>>2835431Neither. Having bear spray makes you more likely to use it, making many of the people who used it think it saved their lives (it did not), and provided others with undue confidence. In the history of North American bear encounters, the number of deaths and maulings is hysterically low. I've run into countless black bears while hiking and picking berries, who will fucking kill you more reliably than grisly bears if you actually get into a fight with one, but the likelihood of that is near zero. They always run because, unlike you, they're not retarded. If we're talking about polar bears, that's something else entirely, and the only answer there is a relatively high powered rifle. For every other bear species, it's a pointless overhyped confidence booster for scared people. Other animals - cats, wolves, coyotes, etc. - are of no concern whatsoever and will leave you alone. If you're in the woods during rutting season, pray to fucking God you don't run into a bull moose. Otherwise, it's not worthwhile to speak about edge cases and bad luck here because these are meant to be protection for every single instance of going into the woods, which is nonsense. Between the gun and the bear spray, a shotgun is the better option, but if you're from a fake country like Canada, beware (
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/black-bear-shooting-fine-1.6897845).
