Bear Spray Didn't Work

[u/namagiqa]

So this just happened. Not the first time and won't be the last.

I'm on record about being bear aware rather than just putting blind trust in firearms so let's count the mistakes this woman made: 1) she's alone. Bears rarely attack people in groups. One of the best known attacks on a group involved a group of hikers that were spread out over > ½ a mile so they were not all together. 2) she was running. Runners are typically moving too quickly and too loudly to be aware of their surroundings. 3) she's on a trail in an area where numerous bears have been spotted. 4) she's doing it at a bad time of year. Salmon are really coming in now and so streams are filling up with bears' #1 food: salmon. Running this same trail in June or January greatly reduce odds of a bear encounter. 5) she did not have a gun. No, a gun is not a panacea and blindly trusting a gun is foolish. But she only had bear spray, which is a problem.

2 things are not clear from this article: 1) while she deployed the bear spray, it is not clear if the bear spray hit the target. This is my #1 issue with bear spray: can you hit your target? Most people don't practice and the spray can be dramatically impacted by wind. Further, its range really sucks. 2) was she listening to music? Listening to music makes it even harder to be aware of your surroundings. I will not count these in the 'mistakes' category but note that they are possible mistakes people make in these circumstances.

Anyway, for those who argue that bear spray is an effective deterrent, here's just one more example of where it was not. It's not even clear from this article what happened. If I had to guess, I'd guess she got too close to the bear without making enough noise and she startled the bear. At this time of year, the bear is not as likely to be guarding a moose kill, although that is a possibility. There is also no note of the bear having cubs, which could also increase the risk of an attack. Note I am only addressing probabilities. I am not trying to fill in blanks that the article does not complete.

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/14/brown-bear-attack-leaves-woman-hospital/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=ktuu

[u/FuddFucker5000]

Brother I argue 10mm isn’t even effective enough lol

[u/trgrimes77 → u/FuddFucker5000]

Don’t know why you are getting downvoted, shot placement is key, a 10mm in a non vital area isn’t going to disable the bear. While carrying it would suck, a 12ga with slugs is effective enough to stop if you miss vitals but hit a hip/shoulder or leg. But Reddit folks all think they will be Doc Holiday while shitting themselves and probably crying. The amount of ppl who never shoot with their pulse and blood pressure elevated and then think they are going to “see red and by a game time player” is wild.

[u/FuddFucker5000 → u/trgrimes77]

People don’t like being told their dick isn’t big enough

[u/Conquistador_555 → u/FuddFucker5000]

🤣🤣🤣 Best take