Tested some old bear spray today

[garlic08]

My neighbor gave me an expired can of bear spray and I drove with it up to Glacier for the start of my CDT hike. Unfortunately it sat too long in the hot car, and maybe because it was an old can, it leaked. Liquid pepper spray is very annoying, too. That was about five years ago, and I still sneeze when I open that pack. You might want to mention that caution to your brother.

I bought a new can at Glacier at a $10 penalty, and used the leaky one as practice. I would recommend anyone who's serious about hiking in grizzly country do that. A friend of mine just went and bought two and shot one off for practice.

I did not get any blow back on a calm day, and I'm sure I got more than 20' before dispersal. The one I used was only a couple years out of date. I would carry a can that's had a test spray out of it.

As I hiked out of grizzly country south of Yellowstone, I gave mine to one of the cowboy guides at Brooks Lake Lodge. He appreciated it very much. He said all the guides used it as their first line of defense with their horses and customers (in that order).

[WalksInDark]

This discussion about bear spray reminds me of a discussion I was once part of regarding MACE (now what it would be comparable to would be pepper spray) spray incidents: according to the cops and first responders present most folks never practiced/tried the spray before having to use it during an actual incident....as a result the sprays were largely ineffective....or in more than a few cases resulted in the user spraying themselves in the face rather than spraying the bad guys; similarly, during a college police-drive-along I got to see a newbie deputy sheriff attempt to stop a fight between two drunken brothers by simply spraying them with MACE....the outcome was almost funny....the MACE did not stop or even really slow down the fight...however, the MACE got all over the officers and their squad car when the two perps had to be taken to jail. I, however, really got to appreciate how well MACE works during the +20 minute drive from the perps home to the county jail.

The moral of the story (for my money, anyway) is that if you are going to expect some THING to maybe save your life or keep you from severe injury...you really need to practice a few times during a safe training exercise just to be on the safe side. Oh yeah, the "worst outcomes possible from something that is supposed to help you" examples I have seen include: SCUBA buoyancy vests being triggered accidentaially (this happened much more when the were still powered by CO2 cartridges); boat aerial flares going places other than straight up; and even large GI issued bug bombs emptying uncontrollably and ballistically (This one was pretty funny actually. When the person using the bug bomb went to turn the spray on....they accidentally pushed the control too far and the entire canister contents stated flying out the nozzle. The person holding the canister got some pretty significant skin damage due to the freezing cold temperature of the metal, the canister ended up shooting around the floor into several different rooms...and the home where the canister went off had to be aired out for a few hours before anyone could go back into it.)

Lastly, if you have never tired the spray during ideal test conditions...how do you know that you will be able to use it effectively when you are in the "scared snotless and running backward" conditions?

[hobby]

Hilarious! First time I was to carry bear spray (in Bob Marshall 10 years ago), I wanted to test fire it first to check for range. So outside of the motel in Kalispel, in the side yard, I test fired about 1/2 second. Most went in a stream about 30 ft and the rest was a slight fog. We went back inside, and a few minutes later everyone was coughing and wheezing. The slight breezed had blown the fog towards the motel. We exited our room only to find everyone else on that wing exiting their rooms coughing and wheezing. We left for dinner, never letting on what that we had caused the irritation. Still laugh about it to this day. I have no doubt of the potency of bear spray!

[Erin]

I just got back from hiking in the Tetons and Yellowstone. I spent 40 bucks on bear spray and could not carry it home on the plane and there was not a post office to ship it. No grizzles in Missouri so that would have been a waste. So I donated it to the ranger station at Mammoth Spring and they say they appreciate it and use it. I looked for a hiker in town but could not find one that did not already have a can strapped to him or her.
I figured I could use the stuff if needed, but I wondered all along if soiling my self would spoil the effect. Really, if a grizzly bear charged me, that would be the first order of business. In my opinion, yard fogger or wasp spray is a no go. This was suggested.

[Erin]

Hobby, I just saw your post. Funny! One of my friends test spayed at the back end of a campsite and cleaned us out and all our neighbors too. The only thing left were the chipmunks still chewing on our backpacks. They are immune to the stuff.

