Bear Bangers

tenkara

tenkara

Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Messages
206
Get your minds out of the gutters, gents. Ladies too. I'm talking about the bear deterrent sold by Tru Flare here in the U.S.

I just received a few that we were going to test to possibly carry in our store. I gotta say... WOW. Those suckers are LOUD. They travel a good distance as well. Overall, we were pretty impressed with how much bang for the buck (sic) you get. It's very compact and lightweight as well as being reloadable (unlike cans of pepper spray) and you can buy reloads for fairly cheap. I just know that someone is going to make a comparison to some sort of firearm so let me go ahead and say that I am looking at less than lethal deterrents instead of deadly and heavy alternatives.

Has anyone ever used one of these on a bear?
 
I know that you said you are looking for a non-lethal option but I have to say that I believe you are making the wrong decision. A large caliber handgun (.44 Mag) will give you an additional 50 or so dB over the bear bangers so using it to scare the bear off is still an option. You can get Ruger Super Blackhawk for ~$500 and it weighs 45oz. In my opinion, that is money and weight well spent.

It also doubles as protection against two legged critters that you might run into.

I just think that it is a poor decision to bet your life on being able to scare the bear away. That is like trusting pepper spray to stop some homicidal maniac. That and the fact that making a loud noise is not likely to scare away a person intent on doing you harm (yes, they do still exist on hiking trails).
 
Guns aren't an option in Canadian parks. And only some provinces will issue permits to carry handguns in the wilderness, and it's my understanding that they dont issue many of them, and none at all in my province.
 
Ankar Sheng said:
Guns aren't an option in Canadian parks. And only some provinces will issue permits to carry handguns in the wilderness, and it's my understanding that they dont issue many of them, and none at all in my province.
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Exactly my point. Firearms laws for U.S. parks are not stable. They change from park to park and even within the same park at various times. It's tricky enough just with the bangers, pepper spray, or wasp spray!
 
I have heard tell of bear bangers backfiring...

As in, the person using them shot them too far, past the bear, causing the bear to move toward the person.

Just what I heard.

Marion
 
I have fired off over 17 (6 shells to a box) boxes of bear bangers over the years (mostly on my placer claims near the creeks and rivers). They work excellent when a shotgun is not available or is when firearms are prohibited (many provincial parks).

I have undershot and overshot bears with the bangers, not once have i ever had a bear charge me as a result of an overshoot. The sudden bang of launching, then the extremely loud detonation scares them off regardless of where it detonates (behind them, over them, beside them, in front of them. Overhead detonation works best, but not as good as if you get your distance right and get them right in the face.

if you can fire off two (using two launchers at a time), one after the other, you can target the bear with the first one, then aim the second one at his rump a second later. (doubletap :D ). scares the poop out of them.

I'm currently protoyping a carrier that will hold three pen launchers in a triangular pattern, so you can load three rounds and fire them off one after the other, or all at once.
 
RancidSumo said:
I know that you said you are looking for a non-lethal option but I have to say that I believe you are making the wrong decision. A large caliber handgun (.44 Mag) will give you an additional 50 or so dB over the bear bangers so using it to scare the bear off is still an option. You can get Ruger Super Blackhawk for ~$500 and it weighs 45oz. In my opinion, that is money and weight well spent.

It also doubles as protection against two legged critters that you might run into.

I just think that it is a poor decision to bet your life on being able to scare the bear away. That is like trusting pepper spray to stop some homicidal maniac. That and the fact that making a loud noise is not likely to scare away a person intent on doing you harm (yes, they do still exist on hiking trails).
Click to expand...


we are not allowed firearms in many areas of Canada, esp our large provincial and municipal wilderness areas. It is extremely difficult to get a Wilderness Carry permit, last year only 19 were issued, and those were mostly Game Constables working in remote areas and 3 mining companies bear control officers. We are not allowed to carry handguns here, it is not even an option worth considering. Rifles/shotguns can be carried on open CROWN LAND only, and NOT in parks or provincial parks (some of our parks are the size of some of your States).

so this is why we carry bear bangers. Which by the way work JUST FINE.

:cool:
 
Ankar Sheng said:
Guns aren't an option in Canadian parks. And only some provinces will issue permits to carry handguns in the wilderness, and it's my understanding that they dont issue many of them, and none at all in my province.
Click to expand...

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it - does it make a sound? I know nothing about the bangers - Is it like the flash bangs used by the good guys? Or just a bang?
 
Bushman5 said:
^ here ya go, my video on bear bangers, i get lots of flack for this one, i dont care.

http://www.youtube.com/user/MegaBushman#p/a/u/2/hUKpUhMXG38
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No disrespect intended Bushman, as that may be very effective, however, I would prefer a 454 casul as my bear banger, especially if I was in Grizz country.

There was a guy who lived with the Grizzley's for a long time, and they even did a documentary on him....RIP

Wild animals are unpredictable, and I love animals, but I like predictable odds
 
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it - does it make a sound?
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Yes. And it's still illegal to carry firearms in Provincial parks, even if no one catches you.

RedbeAR15 said:
No disrespect intended Bushman, as that may be very effective, however, I would prefer a 454 casul as my bear banger, especially if I was in Grizz country.

There was a guy who lived with the Grizzley's for a long time, and they even did a documentary on him....RIP

Wild animals are unpredictable, and I love animals, but I like predictable odds
Click to expand...


