What Is Bear Pepper Spray?
Defending Yourself Against Bear Encounters
Any time you are planning a wilderness adventure especially in areas known for having large bear populations it is always a good idea to take a canister of bear repellent spray along with you. Bear spray, also called bear mace, bear deterrent, bear pepper mace, bear pepper spray, bear repellent and pepper spray for bears, are all basically the same thing. Bear pepper spray is an animal deterrent spray used to deter a raging bear or some other large predatory animal that is threatening your life.
When it comes to self protection against bears, an investigation covering a 20 year period, researchers found that bear spray was actually better in deterring a charging bear than firing a gun. The research revealed that spray actually caused bears to stop in their tracks and leave the area in over 92% of occurrences, while the use of guns only worked 67% of the time. If you don't manage to stop the aggressive bear on the first shot, the wounded bear will then become even dangerous. However, with the use of bear spray you don't have to be as accurate.
Bear mace contains Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) an oily residue from hot peppers. Capsicum is a natural ingredient that causes a burning sensation when sprayed in the face of an attacking bear. This specialized animal repeller works in a way that resembles the operation of pepper sprays designed to be used on humans. However, common pepper sprays are NOT recommended for repelling bears, because they won't get the job done. Only EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) approved bear sprays may be sold as deterrents against bears and have specific minimum requirements that must be met.
What pepper spray for bears does is cause an extreme burning sensation as it hits the eyes, nose and mouth of the bear. In most cases, the bear will make an instant retreat in effect stopping the beast in its tracks as it attempts to deal with the burning pain. The discomfort the bear undergoes will not be permanent wearing off after thirty or forty minutes giving you or the bear plenty of time to high-tail it out of there.
It's a good idea to make it a habit of taking bear pepper mace along every time you go out into the wild. Like with most things, however, the key to using it effectively is to know how to properly use it. If a bear is getting too close or charging, create a cloud of bear spray in front of you and the instant the bear hits that cloud it will fall on its haunches, tuck tail and run.
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Find out more about bear mace spray and other animal repellers. Visit a1selfdefenseproducts.com.
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