Bear Attack Victim: I wish I had a gun

[Double Naught Spy]

While we have raging debates of Pepper Spray vs Guns on these forums, the sad truth is that a lot of folks mauled carry neither and exhibit cavalier attitudes prior to the attack.

And that brings us full circle back to the aunt, nieces, and dog you opened the thread with. She had that attitude as well and that was more of her problem than anything else. Her dog was not on a leash and while dogs are great for helping with moutain lions, they can really antagonizing for bears. She had two youngsters with her, but they didn't have pepper spray. Why? The 13 year old certianly should have had some, but did not. The 9 year old could have had as well. Okay, the aunt had her bear spray and managed to get it out and made one spray, but then she then she dropped it. Weapons do no good when you don't have them with you.

Oh sure, she had time to fish around in her pack for mac n cheese to throw at the bear and she had time to fish the bug spray from the dog's pack, but no time to get the bear spray she dropped.

This guy probably wished he had a gun as well. No doubt he would still have been calling 911 from 30 feet up in a tree and bleeding badly at the time if he would have had a gun because he didn't have time to use his bear spray and so he would not have had time to use a gun. Of course, his bear spray was in his backpack and he could not get to it and he lost his pack in the process. However, since he had his phone in his pocket on his person, he was able to call for help.

This first article notes that bear spray was no help. Of course not. If you don't use it, it can't be any help.
http://article.wn.com/view/2012/06/11/Bear_mauls_hiker_in_Alaska_Bear_spray_no_help/
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-06-13/news/32220172_1_beth-ipsen-cub-anchorage-resident
Initial 911 calls...
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/06/alaska-hiker-mauled-by-brown-bear/

What is interesting is that he was alone on the trail, said he was calling out to let bears know he was there, but said they probably could not hear him because of the rushing of the water...which means he could not hear them. He rounded a cornder and surprised a cub...and then momma responded to the threat.

Ironically, the backpack protected him more than his ski poles or his bear spray, but only because it was extra layers of protection.

You are right. Cavalier attitudes are what get people into trouble. Beyond that, weapons you no longer have will never help you on their own. I know that sounds ironic, but once you drop or otherwise lose your weapon, whatever advantage it might have offered you ceases to exist. Or if like Steve Stevenson and you are helping a buddy track down a wounded bear both of you misidentified and then don't use your own gun to defend yourself when you attract its attention from your buddy and it protects itself from you, it doesn't do you any good. It does less good when your buddy, Ty Bell, who landed the original poor shot on the mistakenly identified bear then kills you while shooting the bear that is defending itself from attackers.

I think you are hitting on a major point here that is often common amongst the animal attack threads you post - cavalier attitudes before the events. Far too many people are unprepared before the events occur, find themselves in an event and react poorly, and in many cases the events turn out poorly because of the cascade of problems that occurred that really all started via their cavalier attitudes.

 

[Alaska444]

Dear DNS,

I most certainly agree with your last paragraph, but the lady DID have pepper spray as her protection device which is way ahead of many bear attack stories you here about. It simply didn't work. She at least had it and had the wits to do whatever she had to do to save her life and the kids. In the end if we look at outcomes, she did good and could have done better if she had a gun. I suspect the gun is going to be the first thing she takes in the future.

Going into bear country without any preparation is not only foolish, it is dangerous.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

But just having the weapon with you is not enough. Having the weapon and not having access to it, not using it, losing it, not getting it back, etc., you can't claim the lady would have done any better losing her gun than she did losing her pepper spray. Lots of people use guns or fail to use guns properly with poor results. As noted early in the thread, there are lots of folks injured and killed by bears shot or shot at just once just like the aunt's initial use of the pepper spray. As you claimed the studies were invalid saying pepperspray worked so well, you failed to cite the studies supporting your view that guns work better. Guns might work better, or not, but you failed to ever provide the data, so you can't say she would have been better off any more than you can say Steve Stevenson was better off.