Bangers Or Spray

[cuttbow]

Ok here it goes. Ive been carrying bear spray for the last few years. i have switched over to the centerfire pen. Includes bangers and flares of two colors. I can get this out of my pocket and launch in 10 seconds-good for 150ft. The spray costs more , has a 20 ft spray and by the time you unholster ,pop the cap its too late . No expiry date on the pen.Spray has 3 years. Whats does everyone else carry to the deep criks. Both cost the same.

[Taco]

watched a guy one time stampede a bear damn near into his lap with a banger one time, he shot a banger @ a bear and it went bang on the far side, talked to him after.... you had to stand upwind. I'll take pepper spray over damn near anything, 45-70 guide rifles included. It works period.

[Justfreewheelin]

How bout a 12ga. shottie, if they mean buisness, I'm gona mean buissnes. Of course not in the parks though. I'll be nice and give a warning shot for him first.

[cuttbow]

Ya have ya tried low profile castin with a 12 guage on your shoulder. Hmm Might have to pull it out.

[cuttbow]

Ya Taco we fish the same country, Have heard of overshooting and putting the bear in your lap. But still i tested it and its 20 seconds quicker to grab the launcher. If your pullin out the spray the bears within shittin distance oh wait i see they have the glow in the dark triggers know. Taco are ya headin to BH.

[Justfreewheelin]

they make a very nice holster/sheath which goes on your back, feels like wearing a back pack, 18.5 barel, and pistol grip, I do not think you would even notice it.

[cuttbow]

Ok does fishtales carry pepper spray. This is funny i picked one up from WS last year it says test yearly on the label. Exp date 2011. I just tried it, it didnt do a dam thing. Ya good for 3 years my ass. Test them out boys.

[AndyW]

I carry both- Banger pen in the pepper spray holster.

 

 

[Taco]

I'm in the Hat right now workin, headed home tomorrow, do a recharge and out again, ain't much fishin in my immediate future

[seanbritt]

I definetely vote bear spray, and you can pick up a can and holster at MEC pretty cheap (around $25). However, my wife has worked in the forests for much of her life, has encountered bears more times than one cares to recall, and has never had an incident (or had to use spray). Truth is, bears are harmless unless provoked or caught in a tough situation (like you between her and her cub).

 

Here is a brief synopsis of a scientific paper that was published on the efficiacy of bear spray. Don't worry moderators, I have reproduced this synopsis before with permission (and the article is cited).

 

Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska

TOM S. SMITH,1 Wildlife Sciences Program, Faculty of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, 451 WIDB, Provo, UT 84602, USA

STEPHEN HERRERO, Environmental Science Program, Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada

TERRY D. DEBRUYN, United States National Park Service, Alaska Support Office, 240 W 5th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA

JAMES M. WILDER, Minerals Management Service, 3801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500, Anchorage, AK 99503-5823, USA

 

ABSTRACT We present a comprehensive look at a sample of bear spray incidents that occurred in Alaska, USA, from 1985 to 2006. We

analyzed 83 bear spray incidents involving brown bears (Ursus arctos; 61 cases, 74%), black bears (Ursus americanus; 20 cases, 24%), and polar

bears (Ursus maritimus; 2 cases, 2%). Of the 72 cases where persons sprayed bears to defend themselves, 50 (69%) involved brown bears, 20

(28%) black bears, and 2 (3%) polar bears. Red pepper spray stopped bears’ undesirable behavior 92% of the time when used on brown bears, 90%for black bears, and 100%for polar bears. Of all persons carrying sprays, 98%were uninjured by bears in close-range encounters. All bear inflicted injuries (n¼3) associated with defensive spraying involved brown bears and were relatively minor (i.e., no hospitalization required). In 7% (5 of 71) of bear spray incidents, wind was reported to have interfered with spray accuracy, although it reached the bear in all cases. In 14% (10 of 71) of bear spray incidents, users reported the spray having had negative side effects upon themselves, ranging from minor irritation (11%, 8 of 71) to near incapacitation (3%, 2 of 71). Bear spray represents an effective alternative to lethal force and should be considered as an option for personal safety for those recreating and working in bear country. (JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 72(3):640–645;2008)

 

[mwalters]

Bear spray, there are a lot of other considerations when using bangers.

 

-If the bangers goes off on the far side of the bear you could scare the animal towards you.

-If you launched the banger at the bear & hit it...you're gonna make it really mad

-If the banger or flare was still burning & landed in dry grass it could start a fire

 

The flares would come in handy if you were in a situation where you needed to signal for help. So if you do choose to carry them, get rid of the bangers & replace them with whistlers. Same precautions as the bangers, but more effective against an animal.

[Jayhad]

I like carrying a cut down single shot cooey 12g. because it is a single shot breach-break it can LEGALLY be 18.5" overal length, fits great on the side of my pack. In all my years of carrying it I have only pulled it once on a bear 10 years ago.

[Brownstone]

I carry both- Banger pen in the pepper spray holster.

 

echo

[Mikey]

Big F'in knife.

[AndyW]

I like carrying a cut down single shot cooey 12g. because it is a single shot breach-break it can LEGALLY be 18.5" overal length, fits great on the side of my pack. In all my years of carrying it I have only pulled it once on a bear 10 years ago.

