Thoughts on Bear Spray

[KimmyWasHere]

If you think bear spray will put your mind at ease, then by all means, carry it! My husband & I were there recently and saw 7 bears. None of them seemed a threat & would scurry off the second it noticed us.

[Harrison Bergeron]

i think my point is most of the weenies carrying bear spray would flip if they saw a guy at a shelter with a gun.

Don't look now but your prejudice is showing.

I'll have you know that this "weenie" carries bear spray because a gun is too heavy to hike with. Besides it works on both humans AND bears, so it's got that double-use factor so important to us gram-weenie's!

[tdoczi]

Don't look now but your prejudice is showing.

I'll have you know that this "weenie" carries bear spray because a gun is too heavy to hike with. Besides it works on both humans AND bears, so it's got that double-use factor so important to us gram-weenie's!

what prejudice would that be?

for the record, my use of the word weenie was simply me quoting the post i was responding to. as for the rest of my sentiment, if you start a discussion around here about carrying a gun you will get a much different response to one about carrying bear spray. i personally think both of them show an an irrational fear and i do not believe "whatever makes you feel better" is a healthy way to address either of them.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Don't look now but your prejudice is showing.

I'll have you know that this "weenie" carries bear spray because a gun is too heavy to hike with. Besides it works on both humans AND bears, so it's got that double-use factor so important to us gram-weenie's!

I wouldn't particularly want to use bear spray against a human for self defense. Pepper spray containers designed for self defense from humans spray a straight stream or very narrow pattern designed to incapacitate an attacker while minimizing the chances of exposure to the person using the spray. The idea is that you spray the attacker and then get away as fast as possible.
Bear spray is designed to stop a charging grizzly by spraying a very wide pattern which also creates a lot of spray and blowback. It's roughly the pepper spray equivelabt of a using dry chem fire extinguisher. While the wide spray will greatly increase your chances of stopping the bear, the odds of the user getting exposed to the spray in the process are quite high. This is how it was explained to me anyway.
Personally I have no interest in taking the risk of spraying both myself and a human assailant in the middle of the woods.

[Five Tango]

For the record,I test fired my older can of Counter Assault outdoors without getting it on me.True,one would be at a disadvantage in a strong headwind unquestionably.As for carrying something to make oneself "feel better",most of the things carried likely fit that category.As to "looking like a weenie",as you get older you don't care what other people think.Some say spray is more effective on wildlife(that includes things other than bears,dogs for instance) than a firearm.I just believe I spray a lot better than I shoot;especially at night.The thought of having a non lethal weapon at one's disposal makes some of us feel like it is worth the effort to carry.And lastly,I bet everyone on this forum is paying for insurance that they may or may not ever use,it's the same thing in my opinion.

[tdoczi]

As to "looking like a weenie",as you get older you don't care what other people think.

ive found as ive gotten older, and more experienced, i've stopped worrying about all sorts of things... like being mauled by bears.

And lastly,I bet everyone on this forum is paying for insurance that they may or may not ever use,it's the same thing in my opinion.

excluding insurance that it is legally mandated that i must have (and in some cases, even not then) you would loose that bet.

[Ondine]

Duckypaddler, It sounds like we are from the same side of Tenn. Could you tell me about the bear activity in the Smokies around late August to early September. I'm planning a section hike starting there around that time and this thread now has me concerned. Should I be worried? I've only hiked this section in the winter and spring (without incident or spray). Since my trip is close to fall should I suck it up and buy bear spray? No kids, but I like that my face is without claw marks and I enjoy breathing.

[Fredt4]

Heart disease is hardly a" natural "cause.
Heredity may play a big part, but its mostly attributable to poor modern eating habits, something 100% in everyones control. People are too weak minded to eat healthy, drink alcohol, are overweight, or some smoke, then they worry about 1 - in -a -million freak things while ignoring the things that will likely kill them.

I would rather be killed by a bear, than die of a heart attack behind a desk. As long as said bear gets away without prosecution of course.

Not 100%.

"CAD is a terminal clinical manifestation of cardiovascular disease and is the leading cause of death worldwide and is the UK's single biggest killer. Nearly one in six men and one in ten women die from CAD. CAD is a complex, multifactorial disorder originating from a complicated interplay of multiple genetic and environmental factors."

