Ordered Bear Spray Today

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Bear sightings in southern wisconsin

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/news/p..._sightings.pdf

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As I have stated here repeatedly, bear spray is a bad joke... It creates false confidence in the carrier and does not work reliably. Further, having a can go off in your pack, automobile, or other tight quarters can create a miserable experience. I have had two chances to see the stuff work on bears and it did not save the life of either bear though both were sprayed from very close and under ideal circumstances.

Among the claims I have seen in print recently was about the super deluxe unit that worked at "over 100 yards!" Give me a break!

Oh, and last week I was within 20 yards of a large sow Kodiak bear and we simply eyed one another from our respective places while she hustled past us. I routinely spend significant time around bears and have had two bears die touching me at the ends of charges...

At the very least you should have one of the monster size cans of the extremely nasty stuff... It is expensive and only a little more effective. I would never bother to pack it...

SOme more negatives... You cannot fly with the stuff on commercial flights and should have sense enough to not take it in the passenger compartment of ANY plane. It will hurt you worse than any bear you spray and conditions must be ideal to spray the bear... Exactly the conditions in which the bear is least likely to be surprised and most likely to slip out unseen.
art

[JohnScott]

... of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife, the National Park Service, the U. S. Forest Service, their counterparts in the Canadian Provinces, and the appropriate agencies in most, if not all of the States in the Intermountain West, is that bear spray is more effective and safer than use of a firearm in dealing with bears.

In the majority of cases involving firearms, a human being is injured.

In only a small percentage of cases involving bear spray, the human is injured.

This policy is set by a good number of educated, intelligent people who are paid to make the best decision they can regarding public safety. It is not based on anecdotes from the frontier.

I've met a lot of Park Service Rangers, Forest Service Rangers, State Fish and Game Officers, etc. They are consistently good, honest people who know what they are talking about and do their jobs the best they can. I believe the folks who are making policy are of the same cloth.

John

[Backcastwards]

Here is the warning mentioned above

[kbproctor]

I had seen this one as did the folks at the South Platte District USFS office. No griz down here for at least 100 yrs, but lots of idiot folks that like to feed teh black bears and then whine when the bears tear their house apart.

[troutgeek]

I hear you Len. I'm thinking the local establishments should start carrying pepper spray. If Wisconsin ever allows conceal carry, I may consider that too...

[billhouk]

This story is about the effectiveness of bear spray. This link is to the MidCurrent web site. http://www.midcurrent.com/flyfishing/bear_spray.aspx