Gun lovers often have delusions of grandiose defense applied to a very different context. Equating a very relaxed situation on the gun range or hunting while waiting in a blind/stalking prey for hours, and extrapolating those skills to a charging bear while shooting from the hip. I have rural family who always brag about their ability to rifle blast their way out of a bear attack because they've (successfully) hunted black bear, yet they've known 2 people who were mauled by grizzlies despite carrying a gun. Fortunately for everyone they havent had to defend yet.
They consistently overestimate their abilities under duress while simultaneously underestimating the threat. The rational person should assume the inverse of that, and chose the solution which is most rapid and easiest to deploy - bear spray.
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