"How to use bear spray", by the CBC

[Ohwildwon]

Way to mislead the public. No chance against a Bear intent on protecting its young or kill...

SPRAY: Simple advice for using bear repellent in a can
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/spray-simple-acronym-bear-spray-1.4784095

[S.W.A.T.]

"To his knowledge".......

How about "to my knowledge a 12g is far more effective then flavoring a bears dinner "

[Jack Russell]

Love the acronym - "A" is for build A wall hahahaha.

Everybody has bear spray he says, but nobody knows how to use it. Doesn't bear spray come with instructions by the manufacturer?

[Big Lew]

He forgot the most important step....ask the charging bruin to stop and wait while
you get your can of spray out, take off the safety pin, and aim, holding it with 2 hands.

[gamehunter6o]

If someone can organise an instruction day with real live charging bears with "experts" as bait, let me know. It could be an entertaining day.

[Carrollizer]

Yeah I'll stick with my 12 gauge slugs

[Rackmastr]

Seems like a pretty good article and acronym for people to think about rather than just purchasing spray and carrying it without much thought into its use or deployment.

[J_T]

The Ritcey's are a well respected family with a lot of experience in predators. I don't see any mis-information with the article. Practicing and being prepared is a big part of walking away intact. While I do carry both shotgun and spray at different times, I do prefer spray to packing the 12ga. I replace my spray about every two years and use the old spray to practice.

[ElectricDyck]

I recently bought some spray after a black bear stalked us on Sumas Mountain, after the initial encounter and we yelled and backed out 100 yards, it covered 50 yards silent in the bush and showed no fear with its head down and eyes locked on us sneaking up ..would rather pack a pistol but rather spray than a bulky rifle or shotgun when we re out hiking..

[AgSilver]

Has anyone ever found a single article or study that suggests that a firearm is more effective than spray? Virtually everything that I've seen has said the opposite. And that the loud flares are best (not the shoot in the air flare but the marine flare style).

[ElectricDyck]

From the books I've read a firearm is still superior..hard to use spray in the wind, also spray is a deterent, there are examples of stubborn bears coming back for a 2nd mauling..

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

[Big Lew]

The large canister bear 'sprays' I bought many years ago weren't actually a spray at all.
It was a sizable stream that reached (if I can remember) about 15-20 feet. When each
of 2 cans I bought expired I used them for self training. Wind really didn't effect their
stream but being able to directly hit a rapidly approaching animal in the face was a challenge.
The canisters that emit a spray put out a much larger potentially effective barrier but can't
reach anywhere as far as the stream type. They are also much more effected by strong breezes.
Either type I've personally determined will only work if a bear isn't in full charge...and that's
providing you have time to un-holster and de-pin the canister. The best defense in my opinion
would be to have both a 'defender shotgun' and a canister of spray.

[ElectricDyck]

If you don't watch that whole youtube video a post back you gotta watch at 10 minutes in when he has some video from the day when he got back to his truck...that guy is hard as ****!

[Arctic Lake]

If you don't watch that whole youtube video a post back you gotta watch at 10 minutes in when he has some video from the day when he got back to his truck...that guy is hard as ****!

You said it ! Amazing will to survive !!
Arctic Lake

[albravo2]

If you don't watch that whole youtube video a post back you gotta watch at 10 minutes in when he has some video from the day when he got back to his truck...that guy is hard as ****!

Jeebus! I'll grant that shock played a role but he is definitely tough as nails. Ear hanging off...

[Jordan f.]

If the person practices ALOT, I'd tell em to carry a 45-70 or 12 with slugs.

But lots of people in the bush either don't use guns, or are probably going to miss when a bear is charging. For those people, I'd encourage spray.

Both guns and spray have pro's and con's depending on who's hands it is in. Gotta play within your skill set and hope for the best.

[Danny_29]

If the person practices ALOT, I'd tell em to carry a 45-70 or 12 with slugs.

