Chris Baker at Luckygunner has produced a very good video summation of the use of handguns to defend against bears published on AmmoLand. The graphics in the video are well done. In a five days, there were over 95 thousand views, with 748 comments. The vast majority of comments were favorable. If you prefer to obtain your information via video instead of print, this is a well made video worth watching. The video is 11:48 minutes long. Chris has obviously studied the data collected and analyzed it from the long running series at AmmoLand. He has created a good narrative and visual summary of the findings from that data.
Chris correctly identifies the incidents collected and documented in the AmmoLand articles come from a variety of sources:
- Newspaper and magazine articles
- Books
- Freedom of Information Act requests (FOIA)
- Interviews with participants in the events
Chris faithfully notes these are all the incidents which have been found, with diligent searching, since 2018. This is prevent or at least minimize selection bias. In the video there is limited time, so Chris does not mention the range of years covered. The incidents range from 1890 to 2024. Chris shows bear attacks in the United States primarily occur in three states: Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming. Chris has created some decent graphics which show the number of incidents by caliber.
Chris does a good job of showing the advantages of warning shots in defense against bears, with a good explanation of things to keep in mind when considering a warning shot.
While Chris states there are only 4 failures in the data, he makes a small error when he says there is no indication any of the bears in the four failures were actually hit. There is documentation the polar bear in Svalbard was hit with three bullets from the .22 pistol, but none of the bullets reached the brain.
Chris and this correspondent disagree on whether bear spray is easier to use than a handgun. Chris thinks bear spray is easier to use. Bear spray has its own problems, such as poor holsters, a safety which is not ergonomic, and the need to point it in the right direction, while considering the wind direction. This correspondent believes bear spray is not as easy to use as a handgun, because cartridge handguns and holsters have about 150 years of experience and refinement of their ergonomics. Nearly all firearm safeties are far superior to the safeties found on bear spray. Of course, bear spray can be legally carried in more places than firearms are allowed. If a person has a phobia about firearms, or is unwilling to learn about them, bear spray offers an alternative.
This correspondent appreciates the study and effort put into the analysis by Chris Baker. The video at Luckygunner is of high quality. The attention to detail and accuracy are well done. Luckygunner tactfully but factually replies to several of the hundreds of comments.
Overall, Chris Baker at Luckygunner did a great job with his analysis and video presentation on how effective handguns are in defending against bears. He accurately represents the results of the research published on AmmoLand, and reaches tens of thousands of interested parties with his excellent presentation.
©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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