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Yes handled properly (pretty much) anything is safe but given trends with guns in other environments I’d wager trying to pull a gun on an advancing bear whilst in genuine fear isn’t likely to end well more times than not
University students are given rifles on Svalbard.
Polar bears are quite good at chomping on humans.
Again - a risk assessment shouldn’t be done on a simple how many humans are killed by firearms accidents vs bears. Risk and odds are not fixed but fluid and relative, if you spend a lot of time in bear country your odds of getting chomped on by a bear go up drastically in comparison to everyone else - making picking up a firearm a sensible choice in certain circumstances.
Daft question, if it’s in your camelback whilst you’re hiking, do you need a concealed carry permit? (not sure if it’s required for ownership anyhow in your jurisdiction)
Not a daft question at all.
If it's in your Camelbak its needs to be unloaded and in a hard case unless you have a concealed carry permit. Michigan has quite strict rules on what is considered 'concealed', which even means that when transporting a pistol in a vehicle ideally it should be stored away from the passenger compartment of the vehicle (in the trunk/boot). As I am not a permanent resident of Michigan I cannot apply for a concealed carry permit and thus have to open carry.
I am allowed to open carry as, when I purchased my pistol, I was legally a resident of Michigan and purchased it having passed the relevant background check with the local police (for which you are issued a Permit to Purchase). I have a small paddle holster with active retention, that I wear either on my left hip or at the small of my back.
As an veteran I take weapon safety very seriously and only carry when there is a risk rather than "because the 2nd gives me the right". To this end I never carry if I'm riding in the south of Michigan's lower peninsula as the chance of seeing a bear at anytime of the year is pretty low. If, on the other hand, I'm in the northern part of the lower peninsula or in the upper peninsula then, dependant upon how rural the trail is, I will likely carry.
The High Country Pathway I rode back in July is in the northern part of the lower peninsula and is both a fairly long trail and fairly remote (I spent two nights camped out on my own), hence I carried.
what caliber pistol do you carry?
.45 ACP (a Kahr CW45). I usually use Buffalo Bore .45ACP +P ammunition with hard cast lead bullets.
University students are given rifles on Svalbard.
Not to shoot bears tho - to shoot over them to scare them off IIRC. I don't think the students get them anyway - I think they have rangers / guards to carry the rifles
Non-gun person asking, would that get through a bear’s fur? I’m assuming yes.
Are bear bangers good for scaring off grizzlies? All I really know about them is that they are unpredictable. The bears not the bangers. I’ve been face to face with a Sow and cubs. She walked away. I was a little shaken. Was a big animal.
edit: carrying a gun isn’t an option where I live and there are such mixed opinions with varying degrees of bravado when it comes to dealing with bears that I’m always interested to hear about first hand experiences.
Not to shoot bears tho – to shoot over them to scare them off IIRC. I don’t think the students get them anyway – I think they have rangers / guards to carry the rifles
They fire warning shots but if they ignore them then they will shoot them.
Students do take rifles with them out of settlement.
Non-gun person asking, would that get through a bear’s fur? I’m assuming yes.
Depends upon the calibre and load you use. Higher pressure loads aid penetration.
.45 ACP + P hard cast lead rounds have fairly decent penetration.
.45 ACP hollowpoint rounds (as preferred by the police and for 'home defence') would likely do very little damage to a bear.
Ideally you'd use a rifle calibre but carrying a rifle or rifle calibre pistol when mountain biking isn't really practical.
Thanks for the info.
Bear bangers are good providing you aim them so they land between you and the bear. A friend once used on and it landed behind the bear who then ran towards him....
I always carry bear spray. If I'm riding solo then it's on holster or in a modified bottle cage. In a group on the outside of my pack.
I see a few bears every year in the Canadian rockies (~6 so far this year) and have never used spray. They mostly bolt or just look at you and then carry on eating. Closest ever was this<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;"> year a cinnamon brown</span><span style="font-size: 0.8rem;"> maybe 30ft away but in a big group so he just wandered off.</span>
Reading this with interest - MCJnr just back from the World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia.