But lots of people in the bush either don't use guns, or are probably going to miss when a bear is charging. For those people, I'd encourage spray.

Both guns and spray have pro's and con's depending on who's hands it is in. Gotta play within your skill set and hope for the best.

This is the answer, I prefer bear spray personally, but use whatever you are best at.

[Foxton Gundogs]

Pepper is for seasoning AFTER the bear is on the grill.

[quadrakid]

Thousands of people spend time in bear country and don,t own a firearm. They can carry bear spray.
Seems like a good idea to educate people on how to use it.

[finngun]

He forgot the most important step....ask the charging bruin to stop and wait while
you get your can of spray out, take off the safety pin, and aim, holding it with 2 hands.

no ya have to hold can sideways,,like thugs on movies hold pistols..bear got scary easier,,because that is new move.. :cool:

[303savage]

He forgot the most important step....ask the charging bruin to stop and wait while
you get your can of spray out, take off the safety pin, and aim, holding it with 2 hands.

And check to see which way the wind is blowing. I was told it's not very nice if it blows back in your face.

[codeitin]

And check to see which way the wind is blowing. I was told it's not very nice if it blows back in your face.

I did this to myself practising with my bear spray and it was very unpleasant... good way to understand the effectiveness of spray though lol. Funny thing is that I was a believer in spray until I sprayed myself, and now I carry both spray and a defender-style 12ga if I don't have my rifle... not convinced bear spray used according to instructions will stop a grizz that is truly intent on messing me up, honestly not sure it would even stop a crazy person with a knife. A valuable tool for sure and better than nothing, but if I feel like a deterrent will not be enough, I want other options.

Good video though, the "build a wall" technique is something I hadn't thought of, but makes sense.

[Treed]

I’ve sprayed 5 bears and for it to be affective, you need to hit them I’m the face from about 2 m. It works well then. Indirect hits don’t do a lot and wind direction is really important. Bear spray packs a whallop if you are human.


The guy in the video is a tough ass for sure!

[wiggy]

If you are in the situation where you are actually going to have to use it get down on the ground curl up in a ball aim the damn thing between your armpit backwards are don’t pull the trigger till you can hear it’s breath or it’s actually hit you
you need to be close for it to actually be really effective
it’s a big griz i highly doubt it will actually stop it.
Might even piss him off which is probably better so he kills you quicker ��

[lwing]

I was sprayed, knocked me down, pissed me off, went into attack mode and ended up taking a beating,
don't think a bear will take a beating after spray, don't know about the ethics of putting a bullet into a halted bear after spray. Would hate to see a second charge, be hard to do anything with s**t in your pants

[Busterpayton54]

Here's my take on bear spray. I had one of the large cans, I can't recall the name brand but it was specifically chosen due to being of the highest capsaicin content. Counter assault if I recall correctly.

My little fully grown, 7 year old Pitt/whippet weighing in at an impressive 50lbs was the receiver of the spray.

This was the friendliest dog dog on the planet. He had never been in a fight in his life. A spoiled baby that slept in the bed and went everywhere with me every day.

We were at a friends house with one of those grumpy chows.

Well this chow came flying at me aggressively so my little dog went on the defence protecting me.

I coultnt get my dog to stop and he was really tearing this thing up.

I had had no choice but to run to my truck and grab the bear spray.

I sprayed my dog right in the face from about 2feet with a good burst.
All he did was back up a step, shake his head and go right back in. I did this 3 times before recognizing the pattern.
On the 4th spray, I swooped in and picked him up over my shoulder, carried him to the truck and tossed him in.
He didn't have a scratch on him while the other dogs scalp was hanging off.

I used somewhere around 3/4 of this large can in his face.

Guess how how much faith I have in regards to spraying an enraged animal 10 times his size that fights and kills to survive daily. I'll give you a hint... I've never bought another can.

I have no doubt spray may push a curious or bluffing bear away but enraged... I'm far from convinced.