bobsallyh wrote:
Pick up a can somewhere in West Yellowstone, YNP it's self, or a sporting goods store when get near YNP. They are priced fixed from what I have seen and when I bought a can. Forget branding. You can also rent in YNP.
Hit a Costco in Western MT. Two for one price... One to practice, one to use. They will charge you 40 bucks in the park or surrounding area...for one. They all are about the same.
Hit Amazon for a small handheld boat horn https://www.amazon.com/Seachoice-46211-1-5OZ-Signal-Horn/dp/B001B3DEN0/ref=asc_df_B001B3DEN0/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=&hvpos=&hvnetw=o&hvrand=&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584070147615899&psc=1
You want a defense in depth with them. The best defense is to travel with someone slower than you you don't particularly care for...but...If you see one that displays any interest in you whatsoever, blow the boathorn at them, quick short. Use your unfavored hand e.g. left if you are a righty...
If they move closer, longer and short bursts. This will make them at least stop for a moment and make their ears go back... That buys you time if it doesn't make them turn around and go. The time should be used so you can unlimber your bear spray with your favored hand instead of trying to get to it in a panic... Learn how to flip off the plastic trigger protector with one hand. Keep it pointed away from you.
IF, they keep coming, make sure you are upwind from them...move slowly and away so the wind is at your back relative to the bear. Do NOT run. That triggers them... They move like lightning when they want to and can outrun the fastest man by double his speed. Most of the time unless you trigger their chase reflex or come up unexpectedly close...they will come carefully and not superfast toward you but most the time they don't want to have anything to do with you.
Keep using the boat horn until they have made it perfectly clear that isn't going to stop them. If they stop and huff and sort of jump up and down on their front legs, it is a warning. If they just keep coming, you got a problem. Drop the boat horn. Aim the bear spray. (Be sure to try the bear spray out before you go into bear country so you know how far it shoots and how it spreads out. That will help you judge the most opportune time to use. It generally stops them in their tracks at least at first. It takes guts to stand while they move quickly toward you, but that is your only hope.
Now, at this point, I usually also ensure that I can get my hands on my handgun (Ruger Alaskan). I will make a decision later on whether to use it on me or the bear... I have seen too many emergency room pics that are frankly horrifying... We used to have to give rabies prophylaxis recommendations for victims.
Now that you are really concerned, remember, 90% of the time, they know you are there and will hear you first and you will never see them. Most of the rest of the times, you will see them far away across the side of a mountain. Do NOT attract their attention if you have a choice. Curiosity can lead to a predatory assessment on their part... You do not want to be a part of that equation at all if you can help it. So, get behind a rock, bush, trees and take your pictures without noise. At all times keep at least a couple of football fields between you and them and NEVER take your eyes off them.
I have been the subject of their interest on two occasions. The boat horn worked both times. One much less than one football field... They supposedly are NOT in my mountains (Elkhorns) but that pic one of my neighbors showed me of a place less then three miles from my house last summer sure wasn't a black bear. We had fish wildlife and parks put one of the wheeled barrel traps in my neighbors yard/acreage here a few years ago.
Montana is the last best place. I kind of like not being the top predator. It keeps you on your toes in a subtle way you don't get anywhere else in the continental US. And, do not underestimate mountain lions either... How about a 150 lb kitty cat with claws the size of your small finger. My friend (late 60's) hurt his knee on a hike within a mile of our neighborhood. He was limping. He sat down on a rock and looked up at one in a tree getting in that ready to pounce mode... He yelled and screamed and waved his walking stick and it ran... It was likely tracking him for quite awhile. It recognized his limp as a weakness. Dogs and small children are viewed as snacks. AND, otters are not cute little animals. They enjoy killing dogs who swim in to play with them and then go after the humans coming in to try and save the dogs... Yep, rabies prophylaxis every time...and dead dogs...
AND PLEASE, don't try to pet anything. Watching bison throw people 20 feet in the year may be a Montana form of entertainment, but I'm pretty sure it isn't pleasant for the human involved. But hey, NO rabies prophylaxis for that one unless he bites you... Mostly they just gore you...
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