For the average guy out there who rarely or never trains with a firearm, bear spray is the only realistic option. For a trained person with the skillset, a firearm may be a more reliable option.

Problem is those are two separate groups of individuals and in their Venn diagram the circles don’t overlap. Yet these “studies” make it seem as though everybody has equal skillsets and the only difference is the chosen tool — firearm or bear spray. It’s not a valid study group.