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10 Bear Defenses Ranked (The Best One Isn't a Gun)

Frontier Files

159,720 views

Bear defense is not one answer. Every bear attack response here, bear spray, guns, playing dead, flips depending on which grizzly bear encounter you are actually standing in.

We rank all ten from worst to best against the peer reviewed record. The 92 percent spray number and what it really measured. The Smith and Herrero firearm study. Why grizzlies climb. Why playing dead saves you from one bear and gets you killed by the other. Number one is free, weighs nothing, and has better numbers behind it than any canister or cartridge on the market.

Everything here is sourced. Park Service and Parks Canada guidance, the Yellowstone injury record broken out by group size, and named cases from Glacier to Alaska. If you hike, hunt, or camp in bear country, this is the list to argue with.

Subscribe for straight answers about the gear people stake their lives on, and tell us your own bear encounter down in the comments.

Chapters:
00:00 - He Had Bear Spray and Still Died
00:20 - 10. Bear Spray
03:15 - 9. The Gun
06:31 - 8. Running
07:50 - 7. Climbing a Tree
09:38 - 6. Bear Bells
11:29 - 5. The Bear Hang
13:28 - 4. Playing Dead
16:09 - 3. Fighting Back Bare Handed
18:08 - 2. Reading the Attack
21:18 - 1. Not Going Alone
23:22 - Glacier National Park, May 2026

#bearattacks #bearsafety #bearcountry #grizzlybear #wilderness

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FOOTAGE CREDITS
Animal AL - A Grizzly Mauled Him While He was Packing Away Elk Meat
Clay Hayes - Going ELK HUNTING? Check this Out - Backcountry Block and Tackle
Curiosity Vault - Glacier Park Grizzly Bear Attacks 1967 | Short Documentary
Deby Dixon - Grizzly Bear Chases Elk in Yellowstone NP
Devesh lakhara - American Black Bear | The Ultimate Tree Climber | Speed, Strength & Survival Secrets #youtube
Explore Bears - Brown Bear Close Up - Katmai National Park - Live Cam Highlight
Force of Will - Loading and Shooting Glock 20
Foto Hysteria - Up Close with Bears- My Return to Yellowstone
In Montana - Grizzly Bears Being Released Back Into The Wild (One Gets Mad!)
IvanPrintsGuns - Shotguns in Slow Motion
James Willows - The Grizzlies of Glacier National Park; 15 Grizzly and Bear Videos starring 18 Bears !
Lena Miculek - Trigger Tribe - Fastest shooter EVER, Jerry Miculek- World record 8 shots in 1 second & 12 shot reload! HD
Lena Miculek - Trigger Tribe - S&W 629 .44 Magnum 6 shots in 1 SECOND with Jerry Miculek!
Luis Galvao - Sneaky Bear Steals Cooler
MeatEater - Gila Monster: New Mexico Bull Elk | S4E15 | MeatEater
Michael Cole - The Bears of the Killarney dump
mickjthompson - Bear can testing
On Target Reviews - Shooting the Kahr CW380 (Slow Motion)
Outside TV - MTBer Chased by a Grizzly Bear | The unReal World
SONDEL - Speed of the Brown Bear
Storyful Viral - Bear Stalks Family Along Hiking Trail in Whistler, Canada
The Trail Not Taken - LONE BEAR ENTERS THE NORTHLANDS. THE FULL ENCOUNTER.
When Animals Attack - The Terrifying Last Moments of Kevin Kammer: RIPPED From His Tent
When Animals Attack - This Hunter Was VICIOUSLY MAULED By 2 Grizzly Bears!
YellowstoneNPS - Short: How To Use Bear Spray

Short clips are used under fair use for educational and documentary
commentary. All footage remains the property of its respective owners.
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20 Comments

@Frontier_Files Creator 1 month ago Pinned

Yellowstone has not recorded one injury in a group of five or more across 47 years of its record. Does that change whether you head out alone?

