11 and 13 when you search this "bear spray efficacy study in Alaska" Wikipedia results, yet the link is broke there as well. "Page not found".

Then there was thier opposing study, efficacy of firearms for bear defence. As if the volume of reported incidences were even remotely accurate. Do they actually think every time a gunshot is used to scare off a bear it gets reported and documented? Every time a bear is shot?

Its sickening to know how badly these people manipulate data to make money and give a false sense of security to people who pack thier products.

[mpotzold]

1)have you ever read their study? It seems to me there is an original publication and an amended version. )

I can not recall the exactly number of incident used in the study, I believe it was in the 180's. Incidents included in the "it works" column included spraying through fences, through slightly opened windows, on curious bears, and on camp gear. Anything that involved spray and no bear/human contact. Yes, even though it's known to be an attractant, spray it on a cooler, attract a bear, it licks the cooler and leaves.. "it worked"

i belive of al 180 something incidents, only 6 deployments were on bears deemed to be acting aggressively. Of those 6 times 4 resulted in bear making contact with the human, 2 of those resulted in serious injury.

Now ow I don't clam to be a mathematician, or an expert in extrapolating data but my logic says only those 6 incidences are of value, the spray was only 23% effective. Failing 67%.

My link to the original study is now broken.

in fact I can no longer find it on the web. That study is listed as reference 11 and 13 when you search this "bear spray efficacy study in Alaska" Wikipedia results, yet the link is broke there as well. "Page not found".

Then there was thier opposing study, efficacy of firearms for bear defence. As if the volume of reported incidences were even remotely accurate. Do they actually think every time a gunshot is used to scare off a bear it gets reported and documented? Every time a bear is shot?

2)Its sickening to know how badly these people manipulate data to make money and give a false sense of security to people who pack thier products.

1)-yes I have

2)-fully agree-this is what I've been saying for many years on HBC.

The study results were based on anecdotal, cherry picked & statistically insignificant numbers by only 2 so called scientists, Herrero(& Smith) & don't have a semblance of real scientific evidence. They can not be replicated!

The results were no doubt predetermined.

The leftist MSM suppresses stories (& there are many), where bear spray failed to stop a charging bear or where it had zero or little effect when sprayed. When forced to publish they conjure up a "good" story of why the spray failed.

To them bear lives matter more.

[Bustercluck]

I carry bear spray. I seem to carry it around quite a bit more than I thought I would. I throw it in my pack when I’m out on my bike with the kids or when I’m fishing. I have a 20 gauge backpacker I also carry around if I’m in the bush. I would prefer to have a nice big revolver like the 500 s&w, but that’s never going to happen.

[twoSevenO]

Nope. Short pump action when scouting out of season in grizz country.

In blacktail country I carry nothing

[Gateholio]

My bear spray is 250 grains and flies at 2800 FPS