I've hunted bears for most of my hunting life. The only time a bear will charge us if it has cubs, its wounded or its cornered. Otherwise were safe sometimes but use caution always. I heard about a hunter who walked up on a bear den, right in front of it and stopped to look in it. When the bear charged out and ran him over and kept on going he went back to camp and changed his shorts, thats the truth.(local) When i'm on my land in VT in the heart of the best blackbear hunting in the state i always have my 357 snubbie with me. If we go on a hike with the kids i bring my 357 or my 44 with me. I don't want to alarm the kids or make them scared too. I do educate them about the dangers in the woods too and about what to do and what to avoid doing when encountered. My teaching them did pay off. Here in CT at my daughters condo while walking the dog there was a falling tree with a mountainlion spotted on the other side of the fallen tree busy eating something to stop and see them. My wife and daughter backed up and left the area. My son told all the others who live in the condo's about the mountainlion sighting and no one believed him. He even took them up there and actually showed them the tracks in the snow and they still didn't believe him. One morning the montainlion at 7am walked right thru the center of the condo area and they believed it then. Silly? I taught the kids to look, smell and listen and to be very alert when there in the woods it just may save there life someday.(bears smell really bad/fresh kills smell too) Educate your kids too. Bill