FYI
In the last 3 days 3 black bear attacks in Colorado,one woman walking in town Manitou Springs bear killed by DOW,guy in Aspen bear came in to his house, both injured,another guy camping bear killed by lead and copper spray.

Links with details would be helpful.

I just saw it on the local news sorry no links

It's valuable to have some context to understand why this is happening. Bears aren't typically in a hurry to mess with people, but will interact in negative ways if there is a collapse in their food supply, a substantial encroachment in habitat, or sloppy human garbage habits that teach them an easy food source with inevitably disastrous consequences. From a survival perspective, the "why" gives us perspective on how to manage the risk.

+1. The behavior of the people involved would be helpful, as well, since that is often a contributing factor.

Bear Scratched Women and Home Attack

Thanks Bruce I am a analog guy in a digital world

Not an attack but my boss posted a video on Slack; it was a big Cinnamon-phase Black Bear rummaging around down by the river pretty much in our yard at work. Beautiful animal! But I'm glad to see him on video instead of outside while I take out the trash.

https://kdvr.com/news/local/camper-shoot...og-came-at-him/

interesting in Colorado it is illegal to shoot a bear or mountain lion that is attacking your dog, but Okay if attacking "livestock".

Yep it is called worrying livestock, and including domestic dogs.cats etc. chasing livestock Boom legal

I recently heard about a "bear banger" as a bear deterent. Does anyone know how effective/suitable they are? I would think bear spray in a holster would provide a faster reaction by the wearer.

The ones I've seen are just a mini firework, fired from the sort of pen launcher that also fires mini flares.

It's a scare tool. Does it work? Depends on the bear I guess. Blackies don't like loud, surprising noises. I guess you could pop one off just to alert bears that there were humans in the area, scaring off all other wildlife as well. Depends on the situation.

At close range, I would prefer bear spray at minimum.

I know what they are but I've never tried one. In videos they don't seem to be super quick and easy to deploy. Presumably they must work in at least some cases or they would've fallen out of favor by now. I'll probably never try them and I've never seen them in any local store.

My stomping grounds has some of the highest concentration of grizzly bears per square mile in the CONUS. Bear spray is the standard go-to for most hikers while most hunters here carry spray and a gun. I too go for bear spray and a sidearm in a chest holster.