 

 

If you surprise a grizzly and it charges you will be hard pressed to get the spray out of the holster, safety off and fire. A gun strapped to the side of a pack would be impossible in this situation, as well as being dangerous with one in the spout for obvious reasons.

The dangerous game guides and hunters in africa don't even have slings on thier guns for the reasons stated above, they always carry them ready.

[SilverDoctor]

12 gauge with slugs.

Amen

[Kyle]

 

 

not a very good decision to charge me..

[mudkid]

In really sketchy griz country with lots of sign we carry a sawed off legal 12 gauge with a pistol grip that we practice with in the spring.

It's our sheep/elk hunting camp gun. Always have slugs and big buckshot alternating. Probably will just piss off a griz

but have stopped a big boy from coming into camp on on occasion by just blasting shots in the air. Bear Bangers would probably

do the same thing. We have had a few run in's with bears fishing in south eastern BC and west of Grande Cache with both Black bears and Grizzlies but never

once have we had to do anything but shout or fire off bangers. We just feel better about ourselves having some protection but I don't know how much it

would help.

[wingshooter]

In really sketchy griz country with lots of sign we carry a sawed off legal 12 gauge with a pistol grip that we practice with in the spring.

It's our sheep/elk hunting camp gun. Always have slugs and big buckshot alternating. Probably will just piss off a griz

but have stopped a big boy from coming into camp on on occasion by just blasting shots in the air. Bear Bangers would probably

do the same thing. We have had a few run in's with bears fishing in south eastern BC and west of Grande Cache with both Black bears and Grizzlies but never

once have we had to do anything but shout or fire off bangers. We just feel better about ourselves having some protection but I don't know how much it

would help.

 

Had several bears in or near camp and tried bangers to scare them off, they laughed and continued in our direction......(Plan B ) shotgun slug shot into bank near bear (10 feet to the right)..........bear jumps out of it skin trying to get the heck out of there on all attempts .....end of experiment. Safe for both bear and operator. I hope the Feds don't ban lead for slug guns near a watercourse?? The best defence is keep alert in the bush.

[hopdrop]

I've been debating about an air horn. The ones that screw on the top of a small can of compressed air. Would eliminate the overshoot problem of bangers, and I'm sure they would turn anything a banger would anyways. Still on the fence about a 12 ga. for camp though...

[Din]

I've been debating about an air horn. The ones that screw on the top of a small can of compressed air. Would eliminate the overshoot problem of bangers, and I'm sure they would turn anything a banger would anyways. Still on the fence about a 12 ga. for camp though...

 

I started to carry one near the end of the season last year with bear spray. figure it has to be better than me just yelling.

[fishfreak]

I carry both as a precaution. Bangers are good if you see the bear in the distance and want to keep them away.

 

I've never had to use my bearspray, but it's always clipped on somewhere very accessible. I should test it though... on a calm day.

[Suntoucher]

Whistles are even more useless. I was fishing in a canyon last summer and a group of fishermen came up behind me, one was blowing away at his whistle. Couldn't even hear him with the water around and canyon walls!

 

I usually carry bear spray but wouldn't mind another alternative just in case

[dube]

I carry both as a precaution. Bangers are good if you see the bear in the distance and want to keep them away.

 

I've never had to use my bearspray, but it's always clipped on somewhere very accessible. I should test it though... on a calm day.

 

 

I would caution against givin' her a test on a calm day. With no wind you will essentially be standing right in the cloud, had a buddy once who wanted to see how it worked. It was very calm, gave it a little squirt and I instantly got a little whiff and turned and ran while my buddy stood there like a fool sniffing and he most certainly got the scent. He spent the next 45 min whining about how his eyes and throat were burning.

 

I carry spray and flare pen with bangers. Not toatlly confident in my ability to draw either in the event of a charge. I will second the air horn idea, I have heard they can be quite effective, plus it is smaller than a can of spray.

[BBBrownie]

Bearspray. Although definately not fool proof, it is the best bet. Bear bangers don't work. I know that this will be unpopular with some members but - Shotguns are unnecessary. As a field worker who works mainly in remote heli-access areas, often with many bears around, I have never worked armed with anything other than a big knife and a can of bear spray. Guns can cause you to approach bears in the wrong ways, with agressive intention. Although obviously a gun has the most effective stopping power, they are not necessary. If you shoot a bear- especially a griz, you had better be a damn good shot. Wounded grizzlies have a way of coming straight back at you. You rarely encounter aggresive grizzlies in open areas where you have time to make a second shot. Historically, a large proportion of casualties of grizzly attacks were hunters who shot grizzlies in defense only to have the griz come back at em and tear them to peices. A gun can lead you to act before it is necessary as you feel you've got the power, this can create a situation where there may not otherwise have been. 95% of charges are bluffs. If you have a gun you are likely to take a shot, even when it is only a bluff. If it is a bluff and you play it out, the bear will generally leave you. If it is a bluff but you shoot and injure the bear, you may be toast. Just a thought...

-Also, even if a can of bear spray says good for three years, we use new spray annually as it has a tendancy to gel up after a year unfortunately.