When we hunted out of a base camp it was situated at the base of where a creek drainage split the mountain . Depending on where you hunted that day, one way to get back to camp was hit the drainage, drop down to the creek and follow it down . As you got lower you would run into where the beavers were making dams and quite a bit of willows/alders. It was thick but cattle and game usually had a trail through it.
One night my pard came down that trail (most nights that hunt) and bumped into a bear. He never saw the bear, but figured it was only 15 or 20 feet away when it started popping it's teeth and roaring. He said it blew away through about fifty feet of that thicket before it stopped and started popping and growling again, then it crashed off up the other side.
Bryan is a fairly accomplished pistol shot, did pretty good at Bianchi cup and shoots IDPA regular like.
He told me that night back at camp that if he had his pistol in his hand he probably wouldn't have had time to raise it if the bear had charged him and that it covered that first fifty or so feet so fast that he doubts he could have drawn in the time it took to realize what was happening.
We're getting older and carry for varied reasons (another thread maybe) but not cause we think we might stop a charge. Having the gun, fak, fire starter, on me when I drop the day pack is nice though. My system I can do that with the Kit bag or not. Kit bag works well though.
