And then there are anti-gun and government statistics. Ben and Bawb's Blog: Bear Spray Versus Firearms
There are other old adages which are also apropos, such as, “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.” And my personal favorite: “Torture numbers and they will confess to anything.”
Although the pepper spray advocates always say studies or even numerous studies prove the effectiveness of bear spray, when you seek out this plethora of studies (plural) they pretty much boil down into a single study (singular) that has appeared in a couple of different forms. The 2012 study that started it all was researched primarily by BYU professor Tom Smith and author Stephen Herrero and published in the Journal of Wildlife Management under the title of “Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska.”
And there are problems with that study. Click thru of the details. I will note, as Bawb does...
Consider that the researchers found fewer than 200 incidents of bear attacks involving guns in Alaska over a 126-year period to counter-balance the pepper spray accounts. Nor were these incidents random samples; they were deliberately, carefully, and selectively cherry-picked.
It isn't hard to find more firearm v bear incidents. Those details are presented.
If I lived in an area where bears were an issue, I would carry something really big, like a BFR (that's an actual firearm, that is not called Big F-ing Revolver, but Big Frame Revolver) in something like .45-70 government. (Bears are tough, or so I've been told.)
Anyway, click thru. (A photo of a random bear is above.)
you have to be either very brave or foolish to hike in the remote areas without a firearm.
ReplyDeleteBear spray frequently works. But not 100% of the time. It's those times when you MUST be carrying a enough gun. Those who rely solely on bear spray are literally gambling with their life. Idiots who say you should rely on bear spray are the idiots who never venture into bear country.
ReplyDeleteIt is not a gun that you need. You need firepower. One bullet will just make a grizzly mad. You may not get second trigger pull. You need multiple rounds (the more the better) from a single trigger pull. Plus nerves of steel & a great aim. Otherwise the odds are on the grizzly.
ReplyDelete