@mleeeklund6754 1 month ago

For 20 years I walked a country road in Northwest Wisconsin. I encountered a black bear on average once a year. Maybe I was just lucky, but I always started singing loudly, and stood still. After a few minutes I d turn around, still singing, and walk away. There was only one time I had doubts . I startled a bear that was chasing a fox. I stood there and howled, Whst to hell do you want”. The bear turned around and walked away, but he looked disgruntled.

@NothingMaster 1 month ago

In bear country you best carry a highly reliable 12 gauge semiautomatic shotgun with slug loads, a . 454 Casull handgun, a Marlin Model 1895 (.45-70 Gov), a heavy duty bear spray, and a great Bowie knife just for good measure and as the last desperate option.

@pl1532 11 days ago

When hiking alone, I carry a Spas-12 semiautomatic shotgun that holds nine rounds of heavy shot & slugs, plus bear spray as a first resort. Never needed to use either in over 40 years of backcountry travel in grizzly country.

@dennisheadley4408 1 month ago

As a last resort, I would always prefer a firearm over spray, but carry both.

@ManfredMueller-x5c 1 month ago

I concur with number one. I'm not afraid but I respect bears. I see bears here all the time, at least once a week, sometimes every second day. I live with four teens within 40,000 acres of National Forest land. When a boar or a sow with two or three cubs come up our drive way or on the deck of the house, we all go out together to greet the guest making lots of noise. They turn and get out of there every single time. Of course, I also always also bring my Ruger and bear spray and my hunting knife as back up, but I'd rather not have to engage.
Never tolerate a bear near the garbage. Never leave food or anything that smells of food outside. Never feed a bear. Never run. Never do anything until you have to.
If attacked, use what you have. I once used my son's BB gun on a huge boar about ten yards coming towards me while sitting on the deck by myself. The boar got hit on the hind leg and high-tailed out of there squealing loudly. When I walk in the woods alone, I bring a real gun.

@224valk4 1 month ago

I live in black bear & mountain lion country. There have been TWO FATAL ATTACKS JUST ACROSS ARKANSAS STATE LINE! BOTH SMALL BLACK BEARS! I carry a 357 magnum, even in my yard! 125 grain solids!!

@tristantimothy1004 1 month ago

Alaska bushman 38 years. 25 spent working w AK F&G as a remote game spotter. Always out alone. 5 REAL attacks. ( Bluffs don't count) .My GUNS worked every time. 3 @ point blank w the guns muzzle shoved hard into the bear.Average response time, 1-3 seconds. You wont have time to aim so learn to point shoot. ALWAYS GO FOR THE FACE! NOT the head but the FACE where theyre brains at. The " Magic triangle" Acroos the eyes down to the nose. 2 grizzlies & 3 black bears. A friend was blindsided by a blackbear & his rifle was knocked clear. He grabbed its face & bit the bears nose half off. Instantly ended that attack. Bear ran off screaming. 70% of a bears brain is for its NOSE. Hurt that or their eyes bad enough & they quit instantly. Have since switchhed guns to the 10mm loaded w proper full power bear loads. If its close enough to hurt you it's close enough to shoot in the FACE !! Screw bearspray. It NEVER WORKS in a real attack. The stats are rigged by bunnyhuggers & F&G has been nationally infiltrated by them. They are LIARS. There crap reports are pure bullshyt. Bears are always ARMED & potentially dangerous, peolle should be too. CHEST holsters are the fastest to get to & use. Importaint when nano seconds mean the difference of walking away or becoming a statistic if your body's even found & most ARENT. IN A REAL ATTACK you WONT have time to use both. Get your head right & decide BEFORE going bush. Who's more importaint? YOU or the bear? Lotsa bears, just ONE YOU. This reports beginning was wrong. It wasn't a 7 mag, it was a .357 magnum. No such thing as a 7mm magnum handgun, and, THAT guy had a speedloader for his revolver , knew how to use it..I'm betting the actual kill shot was one in the FACE! Check out " Phil Schumakers 9mm grizzly kill " & " Cree, Bella Twins 22 grizzly kill." Also. " Ammoland .com" for the REAL gun results.

@Krumsotherkorner 10 days ago

Like painting a car, it’s all about the prep work

@marcusrussell8660 3 weeks ago

I don’t live in bear country but when I learned the Canadian Mounted Police bought Glock 20 10mm hard cast plus P ammunition I always respected that. Now that I am older the pistol really hurts. Don’t know if I will keep it.

