SALT LAKE CITY – While bringing a gun to a bear fight may seem like a solid way to win, experts say the gun largely provides a false sense of security — and would be similar to trying to shoot, and stop, a small car careening toward you at speeds of up to 35 mph.

It’s not that firearms don’t work, but many people can’t load or aim them quickly enough in the panicky moments of a bear attack, according to a recent study by bear researchers at Utah’s Brigham Young University.

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Experts say prevention is the best way to avoid a bear attack. Among the strategies: hike in groups, make noise and avoid areas of poor visibility. 2010 File Photo/The Associated Press

“It’s more about how you carry yourself than whether you carry a gun,” said wildlife biologist Tom S. Smith, the study’s lead author.

The report analyzed 269 armed human-bear encounters in Alaska between 1883 and 2009, and found that the use of guns made no statistical difference in the outcomes, and many people were mauled or killed anyway — 151 human injuries and 172 bear fatalities.

Other experts, however, question the findings, citing limited data given the thousands of human-bear encounters and noting that guns can be just as effective as pepper spray, and that each incident presents a different scenario.

“The bottom line of his research is correct — guns are not a crutch, but we do have a problem with his limited data,” said Larry Van Daele, an Alaska state biologist on Kodiak Island.

Smith’s report, published online in the Journal of Wildlife Management and set to appear in print in July, found that when guns were fired, they were effective at dissuading or killing a bear about 80 percent of the time in the cases studied, but at a cost. In nearly half those encounters, the people using guns or their companions were injured or attacked anyway, with 12 percent left fatally mauled.

Researchers found people trying to use guns to defend themselves against an advancing bear often couldn’t fire them effectively in an instant of panic — 27 percent had no time to fire, and 21 percent were hesitant to discharge their weapons.

The ease of using pepper spray, it turns out, is more effective compared to the mechanical shortcomings of a gun and the hesitancy of some people to use lethal force, Smith said.

Another bear expert, however, said pepper spray and guns can be equally effective in trained hands, depending on the situation.

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