wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

[quote=Bill_de]
Could something happen, sure. But I felt safer there than on what was my daily commute on the Long Island Expressway.

I have to agree with you. The bears choices were 1) grab one of the plentiful, much smaller than humans, salmon with the only chance of getting hit in the head by a tail or 2) try and eat a creature that looks similar to a small bear appendage wise and looks like it would put up a fight. And the creature isn't even going after the salmon like the other smaller bears. Not that a hungry bear would not eat a human, just that it is easier not having to fight with your food if possible. Bears do kill humans: just not as likely with plenty of docile fish around.

dzn1

You won't outrun a bear. Just give the beast your peanut butter and jelly sandwich and back off slowly.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

No need to outrun a bear... just outrun your buddy.

It's called the Buddy System of bear protection. You put a small .22 caliber pistol in your pocket that nobody knows about. And you always go places with at least one of your buddies.

If a bear charges, pull out your pistol and shoot your buddy in the kneecap. Then make a timely but not excessively fast (don't distract the bear) escape.

Eberhard Brunner Loc: Alaska

The only logical answer came from wdross.
For most of bear photography you don't need a Super Tele.
I can give you more advise if I know your Alaska destination and time of season.
If it all possible avoid Denali N.P. And Brooks Camp.

Light condition can vary and you might consider using a mono pod.
Good rain gear and rubber boots should be part of your outfit. Layers of cloth work the best.
When bears emerge from hibernation in March/April it can bee freezing, while during the salmon run in August you might me comfortable in summer cloth.
www.EberhardBrunner.com
Worked with Alaska bears for 35 years.

3-10-2017
The first bears are out.
Spotted tracks at 3500 ft from the air.
If it gets cold they go back to their den.

grandkids6

GrannyP .I just brought the Panasonic Lumix fz80 and can't wait to use it..I have all of the equipment but I really am looking forward to use the fz80
I too looked at almost every bridge camera and couldn't decide then I saw an youtube about it and I was sold..We been to Alaska and I wanted to shoot eagles but so far had no
luck.. maybe next time...The only bear that I saw was across the steam from us and not much interested in us thank God...have a good time

Skibum

Any .44 Magnum will do :)

Eberhard Brunner Loc: Alaska

You guys must believe that bears are super aggressive and eat people on sight.
In Katmai every summer many thousand tourist photograph and enjoy watching bears.
Only one guy in all the years was killed by a bear. Books have been published and movies have been produced
about Timothy Treadwell. When reading 'DEATH IN THE GRIZZLY MAZE" you will learn more about Tim. His dead wish was, to be get killed by a bear.
'SKIBUM" made the comment "Any 44 Magnum will do it. You would have to be very lucky to hit and kill a charging bear with a hand gun. Guns and bear spray have been replaced by the hand held flare IKAROS. The hissing sound, and the red flame resembles a mini napalm bomb. Most pilots, guides and park rangers, now trust that flare.
I carry two in loops on my vest. The flare lights instantly. The cost of $20 is a good investment.

Eberhard Brunner Loc: Alaska

You guys must believe that bears are super aggressive and eat people on sight.
In Katmai every summer many thousand tourist photograph and enjoy watching bears.
Only one guy in all the years was killed by a bear. Books have been published and movies have been produced
about Timothy Treadwell. When reading 'DEATH IN THE GRIZZLY MAZE" you will learn more about Tim. His dead wish was, to be get killed by a bear.
'SKIBUM" made the comment "Any 44 Magnum will do it. You would have to be very lucky to hit and kill a charging bear with a hand gun. Guns and bear spray have been replaced by the hand held flare IKAROS. The hissing sound, and the red flame resembles a mini napalm bomb. Most pilots, guides and park rangers, now trust that flare.
I carry two in loops on my vest. The flare lights instantly. The cost of $20 is a good investment.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Brown Bears rarely ever intend to eat a human. We smell obnoxious. They attack almost always to protect food, territory or cubs. Play dead long enough and they usually will abandon you for dead.

Black bears rarely ever defend anything, and normally do not even fight for their cubs. They attack to eat you! Fight like Hell or you will die.

Polar bears don't like the smell either, and they don't like noise. Young males are curious and might kill a person to see what it is. Usually they do not eat a human, but an injured bear that can't hunt and is starving probably will.

Carrying a large caliber pistol will scare off a polar bear and piss off a brown bear but have no effect on a black bear. All of them will be annoyed if they are hit with a bullet. For that case, make sure that your pistol has both front and rear sights filed down to make the barrel smooth. That way it won't hurt so bad when the bear shoves it down your throat (or up somewhere else).

Another good suggestion if you fire such a weapon at a bear is to count your shot carefully. Use the last shot to commit suicide, it's a lot easier.

dzn1

Good Lord. Maybe I'll stay home and watch it on my TV. I can take pretty good pictures off the Samsung 55" HDTV using my 18-55mm kit lens.

Skibum

Hey lighten up (no pun intended) I was joking. Now about the flares.... it will scare the bear away all right, but what about setting the whole forest on fire?

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

If that allows you to live to watch it, the fire will be a wonderful sight!

GrannyP

Grandkids6, I saw that if you preorder the FZ80 on the Panasonic site, they'll give you a three year warranty. Do you happen to have that YouTube link? Sort of hated to buy a brand new model with no reviews but it isn't super expensive.

We went to our nearest large town and stopped at Sam's Club. Was able to heft that big Nikon super zoom. Sam's has a generous return policy...90 days, and okay to return even if used. Was tempted to buy and try it out!

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Contrary to popular belief, a .44 magnum pistol is not the best bear repellent. If you must pack a gun, a 12 ga. shotgun with a short barrel and loaded with alternating rounds of .00 buckshot and slugs are much more effective. Just make sure you know how to shoot the thing and have time for a shot. Seriously, though, the bears are more interested in eating salmon than attacking people. Let them do their thing and you will be left along to record some very fun images.

Timothy Treadwell? He as an idiot. Apparently all the recreational stuff he ingested deleted his brain. He has been given too much credit for anything. It's not surprising he became a snack for the bears.

GrannyP

[quote=Eberhard Brunner]The only logical answer came from wdross.
For most of bear photography you don't need a Super Tele.
I can give you more advise if I know your Alaska destination and time of season.
If it all possible avoid Denali N.P. And Brooks Camp.

Light condition can vary and you might consider using a mono pod.
Good rain gear and rubber boots should be part of your outfit. Layers of cloth work the best.]

Thanks. We are going the 9th of June. Part of our trip is an overnight at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge. I have rain gear and they have boots. Being from Colorado, I am familiar with "layers."

We're also going fishing and sightseeing, taking our son and 13 yr old grandson. They can only stay a week, but then we are going to stay a few days extra and go to Denali NP and Fairbanks. We enjoyed Denali on our last trip and saw so much wildlife, even a wolf!