Woman killed by bear after spraying it with bear spray.

[PBramble]

We travel in Griz country a lot. Never seen one to date but I do follow a series on Ammoland.com about the effectiveness of bear spray vs the effectiveness of a firearm that dates back to the advent of bear spray.
The Bear Spray is only about 30% effective. Firearms are close to 100%.
.22 rimfire has taken down grizzly's as well as a host of calibers the native Alaskans use including milsurp .303 and .223 AR's. As always placement is key.


"on May 10, 1953. Bella Twin, a Cree Indian, and her partner, Dave Auger, were hunting small game south of Slave Lake, in Alberta, Canada. Twin was carrying her battered single-shot .22 when the two were approached by a gigantic grizzly.

It was reported to be about 30 feet away and moving toward them, and apparently Twin thought she and Auger were in danger. She fired and the bear dropped.

In the right hands the little cartridge can be deadly. According to Wikepedia: “Because a .22 LR bullet is less powerful than larger cartridges, its danger to humans is often underestimated. In fact, a .22 LR bullet is easily capable of killing or injuring humans. Even after flying 400 yards (370 m), a .22 bullet is still traveling about 500 feet/second.”

Every big game animal in the United States has been killed with a .22. On March 8, a female elephant, aged between seven and 10 years old, was found dead near a creek in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand. The elephant had several wounds, including four bullet holes in its hide.

Bella Twin’s bear rifle was a .22 caliber single shot Cooey Ace 1. It had been used hard on her trapline.
Tests later revealed that the elephant was killed by a CZ .22 LR rifle. (Elephant killing probe heats up, Bangkok Post, March 26, 2013, by TERRY FREDRICKSON)
https://survivalcommonsense.com/world-record-grizzly-killed-with-22-caliber-rifle/
I've carried the .44 mag super redhawk in a chest rig on hikes but it's way too heavy and uncomfortable in that rig, plus I'm limited to 6 shots.
The 10mm is now standard issue for Alaskan game wardens as the caliber of choice to stop human and wild game so that's what I've chosen to carry now with 16 rounds on a full load and a spare 15 round mag accessible loaded with Underwood hard cast ammo.

More is better, but if a grizzly charges I'd almost bet you would't even get the first mag emptied let alone the second loaded. this dude's even jammed after the first shot.

​

 

[dennishoddy]

More is better, but if a grizzly charges I'd almost bet you would't even get the first mag emptied let alone the second loaded.

That could be true in some situations, but that's better than 6 and a laborious reload in a revo.
I've watched a lot of real videos of how they attack. Typically, they stalk then attack. Not always, but in most cases.
The story of the lady being dragged out of the tent while emptying a can of bear spray can take up to about 15 seconds to discharge and the story said it was empty.
I can assure you I can dump 16 rounds in that length of time.

 

[PBramble]

That could be true in some situations, but that's better than 6 and a laborious reload in a revo.
I've watched a lot of real videos of how they attack. Typically, they stalk then attack. Not always, but in most cases.
The story of the lady being dragged out of the tent while emptying a can of bear spray can take up to about 15 seconds to discharge and the story said it was empty.
I can assure you I can dump 16 rounds in that length of time.

I just figure I'll crap my pants and fall face down so they won't eat me. Even a grizzly wont eat something that smells like that.

 

[dennishoddy]

I just figure I'll crap my pants and fall face down so they won't eat me. Even a grizzly wont eat something that smells like that.

Actually a .25acp is the most effective bear defense. Shoot your hiking buddy in the knee cap and run like hell!

 

[RockHopper]

I've never encountered a brown bear, but used to see black bears in Yosemite daily. Was charged by a sow with a pair of cubs once. Middle of the night, outside employee housing.Armed with a flashlight and harsh words. She never stood a chance...lol.
It was actually another park employee that saved my butt by banging some pots together.

She and the cubs went up a tree, and after the responding ranger ran her tag, he said she was WAY past her 3rd strike in aggressive encounters. He shot her out of the tree with a 30.06.

 

[SoonerP226]

I have friends that spent time in Alaska. They said that the Alaskans always recommend you only shoot 5 rounds of .44 Mag at the bear and save the last one for yourself.

Back in the late '80s I read an article (probably in Field & Stream, but that was a little while back) about when the author went bear hunting in Alaska. He and his guide were hunkered down in a cabin for the night when a grizzly decided that he wanted to join them by the fire. He grabbed his .44 Mag and dumped all six rounds into the bear; likewise, the guide grabbed his .458 WinMag, dissuading the bear from having a snack by the fire.

After the bear retreated, they tracked it and recovered the body. When they dressed it out, they discovered that the author's six shots were all hits, and all of his bullets had flattened out in the fat layer of the bear's chest, with none of them having penetrated the muscle. Fortunately, the guide's rifle had done a bit better, and they lived to tell the tale.

 

[jakeman]

Back in the late '80s I read an article (probably in Field & Stream, but that was a little while back) about when the author went bear hunting in Alaska. He and his guide were hunkered down in a cabin for the night when a grizzly decided that he wanted to join them by the fire. He grabbed his .44 Mag and dumped all six rounds into the bear; likewise, the guide grabbed his .458 WinMag, dissuading the bear from having a snack by the fire.

After the bear retreated, they tracked it and recovered the body. When they dressed it out, they discovered that the author's six shots were all hits, and all of his bullets had flattened out in the fat layer of the bear's chest, with none of them had penetrating the muscle. Fortunately, the guide's rifle had done a bit better, and they lived to tell the tale.

“Insert pucker emoji here”

I used to fish with a guy that bow hunted elk in northern CO. He said he always carried a Ruger Single Action .44 mag in a chest rig, and he’d struck a deal with all the bears in the area. He wouldn’t F with them if they didn’t F with him, but if they felt like they needed to, they should think about bringing a gun, cause there was gonna be a shootout.

 

[alnpar]

Sounds like the old joke is a little less joke-y today.

After recommending that hikers wear "bear bells" and carry bear spray, the publication says that you can tell brown bears from grizzly bears by their scat. Brown bear scat is smaller, and is generally filled with the remains of berries and nuts. Grizzly scat is larger, contains bear bells, and smells faintly of pepper spray...

The best bear spray would be a .45 CAL Mag

 

[Redmule454]

I've been told that if you take a .44 Mag revolver to Alaska for brown bear defense to be sure to remove the front site......

So that after you empty the pistol and the bear takes it away from you.......it won't hurt so bad when it shoves it up your butt!

 

[2busy]

9mm, it would have blown it's lungs out.