Originally Posted By: hikermor
According to the NPS account and investigation of this incident, the spray and bullets reached the bear at the same time. If that is the case, this incident is irrelevant to any spray vs. bullets discussion -the bullets weren't backup for the spray in this case.

Thanks for the details ... this is exactly the information needed to answer the original question!
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Victory awaits him who has everything in order — luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck. Roald Amundsen