MISSOULA — When confronting an angry grizzly bear in the woods, the last thing you want to worry about is the fine print on your can of bear spray.

But as customers scour the shelves for protection in the wake of recent fatal bear attacks, the fine print matters.

Two grizzly-caused deaths near Yellowstone National Park this summer, combined with celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna’s bear spray encounter in Glacier National Park and the recent PBS documentary recounting the 1967 “Night of the Grizzlies” incident, have made bear protection a priority for backcountry visitors.

But there are a lot of tactical decisions to make in a bear incident, some of which start in the sporting goods store.

“Everyone sees the price of the big cans, and they ask, ‘Can’t I get a smaller one?’ ” Army Navy Economy Store manager Eric Langhammer said.

The first issue is that while bear sprays are a kind of pepper spray, not all pepper sprays are bear sprays. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency certifies only four manufacturers (including two in Montana) to make “bear spray.”

The difference involves what’s in the can and how it’s meant to be used. Chemicals like Mace and other tear gas-type sprays have little effect on bears. The ingredient you’re looking for is oleoresin of capsicum, an extremely potent essence of chili peppers.

The second part involves how the spray is delivered. Bear sprays aren’t meant to be squirted directly on an oncoming bear. Instead, the idea is to throw up a misty wall of irritants.

“When a bear decides to charge, it’s gathering information as it charges,” said Chuck Bartlebaugh, who heads the Be Bear Aware campaign for the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. “What it hears, sees, smells — it’s all part of the charge. Bear spray removes their focus. They don’t like losing their ability to smell and see. They don’t like the whooshing noise and the orange cloud.”

A 2006 study found that only 2 percent of those using bear spray in a bear attack were injured, compared to 50 percent of those who depended on a firearm to defend themselves.

“We have a whole generation of people thinking it’s OK to approach bears,” Bartlebaugh said. “In shark country, if you holler ‘shark,’ everyone gets out of the water. In the bear world, if you holler ‘bear,’ everybody runs into the woods.”

Editor's Note: For more information about bear spray, click here...