Animal defense when hiking, need ideas!

[JRW87]

Id take a mate hiking with you that you owe money to and is a slower runner.

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[Seeker]

Educate yourself on cougar and bear behavior (black, brown, and grizz).

Arm yourself (.44, .357, shotgun, take your pick.)
edit: forgot to add bearspray.


Bring a dog. My uncle (also my scoutmaster) spent a couple weekends a month in the Adirondacks, year round, and swore by his Labs as bear-repellent. Said he had NEVER, in 50+years of outings, had a bear incident with the dogs around (had met plenty, but the dogs scared them off.)

[woodsghost]

Id take a mate hiking with you that you owe money to and is a slower runner.

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Depends on how much money. If it is a lot, I would want my friend to stay alive .... long enough to pay me back!

[clanmaki]

I also have a lot of cougar and black bear in our area and I hike a lot with my Family. I always keep the kids near by and carry bear spray. I am always cautious but not freaked out or scared cause I was raised to be that way when in the woods. The reason I bring bear spray is because of the fact that if a mountain lion were to attack or a bear charge the spray is easy and fast and aim doesn't have to be extremely accurate. With a gun your aim for a kill shot has got to be accurate or (especially in the case of a bear) a wounded animal isn't going to stop the danger. Things happen really, really fast and drawing, aiming accurately and firing (and being calm enough doing it) isn't too reasonable.
I agree with the others that said a good stout walking stick also.

Now after saying all that I have to tell you in the 40+ years that I have been in and around the wilderness I have only come across one Mountain Lion and two bears and each time they were gone in a hurry. I have run across a whole lot of sign of each (fresh sign) which tells me that they knew about me long before I knew about them and took off. So those times I ran across them in person I actually feel blessed to have seen them.

Most of the people I have run across have been good people. Only a couple of times have I been Leary of an individual. Don't act scared but confident even if you aren't carrying a gun. They don't know that and how you act can make the difference between being left alone or a being a victim. But again most if not all your experiences being out in the wilderness will be good ones.

[dragon383]

well, my advice would be.. always go hiking or camping with someone, and make sure that you can outrun your friend but on a serious side... try carrying a can of bear spray, it'll work for big cats too as they dont like getting squirted with any liquid!

[Meathunter]

Not exactly lightweight but I carry a Ruger Super BlackHawk in 44 mag, in a gunslinger rig from Triple K leather, but I am not scared to walk anywhere in the woods either. So it's a fair trade.

[Whisper Creek]

Glock 10mm, S&W .44 Mag... Can't go wrong with buckshot, and a good shotgun. Mosin Nagant, 7.62x54 carbine, with collapsible bayonet.

[Ahnkochee]

No guns allowed in our forests except in hunting areas while actually hunting. I always carry a walking staff, at least one knife (as a tool not a weapon), and pepper spray. No big cats or bear here but we do have wild pigs which can get ornery as well as feral dogs which usually don't have fear of man especially when running in a pack. I recently made a special staff which I can to fit my CS Bushman onto in a matter of seconds if need be wearing the Bushman on my hip except when needed. Haven't had a chance to carry it on the trail yet though.

[Crazysanman]

I don't carry a firearm in bear country. No need for it.

If you are being stalked by a mountain lion you will never know it. Those things are such efficient stalkers and hunters you'll be dead before you have a chance to know what is happening.

Carry bear spray. It will work for anything out there, from grizzlies to mountain lions to people.

Make noise when you hike, especially non-natural noises, like metal clanking. If you use treking poles, hit the tip of the pole on a rock whenever you can to make noise. Talk if you are in a group, and if solo shout out every now and then or sing out loud as you walk. Let the animal know you are there and give it the option to leave before you get too close to it and you'll be safe.

Read the book "Bear Attacks - Their Causes and Avoidances" by Steve Herrero. It's an awesome book that will teach you all you need to know about bear behavior so you can avoid being attacked by a bear.

I've never seen a grizzly, but if you are in Utah you won't either. I've seen lots and lots of black bears in the wild and never been afraid. In fact, out of the maybe 20-25 encounters that I've had with bears, only once did I have to become aggressive to scare away the bear. All the other times they've ran from me.

Here are two videos of a bear encounter me and my wife had while hiking the Appalachian Trail along the northern Virginia / West Virginia border just south of Harper's Ferry. These are big for Virginia black bears, and there are two of them, and they don't act aggressively toward us. This is a typical bear encounter. They will either turn and run or stop and watch you go by.

[tree-ratsniper]

I don't go into any piece of timber unarmed, I always carry a knife & a handgun (everywhere I go actually). One thing about having a firearm, its better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it...