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Thread: Bears

  1. #21
    Senior Member Fiddleback's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cannibal View Post
    Bear spray: Pretty much useless with an aggressive bear, particularly if it has been sprayed before. Pepper spray works once, from what I've been told by a lot of backcountry folks while living in Colorado.
    Bear spray is intended for aggressive bears.

    As for its ineffectiveness on bears that have been sprayed before chalk that up to urban...er...rural legend. It's extremely unlikely that that any bear involved in an aggressive encounter could be identified as being sprayed before. On the other hand, there has been some controlled/captive testing. I don't know but it seems logical that the captive bears were subjected to repeated tests/sprays.

    FB

  2. #22
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fiddleback View Post
    Bear spray is intended for aggressive bears.

    FB
    Agreed, but that is kind of my point. Assuming that you're able to keep a clear head when an angry animal is sprinting towards you with malicious intent, you have to wait until the bear is about 10-15 feet (what's that, like one second away) away before you spray. I suspect the bear's momentum will carry it into you regardless of a clean shot. Once the bear makes contact with you it isn't really going to need to see or smell. Oh yeah, you also have to make sure that the bear is downwind of you otherwise you are the one who gets to enjoy some pepper.

    Please understand this is my opinion based on discussions with folks much smarter and more experienced than me. I'm just saying that given the odds of a bad encounter and the still questionable deterrents, I'm inclined to take my chances.

    Besides, I am WAY more scared of the critters like what you use for an avatar.

  3. #23
    So, apparently, there has not been one recorded incident of a bear killing anybody in a hammock?

    I wonder about some cases where a partially consumed body is found -- especially older men -- if they didn't die of something else and then get eaten? Bears love smelly corpses like I love blueberries.

    I'm not as afraid of bear attacks as I am of roller coaster fatalities.

  4. #24
    Senior Member sk8rs_dad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CoyoteWhips View Post
    I'm not as afraid of bear attacks as I am of roller coaster fatalities.
    I guess that makes you either a maintenance worker or an actuary since fatalities involving a customer look pretty rare.

  5. #25
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CoyoteWhips View Post
    So, apparently, there has not been one recorded incident of a bear killing anybody in a hammock?

    I wonder about some cases where a partially consumed body is found -- especially older men -- if they didn't die of something else and then get eaten? Bears love smelly corpses like I love blueberries.

    I'm not as afraid of bear attacks as I am of roller coaster fatalities.
    I'm thinking that hammocks, rather than being pinattas, are instead MAJOR BEAR REPELLANTS? Good news!

    That roller coaster thing was interesting. Really pretty safe, considering the terror experienced on some of those rides. Untold millions( per year maybe? For sure many millions total rides during the report) of all ages and health riding roller coasters nationwide, over 25 years. Not a single death from 73 to 80. Then 32 total for the entire 25 years. Many were maintenance workers. One guy was on a coaster thought to be empty and side tracked to a maintenance area, which was low clearance and smashed his head! At least one was an asthma attack not for sure related to the ride. One choked on gum!

    I counted at least 5 where people managed to get out of the safety restraints and stand up or lean out to the side, apparently seeking a bit more thrill, with negative results! Would that be what is called "thinning the herd"? Would that be about the equiv of an unarmed hiker following Griz tracks until he found Mama and cubs, then jumping out of the bushes and yelling "BOO"?
    Last edited by BillyBob58; 06-28-2007 at 12:57.

  6. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by BillyBob58 View Post
    I counted at least 5 where people managed to get out of the safety restraints and stand up or lean out to the side, apparently seeking a bit more thrill, with negative results! Would that be what is called "thinning the herd"? Would that be about the equiv of an unarmed hiker following Griz tracks until he found Mama and cubs, then jumping out of the bushes and yelling "BOO"?
    Might be more like trying to feed a park bear out of your car window.

    Actually I really like roller coasters. Thought it made an interesting example, as the death statistics are similar to bear attacks, but you never hear anybody say, "I'm taking my kids to the amusement park. What roller coaster precautions should I take?"

    I guess it comes down to don't be stupid and even if you are little stupid, you'll probably survive through years of stupidity.

    At least as far as bears are concerned. Hypothermia and heat stroke is an entirely different deal.

    The rare horrible exotic deaths always seem scarier than the daily mundane deaths, though either way you're still dead.

  7. #27
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    How about that guy that killed a bear last week with a log. I don't remember exactly, but pretty sure it was an AT shelter where it happened. The bear came into camp and was going after a young kid (I think) when it happened. This guy picked-up a log and threw it at the bear. The log hit the bear in the head and they thought they had just knocked it out. Turned out the log crushed it's skull. The guy was really sad that he had to kill it.

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyBob58 View Post
    Would that be about the equiv of an unarmed hiker following Griz tracks until he found Mama and cubs, then jumping out of the bushes and yelling "BOO"?
    ... and right before he yelled "BOO", he turned to his redneck buddies & said "hey yall, watch this"
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by slowhike View Post
    ... and right before he yelled "BOO", he turned to his redneck buddies & said "hey yall, watch this"
    More like, "hey bubba grab the camera this is going to be cool".
    Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
    The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".

  10. #30
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by slowhike View Post
    ... and right before he yelled "BOO", he turned to his redneck buddies & said "hey yall, watch this"
    Quote Originally Posted by hammock engineer View Post
    More like, "hey bubba grab the camera this is going to be cool".
    LOL!

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