Tactics And Training
Alaska Guide Merges Bear Safety with Marksmanship
Wilderness instructor trains hikers to use both spray and sidearms in predator encounters
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✍️By ZRIntel Editorial Team📍Anchorage, Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska Longtime hunting guide and wilderness safety instructor Tom Redleaf has developed a hybrid training course for Alaskans and visitors facing the risk of bear encounters. The program covers bear behavior, deployment of bear spray, and last-resort handgun use, with live-fire drills under simulated stress. Redleaf says the goal isnt to encourage shooting wildlife but to prepare hikers and campers to make quick, lawful, and effective decisions under threat. Students run through timed drills that incorporate drawing from chest holsters while wearing backpacks and firing at charging-bear targets. The course also includes legal briefings on wildlife regulations and post-incident reporting requirements.