A firearm for my B

JoeGood988 wrote:
Way too many laws and restrictions to carry a weapon....buy a can or two of bear spray...you can carry it into Canada and every state. It can stop a charging 1000 lb bear instantly if charged while hiking. So if someone tries to break into your camper, hit the spray and not the gun...it will stop them, give to plenty of time to get away and not be arrested for firing a weapon wherever you are...safer around kids also

Just a thought if you do travel into Canada with Bear Spray. When used on an animal it is considered legal, however for use in self defense our laws are much different. Even if your life was at risk, you could be looking at jail time if used on a human. Also carrying it in an area where its use would not be needed (ie the mall) could also lead to jail time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray#Canada

Also for it to be legal in Canada, it must be labeled/sold specifically as Bear Spray (with Capsicum), not dog spray or mace.

I also just found out (thanks to this forum) that it is legal to cross the border both ways but you should declare it if you do.

Also to keep life less complicated (despite the fact I have not found any legal answer on it), to be safe I would treat it like you do a hand gun in some US states and don't conceal it and let Police or Wardens know you have it if questioned by them. It is probably just easier to get a can that comes with a belt clip/pouch as it would be easy for them to identify and more importantly easy for you to access in an encounter.

Thought of one additional point. If you go the Bear Spray route, do not wait for an 8' Grizzly to be charging you to figure out how it works. Take it to a secluded area (being mindful of what is downwind) and do a test fire, so you know how the safety works, what kind of range/accuracy it has etc.