Protection knife against wild animals.

Dkenz said:
Bears are WAY faster and WAY stronger.. what im saying is there not as quick as we are. You know what your doing you pry could get away. If your in the plains allot of open ground.. your f*cked. In the city with buildings and cars.. You could easily. If your gonna run from a bear... run toward trees and bushes.. not open ground. Show me a youtube channel that shows a bear stoping in 2 feet and changing direction with same speed
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Running also defines you as prey. If an animal views you as prey, unless you kill it or scare it you are probably boned. An airhorn will get you a whole lot further than a knife, as will a can of mace. Thinking you can outrun or outmaneuver a bear is like thinking you can defend yourself in a mugging. You run through everything in your head, thinking you have it all perfect, but when the fan is covered in poo you realize that you were caught totally unprepared and all your training turns to desperation. The aggressor pretty much never stops you beforehand and explains how they will attack and when they will attack.
 
Is it legal to carry a gun while your out on a hike with your family? Not for most people.. so what defense do you bring?. For most people pry nothing.. But id rather bring a needle than nothing ya know?.. thats what im getting at
 
I would not want to fight a Rottweiler with a knife, much less a friggin' bear. That is what the .380 is for, protection. Hopefully it just scares them away.

I did actually fight off a German Shepherd with a shovel once. Not something I want to repeat.
 
If you're close enough to a bear or wolf to use a knife.... you're already a dead man. In Prac Tac people constantly emphasize that a knife is not a good defense weapon against humans, I don't know why a person could possibly think they stand a chance against bears with a 3-4" folder. In real life, whether it's a human or animal, if they are being aggressive and attacking it probably means their adrenaline is pumping on full blast. In situations like that you can stab repeatedly and they probably wouldn't feel a thing. It's not uncommon to hear stab victims say they didn't know they were stabbed until they felt the blood and looked at the wound. Heck.... there are instances when humans get shot multiple times and still keep attacking.
 
Just make sure you're wearing a belt.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1007503049136232560.html

MANISTEE, Mich. -- Five weeks ago, David Gutowski, a self-employed painter in this little town, killed a six-point buck with his bare hands and a brown leather belt.

. . .

This was his story: Around noon on Oct. 30, Mr. Gutowski took a break from a painting job and went looking for stray fishing lures along the shore of Manistee Lake. The lake hugs the eastern edge of this town of 6,586 people in Michigan's northern lower peninsula. Mr. Gutowski grew up here and has hunted and fished in the area most of his life.

As he crunched across clam shells on the beach in his paint-flecked tennis shoes, he heard stirring in the brush along the bank. He turned to see a buck staring at him. He tried to scare it away by roaring and stamping his feet, he said, but the deer lowered its head and charged.

Mr. Gutowski said he caught it by the antlers and it drove him back into the frigid lake. He hung on, desperate to avoid being gored, as the two spun down the beach and up the bank, past an overturned rowboat and into a clearing littered with driftwood. The buck fell and Mr. Gutowski scissored it between his legs. It squealed and snorted while Mr. Gutowski whacked it with chunks of driftwood and gouged its eye with a branch.

Then, with the antlers in one hand, Mr. Gutowski slipped off his belt, looped it around the deer's neck and pulled. Grunting with exertion, Mr. Gutowski told it, "You're mine."

When the deer seemed dead, Mr. Gutowski let go of his belt and walked toward his Dodge minivan, which was parked several hundred yards away. He said he hadn't gone far when he heard something at his back and wheeled to see the buck moving at him, the belt flapping at its throat. Mr. Gutowski snatched the belt and forced the deer down. He stepped on the belt and yanked so hard that the buckle broke.

Lying nearby was a pair of two-by-fours nailed together. Mr. Gutowski picked them up and swung them down on the buck's head like an ax. "I don't know how many times I hit him," he said. When the animal stopped quivering, he loaded it into his minivan.
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Yes, but you have to understand that a knife is a last resort. All other bear deterrents should be your first option. Then firearm. Then knife. Then... stick your finger in his eye?
 
Ok ok.. hehe.. yall have me convinced I couldn't out maneuver a bear. I still think i could.. but thats besides the point of the post my friend.. We are on bladeforums.. lets talk about blades. Im sure a ton of you go out on hikes, Runs, walks in a non populated area... say you cant carry a gun... what do you bring. Betting most dont bring nothing.. but those that do.. what is it?
 
crom said:
Oh man I love these posts that come around every month or so. I'd get something capable of prying, like a Cold Steel tanto. So when the great white has you in its jaws, you can pry them open without damaging the tip.
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Make sure it is unaffected by salt water as well. Wouldn't want that bad boy getting rusty while you are on the way to the hospital.
 
