Two or three years ago there was an article in one of the hunting rags about a 15-16 year old kid who killed an attacking sow bear with a knife, a Buck 110 I believe. If I remember right he was a pretty good sized kid. I'm sure there have been other people who have done it. About 15 years ago at one of the reservoir campgrounds near here a blackie grabbed a sleeping eight year old girl out of her tent and carried her off. Her grandfather chased it down beating it with a mag-lite until it dropped her and ran off. It was later tracked down and shot. The girl survived but was horribly mauled. At least with black bears I guess it pays to fight back with whatever you have at hand, because if you give up you are dead. Bear attacks are exceedingly rare, but that is small comfort if one is biting you. At minimum I carry a .357 revolver and a 5-1/2" knife. They are handy for other critters as well. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />