funny isn't that black bears are the ones that usually become man eaters Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rix Benson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2002 7:29 PM Subject: Re: [VFB] Texans
> Okay. That changes things a little bit. I must > apologize, I was assuming that you were planning a > huge Alaskan adventure; complete with grizzly bears, > brilliant red salmon, and millions of mosquitos. Not > that such a trip wouldn't be fun, of course!!! > > Since I've got a problem with being long winded..er, > fingered, here. I'll give you the short answer to > your question at the outset; and if you're looking for > a more in-depth discussion, please read on. > > Short answer: Yes. In my very humble opinion, bear > spray is better than a pistol. Especially for black > bears. > > Now the explaination. First of all, you're talking > about black bears. According to people who know a > heck of a lot more about bears than I do, black bears > are almost NEVER aggressive. In fact, most of those > that know will say that a black bear will almost > always run away from an encounter with a human. In > fact, the only times I've heard of a wild black bear > (read: not affected by lots of unnatural contact with > humans) acting in a socially unacceptable way, the > human in the situation either inadvertantly gets > between a mother bear and her young cub; or does > something stupid like leaving food laying around > within reach of the bear. Black bears are also a > heckuva lot smaller than grizzlys; which means that > you're not going to be dealing with a 700 pound > monster...more like a 300 pound monster. > > What all of this means is that you're dealing with a > bear that has a much smaller potential for aggression > than a grizzly. This is a good thing, because > anything you do to ward off a black bear has that much > more of a chance of being effective. > > Now, on to pistols vs. OC pepper spray. What follows > are my opinions, and, as such, take them for what they > are worth. > > A pistol is most definately more lethal to the bear. > If you're able to put several shots from a .44 into > the skull of even the largest black bear, s/he will > die. No questions asked. Problem solved. Or is it? > Okay, let's assume that, in defense of your life, > you've managed to kill a bear, now what? Well, first > of all, you'll have to contact the local fish and > wildlife people and tell them what you did. You'll > have to lead them to the carcass and explain > exhaustively what happened. Depending on where you > are, you may be subject to arrest, and your hunting > and fishing privelages are certianly in jeopardy. At > the very least, it will ruin your fishing trip. > > On the other hand, if you're using OC pepper spray, > your chances of killing the bear are exactly zero. > Sure, his/her face will sting for a little while, but > s/he isn't going to die. So, with OC, you take the > chances of killing the bear and the local authorities > out of the picture. > > OC also offers other advantages. > > First (and probably most importantly), you are MUCH > more likely to use OC effectively against a bear than > a pistol. With OC, the idea is to put up a fog of > searing pepper spray in between you and the bear. > With a pistol, you have to hit a relatively small area > on a charging animal while under extreme stress. As > any person who has shot a pistol under any kind of > stress can tell you, this is exceedingly difficult. > > Second, in many states, the authorities REALLY frown > on people who tote pistols around. If you happen to > be in one of these states and wind up conversing with > a State Patrol officer when he sees your pistol, > expect to spend at least the night in jail. > > Third, it's going to be a lot easier to convince your > wife (or anyone else you might be with) to carry and > use OC themselves, because it's no-where near as > intimidating of a prospect. > > Fourth, you can buy about 50 cans of OC for the cost > of one pistol and the required ammunition. This, of > course, doesn't include the cost of the ammunition > that you'll be required to expend in order to become > competant enough with the pistol to be able to hit > anything. > > There are certianly some drawbacks for OC when > compared with a pistol. > > First of all, there is the shorter range. Keep in > mind, though that this is somewhat offset by the > difficulty of consistantly hitting anything more than > 15 feet away with a pistol. Especially when you're > under stress. > > Second, there is the wind issue. If you spray that > stuff into the wind, you will learn very quickly why > bears don't like running into a cloud of it. > > Third, there is the fact that these bear spray things > are sort-of complex to operate. They're like > mini-fire extinguishers. Not something that the > average person has a lot of experience using. > > Finally, they are kind of awkward to carry around. > But, then again, so are pistols. > > Okay. I'm really done typing about this now. Again, > a Google search for "OC Bear Sprays" will reveal > plenty of other information. > > Have fun. And, after you buy your OC, don't put it in > your chili. It'll make it too hot, even for a Texan. > > > Rix > > > > > --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > In a message dated 7/21/02 4:11:32 PM Eastern > > Daylight Time, > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > > > > > Okay. That's enough preaching about bears and > > pistols > > > for one day. I hope all of this helps. Be > > careful > > > and have fun. > > > > > > Rix Benson > > > > > > > It helped alot! The only prob I have with a rifle > > is that it it just me and > > my wife. We fish in the Great Smoky Mountains. They > > got Black bear, I think > > thats all. > > Do you think the "Bear Spray" might be better > > than a pistol? > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better > http://health.yahoo.com >
