Bean bag rounds are the best deterrent for curious bears or bears you want to "discourage" without using lethal force. But, unless you want to meet some nice smoke jumpers, stay away from any of those pyrotechnics in even relatively damp climates. Those things will start a fire so fast you can't believe it.
I've used them on the Alaska Peninsula, but the other issue is that they launch, go out a somewhat variable distance, then explode.
The practical aspect of that is that you are just as likely to launch one that goes off on the OTHER side of the bear, as one that goes off BETWEEN you and the bear.....thus effectively herding the bear in your direction.....don't ask how I learned that. Subsequently, I just shot the bear with them....lit a few on fire, bears that is. But, in my experience, pyrotechnics are pretty iffy for bear deterrence.
Bean bags, on the other hand, work great, and they will impart some "good feelings" as our old DT instructor used to say.
We carried Remington 870 shotguns, with side saddle carriers, like this:
We carried the shotgun loaded with slugs, so that if we encountered an aggressive bear, we had a live slug round first up.
We carried the rounds with primers down. The rearmost position or two on the side saddle carrier was fitted with a bean bag round. If I was dealing with a bear that needed some "good feelings", I could look down at the round in the carrier, verify that it was non lethal, pull it down out of the carrier with my right hand, open the slide, remove the slug round, drop the bean bag into the receiver, work the slide forward, and shoot the bear with the bean bag.
Rack the slide and you've got a slug round up next, in case the bear takes the bean bag encounter the wrong way. I never had that happen, by the way, and I've smacked quite a few bears with these things. In my experience, they either high tail it outta there, or jump, and then go on about what they were doing. If the latter, you've got an already habituated bear.....not good. Most bears, however, will get the hell outta Dodge when hit with one of these things.
The bean bags are expensive, but effective. I highly recommend that before you go afield with these things, you go to a range with a piece of plywood or pine board and shoot a bean bag at the board. Two reasons: First, you'll find that these things are fairly accurate at close range (unlike most of the pyro rounds). Second, you'll realize just how potent the impact is when you see the dent they leave in the wood.
One of the beauties of carrying a short barrel shotgun for bear protection is that it affords NON lethal as well as lethal capabilities. A large caliber rifle does not. I hate skinning bears......so for that and many other reasons, I'd much rather do everything possible to discourage a bear.
And, bear in mind (lame pun) that the discouragement needs to start the VERY first time you meet a particular bruin. Once they are habituated, they are probably going to get into trouble, which usually means a dead bear.
But, stay away from the Pyros, unless you're in REALLY wet country, and even then.....I wouldn't use them.
MTV
Nobody wants to be around a wounded bear. That applies in self defense, too, but if you don't slow him down on the first shot? You may not get another one off.
