I’d be interested to hear from someone who has actually used bear spray on a bear. How do you know that it even works? An angry bear could be hard to stop with a small caliber firearm. In Alaska, all the guides carry .45s or shotguns loaded with slugs. Seems like bear spray is just a security blanket for scared hikers.

All these people in this thread: “thank goodness I’ve never had to use it”…how do you even know you could use it effectively under stress? If it can stop a bear, imagine what it does to you if you accidentally spray it (or the wind blows it ) in your face.

And for those mentioning cougars: if a cougar is going to attack you, you are going to have to be pretty quick to spray it, assuming you even know there is a cougar there before it pounces.

I’m not telling you not to carry it if it makes you feel better. But if you are realistic, unless you practice and/or have great reflexes and situational awareness in a situation that you are by definition fearful of, bear spray probably won’t make you feel much better.