It’s debatable. You could harm someone with it. If you have reason to use it to defend against bears, it’s fine, but you shouldn’t carry it for no reason in public places. It’s like a hunting knife.
Why on earth would you do that? You can just use firecrackers for the same effect. But that’s just complementary to having a bear spray, that’s the only weapon which has a good rate of success.
However the chance of meeting a bear that has a bad day and will not run is much smaller than having an accident on the road while going to the mountains.
Romanian bears don’t scare that easy fool, go big or go home.
bears are kind of used to noises and what that bibi gun does it’s just annoy them, maybe make them meaner
The Romanian bears you’re likely to meet are extremely human-habitated, so won’t be super bothered by loud noises. They also are far, *far* less aggressive than American bears, so I wouldn’t worry much. Normally, when I meet one I just back off a bit, and if it’s hanging out in the path and not moving I’ll go around it through the bush giving it 50-100m distance. Never had problems, and I’m in the mountains every weekend 🙂
And yup, those things are illegal. Romania has some of the strictest gun laws in the world.
Petarde. It can be cheaper
Use bear spray ( bear deterrent ). It is the best option.
I think the firecracker option is better. And you use it from time to time in deep forests where people don’t normally go to notify your presence, not to scare the bear. You don’t wanna take him by surprise when he comes out of a bush.
But if you plan to take one of these routes, keep in mind that the weather is very unpredictable in the mountains and definitely talk to a forest ranger before. They normally know where and if any bears are located (and I am talking about the wild ones not used to humans, not the ones that have dinner in the cities from time to time). Mark that spot on the map and make sure you don’t go near, putting a firecracker or unloading a blank gun near the cubs might have the opposite effect.
But best advice: don’t go alone and stay on marked trails.
Note there are still bear incidents where people are sometimes hurt or rarely killed by bears. Unfortunately people feed bears on the side of the road from their cars, so bears are not scared anymore by humans.
If you are American, our brown bears are less violent than polar bears or black bears, or even grizzlies (that’s what they say). So theoretically if you run away from the bear they won’t come down hunting you.
Let us know when you visit. Maybe I will watch the news: “Dumb tourist uses blank bullets instead of common sense vs mama bear. RIP”
10 comments
It’s debatable. You could harm someone with it. If you have reason to use it to defend against bears, it’s fine, but you shouldn’t carry it for no reason in public places. It’s like a hunting knife.
Why on earth would you do that? You can just use firecrackers for the same effect. But that’s just complementary to having a bear spray, that’s the only weapon which has a good rate of success.
However the chance of meeting a bear that has a bad day and will not run is much smaller than having an accident on the road while going to the mountains.
Romanian bears don’t scare that easy fool, go big or go home.
bears are kind of used to noises and what that bibi gun does it’s just annoy them, maybe make them meaner
The Romanian bears you’re likely to meet are extremely human-habitated, so won’t be super bothered by loud noises. They also are far, *far* less aggressive than American bears, so I wouldn’t worry much. Normally, when I meet one I just back off a bit, and if it’s hanging out in the path and not moving I’ll go around it through the bush giving it 50-100m distance. Never had problems, and I’m in the mountains every weekend 🙂
And yup, those things are illegal. Romania has some of the strictest gun laws in the world.
Petarde. It can be cheaper
Use bear spray ( bear deterrent ). It is the best option.
I think the firecracker option is better. And you use it from time to time in deep forests where people don’t normally go to notify your presence, not to scare the bear. You don’t wanna take him by surprise when he comes out of a bush.
But if you plan to take one of these routes, keep in mind that the weather is very unpredictable in the mountains and definitely talk to a forest ranger before. They normally know where and if any bears are located (and I am talking about the wild ones not used to humans, not the ones that have dinner in the cities from time to time). Mark that spot on the map and make sure you don’t go near, putting a firecracker or unloading a blank gun near the cubs might have the opposite effect.
But best advice: don’t go alone and stay on marked trails.
Note there are still bear incidents where people are sometimes hurt or rarely killed by bears. Unfortunately people feed bears on the side of the road from their cars, so bears are not scared anymore by humans.
If you are American, our brown bears are less violent than polar bears or black bears, or even grizzlies (that’s what they say). So theoretically if you run away from the bear they won’t come down hunting you.
Let us know when you visit. Maybe I will watch the news: “Dumb tourist uses blank bullets instead of common sense vs mama bear. RIP”