Who also did some prospecting. He told us about how he would not go from his cabin to the Outhouse without his 44 on his hip. When asked if that was to shoot any bear he might encounter his reply was, "Nyah, all this little thing is going to do is piss the bear off. I keep it handy so I can put it in my mouth, pull the trigger and save the bear a little time and me a whole lot of pain."

with a .22LR. "Easily" done if you shove the barrel in its mouth before emptying the cylinder.

a bear safety specialist for years and all I can say is: bear spray is the best defense and lets you and the bear both walk away unscathed. Having heard a myriad of first-hand accounts of maulings and successful escapes, bear spray is the best defense... period. I have it with me when I hike in my area and keep it by the door when bear habitat is near or includes my home.

I do know that the parts of Norway where the law requires you to carry some kind of bear defense (for polar bears) a firearm has to be a high powered rifle or 12 gauge shotgun. That eliminates all handguns and AR-15s (anything that uses that round). When I was a kid, a friend's sister did successfully defend herself against a grizzly with a .22 revolver (this was a couple of decades before bear spray) by getting in a fetal position and putting the barrel in the bear's mouth.