Roper that's all I'm trying to say. Why in the hell do you feel the need to go flyfishing armed? But on a side note and very interesting is this article:
New Study Says Bear Spray Outperforms Guns
by Tom Chandler on March 29, 2008
From the formerly bikini-fishing-chick posting deviants at the Getoutdoors Blog (GoBlog) comes a Salt Lake Tribune story that suggests leaving the big, heavy firearm at home might be your best bet when it comes to bear protection:
If you’re roaming bear country, your best protection against an unpleasant encounter is a can of bear spray, not a gun, according to Brigham Young University wildlife biologist Tom Smith.
Smith’s team, which included Stephen Herrero, a world authority on bear attacks, has studied 600 bear encounters in Alaska over two decades. In 72 incidents in which bear spray was used properly, the bear stopped charging more than 90 percent of the time, according to a study Smith published in the April edition of the Journal of Wildlife Management. People using guns, by contrast, stood a one-in-three chance of failing to deter the bear, according to an earlier study.
Bear attacks aren’t exactly a problem in the Mt Shasta area, and while I’ve seen bears a half-dozen times up here, they’ve always been headed in the opposite direction. And frankly, I’d hope the smell of human waste drives bears away, because I’d likely soil myself if a bear ever did charge.
Still, it’s food for thought for the upcoming Montana road trip, though it’s possible that just being fast enough to outrun your fishing buddy is defense enough.
See you in the pepper aisle, Tom Chandler.
Sorry, I forgot about this article I read a while back. I waited to add it here at the end. Thought I'd throw it in as some final food for thought.:beer1: Coach