All of my apologies for the use of vulgar language. Yeah, emotions are neat aren't they? And no, I'm not scared of bears, I'm used to having them around, which is why I've never shot one in self defense, even when the closest one was about 8 feet from me. All I'm saying is you have to be prepared for the worst, because believe me, it does happen. And the villagers know what they are doing, believe me in this too, I've lived with them my entire life, but when a bear gets used to humans, eating garbage, etc, it won't leave until they make it, which in this case they weren't allowed to yet. As for eating us, there was a couple camping in interior Alaska this summer, which had a loaded revolver in their tent, they were both killed and parts of them eaten by the bear, no shots fired, because they were sleeping when it happened. Fish and game found tracks where the bear had been stalking them, with tracks around the entire camp area, which showed that this was actually a predetory incident - they were hunted by the bear. Now one the coast, where there is plenty of fish and other food, or by main rivers, this is unheard of, but on the inland without a massive food supply, we now do hear of brown bears being predetory towards humans. Neat huh? I'm not scared of bears, just have more respect for them than most, because I grew up with them and have seen what they can do. So since this is about respect, let's answer the question this guy has to what he wants. When going into bear country the smallest pistol I could recommend would be a .454 casull, if he can get a .460XVR or .500 all the better. He just has to practice with the pistol to make sure he is fact. I recommend a cross carry, with the pistol holstered on the left side, if right handed, with the handle facing right, this seems quicker, unless you are proficient in cowboy action quick draw. You have to practice though, to make sure you are fast. Keep in more open areas, to be able to see a good distance away, and make noise as you come in, always make noise, not just every once in a while something loud, but pretty often, just like visiting the relatives, call before you come. Make sure you survey the area often, to know what is around you, and note physical features. If a bear does amble up, its probably just checking you out, so go about your business, if he gets close, that is when you slowly draw, leave your fishing gear in most cases if really close, and back away, you can come back for your gear later, if he doesn't decide to play with it, better your pole than your body. If he wants the fishing hole, let him have it, most cases, is he is getting close, you just back off and take your stuff before he gets really close, its a river, so I bet there is more fish elsewhere. If camping stay clean, and keep smells down to a minimum, put all food and trash up in the trees (rope and a bag), or in bear boxes if provided. If you take the right precautions, then huge firepower isn't always necessary, but even then, things can go wrong. If you think about it... without the mechanical advantage we have, bears are higher on the food chain, which is why I respect them so much.
And never compare me to french again.... here is something funny, go to google.com, type in:
french military victories
then press "I'm feeling lucky" its a good laugh.
