In the most advanced testing, bear biologist Tom Smith jingled bear bells in varying volumes in front of brown bears in Katmai National Park. Fortunately, you can make your own bear repellent using a few ingredients you can purchase at your local supermarket; the main ingredient is pepper. Here are some benefits of using air horns as opposed to other means of scaring bears. Stun guns & home security also avail. Best Pepper Spray For. Shop for Bear spray and deterrent at MEC. How to Avoid Bears While Hiking. By Charlotte Austin and Alex Robinson. Grizzly bears are way more dangerous and are located out west - like what you might find in the Rocky Mountains or Alaskan wilderness. Spraying takes some practice, so try it with an inert can. The Ultimate DIY Guide to Making Wild Game Jerky and Snack Sticks. Our bear spray uses the highest EPA-approved strength of capsaicinoids for maximum stopping power. Bear sprays included in this wiki include the guard alaska, mace brand, udap safety, counter assault, frontiersman maximum strength, and dragon fire … You should not carry it in your pack, but in a holster so it is at the ready. Spray when the bear is about 30 to 60 feet (9.1 to 18.3 m) away. Bears are normally curious, but are not easily deterred. Guard Alaska's Bear spray ultra hot pepper spray has proven so effective repelling bears, it is the only one registered with the EPA as a repellent for ALL SPECIES of bear! Bear spray, has a proven track record of effectiveness against bears, as well as many other large animals. The best deterrent is to keep your food and personal cleaning items locked up in a bear-proof safe, your car, or hanging up and out of the way. Hunting. When you are comparing an air horn with other methods of scaring away bears such as bear spray, you will find out that it has several additional benefits that make it much better. The Best Bear Spray to Keep You Safe. These bears are only mildly aggressive. In an ideal scenario, you’ll use your bear spray when the bear is still between 25-30 feet away, and have time to spray it for six seconds. Bear spray stopped black bears’ undesirable behavior 90% of the time, according to “Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska” (Smith et al., 2010). Also, before you go, find out if bear poles or metal lockers are installed in the backcountry sites where you’ll be camping, as that can affect your gear choices. Harvest fruit off trees as soon as it is ripe, and promptly collect fruit that falls. Never had to use the bear spray, not even when I got between a mother and her cubs. The best way to understand a bear spray’s range is to practice firing it before you need it. A great bear spray option is this Frontiersman bear spray with hip holster. On the other hand, bringing or using a firearm does not appear to do anything to improve your odds in a bear encounter. That being said, I personally carry both spray and a gun when in bear country. This bear spray is absolutely the most effective and powerful bear Guard defense spray available today. Bear-spray concentrations are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency and the spray canisters will always be labeled for use on bears. This isn't 100-percent proof that bears don't respond to bear bells; With more and more brands making bear spray, their use has only gotten easier – and more effective. The Top 7 Bear Sprays Nothing beats exploring the great outdoors. Bear spray is legal across the United States.It can be purchased even in Hawaii, New York, or Massachusetts, where standard pepper sprays are illegal unless bought locally by certified firearms dealers or pharmacists. According to a study in the Journal of Wildlife Management, an analysis of more than 80 bear encounters, including 70 bear encounters involving defensive use of bear spray in Alaska. Grizzly bears will not hesitate to make you their dinner. The differences are night and day. Practice in headwinds and crosswinds, as well as with the wind at your back. Homemade bear repellent spray offers a simple and affordable method of warding off bears during an encounter. Unlike grizzly bear mothers that account for 80% of the deaths from grizzly bears, black bear mothers rarely defend cubs against people. Before entering the woods, play with different mounting options for your spray and practice unholstering and removing the safety cap. Do not spray bear spray around property – when it dries, it can serve as an attractant. With the cloud or fog nature of bear spray the best method is to simply aim the can at the bear and spray; do not worry about any type of zig-zagging motion. I will assume you are looking for grizzly protection, since you didn't specify the bear and black bears are relatively shy. If a bear charges, pull the trigger on the spray as soon as the bear is within range. Latest. Of all persons carrying sprays, 98% were uninjured by bears in close-range encounters. And yet they snapped at attention the second he broke a pencil in half. Spray has been touted as the better alternative to guns for bear defense for years. Give the bear an escape route. The maximum spray time of UDAP Super Magnum is 7 seconds but when compared to Counter Assault it is 3 seconds shorter, but that is fine.. Regardless of how vigorously he shook, 15 different sets of bruins ignored the bells. Bear spray is your best defense against bears, black or brown. Hunting. Protect yourself and your family from bears with our highly effective Frontiersman Bear Spray. Also, bear spray doesn’t work like bug spray; you can’t spritz some of it on your backpack or tent and expect bears to keep their distance. Your bear was not acting in a predatory or defensive way. Do not feed deer or other wildlife – this will attract