Bear Defense.
The Sandia Mountains. With an altitude reaching over 10,000 feet (10,678ft) it is a truly magnificent sight to take in, below and from above. The mountain is usually always at a cool 74 degrees with thin cold air. In the winter the temperatures drops dramatically far below zero, especially with wind-chill at peak altitudes. Because this is a desert area, the mountains terrain is a mix of rocky canyons and cliffs with a mix of greenery and forest. Caves and clearings pocket all sides of the mountain, making this an ideal home for animals like Squirrel, Skunk, Rabbit, Deer, Elk, and even Mountain Lions to just name a few. These are just the small guys. They are nothing compared to the Black and Brown Bear.
The North American Brown Bear, or Grizzly Bear to most. Named because of its "grizzled" grey hairs in its fur. These guys can weigh up to 440-790 lbs. Depending on whether its male or female. The male being the bigger and the female being the smaller one. Armed with massive sharp claws and strength of a giant, these animals can kill almost anything in the Northern American land. Able to also run at fast speeds and climb to high areas in trees, a mere human being is no match for such a powerful creature.
So what do you do if you find yourself staring down one of these awesome creatures? Play dead? Sure, and give it a safe and easy passage to your soft chewy meat. Honestly, you probably don?t want to do this. I've read countless stories where some people did just that and played dead only to be eaten alive. Sorry, but not me. I'm not going to be ingested by anything but the earth when my time comes.
So what can you do? Many folks think that if you present yourself up high with arms raised and make growling noises, that you can scare off the bear. Maybe, but if I was a bear, I would just think to myself, ?bring it!.? So perhaps this is not the best deterrent, but it is a step up from just playing dead. There are some accounts where the bear or bears actually turned and walked away. But seriously, its not good enough in my book. But then again, when are you actually going to be prepared the day one does come after you.
Based of common knowledge from animals, I've learned that loud noises and bright flashes of light often can scare any animal or paralyze one into place. These techniques can be used all at the same time to have better and faster effects on an animal. (Warning, this does not work on big cats, when threatened or hurt in any way, they will come at you kamikaze status) Suprisingly the old pennies in a tin can trick works. I've seen it used on dogs, raccoons, and small black bears. The loud cacophony of noise completely freaks them out and sends them running. If you happen to have a road flare, it alone will scare off most animals you may encounter. If it doesn?t, which I doubt, you at least now have a fire weapon that can burn the skin and fur off of almost anything.
What if all you have is a trusty firearm? First of all, bravo, you are smarter than most. I NEVER EVER EVER go off into the wilderness without a firearm of some type. If I have pants on, even in my own home, I am packing heat. Because lets face it guys, shit happens!
So you have some heat on you and all of the sudden.... Rawr! Bear! What do you do? Do you freeze up and wait for the bear's move? Maybe, but not likely. Do you think back on all those articles you read on what round and grain load can succesfully kill a bear? Especially when you are looking at that little .22 pistol in your hands, (Or whatever.) No. You react with an explosion of force. You breath and assess the situation. Your hand should already be grabbing hilt. You breath again, aim, and fire half of your magazine or cyllinder. You assess quickly again determining if more force is needed and react again. Seems like a lot, but all this can be done within seconds of making those first shots. Accuracy and being familiar with your weapon goes along way as well. You might be thinking, ? a .22?? Yes, it happens. Seriously, a bullet is still a bullet, it has precision and speed, if you place your shots well, you can most likely kill a bear. You just need to know where to shoot to kill or incapacitate.
The face of any creature is always going to be a great place to hit. Another would be the neck and throat. A well place shot or shots will stop this beast of power. Even if you are armed with a .22 or .38, you are going to do damage. Now don?t think the bear will just present itself in a perfect pose for a shot, hell no. He,(or she) is going to charge you and try to not give you the time you need. Expect this. So you should practice drawing your weapon as much as possible learning it through and through. If your firearm shoots slightly this way at this many yards or feet, then you are going to want know that and know what you need to do to compensate. It is important that you keep as calm as possible while reacting, it may save your life.
Most importantly, you need to have confidence in yourself and your weapon skills. With this, you'd be surprised what you can do. Also if you want some reassurance when it comes to protection, don?t cheap out on it, do it the right way the first time. Anything from a .357 Mag to .44 Mag. It will do you good.
