defence against bears

[YoungBuck]

how many of you have ever had to use pepper spray or a gun on a bear in self defence?

[Goater]

The only person I have known that attempted to take on a bear with
1. 2x4 - It didn't work that great, left a very bad 3 foot long imprint across the chest -Ouch!!!, and bears do swing back when hit with 2x4.
2. Steel crowbar- Works, knocked the bear out but with no gun bear woke up and left.
3. Shotgun- Might of worked, had bear in sights but too close to picture windows leaning up against tree, so shot gun into the air, bear gets scared and runs straight through said picture windows leaning against tree ----lots of wasted $$$'s
after 3 or 4 days of this bear finally left.

[duffy4]

Here is a study from Alaska involving use of pepper spray:


Alaska pepper spray use study:
We present a comprehensive look at a sample of bear spray incidents that occurred in Alaska, USA, from 1985 to 2006. We analyzed 83 bear spray incidents involving brown bears (Ursus arctos; 61 cases, 74%), black bears (Ursus americanus; 20 cases, 24%), and polar bears (Ursus maritimus; 2 cases, 2%). Of the 72 cases where persons sprayed bears to defend themselves, 50 (69%) involved brown bears, 20 (28%) black bears, and 2 (3%) polar bears. Red pepper spray stopped bears' undesirable behavior 92% of the time when used on brown bears, 90% for black bears, and 100% for polar bears. Of all persons carrying sprays, 98% were uninjured by bears in close-range encounters. All bear-inflicted injuries (n = 3) associated with defensive spraying involved brown bears and were relatively minor (i.e., no hospitalization required). In 7% (5 of 71) of bear spray incidents, wind was reported to have interfered with spray accuracy, although it reached the bear in all cases. In 14% (10 of 71) of bear spray incidents, users reported the spray having had negative side effects upon themselves, ranging from minor irritation (11%, 8 of 71) to near incapacitation (3%, 2 of 71). Bear spray represents an effective alternative to lethal force and should be considered as an option for personal safety for those recreating and working in bear country.