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Tips for Bear Spray Use
Keep bear spray readily accessible in a quick draw holster, not stored in your horse's pack.
You don't have to be a good shot with bear spray. Just put up a cloud of spray between you and the charging bear.
Practice! Use an inert can of bear spray to practice removing it from your holster, removing the safety tab with your thumb, and firing. Practice firing inert bear spray with the wind at your back, into a head wind, and with a cross-wind so that you understand how bear spray is affected by the wind.
Make sure your bear spray is EPA-approved: don't depend on personal defense products to stop a charging bear.
Bear spray can explode if it reaches 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't store it in the passenger compartment of vehicles or near any heat sources.
Make sure your bear spray hasn't expired.
If a Bear Charges You
Remove the safety clip
Aim slightly down and adjust for crosswind
Begin spraying when the charging bear is 30-60 feet (10-20 yards) away
Spray at the charging bear so that the bear must pass through a cloud of spray
Keep spraying until the bear changes direction
If the bear continues to charge, spray into its face
Leave the area promptly
Personal defense, jogger defense, law enforcement or military defense sprays may not contain the correct ingredients, or have the proper delivery system, to stop a charging bear. Bear spray uses a fine cloud of Capsicum derivatives to temporarily reduce a bear's ability to breathe, see, and smell, giving you time to leave the area. If you’re involved in a conflict with a bear, regardless of how minor, you should report it to a park ranger as soon as possible.
Also a lot of different organizations can also provide you with advice before you head out into the wilderness. Back Country Horsemen of America, the American Endurance Ride Conference or the North American Trail Ride Conference.
Stay alert but not paranoid. Riding along wildlife it's what the pleasure of trail riding it's all about.
I hope you will enjoy some of the pictures of the wildlife that we encountered. And bears are not the only ones you need to be careful around. The animals in Yellowstone are wild and unpredictable, no matter how calm they appear to be. Always stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards away from all other animals, including bison and elk.
Always stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards away from all other animals, including bison and elk.