anyone knows if it's ok to carry sword knife in the wilderness in Canada AB ?

[mete]

Gadunz, I didn't know you had bears in NZ !! LOL

In my neighborhood there are just black bears. There's one who's been raiding garbage cans in town , said to be about 400lbs !

 

[gadunz]

I'm torn as to whether dogs would repel or attract predators. My luck, the dog would go out and find a bear, pester it, and bring it back to me on the run.

Hunting line Airedale + scared bear = good luck.
Any dog + nasty grizz = dead dog, apparently.

Gadunz, I didn't know you had bears in NZ !! LOL

Boars not bears.
[video=youtube;Wyc2YvfbWzA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyc2YvfbWzA[/video]

 

[BladeScout]

Do you like breathing?

This.

Best of luck using any kind of blade against a huge bear running at a full clip at you intent of having you for dinner.

Having an idea behind a computer screen is one thing but facing a bear with a blade another

Blue sky notions and the real world dont mix.

I got two words for you: Timothy Treadwell.

 

[16VGTIDave]

My neighbor tells a story of an old timer from Northern Ontario, who in his youth worked as a hunter for a logging camp. This guy would get in a canoe at dawn and paddle up the lake to get well above the cut line. He always had a rifle, knife, and axe with him. Every time he got out of the canoe, he grabbed his axe. The rifle stayed in the canoe until it was pulled ashore. Getting in and out of a canoe is when one is most likely to tip it. His theory (not mine, don't get angry with me!) was that the rifle wasn't as useful as an axe. A rifle can shoot, until you are out of ammunition. An axe can process fire wood, build a shelter, assist in gathering food by making traps, and be used in self defense. As the story goes, he startled a bear one time when coming ashore. He was able to dispatch the bear with the axe. The logging camp reportedly ate bear for the next 3 days.

Nobody would question an axe in the bush. An axe is more useful than a sword. It would be a lot less work to sharpen an axe than a sword, and have greater reach than a knife. Assuming one wasn't able to avoid a confrontation to begin with...

 

[gadgetgeek]

makes good sense to me. If you were to hand me one or the other, I'll take the ax most times.

 

[leghog]

Bear spray and make noise so they know you are coming. By make noise I mean clap, sing, talk real loud. Any NOISE that will carry.

DO NOT use a bear bell because they are known as dinner bells. Yellowstone and Glacier park rangers all said the same thing that they have been proven to not be heard in the forest. I don't know how many times I was surprised while hiking by someone coming around a bend in the trail wearing dinner bells. I couldn't hear them 10 feet in front of me or behind.

Bears are also quiet so don't expect to hear them coming. Been around grizzlies (from a distance), brown and black bears and can't remember ever having heard a foot step or the brush as they moved through it. Spooky how something so large can move so softly.

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My son and I travel the same places in the same forests in VA and WV. Last year alone he saw 24 bears. I saw none, only bear scat. My pack wears a bell. His does not. Though anecdotal, it's good enough for me.

 

[darsk20]

My son and I travel the same places in the same forests in VA and WV. Last year alone he saw 24 bears. I saw none, only bear scat. My pack wears a bell. His does not. Though anecdotal, it's good enough for me.

Sounds good to me. If it works for you do it.

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[NvG79]

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[Cobalt]

Grizzly bears are cute. This last year, I missed a Grizzly in yellowstone running down and killing a buffalo by a day. My buddy saw it all the day before I got there. In this day of phone cameras I cannot believe he did not video tape it, but he said the rangers were moving everyone away since the kill was close to the road and the bear was mock charging the crowd after the kill.

They look so peaceful when tranquilized.

 

[gadunz]

Bear kills bison (calf)
[video=youtube;1nbHIfNcsWo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nbHIfNcsWo[/video]

Throw tapeworms at it

 

[hank_rearden]

[deleted. kaargh...]

 

[A.L.]

Wow, brown bears look like teddy bears in comparison. x_x

 

[kamlooper]

You validated my point if you used said sword knife (blade) for self defence, it would make it a weapon (which would make it illegal for him to carry). Yes, lethal force for self defence is not illegal in given circumstance. We all have the god given right to protect ourselves. The article you quoted has to do with instances where you have no options to retreat. Protecting your life in your home or inside a building (business), you can use 'as much force as necessary' to protect your life and the lives of others. But out while hiking this does not apply, an individual (may) have many options to escape or retreat. You are 100% correct that it comes down to the decision of the court in the end. I'm sure we'd all rather be alive to see that ruling, then the alternative.

