“News of bear attacks have been dominating headlines for the past few weeks, with seven attacks in a five day span across the US.,” The Sportsman’s Alliance blog post at ammoland.com recaps. “With hunting seasons nearing, hunters will be entering the woods and risk the possibility of coming face to face with the bruins. Would you know what to do if a bear came across your hunting path?” Before you answer that question, be advised: “Don’t mistake bears for the cuddly, stuffed animals your child may have named. In actuality, bears are large predators near the top of the food chain. The three different species of bears found across the U.S. can range anywhere from 125lbs to 1500lbs!” OK, they had me at the exclamation mark. I’m thinking something large-calibered in a lever gun, or something large calibered in a revolver [Ruger Super Redhawk Alaska 454 Casull above]. The Alliance is thinking no such thing . . .
If a bear is charging you out of defense: Make yourself as big as possible. Hold your arms above your head and spread your legs to a larger stance. Speak loud and clearly at the bear, however, avoid eye contact as this may be perceived as a threat to the bear and provoke a charge. Appearing larger than the bear may scare it off.
Do not run or make any sudden movements. If a bear charges at you, try to stand perfectly still and stand your ground as bears will make bluff charges to see what you will do. Standing still may cause the bear to lose interest in you.
However, if the bear continues to charge in a defensive manner, your next plan of attack would be to play dead. Playing dead against a defensive bear leads the bear to become bored with you and may cause it to leave you alone.
And there I was thinking bears charge faster than that fancy interior decorating place that melted my credit card yesterday. Also, I played dead when my older brother attacked. Once. So that’s out then. Well, until the bruin makes actual physical contact.
No wait. Not even then. I’m thinking that shooting a charging bear with a gun (me, not the bear) before he or she makes contact is the better option. The Alliance . . . not to so much.
If a bear is viewing you as prey: In rare occurrences, you may be in the situation where a bear that has tracked your movements. Predatory behavior is most often found to be from hunger or just an indifference to what and who you are.
If you find yourself a victim of a bear attack, it is not time to play dead, but rather fight with everything and anything you can find.
If living in bear country, bear spray is a necessity if you plan on venturing into the woods. If a bear charges you, aim the spray for just above the head of the bear so the spray will fall into the eyes of the animal.
From there, use your fists, rocks, sticks, ect. to hit the bear as hard as possible. Aim for the snout of the bear as this is a very sensitive part of the animal.Bear attacks are not prevalent; however, the USSA urges sportsmen and women across the country to always be prepared to come across these large mammals in the wild to avoid harm.
Mano-a-bruin with a bear? No thanks. I carried both bear spray and a gun in Montana. Admittedly, it was the wrong gun (documentation issues). But I reckon it was way better than a stick. Anyway, God created bears, Grizzly Customs Guns perfected the lever gun. ‘Nuff said.