https://www.adn.com/uncategorized/article/are-guns-more-effective-pepper-spray-alaska-bear-attack/2011/08/17/?page=0,0

The above is an interesting read on the subject of guns vs bear spray, generally favoring bear spray. The author claims, without citing statistics, that more people are injured or killed by firearms carried to defend against bear attacks than are damaged by bear attacks themselves.

It is worthwhile to point out that there are something like 3 fatal attacks by bears annually in the US. Five times are many people are killed by dogs. Something like 50 people per year perish from bee attacks.

For that matter, the number of fatalities from animal attacks of all types is dwarfed by the number that die as a result of falls or drowning. Although one should certainly take precautions in bear country, there are greater dangers present.

I would be willing to bet that tweaking data is not unknown on either side of this debate. I suspect that serious tinkering would be called out; there is no faster way to establish one's own reputation in scientific circles.

Bear in mind (!) that the article was published in something called "Ammoland," probably not a peer reviewed journal and possibly, just possibly, a biased source.

In the end, we all select our own respective security blankets and depend on them. For me, in the places where I am spending most of my time, bears are not present. We have to be concerned with sharks.

Firearms always work??? That is news to me.
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Geezer in Chief