bears to your home. There are scent deterrents, radios (yes, bears hate talk shows), and electronic deterrents. All bear-inflicted injuries (n = 3) associated with defensive spraying involved brown bears and were relatively minor (i.e., no hospitalization required). In others, such as Yosemite, where only black bears live, bear spray is not permitted. Predatory black bear attacks are the most common fatal black bear attacks in North America. Recently I've been picking their blueberries, too, so I've made it a point to talk to them the whole time. In Canada, while legal for use against bears, bear spray is a prohibited weapon if intended to be used against humans. This latter scenario is more common with black bears although it has happened with grizzly (brown) bears and if the bear is not aggressively pushed back or sprayed with “bear spray” the bear has finally attacked and then consumed the person. But Herrero, who also authored a 2011 report that looked at more than 100 years worth of black bear-related human fatalities nationwide, suggests that predatory bears aren’t new. Red pepper spray stopped bears’ undesirable behavior 92% of the time when used on brown bears, 90% for black bears, and 100% for polar bears. 98 percent of humans carrying spray in the study were uninjured. However, it’s not all fun and games, which is why every hiker With a maximum shelf life of 3 years, you don't have to worry about expired bear spray anymore. Wildfire Pepper Spray—Strongest spray you can get! General Rules of What to Do. You can purchase bear repellent sprays at any sporting goods store, but they can be expensive. Heck, you already have a little keychain canister of pepper spray, so you're good to go, right? More Hunting . A charging grizzly bear is NOT the same thing as a mugger on a street corner, or even a charging pit bull. Guard Alaska Bear Spray is environmentally safe! It is not affected by wind. When you look for the best bear spray on amazon, definitely this product will stand high. Whether it’s a day hike, a camping trip, or an expedition across a great land, those experiences can provide some truly magical memories. But back to gentle black bears. You've heard that pepper spray is a good deterrent to bears, both black and grizzly. It’s Time to … Some say that using bear spray is a good way to repel a bear, so maybe you should keep bear spray with you in camp. We’ve compiled a list of the best bear sprays to help you keep wild animals away. Oct 23, 2020 - 3 Recommendations . Its 2.0% major capsaicinoid concentration makes it strong and effective than other bear sprays. If a bear breaks into your home, do not attempt to confront the bear. Regarding a firearm for bear defense. Policies; Sign in; Cart (0) Menu. WRONG ! I hike solo in black bear country and very, very rarely see them. FREE SHIPPING with $50 minimum purchase. Acting like neither a threat nor prey is the best response with black bears. Buy OC pepper spray by Mace, Wildfire & Pepper Shot for self defense against bears, dogs, & man with free shipping. It’s better to … The following are general rules of thumb. To use the spray, release the safety and press down on the nozzle. Carrying bear spray and knowing how to use it properly is the best deterrent against a bear attack, and can lessen the duration or seriousness of an attack that occurs. Nearly all close encounters with black bears involve bears seeking food. Spraying the bear spray towards the ground creates a column of spray that a bear will have to pass through to get to you. In some areas, even before you get to your first campsite, you may be lucky enough to spot a bear. This spray is the maximum strength allowed by the EPA and can reach a range of 30 feet and has a glow in the dark safety clip. (800) 595-6930. When you’re spending time in the great outdoors, make sure you’re taking all precautions to stay safe. Bear spray (it’s like an extreme pepper spray) can save you from fatal attacks during an unexpected bear encounter. Best Bear Spray. It is the spray that we always carry with us when out in bear country. Again, using spray is a far more effective way of improving your odds; a review of its use in Alaska found a 98% success rate, with no fatalities. You can even spray it in the bear's face if it gets close. As bear spray today has been widely adopted as a necessity for hunters and others venturing into bear habitat, the biggest challenge is getting people to know how to … Bear Defense Pepper Spray Beats a Firearm (Unless You Can Shoot) We should rethink the effectiveness of classic bear defenses. August 24, 2017. 92 percent of brown bears, 90 percent of black bears, and 100 percent of polar bears (only 2 incidents) were stopped or dissuaded by the spray. There is a huge difference between Grizzly (brown) bears and the Black bear. Hunting. When Lessons Learned in the Wild Find Their Way into Regular Life . Professional wildlife biologists who work in the field depend on bear spray and trust it as an effective tool to prevent injury to both people and bears. Get inspired gear, informed advice, 100s of brands – all backed by our Rocksolid Guarantee. Does not contain flammable or ozone depleting substances. This UDAP bear spray has been designed to spray a maximum of 35 feet. When they do, they are not nearly as ferocious as mother grizzly bears. Using bear spray when a bear charges Practice removing the safety cap before you have to use bear spray It also provides the greatest range of 35-feet (unlike our competitors' sprays, which is only 15 feet), so that you can stop the bear before it gets too close for comfort. Best response with black bears are relatively shy west - like what you might in! 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