# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2025, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/182 "2025-11-15T07:40:29Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Worst case is you now have a chainsaw-armed bear, which isn’t a whole lot worse than an unarmed bear. And with any luck at all, the bear wouldn’t be skilled at chainsawing, so a chainsaw-armed bear becomes an unarmed bear. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2025, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/183 "2025-11-15T08:17:25Z")
ISWYDT (apparently discord did not) ---
**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:** [November 15, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/184 "2025-11-15T16:06:30Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I told him that I would buy his plane ticket and pay for the axe if I could watch him try. …from a safe distance. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/185 "2025-11-18T03:02:24Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > A chain saw is a fucking terrible weapon. They look great in movies. In real life they are excellent weapons if you’re in a fight against a tree or a log, and are otherwise worse than useless. How are they against fresh fruit? ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/186 "2025-11-19T17:27:03Z")
> [RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rickjay)Charter Jays Fan > > [Nov 13](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/178 "Post date") > > A chain saw is a fucking terrible weapon. They look great in movies. In real life they are excellent weapons if you’re in a fight against a tree or a log, and are otherwise worse than useless. 100% true. I regularly battle spiky-popup trees in my yard and for even that they are terrible. Oh, there were too many vines on the tree you were trying to cut down? Now you get to spend 5 minutes unbinding your chain. Unless the bear has been shaved its just not going to work. Even then I could see it binding up on muscle tissue while you’re still only partway through. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/187 "2025-11-19T17:47:04Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Sell the chainsaw and buy a hand grenade. Think, people! Nuke the bear from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure. > **[https://preview.redd.it/s3dh7yofw6001.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp...](https://preview.redd.it/s3dh7yofw6001.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=af3000c9607936a6354f3c8e4a6ccfefff160e67)** ---
**Author:** ![qpw3141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6bbea6/32.png) [@qpw3141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qpw3141)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/188 "2025-11-19T19:15:32Z")
Nobody seems to have considered the possibility that when the bear hears the God awful racket a chainsaw makes it will run away - if not in fear, then to protect its hearing. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/189 "2025-11-21T20:39:28Z")
No indication if anybody had a chainsaw. > **[Grizzly bear attacks schoolchildren and teachers on walking trail, injuring 11](https://www.foxcarolina.com/2025/11/21/grizzly-attacks-schoolchildren-teachers-walking-trail-injuring-11/)** > > The attack happened Thursday afternoon in Bella Coola, approximately 435 miles northwest of Vancouver. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/190 "2025-11-22T13:33:07Z")
> [@Dark\_Sponge](#): > > Unless the bear has been shaved its just not going to work. IOW, if the bear has bare arms. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2025, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/191 "2025-11-22T20:33:16Z")
Is it the right to bear arms, or the right to arm bears? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2025, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/192 "2025-11-23T01:30:08Z")
There is a little known law that allows shaved bears the right to carry weapons, in other words, it grants the right to bear arms to bears with bare arms. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/193 "2026-05-12T23:54:31Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I was thinking of a 44 magnum revolver, but, no. Similar to a spear but with greater reach, if you don’t hit its heart the bullet, much more powerful than an impaled spear, will still only piss it off. Big time. One’s chances are better with that revolver, though. > > No, one will need a semi-auto with a good caliber, like 45 ACP. Bumped. I’ll soon be getting a 10mm. That’s much better than .45ACP which is better against humans, but 10mm is better against a bear or a moose. And ammo choice is critical, like Federal Solid Core ammo. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/194 "2026-05-13T01:53:50Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > And with any luck at all, the bear wouldn’t be skilled at chainsawing, so a chainsaw-armed bear becomes an unarmed bear. I know this comment is 6 months old, but if you left them a Homelite they would be preoccupied with keeping it running and getting the stuck throttle working that you’d have plenty of time to slip away unnoticed. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/195 "2026-05-13T02:19:02Z")
A flamethrower shooting 30-feet flames might do a better job of restraining said bear. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/196 "2026-05-13T02:39:07Z")
A flamethrower also has the huge advantage that a bear knows what fire is, and knows that it can’t win a fight against it. By contrast, if a bear doesn’t like something but doesn’t know what it is, its default assumption is going to be that mauling it will make things better, because it usually does. Which might not result in the bear winning, per se, in the long run, but certainly results in the human losing. ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/197 "2026-05-13T12:15:36Z")
“Dont bring claws to a fire-fight” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/198 "2026-05-13T12:19:59Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I’ll soon be getting a 10mm. That’s much better than .45ACP which is better against humans, but 10mm is better against a bear or a moose. And ammo choice is critical, like Federal Solid Core ammo. Much as I hope people will trust me when I talk about Le Guin and dorks, I give full consideration to this post. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/199 "2026-05-14T01:56:26Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I’ll soon be getting a 10mm No-kidding 10mm Auto (aka 10x25mm, aka 10mm FBI)? that’s a pretty uncommon round. .40 S&W is a lot more common, AFAIK, although they’re both 10mm bullet diameter. Interestingly, 10x25mm is the standard ammo for semi-automatic pistols and submachine guns in the _Fallout_ games. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-regular-person-with-a-chainsaw-kill-a-charging-grizzly-bear-who-wins-and-dies/981524/200 "2026-05-15T10:30:28Z")
It’s common enough. And 10mm is more effective against bear and moose and other bigger game than .40S&W — it delivers more energy with higher muzzle velocity. ➜ [https://www.kimberamerica.com/stainless-target-ii-ca](https://www.kimberamerica.com/stainless-target-ii-ca) ■ ➜ [Buy Solid Core 40 S&W Ammo | 200 Grain, 1000 FPS | Federal](https://www.federalpremium.com/handgun/solid-core/11-P40SHC1.html) ■ ➜ [Buy Solid Core 10mm Auto Ammo | 200 Grain, 1200 FPS | Federal](https://www.federalpremium.com/handgun/solid-core/11-P10SHC1.html) ■ [Previous 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=9)