Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Grizzly killed 'experienced hiker' in Yellowstone.

Interesting note; I spend time in Yellowstone very summer and have yet to see another hiker carrying. In fact I don't think I've even seen a ranger in the backcountry that was either.

Berettaman... if you're talking about the Herrera paper out of Montana a couple years back (and I think you are) you've missed a couple of very important points that were barely mentioned in the paper.

The first is that most of the encounters involving firearms were encounters between bears and hunters, whereas most of the bear spray encounters involved people who were not hunting.

Since hunters tend to be quiet and stealthy (relatively speaking) they are far more likely to get very close to a bear before they are detected, whereas hikers and berry-pickers tend to encounter bruins at a greater distance. If someone is in a bear's "personal space" but not presenting an active threat, a bluff charge will be the more likely response than a real attack. However, if the person is very close to the bear and/or its food cache, the person will be seen by the bear as an immediate threat and an attack is far more likely. Similarly, if a hunter is surprised by a bear at close quarters, s/he is unlikely to be able to use a firearm effectively unless he/she has been trained in fighting with that weapon. Most hunters don't train to fight with their deer/elk rifles. And as you and others have noted, most people who carry hand cannons have little or not practice with them, let alone training in fighting with them.

As such, bear encounters involving firearms are really very different than those involving pepper spray, so the 90% vs 50% statistic, while impressive at first blush, isn't really what it appears.

Pepper spray works great on bluff charges, since the bear has no intention of closing to attack anyway. It's not so clearly effective in actual attacks, and there is strong evidence that after the first noseful of pepper spray the bear is far less susceptible to a second noseful and more likely to close the attack. BC forestry people have some good data on that.

My son and I will be backpacking in the Absarokee Wilderness this week. If something should happen to us be sure you guys hit these key points after watching the news:

1.) Probably environmentalists and probably voted for Obama.

2.) Dumb asses probably did not have a gun.

3.) This is what happens when you don't "keep your head on a swivel."

4.) They probably deserved to die since they probably voted for Obama.

5.) Dumb fugks probably didn't carry bear spray.

6.) Dumb fugks probably carried bear spray.

7.) He should have never brought his teenage son to grizz country (this is especially important to note if you live east of the Mississippi.)

8.) This would not happen to a hunter.




Travis

I hate to be the bucket of cold water, but if it gave you a facial, it wasn't Jessica Alba.

Dave