Monanahunter, very well said, for a young man you talk the most sense and wish all nonresidents would read and take heed to the the BEAR FACTS as you have stated. I have had black bear encounters face to face, at the same time we look at each other and luckily the bear has always ran off, but a bear is like that of a dog, each is different, some good, some bad, people are the same, each scenerio is different, but when in bear country, the law of average WILL catch up, and you had better be prepared, as you stated, I highly recommend bear spray, and as for my pistol, I do carry it at times, but its more for my own confidence, because your not going to have a chance to react, its in on you lightning fast. Take care neighbor, Bobby

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GleninAZ, sometime when we keep doing something we have a tendency to let our guard down, I know I do at times. Their is a lot of diference between a brown bear feeding on salmon and approaching him close, as oppose to a Griz encounter in the mountains, especially if you see each other at the same time. It happens at lightning speed. Last I year surprised a black bear sow and two cubs as we saw each other at the same time (20 yds), I like to consider myself as somewhat of a skilled woods man, but I couldn' t move, I couldn' t even yell, but I did have my pepper sray and pistol on me as the sow snatched the cubs and ran off. (I do believe in God.) Every situation is different and I highly suggest in being prepared.
AKhunter, I carry the pepper spray and sometimes a pistol, and the first thing I am grabing is the spray if I get into that situation, I have seen extensive test on sprays in dealing with bears. Does it always work? No. But, in most cases, yes it will. If your going into their environment, than be prepared and smart, you don' t have to be paranoid.
That statement about the 22 and 458, was that a typo???

Be safe folks

I have been on many, many hunting, fishing and camping trips here in AK and have never been confronted by a bear, but there is always a first. When I do anything up here, I carry nothing but my 12 gauge or .375 H&H magnum. I feel a heck of a lot safer with those two, than my .30-06.

I have flow out to the mountains for caribou for a few years now and I have always carried that .375 as long as I' ve owned it. It shoots caribou just fine and seems to do less damage than the .30-06. If you look at the factory ballistics, they are very comparable. I would take the .350 or make sure my partner has a bigger gun.

I' m headed to sheep country this year and plan on taking my .270, but the deal is, my partner will have a .338. We will probably see grizzly' s.

Big Country, the guy who you loaded the bullets for wasn' t that guy who wrote " One Man, One Rifle, One Land" . I think Jones is his name?

If you can' t shoot the 350 it' s not going to do you any good anyway, if you feel comfortable shooting it carry it, if not shoot the 270. you are going on a caribou hunt not the griz. hunt. If your outfitter really thought that you were going to be attacked then he would advise you to bring a bigger gun, he has a business to run and can' t afford for his clients to be eaten by ole GRIZ every time they are there.
Anything can happen but you need to concentrate on the goal at hand HUNTING CARIBOU. Use caution when dealing with your meat and have fun, thats what this is all about isn' t it?

121-You are for sure right about the fat salmon soaked browns in the summer. The last thing they want is to stop feeding to chase a fat old fisherman. I just think lot of people put way too much worry into being prepared for the ultimat encounter when 90% of the real stories you hear the bear has his way with the people anyway. Lions eat on people every year yet we sneak right by them in the dark for elk and carry only a bow. The lion is watching and he choses not to get you. I guess I' m a little fatalistic but I think if your time is up it' s up so enjoy all and don' t worry. Maybe bears like the taste of pepper on their meat.

I live in griz country and have had many discusions about what to do if you encounter a griz. First dont make eye contact and speak to it in a calm low voice to make sure it knows your a human. Stand your ground DONT RUN! The whole time getting your peper spray ready to shoot from the hip. I would if the wind is right let off a small blast to scare it. I always carry a side arm 454 casul in case the bear is on top of me. The bear spray is always my first defense because if you shoot a griz any where other than the head he is going to be even more pissed . If you realy want to take a big bore take a 12 gage pump its got more Knock down than most rifles and you can get more shots off fast. Most attacks happen because the people are just be boping along and not paying attenton to their surrondings, and startle the bear at less than 40 yards which they can cover fast ! No time to get the cross hairs on a bobing head and take a chance of wounding it. Even if the wind is wrong close your eyes and spray. some will get him. and blind and hurt it .
Make sure you get a fresh can that has the highest percentage of capcium, UDAP is the best 10 or 15%
REMEMBER BE AWARE IN BEAR COUNTRY! and dont get parinoid, have fun.

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Good luck on your hunt!

And remember.....Pictures are mandatory!