Should you carry a gun or a camera in Denali?

[Alaska444]

Sadly, we have one more Timothy Treadwell type of fatal grizzly bear death. A man from San Diego hiking in Denali got within 50 yards of a large grizzly and photographed the bear for over 8 minutes before he became the object of the bear's attention.

A San Diego man was killed by a grizzly Friday at Denali National Park in Alaska, the first fatal bear attack in the park's history.

Rangers told reporters that Richard White, 49, photographed the animal for eight minutes Friday before the attack.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...m=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+lanowblog+(L.A.+Now)

No word yet on whether he had or attempted to use a gun or pepper spray as the attack progressed. Grizzlies are one of the largest predators in the world and cannot be taken lightly. For some reason, the attraction to photograph these beasts overcomes the normal reaction to avoid large bears at all costs. A camera might document the how and why and of an attack, but isn't much good for protection.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The answer is, yes. There are plenty of things to photograph in Denali, some of them breathtakingly spectacular.

And as for a gun, you can now legally carry in National Parks -- and if you can carry, why would you not carry?

 

[Mike J]

Should you carry a gun or a camera in Denali?

Why not carry both?

 

[Alaska444]

Why not carry both?

Shucks, where you going to put the pepper spray then?

 

[phonesysphonesys]

I would carry both. My camare would have a telephoto lens though. I have seen the idiots at Yellowstone Park.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Carry both and make sure the gun is at least a 44 mag.

 

[armoredman]

I vote with both. Now the question is, what firearm would you carry that wouldn't get it the way of taking good pictures?

 

[lloveless]

He was from San Diego, California. What ya want to bet he doesn't own a gun, and is probably a lot like the Californians who posted saying close the park and protect the critters from humans. Of course the "rules" (law of the jungle et al) don't apply to me was his first mistake.
ll

 

[Warp]

I'd have a gun, bear spray, and a camera.

When I backpacked (over multiple nights) Rocky Mountain National Park and the Tetons, I had all three.

You but your behind that in Denali (or Glacier, etc) I'd have the gun and the bear spray.

 

[Alaska444]

Why not carry both?

Seriously, photographing bears can be quite risky. Two kids I knew growing up in Alaska have been attacked by bears. The latest was last year when Wes Perkins stopped to photograph a large grizzly before he shot the bear.

The bear had other ideas in mind and closed the gap in only a couple of seconds.

Nate said Wes and hunting partner Dr. Dan Stang, a Nome dentist, had driven about 30 miles out of town on the Nome-Council Road with Stang's son over the weekend. In the Kigluaik Mountains not far from Skookum Pass, they unloaded snowmachines from a trailer and set off in search of bears. It didn't take them too long to find the tracks of a massive grizzly. The men followed those tracks for several miles.

Eventually, Nate said, they caught up to the bear where it had bedded in a creek bed. For reasons as yet unclear, Wes then decided to take photographs of the animal instead of shoot it.

"He took out his camera to take a picture," Nate said. "He had his rifle on his back."

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/heroic-response-saved-alaska-bear-mauling-victim?page=0,1

He survived only because of the help of of his friends and family that we able to get him on an emergency air evac to Seattle within about an hour of the attack. His brother arranged this by CB radio. So, pepper spray, gun, camera? If camera is in the mix, you truly need to add more distance. I thought that is what telephoto lenses were made for in the first place?

 

[littlebluevette]

Not much different than swimming with sharks. They are not cartoon characters

 

[Warp]

Is there something seriously wrong with photographing bears in Denali? If so, I am not aware of this. I've been to a lot of national parks out west (non in Alaska, yet) and pictures of bears are something everybody seems to want a shot at.

 

[dprice3844444]

i would carry my camera,big can of bear spray,and my 7 1/2 bfr revolver in 45/70 and with flat nose bullets,not hollow points

 

[littlebluevette]

If bears are something everyone wants walk up to then shoot a photo of..don't expect people to get upset if they eat you....

 

[Alaska444]

i would carry my camera,big can of bear spray,and my 7 1/2 bfr revolver in 45/70 and with flat nose bullets,not hollow points

My kind of man. I just went down to the St Joe River and camped out with some friends. I took my .357 SP101 as my EDC, my Ruger SRH .44 magnum for a woods gun. For fun, I took my .444 Marlin and shot up some cans, bottles and cartons at about 50 yards.

The only wildlife we saw was a HUGE bull moose still in velvet. We got some pictures of the moose, but they don't do justice to how massive an animal he is. We were about a hundred yards away. I wasn't going to venture any closer to this beast.

Not sure why this man felt so comfortable next to a large grizzly at that distance. It seems to be the hobby of a lot of folks to see how close they can get to grizzly bears. His mistake in doing that was choosing an inland grizzly instead of the fat and well fed coastal brown bears. It seems grizzlies prefer salmon to people, but when they are eating grass, people don't look so bad.

 

[scaatylobo]

Darwin test

See how close you can get to one of THE most dangerous critters in the world.

