Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerR
My parents had a cabin in Minnesota and local rangers recommended pepper spray for black bears.
My daughter hikes with her family in the Rockies and they also recommend pepper spray for bears.
You can research pepper spray for bears and they have some large, potent spray cans. Will work on muggers and thieves too!
Much more potent than human type mace cans. Don't fire inside or upwind or you will have something to cry over.
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First let me apologize up front if I sound like an encyclopedia regarding this. Then I will start this out by stating even though I am a retired Marine, I still work. Part of my job is as a certified Defensive Tactics Instructor, in which I certify officers in the use of O.C. (Pepper Spray), including the Bear spray variety.
Right away, yes pepper spray (O.C.) is much more potent than Mace. That is because it is entirely different. Mace is Phenacyl Chloride (CN) better known as tear gas. Whereas pepper spray (also known as O.C.) is Oleoresin Capsicum, and is made from OC and capsaicin. Though both are referred to as mace in many circles, including a company brand name "Mace".
Now, law enforcement and military and corrections in the US usually utilize a product that is 1.3% major capsaicinoids and 10% Oleoresin Capsicum. Most bear sprays utilize 2% major capsaicinoids (the maximum allowed in the US by the EPA). The two major brands you will find are made by Sabre and Counter Assault.
Down to the nitty gritty. The common argument over which is better to carry while out in the field, camping, hiking, etc. a firearm or pepper spray? For argument purposes, the jury is out on this and will continue to be out because there are just too many factors to be considered.
Yet, it is worth noting some aspects to consider. Pepper spray on a bear takes time. Pepper spray is not immediate. It can take anywhere from 6 seconds to as long as 15 seconds for a bear to feel the effects and thus be affected by bear spray. An 800 pound bear can charge at a rate of 50 feet per second. The two top bear sprays shoot between 15 and 35 feet. So if the bear is close enough to be hit with the bear spray.....
The key for bear spray to work is that you must hit them in the facial area. Remember, when you encounter a bear and that bear is either already acting aggressive or becomes aggressive, you will lose approximately 1/3 of your fine motor skills in the first 1/4 second. Those are the skills needed to retrieve that bear spray from its pouch and employ it against the bear. Coincidentally, the same can be said about a firearm. Then comes the ability to actually hit the bear in the facial region... while under stress... With a firearm, even if you are carrying a big bore "hand cannon" like a S&W 500, you still have to draw and hit in a vital area. These things do not do like the movies show and blow arms completely off.
The biggest reason people fail to hit a bear in the facial region or in a vital immediate stop area whether with bear spray or a firearm is because of lack of practice. You can be trained how to utilize these tools, but if you do not practice, you have wasted time.
Yet, even if you hit a bear, your chances are extremely high that your encounter will still result in some personal contact. With pepper spray, be aware that you will have some cross contamination. For most people, it is because they discharge the stuff into the wind.
My wife and I carry both firearms and bear spray in the field. Being an instructor, we both practice as well. Many company's make inert spray which you can practice with. My wife and I both purchase these and practice as well as spend time at the range (when I say practice, I mean we practice from the holstered position both bear spray and firearms). As well, we always rotate our bear spray by discharging it outside at something and purchasing a fresh couple cans every year.
Again, I apologize if I ramble on a bit on this, but since we average several bear attacks every year here, and since I am an instructor; this is a subject I am passionate about and I would rather people spend a bit of time and money and come out of the back country safe and unharmed. Two cans of bear spray can cost around $60, shooting a couple hundred rounds of ammunition can cost a couple hundred dollars per year. One medevac flight out of the "bush" here can run well above $10,000. That is before any surgeries or hospitals stays...