Well, I was just at "guide" training up in Yellowstone last week and the bear expert was there. He seems like a practical guy and not the least bit "green". Making yourself "big" is a part of scaring off a CURIOUS bear. However, if you startle a bear, or if the bear is attacking out of defense, he recommends bear spray backed up with a firearm.
Incidentally, he said the new model for grizzly counting shows approx 1172 griz in the greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Up from the old, more conservative, 752 grizzlies predicted by the previous model.
