RE: [Paddlewise] Guns and Polar Bears

"Matt Broze" <mkayaks_at_oz.net> wrote:
>if I was going to be solo in Polar Bear country I'd take a 12 Gauge (6
to 8 shot) short barreled pump shotgun and back that up with a can or
two of bear spray. I'd carry the bear spray at all times and keep the
gun ready and nearby.

I'd be afraid to shoot a bear with 6 to 8 shot.  That's upland bird
shot.  You'll really piss the bear off, likely permanently maim or
blind it, but you won't kill it.  Dangerous and likely inhumane.  Go
for big buckshot or slugs, maybe alternating.

That said, this really isn't a gun group, but I'd hate to see someone
use the wrong size shot.

I'm a gun owner, not a gun nut, I like bird hunting, do some big game
hunting.  I love my 12ga Mossberg pump for deer hunting, I think Rob
Gibbert's recommendation for the same gun in SS with a longer magazine
is great.

And that said, when I'm in bear country (grizzly and black), I'd rather
have pepper spray.   I was in griz country a month ago on the Blackfeet
Reservation helping a friend round up cows on summer pasture.  He and
his kids had various pistols - .357, .41, .45, and they asked why I
didn't want to carry one.  I wouldn't want to shoot a big griz with
anything smaller than the .45, and then I'm not sure of my aim if I
were shaking too badly.  I was joking about it with a couple of the
Indian horsemen who were also out rounding up their cows.  They agreed
they'd rather have a fast horse than a big gun!

I live relatively near the middle of the "Great Bear Wilderness", and
there are plenty of anecdotal success stories about pepper spray and
grizzlies.  It doesn't seem as if as many bears have been euthanized of
late, either.

I should think that pepper spray would be as successful on white bears
as it is on grizzlies...but it's really only effective when the bear is
almost on top of you--it is not a long-range deterrent.

Shawn
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