@jeffj5754 1 month ago (edited)

Spent 4 Nights in Grizzly Habitat last week. Always have Bear Spray and either a Glock 10MM or a Ruger Alaskan .454 in a Chest Rig. If I am really Serious, hiking/fishing alone and deep in the Grizz Country, I carry a Mossberg Shockwave on a Strong Side Single Point Sling.
I believe in Groups. Have always worked. But you spread out when you are Fly Fishing.
I have recently tried something Quirky. That initially appears to be QUITE effective.
So far.
No one should bet their Life on this, But -
I carry a Bark Buddy Ultrasonic Dog Deterrent Device. I’ve used it on both Blacks and Grizzlies. At Distance. 200 feet or more.
The Bears DO NOT Like it.
They have all turned and immediately gone the other way.
It appears to work. Has every time. But I am not advocating using it in a Close Encounter.
I always have my Firearm in my Strong Hand if employing the Bark Buddy.
The Bears seem to Hate it. They Leave. And Quickly.
I think it is Worthy of a Park Study.
But don’t Bet your Life on it.
Not yet anyway.

@Fuzzball13 1 month ago

I live in Wyoming, I carry both. Twice I have had bear spray in one hand and a firearm in the other. I have used spray once against a wolf. I got as much pepper spray as the wolf did.

@jodlen49 3 weeks ago

Summerland, B.C. Canada. My wife and I were on my quad, riding on the KVR, back to the truck. A grizzly came up from the creek on the right side and crossed the KVR, 60 feet in front of us. He stopped on a little mound and started huffing and puffing and pawing on the ground, swaying his head back and fourth. My quad racing muffler was pretty loud, and I didn't think it would be safe to rev the engine to try and speed by him. Seeing he was only 6 or so feet off the trail. I turned off the quad and he seemed to calm down right away, still grunting a bit. After about a minute of my trying to soft talk him, he started to slowly saunter off the trail a bit. I restarted the quad which didn't seem to bother him to much. We passed by him while keeping the revs to a minimum. After passing him I sped up, knowing he had the speed to probably catch us, if he wanted. We figure he followed the creek down to a horse coral, when we appeared, noisy muffler and all, and freaked him out. Not my first bear experience, but my wife's first close encounter. Actually, before the encounter, she was slapping my shoulder trying to point out that the horses were all looking in the direction of the bushes lining the creek. We notified the rancher about the encounter, after loading the quad.

@tinoir67 1 month ago

Excellent advice. A friend of Mine travelled bear country. His group had been visited by a bear while sleeping. The bears ate some of their food but did not attack anybody. Later in a bear followed/measured them and their pack horses but did not dare to attack either. A single hiker/smaller group would have been an easier target for a predatory bear and more quiet, i.e. more likely to surprise an animal, which would just protect itself or its cubs.

@johnbarbuto5387 3 weeks ago

My wife and I were hiking the West Coast Trail, on Vancouver Island. All of the designated camping sites have bear boxes. Great (except for the people who want to put their whole pack in the box, so no one else has any room - selfish). Our hike had been going great and we were using the boxes. But, a flash flood had wiped out one of the campgrounds. It was closed. We didn't know. We had to keep going. The sun was near the horizon. We crossed a river and asked the boatman where we could camp. He told us of a nice small inlet. We headed for it. It was a small inlet. We found a place to set up a tent and on the other side of the inlet (100-150 feet away) there was a rock wall. I did the best I could to hang our food bag high and away from the wall. It wasn't perfect but it was our best option. We ate quickly. The fog rolled in. About 2 AM I woke up with a sound my brain already knew was a bear going after our nylon food bag (plastic enclosures inside of it). The sound was a slow paced "fingernails across rough nylon material" sound. My brain knew they weren't fingernails. I woke my wife. She thought it was a racoon. I didn't. We got up and flashlights - diffused by the fog - showed two eyes moving back and forth across the inlet. We looked for the ladders at the shore end of the inlet, our way out. Lights showed a smaller set of eyes there. Fortunately the tide was out. We threw everything into our packs. She did most of the packing. I held up two flashlights far apart - as if to say, "See how far apart my eyes are! I have a really big head!". Packing hastily done we threw on our packs and headed out of inlet around the headlands. We went about half a mile down the beach and built a fire. We stayed up the rest of the night. In the morning we knew we had no food - all of it had been in our food bag. We still had 2-3 days of hiking left. We decided to go back to see if we could find any remaining food. As we got near the inlet the first thing we saw were big bear tracks. It had followed us a short distance up the beach. The bear was gone. So, was all of our food - on a very quick inspection. We left by hiking up the beach again for a long way before going back up the headlands to the trail. We now have a bear barrel and bear spray. And after watching this I think we are planning to make it "a group adventure" the next time.