[slow mind]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PExlT-5VU-Y

Just info... take from it what you will

[atraildreamer]

I used to do delivery work. Since I had to carry a lot of cash, and had to deal with the occasional aggressive dog, I started carrying a small pepper spray canister on a lanyard that I hung around my neck. One day, while closing the car door, the canister got jammed in the door, got punctured, and proceeded to spray me on my forehead. I tossed that thing as far as possible, but the fumes from the spray, even though it missed my eyes, still stung them, the effect lasting about 15 minutes!

[Pathfinder1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PExlT-5VU-Y

Just info... take from it what you will

Hi...


Great post. Thanks. I think everyone can learn from it.

[Erin]

I just watched that video. It was excellent. Better than anything on the National Parks website. Thank you for posting.

[atraildreamer]

Not just for bears:

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012/...th-bear-spray/

Disabled Grandma Uses Bear Spray To Fend Off 13 Attackers After Her Marijuana Grow

October 3, 2012 11:48 PM

DIXON (CBS13) – It was one disabled woman versus 13 intruders, and she won.

The Dixon homeowner, whose identity is being kept hidden, knows what the criminals were after, but wouldn’t let them have it.


She went to answer an early morning knock on the door, but not before grabbing a can of bear spray. It was her only defense against 13 intruders.


She was staring down the barrel of a shotgun, facing seemingly impossible odds. Most wouldn’t dare fight back, but this disabled grandmother did.


“I’ve always jokingly said, ‘if someone tries to take my income, I’m going to fight. They’re going to have to fight me,’” said the woman.

She says the intruders were after her medical marijuana grow in her backyard. They were apparently so distracted that even the gunman didn’t notice what she was hiding in her hand.


“I couldn’t get the safety off,” she said.



As they were yelling “where’s the marijuana?”, she flicked off the safety and emptied the can of bear spray on three of the men, including the guy pointing the shotgun at her.


“I didn’t realize it until it was all over with how dangerous it was,” she said.


It is partly because she didn’t realize just how many intruders she’d chased off, until the very end.


“Running as fast as they can away in two different directions and there was 13 of them,” the woman said.


They were running away scared and empty-handed from a disabled grandmother.


“Put that much energy to come, and take it from someone is just chicken,” she said.


It was a matter of principle over medical pot, which is her sole source of income. Clearly, she isn’t giving up without a fight.


“I would do it again,” she said.


Now she’s getting out of the medical marijuana business because she doesn’t want her grandchildren around any danger.

[sloger]

I have a can of spary sitting around that is 25 years old, what are the chances it would be effective? Thanks

[Wise Old Owl]

Pull the trigger!

Oh honest - check the ingredients - IF it still has full pressure...its good.

[BradMT]

The reason modern bear spray has an expiration date is because the propellents degrade, not the active ingredients.

Bear spray made prior to the EPA's mandated propellent change should still be fine (like the 1990 can mentioned in this thread). I have one that old, have tested it, and it's still going strong. The newer stuff is undoubtedly fine far past its expiration date as well, but I'd not use it much over 5 years past the date personally.

Spray is effective. I always have it with me here in Grizz country, even when elk hunting with a rifle.

[Wise Old Owl]

Thanks for clearing that up....

[BradMT]

You're welcome :grin:

[Wise Old Owl]

Hi...


Will the EPA register any bear spray with less then 9.5 oz content?

Serious? I am not a huge fan of govt oversight... EPA registers almost everything... "55541-2" is on the can.

I was looking for the emoticon....

[Sailing_Faith]

Make sure to find an area away from other people to test the spray. A friend once tested a pepper round (designed to the fired from a 12ga shot gun) and had downwind neighbors from a block away complaining about burning eyes!

[Hill Ape]

I've been sprayed with whatever it is cops carry these days. I believe it was capsaicin based. Not pleasant, but I was not incapacitated. And long ago I've gone through the CS chamber in Basic Training. Did that a couple times. Some people would flop on the floor like a dying fish. Some people just started coughing. But oddly, it didn't seem to affect some people whatsoever. But again, most of the guys I saw were still able to function. Girl a couple weeks ago had her hands mauled after spraying a bear. Was the bear pissed at her hands, or at the spray? Was the spray effective then? I think that stuff lends a false sense of not only security, but also of the level of risk involved. If you are close enough to use spray, YOU have already made mistakes. The bear is under no obligation to respond as expected to getting sprayed. Just walk away.