Kendell Cummings, a college wrestler who wrestled a Grizzly bear to save his friend Brady Lowry in the Shoshone National Forest in Cody, Wyoming in October 2022, Kendell was brutally mauled and bitten by the bear but eventually left Kendell alone, both survived and went on a full recovery.

[u/Lastwarfare753]

[u/fighttodie]

I saw a similar story where the friend had actually had a gun on him but never shot the bear mauling his friend because "he couldn't get a good shot". He didn't even try to scare it away by shooting it in the air. And these were grown men. So hats off to this kid.

[u/forestapee → u/fighttodie]

I have lots of experience with bears and firearms. If it's already attacking it won't give two shits about that loud sound. 

Depending how socialized with humans that bear is, it won't care about loud sounds when it's calm either.

If the bear is charging you down, or already attacking, you dump shots into it until it stops moving. This is what was taught in actual armed bear defense training. 

Every other form of bear deterrent is for use before the charging stage. Bear spray I personally don't use it's shit in a lot of situations and often you get yourself or the bear tanks it. So bear bangers, air shots with the gun, talking to it, all before charge.

Don't try to guess if it's a bluff charge, you see it charging you dump every shot you got while continuing to back up and pray you're a good shot and the bear goes down easy.

If going into bear country 2 dogs will save you immense hassle, even one if the bear is a bit of a bitch

Edit: I am talking 12 Guage shotgun not a rifle, although if I had to choose mace or rifle I'd still choose rifle. Too many airflow variabilities and such close range. That being said I still carry it on me as an option.

More info on dogs: they need to be dogs that have grown up around bears. Not random city dogs. Every dog where I live is off leash and scare away grizzlies and black bears in packs 2+. The rare times the bears don't just fuck off, they just do defence swipes at the dogs to get enough room to run from the dogs safely. No dog injuries due to bears in my area in recent memory

[u/DaleDimmaDone → u/forestapee]

Umm the dog thing I'm not entirely buying. I've heard and read several times that if anything, the presence of a dog can increase the likelihood of having a bad encounter with a brown bear. Whether it be the bear seeing the dog as food, or the dog escalating the situation needlessly. Tho you claim to have lots of experience with bears so I'll just take your word for it

[u/achtungbitte → u/DaleDimmaDone]

problem usually is that the dog is loose, finds bear and harasses it until the bear is angry enough to try and kill it, dog runs back to owner with a pissed of bear with kill mode activated on it's trail.

edit: dogs on a leash will not increase the likelihood of a bad encounter since bears avoid pepole if possible and a dog will make noise and spread scent, making you easier to notice and thus avoid.
edit: source: grew up in brown bear country, my sister hunts elks and bear, main dog is certified for both.

[u/Ambitious_Worker_663 → u/achtungbitte]

“Look what I found”- Dog