@davidmccallum3947 1 month ago (edited)

On a mid September day in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies near Chain Lakes i was on bow hunting trip with a friend. I have been hunting for 40 years now and this was the one day I thought it would all end. I was sitting on a slope in some deep brush where I could see the entire area on both sides on the valley I was purched in. I had spotted some mule deer on the right side of the valley. I watched them for some time expecting them to eventually come my way. My partner was 100 yds behind me on higher ground scoping 2 other seperate fields for deer. At one point I was looking to the left side of the valley to make sure I was not going to be surprised buy some other deer I had seen the day before. I saw nothing and then looked back to the right where I was watching the mule deer, only they had vanished. I grabbed my binoculars to look and couldn't find them. They had completely disappeared. After 20 minutes of seeing nothing it was close to lunch so i decided to jump down into the 10ft wide valley and head back to where my partner was in the other field. To my surprise I had jumped into the center of the valley and when I looked up, I had jumped right in front of a sao black bear with 2 cubs. The distance was less than 10 meters and the bear came skidding to an abrupt halt. I immediately pulled back my bow and kept my eyes straight on the bear and her cubs. She shook her head and hit the ground with her paw. I had already started to back my way up the valley to get out of her way, never taking my eyes off of hers. She hit the ground a second time when suddenly one of the cubs ran right by me up the trail and then the other cub followed. I could feel my heart beating through my chest because I was now between the bear and her cubs. I never stopped backing up the valley at the same time. The bear looked toward the cubs running up the trail and then at me. She did this twice then she took of after her cubs running right past me at less than 10 feet. This was the scariest day of my life and I hope to never experience it again. Thank you for helping make people bear aware. David McCallum

@IQ100-h8q 1 month ago

In 1980s Korea, flares were used to suppress protests.
It looked like a grenade (nicknamed the “apple bomb”), and you’d pull out a safety pin and throw it. There is CS inside
It contained a toxic chemical called (2-Chloro benzylidene malononitrile).... I wonder what it would be like to replace this with Capsaicin and throw it.
Of course, there would be regulations because it uses gunpowder, but I think a plum bomb would be primarily suitable for use at a range of 20 to 30 meters.
KM25 Grenade (also known as the Apple Grenade):
A sphere approximately 7 cm in diameter that resembles an apple in size and shape. It is primarily thrown at close range to disperse protesters or arrest ringleaders. Upon close-range explosion, it is easy to sustain burns or injuries from shrapnel. Because it is made of plastic, embedded shrapnel does not show up well on X-rays.

@loch1957 1 month ago

I walked into grizzly in wyoming in 2002. I was carrying a 357 with hardcast. I never fired, he huffed and made noise. We had a short conversation and we both walked off. I didn't survive because of a gun, I showed him I was not a threat and we mutually decided to move along. I rarely go alone anymore, I might not be lucky a second time.

@bogtrotter5110 4 weeks ago (edited)

You can tell the difference between a grizz and a black bear by its stomach contents. The grizz usually has bells in its stomach.

@AlphaSteward 1 month ago

The group-size data is probably the most interesting part of this. We spend endless amounts of time debating spray, caliber and gear, but avoiding the encounter in the first place beats winning one. Hard to argue with 47 years and zero injuries in groups of five or more. Also "the absence is the evidence" is timeless.