Air Horn

[Reddiver]

I am getting excited after the Dam trip I will be heading on to Washington then Idaho , Wyoming,Montana, the Dakotas. So I am thinking I will be in bear country,not them Disney bear country bears the kind that tear things up and eat ya.. So anyway I am thinking about getting a boat air horn. The thoughts of a bear trying to open my trailer to say hello creeps me out.. I know about storing food I dont need a lecture on that . I am thinking horn on a can might be a good idea

[GuitarPhotog]

PM sent!

<Chas>

[39Ratrod]

They are damn sure loud! May actually work too! Better than nothing I suppose. Harsh language is seldom effective.

[tony.latham]

b-b-b-bear?

T

[Wolffarmer]

If you do happen to be in one of the very very rare bear attacks remember this one trick. Punch them as hard as you can right in the nose. They do not like that. Just do not miss and ram your fist down their throat. They do not like that either but makes it easier for them to rip your arm off.

But really. I have heard several stories of people hitting a bear right in the nose and the bear high tails it out of there. One of them was a polar bear.

Your millage may vary.

Randy

[Loren]

an option I've thought about involves a teenager, some peanut butter, a rope, and a tree far from the teardrop
Loren

[darrellbeck]

If you do happen to be in one of the very very rare bear attacks remember this one trick. Punch them as hard as you can right in the nose. They do not like that. Just do not miss and ram your fist down their throat. They do not like that either but makes it easier for them to rip your arm off.

But really. I have heard several stories of people hitting a bear right in the nose and the bear high tails it out of there. One of them was a polar bear.

Your millage may vary.

Randy

While I don't recommend anything but distance, I will say that my wife's Aunt and Uncle were hiking in the Tetons about 25 years ago when they accidentally got between a female and her cubs. The bear concentrated on him, and when he was almost dead, started dragging him away. She (my wifes Aunt) had been beating on the bear all through the attack, but was finally able to get in a position where she could hit the bears nose with a pair of heavy binoculars that were on a strap. It actually made the bear give up the fight.
You may have seen her on the Oprah show or possibly some magazine ads she did for Timex. If you are old enough to have seen that, and remember it, you will remember that she was a very small woman, she probably never weighed 120 in her life. She told my wife and I that she just decided that if that bear was going to kill him, it would have to kill her too.
Their sons flew to Kalispel MT right away, and were cornered a few hours later by reporters. One asked the youngest son if it surprised him that his mother, a late 60's woman, had driven the bear off. The son replied that what really surprised him was that if she was mad enough to hit it, that she had let it get away.

Incidentally, we carry wasp repellant, under $3 at you local Home Depot Store, Shoots a stream about 20 feet, and pretty effective against most things that might attack you, including humans.

[Wolffarmer]

Yup, no way am I going to test the tactic of hitting them on the nose. Distance and not getting between a sow and her cubs is job #1. Past several years bears have been seen with in 10 miles of me. First time in about 100 years. But the cougars are far more common here. And in the summer I sleep with my front door open.

[felixx]

When I was a young fella I used to go looking for cougars

Probably a different sort of cougar

[GerryS]

Wasp spray to deal with bears....well, that might sound good. Especially since a certain foolish, stupid politician (sorry for the redundancy) offered this as a solution to take care of a home invader or other criminal jack wagon.

Not only has there never been any research to show it is an effective method of self defense, it is bad advise since using an insecticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling is a violation of federal law.

Since bears are not flying insects commonly referred to as wasps or hornets and are in fact a warm blooded critter (with perhaps an equally unpleasant disposition) , using an insecticide would violate said law and could not only just piss off a bear, but in addition it could run afoul of men with badges and guns.

Ok, I'll say this, if a can of wasp spray is the last tool in my toolbox of self defense, old probably try it too. But using this as my intended defense against bears...definitely not.

I don't know what or why, but in the past couple years I've noticed a lot of ads and presentations saying things like "Heres a weird trick....that will regrow hair" or "stop toenail fungus". In reality they are not selling something that does not work.

I wouldn't bet my life on "a weird trick that will repel angry bears". Good luck with that. For me, a bear bell, keeping food in a hanging bag away from my camp site (or in a bear box), good sanitation, and a can of good bear spray, all used with a good dose of advise from those who actually study bears and common sense is a far better idea.

Sorry...not trying to pick a fight. Maybe be a little funny in my own way. But Biden is a walking ball of bad advise when it comes to personal safety. The only trouble is, it sounds like a good idea. But in reality his proposed methods will simply make you a statistic, or at least some one who has committed a crime.

[39Ratrod]

Well since it's a violation of the law to spray insect repellant, I guess I'll stick with the Super Blackhawk 44 Magnum for the inescapable bear encounter. Effective against most quadrupeds as well as most bipeds.

[Gladtobehere]

I have an air horn on my bicycle. It can be re charged using a bicycle tire pump. $20. The horn may scare off a bear or cyote when riding camp trails. And is very useful when riding in traffic around town. Unfortunately , in traffic, on a bicycle there are times when a drver needs the middle finger salute but your hands are busy steering. The HORN emits a fairly satisfying substitue while keeping both hands on the handle bars.

[tony.latham]

Bug spray? Nose punching? Zero-dark-thirty pistol-fire?

I camp and fish in the lower-48 grizzly country all summer long. 'Been doing it for fifty years. There are three or four bear attacks per year. That's with hundreds of thousands of visitor-days. About half of those bloodied by bears are bowhunters. In the last twenty years I can think of one campground attack. It was an odd deal and the victim was a tent camper.

Get a can of bear spray. Sleep deep. Worry about the highway. I hope you see a bear.

Here's the wife working a big char up north:



It was a great day on the creek.

Tony

[rockinrobin]

Always have someone with you who you can out run!

[darrellbeck]

[quote="GerryS"]Wasp spray to deal with bears....well, that might sound good. Especially since a certain foolish, stupid politician (sorry for the redundancy) offered this as a solution to take care of a home invader or other criminal jack wagon.

Not only has there never been any research to show it is an effective method of self defense, it is bad advise since using an insecticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling is a violation of federal law.




I would certainly not say that wasp spray is the most effective type of protection, we carry it for wasps and bees since there have been several instances of a swarm attacking people around here recently. As far as its effectiveness for anything else, I can tell you that getting blow-back in your eyes is very un-pleasant. Not everyone carries a gun, which would rarely stop a bear quickly anyway. What most Rangers will tell you is that if you are confronted by a bear, don't run. That makes you into prey. The best thing to do is to make yourself look as big as possible and back away slowly. If the bear charges, BEAR spray is the most effective thing.

As far as the use of wasp spray to fend off a bear being a violation of federal law, I really can't visualize a situation where I am being attacked by any type of animal while holding my can of wasp spray, and I don't use it because it is against federal law. I am afraid my self-preservation instincts would get in the way and cause me to become a criminal.