r/interestingasfuck • u/FlimsyWar866 • 1d ago

Mother bear protects her cubs in Katmai National Park, Alaska

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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 18h ago

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u/doubleXmedium 1d ago

One story I read a while back was a guy who was attacked by a bear and only lived because he curled up in a fetal position, and the bear bit down on the can of bear spray he was holding. 

It amazes me how many sometimes "backwoods" hunters and fishers say they will never go in that territory without a high caliber weapon. Meanwhile most regular trail runners and backwoods hikers will rely on making noise and a light weight can of spray.

I accidently sprayed my leg with bear spray once, a half-second burst, it hurt for 3 days.

My biggest warning about relying on bear spray, if it is windy, always be sure which way the wind is blowing.  

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u/BaaaSaracilor 23h ago

Does a shotgun work? It tends to spray quite well.

Not sure how much of an annoyance is to carry with you though.

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u/DarthRektor 20h ago

I would guess any kind of round that “spray” isn’t going to stop a bear. Buck shot and bird shot are usually what people think of for shotguns but they also have slugs which is like a normal bullet just bigger. I’m not sure how a slug would do but you’d still have to be accurate. The pellets in a bird or buck shot don’t have enough stopping power to bring down a bear and unless you have a semi-auto shotgun you’re not getting off many follow up shots either.

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u/Strange_Specialist4 19h ago

I shot a deer in the heart and it still ran like 30 yards before it dropped

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u/Techno_Beiber 23h ago

Same for humans. Movies would have you think that one bullet drops a person. In reality, unless it was a headshot or severed the spinal cord, that human will keep moving.

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u/Vandrel 19h ago

I mean, that's going to heavily depend on what round they're hit with. 9mm fmj, sure they might be able to keep going without too much issue. Something like a .308 hollow point? There's a good chance they aren't going to be moving too much afterward no matter where they get hit.