# Will a regular person with a chainsaw kill a charging Grizzly bear? Who wins and dies? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2023, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524 "2023-03-23T00:40:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lsalinas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@lsalinas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lsalinas)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/1 "2023-03-23T00:40:29Z")
Who wins and dies first? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/2 "2023-03-23T00:52:00Z")
If you time and aim your swing perfectly you win. Barely. (Heh!) You miss or are late/early and you bleed out while the bear eats your face while wondering what that noise is. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/3 "2023-03-23T00:53:40Z")
How is an unarmed human vs. a bear any sort of contest at all? Unless the bear is charging from a sufficient distance that the human has time to use the chainsaw to make some sort of weapon, but that would be quite a distance… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/4 "2023-03-23T00:53:57Z")
I bet you thought that question was so obscure that it has never came up here before… > [@Man with Chainsaw vs. Grizzly Bear -- Who Wins?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-with-chainsaw-vs-grizzly-bear-who-wins/657621): > > I remember an amusing image from a dream last night. I was walking downtown and saw a giant poster of an upcoming match between a big steroidal-wrestler-type fellow armed with a chainsaw and an enormous grizzly bear, approaching Kodiak bear dimensions. So, who do you think would win this altercation? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/5 "2023-03-23T00:58:26Z")
There is nothing new under the Sun (that involves chainsaw wielding bears). Glad to know we’re consistently inconsistent. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/6 "2023-03-23T01:02:56Z")
While the Grizzly bear has his Visa in the machine waiting for verification, you’ll have more than enough time to sever his spine with the chainsaw. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/7 "2023-03-23T01:06:33Z")
What if the bear is a resident in the Schengen Area? AIUI, he wouldn’t need a Visa at all. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/8 "2023-03-23T01:07:24Z")
If the bear isn’t charging then you have nothing to worry about, right? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/9 "2023-03-23T01:07:44Z")
I’ll gladly give you credit for that. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/10 "2023-03-23T01:08:20Z")
MasterCard: When you absolutely positively have to fatally maul someone overnight … tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/11 "2023-03-23T01:19:29Z")
It’s possible that you can deliver a fatal wound to the bear. You, however, would be dead so you won’t be able to celebrate. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/12 "2023-03-23T01:51:03Z")
I would put my odds on the bear. The reason being that a chainsaw is a fairly unwieldy weapon. I can easily picture the bear charging in with enough impact force that it knocks the chainsaw out of the man’s hands, or causes the man to drop it, after which the man is easy killings. Bear in mind we’re also talking about a human who’s likely amped up on lots of adrenaline, perhaps shaking or panicky. The only way a man can kill a bear with a chainsaw is to somehow immobilize or slow the bear for a second or few seconds, long enough for the saw to “bite” through the thick fur and actually start doing work on the bear’s flesh. The odds of that are tough. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/13 "2023-03-23T01:57:43Z")
12 to 20 inch bar-No way in hell. 72 inch bar-Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/14 "2023-03-23T02:04:22Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > long enough for the saw to “bite” through the thick fur and actually start doing work on the bear’s flesh. The chainsaw would foul up and stall before it even got all the way through the skin. Chainsaws aren’t weapons. You’d have better luck with one of those electric kitchen knives. ---
**Author:** ![JoePockets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8dc957/32.png) [@JoePockets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoePockets)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/15 "2023-03-23T02:38:27Z")
What a horrible thought, let them have there space why would anyone what to kill or maim a majestic animal like that? I was brought to eat what you kill when you go hunting as most do. I do my hunting in the supermarket now & leave the deer and Pheasants alone. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/16 "2023-03-23T02:41:24Z")
You might be able to give it a claw trim. [![](https://i.imgur.com/CfMlFET.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/CfMlFET.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/17 "2023-03-23T02:48:20Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The only way a man can kill a bear with a chainsaw is to somehow immobilize or slow the bear for a second or few seconds, long enough for the saw to “bite” through the thick fur and actually start doing work on the bear’s flesh. The odds of that are tough. Even more than that, you’d basically have to secure the bear in some way. A chainsaw functions not by slicing but grabbing small slivers of wood and tearing them out. On the thick fur of a bear it is probably just going to slide along without effectively being able to get down to skin because strands of fur are slick and make for surprisingly good protection, and of course a responsive bear is going to move out of the way. The reason people get so severely injured by chainsaws is because they are wearing a textile (often denim) which the teeth on the chain actually wrap around and put the bar into the arm or leg. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/18 "2023-03-23T02:49:02Z")
I’d give a person even odds but it would be decided rather quickly with the initial contact. If a person could lunge or defend and make the first contact to do enough damage to make the bear stop attacking they might have a chance. If they happen to miss or hit a non-critical part of the bear then good luck keeping hold of the chainsaw after the bear takes his initial swipe at you knocking you on your ass. You’d have no time to recover or get into a defensive position with the chainsaw before he starts tearing you apart. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/19 "2023-03-23T04:54:52Z")
Hard to say, if you make contact with the bear’s face, the muzzle or the eye it might back off right quick. Of course, that doesn’t mean the bear dies, maybe nobody does. OTOH, a bear charging into the noise of a chain saw is behaving pretty atypically, is it rabid, is it trained? Then you might be pretty screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2023, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/20 "2023-03-23T05:17:43Z")
This isn’t about hunting a grizzly. In this scenario the Grizzly is mad as hell and charging right at you, and all you have on hand is a chainsaw. You aren’t going to outrun it, so would you just lie down and get et? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524.md?page=2)