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Grizzly vs. pepper spray

allen griggsallen griggs Member Posts: 35,696 ✭✭✭✭
edited September 2002 in General Discussion
Two hikers, Nils Wygant and Dr. Tom Crosson, were attacked in Yellowstone by a Grizzly. This was a mother Griz with cubs. The bear knocked Crosson down and bit his leg, breaking it. She turned to get Wygant, who had hit the deck and was playing dead. He pulled out a "bear size" pepper spray can. He had the pepper spray either in a fanny pack or on a belt holster, I couldn't quite make out. This is a pepper spray container about a foot long, it resembles a small fire extinguisher. He gave Mrs. Griz a shot in the face and she ran off. Then the guys had to hike out 3 miles. Crosson will be ok.
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Comments

  • interstatepawnllcinterstatepawnllc Member Posts: 9,390
    edited November -1
    Let's hear it for a BIG can of natures Whoop A**!!
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  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yeah, but you should hear Aglore on the topic of bear attack. I don't think he carries that stuff.

    A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand
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  • DancesWithSheepDancesWithSheep Member Posts: 12,938 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I came within 100 yards of a Grizzly sow near Glacier Park in Montana a few years back. I was carrying a Sako .375H&H and remember thinking I wish I had had a bigger gun.

    Why does man kill? He kills for food. But not only for food; frequently, he must have a beverage.
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  • allen griggsallen griggs Member Posts: 35,696 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Aglore-Come on, give us the story.
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  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm glad to know that bit of info. If pepper spray has a chance of repelling an animal that large, it is worth carrying against a whole lot of other potential threats.

    - Life NRA Member
    "If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
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  • NighthawkNighthawk Member Posts: 12,022 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Im glad to hear it worked,for their sake.Good thing she wasnt drugged.HA!! HA!!

    Best!!

    Rugster


    Toujours Pret
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  • ccasey612ccasey612 Member Posts: 901 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Lucky them.

    If you will blame gun makers for every shooting then blame car maker for every car accident.
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  • PalantirionPalantirion Member Posts: 144 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I guy I knew up in northern B.C. swore that the only thing that would keep polar bears (he occasionally worked as a miner in AK) away was a flare gun. He said it scared them because they could both hear it and SEE it. My family's had some experiences with bear in B.C. ignoring warning shots (even with my dad's .375), so it's something I'll consider for my next trip up north.

    For additional consideration, what strength pepper spray successfully turned the charging grizzly?

    www.ebsart.com
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  • allen griggsallen griggs Member Posts: 35,696 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Wygant did not say what strength that pepper spray was. He was holding that can of spray and petting it like it was his baby. Deltaforce.com has a "crowd control" size can of pepper spray that looks about like what Wygant used. This stuff is "law enforcement strength" of 13.3%. I have some of their pepper spray in the 2 oz. size at that same strength. It shoots out a stream, not a spray, and it is formidable.
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  • 4GodandCountry4GodandCountry Member Posts: 3,968
    edited November -1
    Ive watched several programs that dispute the effectiveness of pepper sprays on marauding grizzleys. In several instances it actually attracted the bears. They would go to the sight of discharge and wallow in the area of discharge. You guys go ahead and sport your spray, Ill take on a 454 casul.

    When Clinton left office they gave him a 21 gun salute. Its a damn shame they all missed....
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  • agloreaglore Member Posts: 6,012
    edited November -1
    Pepper spray may or may not work. The working range of it is about 15 feet. Need to be upwind of the thing it is being used on and needs to get to the mucus membraines. USFWS did some experimenting down on the Alaska Penninsula with this stuff by spraying it on the ground all around they're camp. The bears just rolled in it. Me, I'm not trusting my life to a silly can of spray. When a bear is at 15 feet and closing, which would you prefer to have? There is no way you are going to stop the bear and tell it that it is coming from the wrong direction because the wind is at it's back. I'll just stick with my cannons thank you.

    AlleninAlaska

    http://www.outdoor-o-rama.com

    He who dares not offend cannot be honest.
    -- Thomas Paine
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  • BoltactionManBoltactionMan Member Posts: 2,048 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Aglore,

    Personally I agree with you about the cannons. But in fairness, I don't think the pepper spray was meant to keep the animals away by spraying it around the camp site. It is meant to be used as a direct deterrent by * contact, especially the eyes, nose etc. I tend to think that it probably would attract bears if it was sprayed around the camp.

    I'll be a .375 wouldn't feel big enough under certain circumstances.

    KC
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  • Hunter4lifeHunter4life Member Posts: 45 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    If either of them had shot, and only wounded
    the bear...they would both be dead....

    Hunter
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  • WyomingSwedeWyomingSwede Member Posts: 402 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'll keep the .44 mag on hip just in case. Pepper spray is seasoning. If the bear is gonna chew my leg off...I at least want the opportunity to annoy it with the .44 .


    swede

    WyomingSwede
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  • Shootist3006Shootist3006 Member Posts: 4,171
    edited November -1
    Among the things taught to hikers in Brown Bear country is to carry a can of pepper spray and to wear bells on your boot laces (the sound is supposed to keep you from startling a bear). In MY animal identification class, I teach students how to ID bears from their skat. Black bear skat is smaller and frequently will have partially digested berries and such. Brown bear skat is larger, smells like pepper and has little bells in it.

    Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem.Semper Fidelis
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  • Guns & GlassGuns & Glass Member Posts: 864 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Some pepper spray has high percentages of purified OC.S.
    Bear Guard uses 10%, which is effective for "close encounters".

    Concept is to "buy escape time" and or cause the animal to flee. By chemically burning the muceous membranes--nose, lips, sinuses, throat, swell-close up air passages, and lungs causing temporary blindness, extreme pain, mess up sense of smell, reducing breathing to basically nothing(life support only), create sneezing-extreme coughing, possible vomiting, distorting senses, and "thinking"in general.

    I have been lightly(lightly!) hit with 5% LE grade. Down and out for almost 15-20 minutes! Never again!!! Don't want to think od a 'good" dose, much less 10%.

    Is it a preferd hand cannon. No, it is an additional deterrent. Any and all can help.

    Some states have tried to outlaw high percentages, as a number of people were hospitalized, and even died. Lawsuits are filed.



    Happy Bullet Holes!
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  • allen griggsallen griggs Member Posts: 35,696 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The stories of the bears wallowing in pepper spray are interesting, but getting that stuff on the fur is different from getting a blast of it in the face. I was working standby as a Paramedic when our SO switched over from mace to pepper spray and every deputy had to get a spray of pepper spray in the face. I saw 6-4 220 lb leo bad * on the ground crying for their mama. That demo made a believer out of me. Of course if I knew I was in for a run in with a griz I would want a big gun, but in a place like Yellowstone shooting a griz with a pistol is a Federal felony which will deprive you of your firearms rights forever.
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