hiking staff / bear deterrent

The lastest stuff I have read on bears is that if they are defending their cubs you play dead if not you fight back.

If you fight back and they are defending cubs they will fight to the death (Grizz or Black) so playing dead is effective. If a Grizz actually attacks you, not a bluff charge then it is planning to eat you.

"Though truthfully, I'd rather go down swinging either way than going fetal and being an easy meal"

+1

Them bears got to learn some time that there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Well, in support of your idea, I think I read a few years ago about a guy killing an attacking black bear with a large branch/log that he picked up during the fight. I think he clubbed the bear to death.

…

Wow, what a weird story. I've never heard of a bear acting like that.

I am not sure that I would wish to hike with a staff with a really sharp knife on the end of it. Typically when I am worried about bear, I carry bear spray and/or .357 but doubt that I will ever need to use them.

I am not sure that I believe that a bear will defend a cub at all costs. I have had a LARGE black bear in my yard with cub this year. I have no problem scaring them away.

I have read a bunch of books about people attacked by bears. The consensus of people that have survived is fight a black and play dead for a brown.

I say fight…

I plan to train a bigger bear to hike with me. The bigger bear will defend me from lesser bears. I'll need a much larger tarp, and the bear will have to hike in its own food. Who knows, maybe I can saddle train it. To look cool riding my bear I will need a UL loin cloth and one of the OPs spears.

On a serious note, I think the spear may only help if you can get in to a pike stance when a bear is charging. The bear will still likely just knock it out of your hand anyway. As other's have posted, I think that thing will serve as better people deterrent then a large carnivore defense strategy.

I don't know how I will react when a large beastie charges me. Likely something in the range curling up in a ball and wetting my hiking shorts, or some kind of directionless running. Then again, I usually don't solo hike, so I have safety in numbers working for me.

"Wow, what a weird story. I've never heard of a bear acting like that."

Not that weird, really. It was simply a bear in predatory mode. Fortunately, there were enough people around to rescue the prey.

This is behavior is not common, but does happen somewhere in North America every year or so. It's more common in Canada, for some reason, than in the States. Again, not usual behavior, but certainly in the broad spectrum of normal behavior – thus the advice to fight if a black bear attacks.

FWIW, if you read the reports, it's surprising how often the predatory bear is killed (if the bear is killed) by the victim or helper using a knife – much more frequently than with a gun! (Haven't read of one being killed with a knife on the end of a stick, though!)

Wow Ken,
You must work out a lot. Is that a Ti Goat tent pole poking out from behind your back? Interesting strap system on your pack. Also since you are riding on a giant cat, and not walking, I guess you can wear those UGG boots. Good idea dying your giant jungle cat green and orange to ward off preditors, plus it's Hi-Viz so you won't loose him.

Use as a staff, food collector, bushwacker, and bear killer!

Wouldn't a decently loud bell on the end of the staff be the best bear deterrent? As bears generally like to avoid contact with people and alerting them to your presence with an approaching noise would minimize times you would surprise or encounter a hostile bear?

I think a pre-emptive approach would be smarter than a defensive attitude. I know I certainly wouldn't want to catch myself in between a mother and her cub. Regardless of the protection I carried with me!

I agree with your preemptive thinking – it's worked for me, so far, while on the move. Of course, with many things, it's just a matter of time.

When I'm with a group, I'd like to think that our conversation(s), laughing and singing is enough to alert bears on/near the trail. If it gets quiet, or I see 'more' fresh bear sign than usual, I bang my poles together a time or two every once in a while.

I have a bear bell proper, with the little magnet and sack thing…but I haven't been able to pack it. It just sounds too bell-like and heavy. ;)
If you're going to try it, you might find that a pack of bells at a craft store is cheaper (I don't know) and, you'll get a few of them, if you want to pass the extras along to family (kids?) or friends.

recall years ago reading of a person who was attacked by bear and killed the bear by shoving his fist into the bears throat (accidentally most likely), the bear suffocated

I like to listen to Canadian Broadcasting radio when I'm hiking in the Olympics.

I heard two grizzly stories – interior of B.C.

In one case, the grizzly attacked, the person punched the grizzly in the nose, and it ran away

In another case the person was held by the grizzly's mouth, the person pried at it's nose, the grizzly let go long enough for the person to escape into their house

Craig, that's my favorite commercial. When ever I know I'm going into bad bear country by myself, wheather backpacking or hunting, I always take Black Betty and her 9 death wh*re sister's, and one in the chamber for good luck. All kidding aside, I have never had a bad experience yet, and I've seen plenty of black bears in the Sierra Mountains hiking. On one hike, on the Rae Lake Loop trail with my son, we saw at least 6 bears in 4 days, and all were on the trail, or just a few feet away, 2 had cubs,. My son would ask, what do we do now? my answer was, what ever the bear wants, I'm not going to pi$$ it off. I found most of the bears I've seen are fine, as long as you let them know you're there and give them space, oh yeah, it helps if they have a good food supply that year, so they don't look at you as a traveling resturant.

You could always make/get a shakujo staff, the rings make noise to alert animals:

Shakujo (in Spanish)