For a different kind of self-defense

[REM223PA]

i think we have to look at the person that will be shooting the hand gun , big is not always better
1,will he know or spend the time to learn how to use it
a inaccurate gun is no help
2, how meny lb. will it add to his pack
3, will it help if he cant get to it in time if he got to hide it .
and will he know when realy to use it, not on a bluff charge
maybe he should learn about bears

and if it was me i would carry bear spray or pepper spray, walk with something makeing noise or keep talking somthing so thay know you are there

and not put my self in a bad spot

thay are not out to eat you. ( i hope)

[Bobcat]

Good points, Big George......

You may want to look at this. It is from a thread in the Campfire forum.......no spray for me.....I will have my rifle or handgun working.....

Russian bear expert found dead in woods
Evidence suggests apparent mauling
By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times, 1/1/2004

MOSCOW -- Vitaly Nikolayenko, one of Russia's best-known bear researchers and a man who spent 25 years living with the enormous brown bears of the wild Kamchatka peninsula, has been found dead in an apparent bear mauling, authorities said Tuesday.

The body of Nikolayenko, 66, whose lonely journeys allowed him to compile one of the most exhaustive documentaries on the giant, 9-foot cousins of the North American grizzly, was found at a lake near his remote one-room hut on the Tikhaya River. The 6 1/2-inch pawprint of a medium-sized male bear was found next to his body, along with an empty can of pepper spray with which Nikolayenko had apparently tried to defend himself.