This is a pass/fail test as you and all will know if you passed,or failed.

I carry a .44 Ruger custom super blkhwk with Buffalo Bore 300 grain loads,AND a long gun but the handgun is ALWAYS on me even during a 'pitstop'.

Bear spray might be along,but if I do my part it will never be an issue as the only bear close enough to worry about ,will be the one I believe I have to shoot.

Distance is my friend and I am sorry for the family of the dead meat,but not sure I can muster sympathy for him harassing that poor bear.

 

[Flashcube]

I think if I were a camper I'd be looking good and hard for a nice holster for my S&W 500...

 

[jim243]

See how close you can get to one of THE most dangerous critters in the world.

This is a pass/fail test as you and all will know if you passed,or failed.

Within 30 feet of them. In a garbage dump while it was eating. In northen WI. Did not realize how close I was getting, untill everyone around was yelling at me. Then I backed up very slowly and the bear went back to eating, fortunely not me. It is easy to get lost in the moment and not realize what you are doing.

Jim


I have had Grizzlys come through our camp while sleeping in Montana's Rocky Mountains (Glacer National Park). I guess my rabbit"s foot was still working.

 

[Warp]

And I believe I read that the guy in the Denali case was ~50 yards away.

 

[harrygunner]

Did the park service kill the bear?

Bears should not lose their lives doing what they do because someone is delusional about how the world actually is.

There are good telescopic lenses that allow one to photograph bears from a safer distance.

 

[SilentStalker]

I can tell you right now that bells nor spray is a very good deterrent. In fact, a recent article that was sent to us to go in one of my mags was written by a park ranger up that way and with the pics and stuff he sent I can tell you right now that IMO none of these really work. The park rangers up there also agree. I suppose something is better than nothing but IMO you best defense would be a large group of people and at least one of you with a large caliber weapon capable of taking down a bear.

I will be going to Alaska in the next couple of weeks and I will be taking my camera. Unfortunately, the group I am going with will not allow me to take any kind of firearm, but I hope we don't actually see a bear. If we do I will try to get a photo but I am not going to be getting real close. In fact, I may not take the photo at all. If you really want a photo of a bear, then get a decent game camera as that would be the safest way. I must also admit that while I have a 400 mm lens you would be surprised that it will only get you so far. In fact, at full zoom I often times want to get closer to get the shot I want but obviously you have to use some common sense here. You could always get a 400-500mm lens and put a teleconverter on it that would give you more range. Anyways IMO, I would take everything but the spray because I dont really see it doing much other than pissing it off even more.

 

[Warp]

I can tell you right now that bells nor spray is a very good deterrent. In fact, a recent article that was sent to us to go in one of my mags was written by a park ranger up that way and with the pics and stuff he sent I can tell you right now that IMO none of these really work. The park rangers up there also agree. I suppose something is better than nothing but IMO you best defense would be a large group of people and at least one of you with a large caliber weapon capable of taking down a bear.

I will be going to Alaska in the next couple of weeks and I will be taking my camera. Unfortunately, the group I am going with will not allow me to take any kind of firearm, but I hope we don't actually see a bear. If we do I will try to get a photo but I am not going to be getting real close. In fact, I may not take the photo at all. If you really want a photo of a bear, then get a decent game camera as that would be the safest way. I must also admit that while I have a 400 mm lens you would be surprised that it will only get you so far. In fact, at full zoom I often times want to get closer to get the shot I want but obviously you have to use some common sense here. You could always get a 400-500mm lens and put a teleconverter on it that would give you more range. Anyways IMO, I would take everything but the spray because I dont really see it doing much other than pissing it off even more.

Interesting.

 

[StrutStopper]

The bear was shot. The deceased did attend a mandatory hikers orientation in which he was made aware of the park rule to stay at least a quarter mile away when observing bears. If hikers find themselves closer than this, they are instructed to back away slowly. This guy decided that photographing for over 8 minutes at a considerably closer range was ok... Apparently when he started shooting the bear was grazing and not showing any signs of aggression. That changed in a hurry. Some folks just don't think rules apply to them.

 

[littlebluevette]

Quote "If you really want a photo of a bear, then get a decent game camera as that would be the safest way. I must also admit that while I have a 400 mm lens you would be surprised that it will only get you so far. In fact, at full zoom I often times want to get closer to get the shot I want but obviously you have to use some common sense here."

That only works if you see the bear before he sees you. Whose sences do you think are more keen in that enviorment? My bet isn't on you.....

 

[Warp]

The bear was shot. The deceased did attend a mandatory hikers orientation in which he was made aware of the park rule to stay at least a quarter mile away when observing bears. If hikers find themselves closer than this, they are instructed to back away slowly. This guy decided that photographing for over 8 minutes at a considerably closer range was ok... Apparently when he started shooting the bear was grazing and not showing any signs of aggression. That changed in a hurry. Some folks just don't think rules apply to them.

Most folks, I think.