[Sarcasm the elf]

Not 100%.

"CAD is a terminal clinical manifestation of cardiovascular disease and is the leading cause of death worldwide and is the UK's single biggest killer. Nearly one in six men and one in ten women die from CAD. CAD is a complex, multifactorial disorder originating from a complicated interplay of multiple genetic and environmental factors."

I knew there was a reason that I never trusted computer aided drafting.

[SGT Rock]

Duckypaddler, It sounds like we are from the same side of Tenn. Could you tell me about the bear activity in the Smokies around late August to early September. I'm planning a section hike starting there around that time and this thread now has me concerned. Should I be worried? I've only hiked this section in the winter and spring (without incident or spray). Since my trip is close to fall should I suck it up and buy bear spray? No kids, but I like that my face is without claw marks and I enjoy breathing.

I hike around here often that time of year and there is nothing different about the bear danger then from what there is right now. I wouldn't carry bear spray.

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

[Ondine]

I hike around here often that time of year and there is nothing different about the bear danger then from what there is right now. I wouldn't carry bear spray.

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk

Appreciate the advice SGT

[Fredt4]

[Quote]New Brunswick 10/12/13 cbc.ca: A woodlot owner near Grand Falls, N.B., says he’s lucky to be alive after a bear attacked him in the woods. Gilles Cyr said he was walking through his woodlot two weeks ago when suddenly something black came flying out of the woods at him. “When I opened up my eyes it was on top of me — with the friggin’ noise, it’s crazy the way it growls. Right from the stomach. It’s not from the mouth, it’s just inside. His mouth was wide open right in front of my face so the last thing I remember I had his tongue in my hand and I didn’t want to let go because he was trying to fight me off. So he was hitting me with his claws, so I says, ‘If you’re going to hurt me, I’m going to hurt you too.’ So he was biting his tongue at the same time,” he said. “For a second, I thought I was dead … that’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you open your eyes and see that friggin’ mouth full of teeth and a tongue in there. It’s like … an extreme sport,” he said with a chuckle. Cyr said grabbing the bear’s tongue was just instinct. [/Quote ]

Most bears attacks (however rare they are) occur from May to September. But from the story quoted above I'd say it's safe to leave the bear spray behind, just grab the tongue in case of an attack. My cat like to attack me and I found that by sticking my finger into his mouth he doesn't know what to do. If I try to withdraw my hand he can get very nasty and will sometimes draw blood. So now I have fun by provoking an attack and totally confuse him by trying to grab his tongue. Now the cat can't decide if attacking me is a winning or losing proposition.

[Five Tango]

Here's the link to "grab a bear by the tongue" story.So it's tiger's you grab by the tail and bears,having a short tale,necessitate an authoritative grab of the tongue.I am surprised that the man's forearm was not bitten off yet he did receive an additional bite to the knee and some claw marks.Maybe the moral of this story was that he fought back....here's the link
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...alls-1.2021414

[Tally_Hiker]

Well, since I started the thread I guess I should weigh-in post-hike.

My son and I did 3 nights 4 days in the Abrams Falls-Hannah Mountain-Gregory Bald area, a good deal of which is currently designated as heavy bear activity. We saw 3 bears, all from the car in Cade's Cove before our hike.

We did, however, see lots of scat and tracks throughout the four days. We opted not to take spray along. I felt pretty comfortable most of the time. The final night, at Sheep Pen Gap, I really thought that we would see one near camp (lots of scat, tracks, and warnings near camp), but that never materialized.

Was that the right decision, or were we just lucky? Not sure. But I probably won't carry on the next trip either.

[Fredt4]

In my book you weren't lucky as you didn't see any bears on the trial.

[HooKooDooKu]

In my book you weren't lucky as you didn't see any bears on the trial.

My thoughts exactly.

Been in the Smokies a half dozen times this year and still ain't seen a bear.

[SGT Rock]

A friend of mine actually had pictures of a mamma and her cub from a few days ago, but it was from Cades Cove road. He didn't see a single on on the trail either.

[madgoat]

I have seen far more wild boar on the trails in the park than bear.