Strict "no food in tents" rule, but they saw black bears on site a few times. Also a strict "no guns on site" rule apart from the shooting ranges. Seems to have reached a natural compromise, but I'm assuming in the event of a bear getting "disruptive" then there would be a plan in place to remove it one way or another
When I did a post grad at Georgia I went hiking on a number of occasions with mates, one always had a gun. The one time we saw a supposed "small" black bear, I have never been so happy to see 2 guys produce guns from packs. And I am a gun hating vegan.
Currently in BC and met this little chap afew days ago. We were in a car, and kept a good look out for mumma bear(who didn't appear) and didn't hang around long. However i was amazed the number of people who pulled up, got out with kids to look just feet away. Theres warnings everywhere to keep 100m from bears. Warnings from me and a local couldn't dissuade them. Not surprising people get in trouble.
I have seen many black (black, brown, blonde) bears in BC and the Alberta Rockies, sometimes less than 20 feet away. I have never once felt overtly threatened, just healthily wary, and moved swiftly on to minimise disturbance. One one occasion at the Moonraker Trails near Golden we didn't see anything but I was pretty spooked by the atmosphere in the woods. Humid, raining, heavy wet vegetation bowing down over the trail. The hairs on the back of my neck were well up.
How many bears have I not seen and been within a few feet of? Sometimes riding down a trail you'd round a corner and suddenly jump out of your skin because of a large black mass right next to you - every time it was a burned out stump from a lightning struck tree, but it got me every time.
I have only seen a Grizzly once, in Yellowstone, and there is no mistaking it. A different scale of beast.
Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.
🤣
Oh, and don’t forget to lock your car doors, and never leave food in it...
https://boingboing.net/2019/08/09/bear-trashed-the-inside-of-thi.html
The other thing to beware of with bears, is them plummeting off a clif onto your car, and the car catching fire!
https://www.whiskeyriff.com/2019/08/07/bear-falls-off-a-cliff-lands-on-police-car-the-car-crashes-catches-fire-and-burns-up-nearby-the-forest/
I was on a very remote part of Vancouver Island last summer and went for a run up to a small lake on a trail that had been cut through the rain forest.
I was told it was ok to go up there but maybe take the dog with me. The dog was old so I thought it was unfair to make him go.
On the way back from the lake I started hearing powerful crunching noises in the forest. The advice is to stop, pick up a big stick and ‘look big’
I honestly never been so scared in my life. I could tell I was being watched and stalked. Me and a little twig wasn’t going to do anything against the power of the thing I could hear so I slowly started walking back facing the direction of the noise.
Back on the main road (a dirt track cut through the bush) I ran as fast as I could (which in reality was pointless)
Back at the lodge the owners said that it would have been a bear, and that I was lucky it wasn’t a Coyote as they have killed a few people over the years in that area.
We then went over to mainland BC. However this experience had completely put me off doing any mountain biking
However this experience had completely put me off doing any mountain biking
It shouldnt. Like anything else in life its risk and reward, im not going to miss out on a epic ride because there is a very very remote chance there will be an encounter again.
that I was lucky it wasn’t a Coyote as they have killed a few people over the years in that area.
Are you sure they didn’t say cougar? Generally the first thing you know about a cougar attack is when you are explaining to St Peter why you are in such a mess.
I find cougars more concerning than bears. As the climate warms up they are moving further north, right into my area.
We then went over to mainland BC. However this experience had completely put me off doing any mountain biking
That is very understandable. My wife stopped camping in a tent after we were growled from the trees on one camping trip.
Always a shame to read the bear was put down, just for protecting its land.
This is bollocks. The bear sounds like she was being aggressive in a way that grizzlies do once they have become acclimatised to humans.
And for a BCer, that guy sounds like an idiot. We were taught growing up what to do in case of bears - both grizzlies and black - and he did exactly the opposite.
Are you sure they didn’t say cougar?
Just checked and yes was Cougars. This warning was at the side of the start of the trail
