|
Gotta completely disagree on the pepper spray, the stuff is worse than useless on a motivated bear. A gal last year was badly mauled near McCarthy AK after she pepper sprayed the bear twice. I've had good friends spray entire cans at bears that were simply too close, but not attacking, and the bears virtually ignored it. Another friend's dog ate a can in his home. My personal experience is that many cans of bear spray do not even spray at all, and that the wind is likely to be in your face when you're having trouble.
As to handguns, I carry a .44 when just hiking or fishing because I am lazy. I've also seen bears shot point blank with the .41 mag softpoint that wouldn't even break the jaw of a small brown bear. Yes, you have to hit the brain or the spine to immediately kill or stop the bear, but I will trust nothing less than a full house deep penetrating .44 mag to do the job. And yes, I have seen Keith's page.
A final note: last year a friend and I were salmon fishing a stream that was heavily brushed along its banks. He always carries bear spray, I had my .44. We heard a bear whuff from about 20 yards downwind, deep in the brush. My friend immediately moved closer to me and said, "Is your gun loaded?" BTW, that friend is now purchasing a short-barrelled shotgun.
|