At my official bovernment bear encounter training in Alaska we were taught that the LAST line of bear defense was shooting the bear (we were issued S&W 29's). The recommended procedure was as follows:
1. Shout as loud as you can with or without profanity
2. Blow a police type whistle as loud as you could
3. Fire a shot into the air, and if all else fails,
4 Shoot the bear center mass, then run and hide.
We were told (I never tested this though). that a center mass shot would stop the bear briefly and start an adrenalin rush. In theory, a bear in an adrenalin rush loses the sense of smell and can only find you (to maul you) if he can see you. Note that this procedure was tailored to Alaskan Browns and not Arkansas blacks.
I cannot guarantee this procedure but it was drilled into us every day of training along with other key artic survival procedures. As I reported to my site, my predacessor's body was loaded onto the plane. He had broken one of the other survival rules. That was one powerful message .
1. Shout as loud as you can with or without profanity
2. Blow a police type whistle as loud as you could
3. Fire a shot into the air, and if all else fails,
4 Shoot the bear center mass, then run and hide.
We were told (I never tested this though). that a center mass shot would stop the bear briefly and start an adrenalin rush. In theory, a bear in an adrenalin rush loses the sense of smell and can only find you (to maul you) if he can see you. Note that this procedure was tailored to Alaskan Browns and not Arkansas blacks.
I cannot guarantee this procedure but it was drilled into us every day of training along with other key artic survival procedures. As I reported to my site, my predacessor's body was loaded onto the plane. He had broken one of the other survival rules. That was one powerful message .