Bear Protection Class: Firearms for Bear Defense

Description

Bear Protection Class: Firearms for Bear Defense – Course Overview

• Format: 4-hour live-fire bear safety training session on the range

• Purpose: Help students understand what makes an effective bear-defense firearm in real Alaskan conditions

• Recommended Prerequisite: Bear Safety Foundations (encouraged but not required)

• Instructors: Experienced Alaskans with extensive field knowledge of bear encounters, firearms function, and defensive realities

• Offered For: Individuals, private groups, and corporate or agency training needs

The bear protection class begins with a clear safety brief and establishes expectations for the class. Instructors outline Alaska’s bear-defense laws, including reporting requirements for both pepper spray and firearms. You will learn what is legal, what is appropriate, and how these regulations apply during real encounters.

Students then work through foundational ballistics and firearm selection. Unless the class is restricted to a single platform (by agency or individual request), the course compares shotguns, revolvers, and semi-automatic pistols commonly used for bear defense. The focus remains on practical, backcountry function — not theory pulled from forums or publications.

This bear safety training also provides a complete overview of gun and ammo selection, the characteristics that make a firearm truly effective in bear country, and how to evaluate your own defensive options relative to your environment and role.

Students may opt to complete a proctored Bear Defense / Bear Guard qualification drill, though participation is not required unless mandated by an agency.

This bear protection class meets the requirements of many state and local entities; please confirm specific certification parameters with your employer.

What You Will Learn in this Bear Protection Class

Building a defensive process

• How to evaluate your own context and choose effective tools for bear defense

• Understanding the elements that matter most: ammo type, caliber, gun platform, and performance under stress

Firearm handling and live-fire skills

• Stance, mounting the gun, recoil management, and placing effective impacts under pressure

• Practical function drills designed to translate knowledge into real capability

• Shot placement and what defines an “effective bear gun”

Carry and deployment options

• Identifying and practicing the use of slings, holsters, belts, speed loaders, and other field-carry systems

• How to choose safe, accessible carry methods for work or recreation

Hands-on platform experience

• Opportunity to shoot multiple bear-defense firearms (semi-auto pistol, revolver, shotgun) using both practice rounds and bear loads

• Students may bring personal firearms, pending instructor safety evaluation

• Ammo evaluation for safe use; instructors may prohibit unsafe equipment

Included With Instruction

• Range fees

• Firearms for live-fire training

• Interactive bear targets

• Eye and ear protection

• Course materials

• Ballistics handout

• Course certification

• Holsters, magazine pouches, belts, and speed loaders available to borrow

• Ammunition billed per rounds fired (price list available upon request)

View full course details for complete information.