In the OP's case, a knife/sword is still not a good option. If an animal gets within 5 feet of you with the intent to eat you, you're going to get hurt in some way, shape, or form. Another option would be a flair gun bear banger. No firearms licence required, and a great signal if you get lost

Anybody know if fireworks have been used successfully to repel an attack? package of black cats?

Unfortunately, Flare guns and Fireworks have a nasty habit of creating brush fires. Definitely a problem below the tree line! .... toast with that??

 

[22-rimfire]

My son and I travel the same places in the same forests in VA and WV. Last year alone he saw 24 bears. I saw none, only bear scat. My pack wears a bell. His does not. Though anecdotal, it's good enough for me.

No bells for me. Black bears are pretty common in parts of WV. I spent about a month there in the woods and saw at least 25 bears. Don't really remember as I saw so many that I stopped counting. Saw as many as 10 in one day. I don't particularly worry about black bears but one that false charged me was in WV. I don't think it liked me taking pictures of it. Camera shy I guess.

It got within about 7-8 yds of me after being at about 50 yds. It got my attention.

 

[mete]

There used to be a huge grizzly in a small zoo in northern NJ .The biggest in captivity - 2000 pounds !

If we see grizzly bear with a knife we will know who it belongs to !!

 

[Calebklyne]

You really don't need to worry about bears, especially if you are just hiking. Carry bear spray and keep your head up. If you are in the eastern slopes area and run into a bear yell "yo bear" as loud as you can and watch the thing run. Fish and game make their rounds in the spring shooting most of the bears with rubber balls and have trained the bear dogs to chase when they hear "yo bear"

 

[Brad "the butcher"]

Those are Sharpfingers, not sword knives.

I'll third bear spray. And checking bear activity with the wildlife authorities for the area you intend to roam. I'm torn as to whether dogs would repel or attract predators. My luck, the dog would go out and find a bear, pester it, and bring it back to me on the run.

I met an old grizzled prospector trapper 25 yrs ago backpacking up north and he was pragmatic to the point of being coldhearted..
He adopts a young med size terrier cross mutt and trains it to always come to him and jump in his arms....he said twice he had to throw the dog at an agressively grizzly/brown and make a run for it....says the smaller dogs are more alert and easier to feed. Calls them his beardogs.....could never have brought myself to do that to my old lab!! I met his dog too......poor little guy....he did treat him well though....until he doesn't

 

[Grease]

Plenty of proper bear spray or gun suggestions. My only advice if you're dead set on a blade, is to carry one that has a hollow handle that'll fit over the end of your walking stick. Some spearheads make passably decent machetes or large knives, so you could conceivably get away with carrying one sheathed on your hip with the handle as your staff.

Fighting a bear with a knife will just feed the bear some nice tasty manflesh. Fighting it with a spear might be survivable. Still a terrifying option, but at least you can poke it once or twice before it crushes you.

 

[jaseman]

Another vote for bear spray, a proper firearm, or a dog.

Here in western PA, black bears are very common, especially if hiking in the Laural Highlands area (but they've even been spotted in many of the suburbs around Pittsburgh). We flush 3 or 4 a year when out hiking and camping - or more appropriately, the dog does. Generally, bears want nothing to do with us, but some have gotten pretty used to humans, and are less skittish. I wouldn't want to take on a black bear with a blade of any sort, let alone a brown bear (which we luckily don't have). Distance is key when defending yourself against any animal. Good bear spray will give you more distance than a large knife, and a firearm will give you more distance than spray. And a good dog will flush them, and hopefully make them want to move away from you - they'd rather be left alone than deal with you most times.

I'd say, if you are able to jump through the legal hoops, get a firearm in a proper caliber to defend against a bear. You may not like them at first, but out in the woods, it's just another tool, not a weapon. I carry .40, .45, or .357 in the woods, depending on where/when we're hiking. For brown bear though, I'd recommend .44 mag as a minimum in a handgun, but something like a .454 cassal would be better. In a rifle, I'd say either a lever action carbine in .44 mag, 30/30, or 45/70 or an 18" shotgun with a slug barrel. But not sure how feasible it is to legally carry a firearm in Canada.

 

[Danke42]

Be careful with dogs. Dogs tend to flush the bear and then run back and lead the bear to their owner.

Don't blame the dog; it's just following it's instinct to get dinner to the five yard line where the humans can finish the job.

A lot of people aren't expecting that.