Charging Bear Test!

[Rance]

Shooting at pie plates sounds like fun. Standing on the business end of a bear charge is not. Both times I narrowly escaped maulings, I was totally unarmed. You talk about feeling puny. But unless hunting I still rarely carry a firearm. I just make lot's of noise and to date I am still alive and well.

[DannyL]

Here's another test...
Do this only in an area with enough room and is safe:

Tie a 55 gallor drum (metal is better, but a plastic water drum will work. May have to put 5 gallons or so in to give it some weight...screw the top back on..) to the back of a truck bumper with about 100 ft of rope. Tie the free end to a truck bumper. Have the truck streach the rope to full length.
Stand at the back bumper facing the drum, let the driver start slowly and then speed up to 20 mph.
With the drum bouncing a little but haulling butt toward you, shoot at it and try to hit it as many times as you can.
This is harder to do than it sounds.

[NYJoe]

I always go camping with a fat guy. If a bear charges, I know I can't outrun it, but all I gotsta do is outrun my buddy!

I know, pretty sick!!!

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by NYJoe

I always go camping with a fat guy. If a bear charges, I know I can't outrun it, but all I gotsta do is outrun my buddy!

I know, pretty sick!!!

Doesn't sound sick to me, just practical. Why do you think we own so many dogs in Alaska? Dogs can't beat a bear in a fight, but they do offer a great distraction for the bear. Long enough to get to your 12-guage camp shotgun.

As I have said in other threads, I have encountered a lot of bears, but I have never had to shoot one. I hope I never do, but I am always prepared, just in case.

[rotorhead]

Hello, has anyone heard of bear spray, anyone...?

From what I've heard from folks in the bear biologist biz, it's just the ticket for those pesky critters-trying-to-eat-you moments. It's supposed to work pretty much every time if you use it right, but you do have to be cognizant of wind direction or you'll handicap yourself as well at a pretty ackward moment. Bonus points for being non-lethal, for yourself AND the bear. Best yet, a honkin big can fits PERFECTLY into the side tool pocket on Carhartts dungarees, it's like it was sewed on there exactly for that use. I've got the 8oz. model of "counter assault", don't know if it's the best but it's what they sell here in the gun shop/grocery/clothing store (you just gotta love a place where you can buy avocados and ammo at the same time)

On the down side, air-taxi operators are understandably leery of transporting the stuff, as it would end badly if one ruptured inside a Piper Cub or a Cessna or such. I've heard rumors that some outfits have approval to haul them sealed inside a one-quart Nalgene canteen, where nothing can touch it or puncture it in flight, but thats just a rumor so far as I know. It's also important to actually read the instructions that come with the spray, which is apparently a problem for some. If you try using the stuff like you'd use DEET bug dope, it'll end up as a bear attractant instead.

I guess they like spicy food.

[Arcticthaw]

Originally Posted by NYJoe

I always go camping with a fat guy. If a bear charges, I know I can't outrun it, but all I gotsta do is outrun my buddy!

I know, pretty sick!!!

Make sure he is not a good shot, he may wing you to survive!

[DannyL]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

Hello, has anyone heard of bear spray, anyone...?

Yes, but the thread was firearm related.
And yes bear spray does work, in fact it works on more things than bears.
And pilots are a bit picky about you bringing a can in the cabin. I know one here who puts them in a small storage bin in one of the pontoons.