Bear bangers

[AK Granola]

After reading the trip report by  Emylene VanderVelden about Mount Assiniboine, I wanted to explore this topic a bit more, and get some thoughts from those of you who hike in bear country. Before I read that trip report, I had never heard of bear bangers. Are these commonly used in Canada or also in the lower 48? I don’t know anyone who uses them up here in Alaska, but lots of folks here do carry guns; most backpackers carry pepper spray. A few non resident hikers I’ve known have brought foghorns or flares for Alaskan backpack trips.

How effective are these bangers? I assume their purpose is to ward off an actual attack, and not to simply make the bear aware of your presence, or you’d have to be firing them every few minutes as you hike into valleys, around hills or streams, etc.  Are they superior to pepper spray? I’m not sure some of the predatory attacks I’ve read about in Alaska would have been at all deterred by a loud noise. There aren’t that many predatory attacks anyway.

I’m just curious, but I probably won’t change what I do, which is just carrying spray and singing while I hike. Anything more just seems too heavy to lug along. I’m sure if I had been mauled I’d probably be a firearm devotee, but so far so good. I might consider a firearm in some places in Alaska, such as the north slope. I love to see bears, from a distance. They add to the magic of this place I love so much. Again, I’d probably feel differently if I regularly saw the number of bears on a hike as Emylene saw, not judging at all, just considering people’s views on hiking in bear country.

[David Thomas]

“but I probably won’t change what I do, which is just carrying spray and singing while I hike. “

Don’t change what you’re doing.

Dr. Stephen Herrero and his co-authors have researched and studied all the bear attacks (all three species) in North America of the last century.  They’ve published scholarly articles and popular books on it.  Short answer: pepper spray is better than a gun for the humans (and WAY better for the bear, duh).  It’s also much lighter, takes less skill, and can’t be fatal to you in an accident or if used against you.  And people are far less likely to rob you of your $30 spray than your $500-$1000 gun (it happens sometimes – they draw first and what are you going to do?  It was sitting in plain view in a way that you wouldn’t pin ten $100 bills to your jacket).

I’ve read accounts of bangers and of flares being used, but it’s still so uncommon, I can’t imagine there being enough data to form any objective conclusions.  Anecdotal data is always suspect, but in this arena more than most.  All kinds of reporting biases are inherent and people internally justify whatever action they took as the best/only one that would have worked.

(I’m in Kenai, and while I travel all over the state, mostly I hike on the Kenai Peninsula).

[Bruce Tolley]

+1 to what David said.  Herrero’s book is amazing by the way. If you travel in bear country, Buy it. Read it.

[John S.]

Sounds dangerous.

[Buck Nelson]

I think they would likely be most effective when they are least needed.

I’ve shot over the heads of aggressive bears with a rifle a few times. Sometimes it works, sometimes they seem to ignore it.

Pepper spray seems to be a much better bet than bear bangers.

[Author]

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