I suggested Gary Shelton's first book because I think that it contains some of the best practical information currently available for persons who have not had the opportunity to learn bear safety from those with extensive practical experience dealing with bears. Firsthand experience with anything tends to be the best method of learning and unfortunately, relatively few today have the opportunity to do this.

The BEST info. on the use of bear spray that I have ever seen is in Gary's book and it directly contradicts the advice given in other books written and published by those who claim to ...work... in bear country. I will not list these here, as I initially posted, I consider it best to use ONE valid source of info. to develop your own techniques to deal with this potential problem.

I DID NOT SAY that ANYONE SHOULD EVER approach ANY bear and the deliberate, ignorant distortion of what I DID say is just ludicrous. What I POSTED was that it was a spiritual experience for me to be that close to these bears AS IT WAS. Anyone with extensive experience working and living in bear country is well aware that one can suddenly come upon a bear and be very close to it; this, to serious wilderness lovers IS a deeply moving and spiritual experience, so, is it when I shoot, kill, gut, skin and eventually consume an animal, as I have done for decades.

As far as being ...irresponsible... ( this is the exact term NBCer called me in the PM he refers to and which he now distorts) where this topic is concerned, it is to laugh, I have a standing job offer from a major mineral exploration company here in BC to work as a camp boss and facilitator for them and this includes being the "bear man". I do not do this because my wife is diabetic and has a heart condition and, after, YEARS spent working for months, alone, in wilderness, my wife prefers me to stay at home...and that is important to me. The people who have made me this offer are middle-aged, have traveled worldwide in mineral exploration, including all over Canada and pay EXTREMELY well, I doubt that they would want me, if my credentials were not satisfactory or I had a reputation for being ...irresponsible...

I DID NOT SAY that I do not have any sort of defence mechanisms for bears, I simply said that I seldom carry a gun or spray when backpacking. As it happens, I currently have over three dozen highend guns, after selling off most of my collection and among these are several custom "purpose-built" bear guns, with appropriate handloads and after 50+ years of shooting, 40+ years of handloading and this is professional combat pistol training for employment as well, I "might" just know what I, repeat I, NEED, in a given situation.

But, I do notice that the individual who has, it seems, deliberately chosen to misinterpret and falsify my comments HAS NOT EVER informed us WHAT he does, WHERE he does it and HOW LONG HIS bush experience is. Frankly, I am amused by such behaviour, but, this type of confrontational attitude is not only infantile, it will not assist the original poster to any degree.