I'm sure we all would, but as it's already been pointed out that simply isn't an option for a lot of people.

If it's odds youre concerned with you should stay home, cause youre much much MUCH more likely do die in a car accident on the way to the woods than being attacked by a bear.
 
bear bangers will only work if the bear has been hit with a rubber shot in the last few months or if it unsure of your intentions if you use them stand your ground
 
Calebklyne said:
bear bangers will only work if the bear has been hit with a rubber shot in the last few months or if it unsure of your intentions if you use them stand your ground
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Huh? I don't understand that. Is there some report on animal behaviour that supports that statement? I don't mean to be negative. It's just that the declaration you just made is very sweeping and conclusive. After having fired off a bear banger I think I must disagree. This isn't a black cat fire cracker. This is a soil your pants what the hell was that "Kaboom".

Bushman5, it's good to know that you made that video. It's what actually inspired me to order a sample set of bear bangers in the first place. In a hiker's/camping outfitter store near a national park, especially one that's sometimes frequented by Park Rangers, we can't consider condoning firearms. We do know that some people do ccw carry them but that leads to all sorts of logistical and philosophical considerations above and beyond simply having a gun in a pocket or pouch. As far as security goes, I have yet to have an issue where a firearm would have served any purpose beyond making someone else want to run and find a ranger and report the psycho hiker with the .40 cal. semi-auto. I've heard a few stories about things not working out and bad things happening, but even without comparing those stories to stories of bad things that happened in urban settings, the back country encounters with bad people are few and far between. Besides, who here would be totally comfortable knowing that the other guy, who might or might not be a complete numbskull, is packing a gun? How do I know the gun bearer isn't out to prove how tough he or she is? How do I know that they aren't inept or, worse, paranoid? Besides, I'm looking to defend myself sensibly and in a lightweight manner against an increase in bear activity on my stomping grounds. I can go on about all of these issues, but I'd like to hear from someone who is probably wiser than I am.
 
Ankar Sheng said:
Yes. And it's still illegal to carry firearms in Provincial parks, even if no one catches you.




I'm sure we all would, but as it's already been pointed out that simply isn't an option for a lot of people.

If it's odds youre concerned with you should stay home, cause youre much much MUCH more likely do die in a car accident on the way to the woods than being attacked by a bear.
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Oh - I disagree, for I am not going to let anything deter me from my path, but I will have the knowledge and preparedness to succeed and survive any circumstance that I encounter - Count on that Sir!


Listen to the govenment - they will steer you in the right direction - I'm sure
You read the statistics Whilst I will Prepare and succeed:D
 
Wake the FU people - all this propaganda is just that

the intent is to disarm the American public - all the bear spray BS and Bear Banger BS may work at certain times - but will it work at all times? Yeah if Grandma has a 454 Casul and is afraid to shoot it, what will she do?

Geez!


Get your head OOYA - sorry for that rant

Maybe I should buy some sage
 
no disrespect to my southern neighbours who can carry, but i have had MANY black bear and brown bear encounters and two grizz encounters on my placer claims. All were dealt with with bear bangers, all successfully. 60% of the encounters were surprise encounters, where i startled the bears (i walk very quietly). In those situ's the bears huffed, stood up then dropped and bluff charged. The second i launched a charge and it detonated, they turned and ran. 20% of the rest of the encounters were finding bears in the placer area prior to me heading down the bank. Again, firing a bear banger into the area made them disappear. The final 20% were bears trying to get into the food bags hanging on the guylines between trees. Bear bangers fired at their azz make them drop off the wire and RUN.

I trust the bear bangs , they work for me. If i COULD carry a firearm i would, it would be a 30-06 and i would take home the hide. (it was self defense officer, the bear charged).

However because of our Nanny state, i cannot carry in many areas. 99% of the areas i hike in are in PROVINCIAL parks. If i got caught with a rifle there, i would lose my truck, my rifle, my gear, and possibly face jail time and a hefty fine, in some cases loss of home. I don't particularly feel like going to jail or paying a fine, or losing my truck, or my gear or my home.I do not feel like having a criminal record. Maybe your fine with losing everything and having a record, but i am NOT! So i carry bear bangers. so do many hikers here. So do the Game Wardens. There has not been ONE documented incident of a Game warden here drawing their sidearm to deal with a bear. NOT ONE. What is documented is the use of bear bangers and bear spray. I will try to get those reports from a wildlife constable i know. There are incidents of wardens/RCMP shooting bears, 99% of those are in URBAN areas and the bears are repeat problem bears!

I know you guys like your firearms and are able to stockpile hundreds of guns and ammo,thats great, that would get me killed here. I do LOVE firearms and there are times that we can carry (rifles and shotguns) , but there are simply times and areas where one cannot carry. Just accept that and deal with it. I have
 
Well, down here in the deep South, you'd have a hard time finding anyone who has a problem with guns, BUT the penalties may not be as stiff as they are for you Canadians but we still do have penalties. I also don't feel it is worth it. The contact I've had with Rangers and wildlife officials have given me too many examples of people winding up in hot water.
 
Well it looks like it's better than nothin', for those of you who haven't overthrown your draconian gun laws.

However, looks like it's best used to spook bruins who you have the advantage of seeing at a distance, and there are many options for that that don't involve a gadget. Where I spend time I'm more concerned about a brownie popping out of the brush at bad breath range, for which I would only trust a large caliber rifle or 12 ga. shotgun.
 
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