From what i understand.. bears are quite scared of humans. They would rather stay away... but if you scare one or walk upon its territory your f*cked
 
To fight a bear with? A Cold Steel Natchez Bowie maybe? The bigger the better really, but as most have said, it's not really a scenario worth considering, you're better off figuring out ways to avoid ever getting that close to a bear. Personally I find it hard to believe that anyone goes into bear country without a gun, but I live on the other side of the world and have never seen a bear outside a zoo so maybe they're more scary to me.
 
My friend if your by salt water.. you dont have much wild activity.. mostly because there so well populated
 
Didn't some 10 year old surfer fend off a shart attack just the other day? Think I heard it through the grapevine.
 
Jamboi said:
Didn't some 10 year old surfer fend off a shart attack just the other day? Think I heard it through the grapevine.
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Thanks for the laugh! I would think some wet wipes and new underwear would help more in a shart attack, but everybody has their preferences.

I really am losing my s*** over here. Best typo today.
 
Hehe ok... Here is my typical day on the trail. We load up the kids.. Son is 4 years old.. daughter is 14 months. We bring drinks and such and walk for about 5 miles and turn back. Takes a couple hours. We mess around... throw rocks.. climb a few rocks.. etc etc. We walk down the New River trail. This trail is lined by houses so im not scared of getting lost. The entire trail from what im told spans 3 states.. its HUGE!!. But I seen a black bear on my doorstep. How many have seen a black bear? Now how many have seen a blackbear at there door? My Wife seen a mountain lion on the side of the road. We are around allot of wildlife... Changes of us getting attacked are very SLIM. But in the event something does happen.. Im gonna fight to save my family.. Whatever it takes... My ZT560 would slice and dice.. its a VERY nice knife... but i dont think it would effect a bear very much. So... Which knife.. if your so lucky to get a strike would you pick
 
crom said:
Oh man I love these posts that come around every month or so. I'd get something capable of prying, like a Cold Steel tanto. So when the great white has you in its jaws, you can pry them open without damaging the tip.
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Oh snap! I was still laughing so hard from this ^^^^^^ I couldn't even proofread my post. This should be in some hall of fame or something.
 
It has been said multiple times, get a defense tool. Bear spray, a stun gun, an airhorn, fireworks... take your pick. Any to them will do a whole lot more than a knife.

Also, I can't stop laughing about the shart attack. Thank you for making my otherwise very boring day.
 
The only way a knife would be useful against a wild animal is if you fixed it to the end if a 10 foot spear shaft, so you don't have to get within claws reach to stab with it.

Then all you have to do is plant the pole up against the ground and let whatever is charging you gore itself on your spear.
 
Ok what you really need to do is get educated on bears
One of if not the best book on bear behavior is Bear Attacks there Causes and Avoidance-revised edition

While it is true that most bears will avoid humans, some attacks particularly by large male black bears are predatory in nature
If there are bears in your area chances are they heard you coming down a trail and simply stepped off the trail to let you walk by.

I have lived my whole life (ok since I was 7 years old) in bear country.
I admit normally while hiking I don't carry any bear protection at all, the knife I usually have on me is simply my edc

While camping I do keep a firearm in the tent
While hunting up north I keep a firearm a bowie knife as I stated before

The reality is that you have a very small risk of being attacked by a wild animal while hunting, but imho a prudent person would carry bear spray and bear bangers

As always situational awareness is the key

Most bear attacks are surprise attacks, an example is you and the bear are walking down the trail towards each other, and you round a corner and surprise each other.
You either run which triggers a instinctive prey drive in the bear or it attacks in self defense (or to protect cubs) and quits the attack when it feels the threat is removed (you play dead)
Here is some brief info http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/misc/bears/bearsaf.html
If you really want a knife then something like the classic kabar is as good as anything else
 
To the OP:

Use whatever is at your disposal. (I usually have multiple methods of defense bc I'm a realistic planner).

For me, when I hike (in sheeple territory), I have a 3 1/2" folder. When I go hunting, depending on my mood, ill carry a fixed or a larger folder. Honestly though, a knife should be your last ditch effort, I suggest a bear spray (allowed in sheeple hiking areas, and if it isn't, just carry anyway).
For hiking/EDC this fall, I'll carry a para II, hunting I'll carry a Millie.. I'd prefer a .44 mag over any knife, esp. w/ black bear.

It's interesting to think about, but realistically, I'll always have a handgun/rifle w/ me in wild environments.. Legal or not legal. When your life and/or families life is at stake - who the hell cares.
 
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