[marktwain]

Most black bear attacks are predatory. As black bears seldom live long enough to eat people regularly, the initial attacks are tentative. The bear will "test" the prey to make sure it is not in danger of being injured.

This often presents excellent opportunities for use of a defensive firearm.

[marktwain]

Bella Twin, a tiny Cree woman, shot and killed a world record grizzly bear with a single shot .22 rifle in 1953.

http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2017/06/bella-twin-22-used-to-take-1953-world.html

[bk1000]

The bear was finally driven off when a park ranger shot it in the face with a shotgun slug, wounding it.

OK, that bear was either the most badass bear out there or this reads wrong. How does any creature just get wounded by a shotgun slug to the face?

[RoosterRedux]

Ruger LCP?

Useless against bears unless the noise scares them away.

[ichabod1]

It took a deer slug to the face just to get the bear to back off. I think a little pistola would just have pissed it off.

[Texas Fossil]

“with an AK74.”

AK47 ??

[peeps36]

The black bear population in CT has exploded over the past ten years. I laugh at the people who say they are harmless animals. I remember hearing that you fight a black bear and play dead with the brown bear. The black bear usually attacks a person to eat them.

[Kenton]

They could easily have carried a Ruger LCP, which weighs about as much.

I've got one of those, and I guarantee it wouldn't stop a charging bear. I put four .380 hollowpoints into the head and neck of snapping turtle, and he was still alive four hours later, just sayin'...

A .44 mag would be better protection, but they are a little heavy for a runner to tote along with him; not to mention he's a teenager, he may not be allowed to carry a handgun.

Having adults stationed along the route of the race with high powered rifles would be more practical.

[Blue Jays]

"...texted..."

---

This poor unfortunate kid didn't realize this was not a time to be fiddling around with his mobile texting device.
Very few teens recognize that one can press a sequence of numbers, hold the device to their face, and actually speak into it.

[KC_Lion]

Alaska Ping.

[AlaskaErik]

Just got a Remington 870 Tactical the other day. Now for a good carry sling.

[AlaskaErik]

They could easily have carried a Ruger LCP, which weighs about as much.

Now that's just plain stupid. A little pop gun like that is highly unlikely to save your life in this type of situation. If I'm in bear country, it's a shotgun with slugs as the primary weapon and a .45 semiauto as the secondary.

[ghostkatz]

There are 2 predators that I truly fear in my area: humans and black bears. There was a mama and cub within a few hundred feet of the cabin. My little dog was barking hysterically but did not pursue the bears. The cub showed up days later 40 ft from a neighbor’s kitchen door. She was able to get picture of it. Haven’t seen them lately. Thank goodness. Rather be watching the wild turkey strutting and carrying on. No bears please !!

[Horatio Gates]

Not likely a 16 year old would be carrying a firearm but just damn...I run and that’s one of the few times I’m not armed. Probably wouldn’t carry anything bigger than a .380 while running