Bear Attacks and Handgun Defense - #2A
What the Data Shows About Shots Fired
What the Data Shows About Shots Fired
(Dean Weingarten, Ammoland) - In the ongoing study of the effectiveness of handguns as a defense against bears, there are over 200 documented cases. Of those, 184 involve only handguns. The others are combination situations where other deadly force was used in addition to handguns. Of the 184 cases, 161 include information about the number of shots fired. In 23 cases, the number of shots is not known.
The data is likely skewed by unavoidable selection bias. The data is limited to cases that are documented. There is a strong selection bias against cases that do not involve dramatic outcomes or human injury, or that happen far from any civil authority. Those cases are not likely to be reported or recorded in a way that is accessible. Consider a hypothetical:
A bear acts aggressively toward a person who is hiking. Not wanting to kill the bear, for whatever reason, they fire a warning shot or shots. The bear runs off. There is very little drama, almost no news value, and virtually no reason to report the incident to any authority. There is a strong selection bias against successful uses of warning shots.
One way to guard against selection bias is to include every documented case where a handgun was fired in defense against a bear. This policy was formulated at the beginning of…
I would be curious as to the caliber on the successful ones. The one guy missing entirely is not a dish on the firearm but the shooter.