Wishing She Had a Gun

An English Professor takes does some hiking in Alaska, and gets into a dangerous encounter with a grizzly:

“All I could think about was this bear is so close to me I can see its teeth. I could have kissed it. I wished I had a gun.”

Some bear spray would be a prudent addition to her kit as well.

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14 thoughts on “Wishing She Had a Gun”

  2. – – – she wished she had a gun means she didn’t need it – had she had it a bear in its own home would have died !!

    1. The outdoors belongs to peope, too. I don’t remember anyone drawing a line and saying “This is your side.”

  3. She had bear spray, and used it, but the bear continued. She dropped the spray after the first use though.

  4. By all means people should be allowed to carry, but most bear “attacks” don’t really put them in danger. Grizzlies in particular charge frequently as a dominance battle with people they mistake for other bears. Sure, real and sometimes fatal attacks do occur, but not very often, and it shouldn’t give people the feeling that they’re in real danger every time a bear growls at them or even rushes them. Don’t shoot too quick and DON’T PANIC. I’ve been charged by a lot of bears, including polar bears (which are a lot more likely to attack than other species), but I’ve never had to put one down. As Fiftycal says, put on some bells.

    1. Sure, real and sometimes fatal attacks do occur, but not very often, and it shouldn’t give people the feeling that they’re in real danger every time a bear growls at them or even rushes them.

      Yes, but, much like the human vermin we frequently discuss on this and other similar sites, how do you tell the difference before it’s too late?

      I wouldn’t stake my life on my ability to figure it out in time.

      1. Okay, I just read the article. If the bear is charging me, by the time it ends up only four feet away, I’m going to be shooting. If it’s only bluffing, well that’s too bad. Four feet away is far to close for me to be able to figure that out before I’m dead.

  5. Don’t PANIC are words I can control, my emotions on the other hand? When a 8 to 10 foot Grizzly is charging me, not panicking is not in my vocabulary. Maybe if I had a trained guide, with a huge rifle making me feel tougher, yes. But I know I wouldn’t be WISHING I had a gun. In America we can have guns, and if I wasn’t running away, I would only be standing firm to shoot my magazine empty. Bells and maybe an air horn for me. Like a ship in a fog, blow the air horn every 5 minutes.

    1. Hehehe. Bells, air horns, and of course, a fresh change of underwear.
      : )

  6. A bear charge, fake or not, is an Animalized Tueller Drill – the bear has *two* hand-fulls of knives, and then there’s the mouthfull of teeth – and jaws that can open car-doors and have a bite force of 1200 pounds per square inch. You’re dead even if you live.

  7. All I can remember is the joke I heard in Yellowstone when talking about Bear Safety and Bear Awareness

    How do you tell the difference between Black Bear and Grizzly Bear poop?

    Black Bear poop contains nuts and berries and smells like poop.
    Grizzly Bear poop contains bells and smells like pepper spray.

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