hey guys have a read on a book called Bear Attacks 2 Myth and Reality---by: James Gary Shelton. Its a real great book explaining bear attacks and how to protect yourself. He explains that black bears will be predatory and stalk you without you knowing it. The line that bears are more afraid of you than you are of them is a myth. I have had a few encounters were bears were certainly not frightened of me at all from yelling and firing warning shots over them. Why would you want to put yourself in that situation. With all of my encounters i was never even hunting bears just walking in the woods hutning deer and just hiking. It's not that much trouble to carry along a can of mace just to be on the safe side because you never know what might happen out there.