lobo9er
Member
there should be a both option. if not alone one in the group maybe have bear spray too.
Today, 06:54 AM #26
lobo9er
Member
Join Date: July 8, 2009
Location: Earth, Currently
Posts: 1,821
there should be a both option. if not alone one in the group maybe have bear spray too.
Sobering. Thanks for posting, Alaska444
It is easier to miss with a gun than with bear spray, though at 4 feet it seems unlikely missing with either. I wonder what strength of spray, whether it did actually hit the bear in the face and how much was spent (before Ms Jones-Robinson dropped it).
Certainly having a gun as a backup to the spray would have enabled her to kill the bear, but, as it turned out, it would have saved only her pack and car keys, certainly not worth the trouble of following through her duty to preserve the skull and cape and turn it over to the State of Alaska (required under Alaska law for DLP shoots).
I look forward to reading more detailed reports in my local media.
As far as how this incident will be counted in the Bear-Human encounters, I will venture to guess it will probably be chalked up as "successful" unless the person compiling shows some judgement. That is, (a) no human injury bear (b) spray used (c) no firearm used. Though, from the (very short) testimony of Ms Jones-Robinson, the spray actually failed.
But as long as I am speculating, I wonder if shooting the bear (one-shot instant kills are rare in DLP situations) would not have brought the mother bear onto the scene.
By the time the locksmith showed up, I wonder if Fish & Game would have gotten there, too, properly equipped to defend against the bear. I would have gone back for my keys (which would hold little interest for the bear when a nice, juicy backpack was available to chew on).
As far as the bells are concerned, Brown Bears usually only attack when surprized or threatened. Letting them know you are coming will usually cause them to quit the area (unless they are protecting a kill or cubs). You take the best odds you can get. If you are in the woods birdwatching or just to enjoy the quiet, you probably don't want to wear bells anyway.
Lost Sheep
"I used my bear spray when it was about four feet away and then I fell with my pack on and dropped the bear spray."
I don't want to discount your training experience, but are you certain it was the two million SHC chemical? That causes almost immediate blistering to exposed human skin.I've never been sprayed with bear spray, but I have had direct eye exposure to OC rated at 2 million Scoville Heat Units - which is the most "powerful" pepper spray available to law enforcement - during my department's academy. I confess that it was the most painful experience of my life, but add that it took a solid ten minutes for the me to feel the full strength of the OC. Furthermore, I was absolutely able to function at nearly full capacity for some time following the direct exposure, as we were required to conduct specific tasks for the 60 seconds immediately after being sprayed.
I have very little confidence, if any, in any type of chemical agent being able to stop any mildly determined animal in the event of an attack.
I vote gun - no contest whatsoever.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081129230617AAtKEvQ said:We tested Phase IV about 4 years ago for our department to see if it would be better than the Def Tech at 25,000 SHU. One of our SWAT men volunteered ( he was the guy that walks around with the big red "S" on his chest all day). I gave him a one half second spray on the side of the face only for a simple test. The skin immediately blistered and he had to be taken to the hospital.
Pretty sure. Taken from the Sabre Red site:I don't want to discount your training experience, but are you certain it was the two million SHC chemical?
Formulation --- MC --- Level --- OC
SABRE Red --- 1.33% --- III --- 10%
. . . .
[Scale] --- Raw SHU --- OC --- Percentage Dilution --- NET SHU
Hottest --- 2,000,000 --- 10% --- 90% --- 200,000