Oh, my odds would be terrible. But i think they’d be better with a boar spear than with a chain saw.
If I kill a bear with a chainsaw, I’m definitely gonna eat it.
Hmm, I wouldn’t be so sure. Spears are extremely effective, there’s a reason why they were used since prehistoric times right up until early modernity (and even later if you count the bayonet as an evolution of the spear).
The spear wielder will have a highly effective weapon that enhances his reach. The chainsaw wielder will have an awkward, unwieldy device that he would struggle to properly apply.
I can’t imagine the chainsaw wielder successfully destroying the spear. Sure, if the spear wielder tried to parry a chainsaw strike by putting the wood against the blade of the chainsaw, the spear would break. But there’s absolutely no reason to do that. Instead he could simply push the chainsaw aside by hitting the non-blade portion with the upper shaft of the spear (and the spear would provide much more leverage in a shoving contest than the awkward chainsaw). And then the spear wielder can use their superior reach to simply impale the chainsaw wielder.
I can’t imagine the chainsaw performing well as a weapon at all. I’d sooner have a sword with a blade the same length as the chainsaw’s blade; a spear with a reach advantage too is a no brainer.
There’s no connectivity up in the mountains where they’re at. Check the headlines.
Not even close. Unless your knowledge of its anatomy is good and you know where its heart is. Otherwise this is yet another way to just piss it off big time.
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. The human can shoot repeatedly and rapidly, but (and this would be the tough part) would need to wait until the grizzly is close. Close enough to hit accurately. With the adrenaline flowing this isn’t as easy as it sounds.
With the 44 magnum revolver, getting off multiple rounds quickly is harder to do because of the long trigger pull. That’s much easier to do with the 45 ACP semi, but semis can jam and fail more than revolvers, so the human needs the skills on how to quickly clear a misfire while under stress.
Regardless, shot placement is key. As it always is.
So, when you say “not even close”, are you agreeing or disagreeing with @puzzlegal saying that her odds would be terrible?
But anyway, you don’t need a dead-on hit in the heart to win with the spear. The lungs, for instance, are a much bigger target, and lethal nearly as quickly. And even if it takes some time for it to die, the well-braced boar spear stuck in its chest will still stop the bear from getting any closer.
It’s probably quite difficult, if the spear-wielder is proficient in its use, but very, very few ordinary people are proficient in spear use any more.
Well, hold on there, we’re talking about a brown bear, not Chuck Norris. I think a .45 round into the skull of a grizzly would make him stop and reconsider his options. But, all in all, I’d rather take my chances with a can of Bear Spray and a fast getaway car.
Suit yourself, but no way, not me. My first round or two would be on the ground and near the grizzly, off to the side a little. If it’s not deterred than I’m putting that thing down.
Out there, it can be kill or be killed. Unfortunately as this scenario would be, I would do everything I can to avoid this scenario but if were to happen, I’d be putting that grizzly down.
Has bear spray ever failed against a grizzly? I’m betting it has but I’d have to look that up.
According to the article I linked to above:
Studies show bear spray is 90% successful when used to deter bear attacks, versus 76% for long guns and 84% for handguns.
Oh, my first round or two would definitely be off to the side. As, probably, would be the next four or eight or however many rounds I have in my magazine. Very, very few people will keep a steady aim when a grizzly is charging them. That’s the benefit of the spray.
With my luck, there would be a hard wind pushing the spray back into my eyes. At least I won’t see my head being torn off.
Some excellent points in that article. Thanks for that.
To wit —
The most important way to prevent human-bear interactions is to practice standard safety precautions when in bear country.
Don’t let carrying bear spray create a false sense of security.
He advises people to consider their ability to be accurate under duress when it comes to carrying a firearm for protection from bears.
Yeah, i expect the bear to kill me. But i think i have a non-zero chance of surviving with the spear, and zero chance of surviving with only a chainsaw.
That being said, my actual strategy is to look large and back away slowly.
Submitted for your approval.
That’s the same movie I was searching for, but could not find. Thanks!
I would think an enraged griz would snap any spear stuck into it, mortally wounded or not.
Bears have been known to take fatal wounds and still manage to kill the humans before dying. They are very tough and very determined.
If the bear attacks you with a banana you’d be okay though, because there are known techniques for disarming something that’s coming at you with a banana.
Only if you make like a banana and split before he reaches you.
That’s true, but most people aren’t proficient in chainsaw-jitsu either. And the reason spears were so popular for so long is that it’s relatively easy to give a farmer a spear, let him drill for a few days, and throw him into combat. So I think you’ll pick up spear skills much faster than chainsaw skills.
Even beyond that, I have to wonder how many people here have even used a chainsaw. I think many people imagine it to be some kind of mechanical lightsaber, but as described above the cutting action is really a ‘grab and tear’ rather than a clean slice, and if you’ve ever tried to use a chainsaw to cut some piece of unsecured, lightweight piece you know that it will just grab and fling it (at your legs), which is why one of the essential rules of chainsaw operational safety is to make sure your workpiece is secure. Also, the bar on a chainsaw a flat piece of unreinforced aluminum or mild steel (forged on larger professional saws) that can be easily bent by even a modest impact or bending load at the far end, and because the purpose of the bar is to act as a guide, once it is bent and the chain loses tension it will just fall off and get jammed up.
Well, you might want to rethink that. The .45 ACP has pretty good effectiveness on a human being but its relatively low sectional density (0.130 in 185 gr, 0.162 in 230 gr compared with typical handgun rounds used for bear like the .44 Rem Mag (0.185 in 240 gr, 0.210 in 270 gr) or 10mm Auto (0.179 in 200 gr), and bears have much thicker skulls as compared to humans. And maybe you’re really good at headshots on a well-lit paper target but a bear charging at you is going to present a large dark mass that is bounding up and down, so the idea that you can get a clean target at the braincase is fanciful in all but the most static of conditions.
Quite frankly, I’d rather have a large ax or better yet a halberd against a bear because even an impaling would with a spear through vital organs would be unlikely to drop a bear unless it happens to slice through the heart, major artery, or spinal column (and again, remember the bear will likely be bounding head first at you and rear up at only the last moment). The poses you see in museums or portrayed in films with a bear standing plantigrade upright posture are based upon dominance contests between bears, and do not reflect the predatory attack motion of a bear taking down a meal. I don’t give much odds on the ax, either, but you might at least have a chance to injure a forearm or head, which are probably the only non-lethal wounds that might cause an attacking bear to retreat.
Stranger