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In Svalbard, the arctic archipelago administrated by Norway, anyone leaving Longyearbyen is required to carry a rifle for their own safey. For grizzly bears, Wikivoyage recommends that Bear repellent spray (a very strong pepper spray/mace) is considerably safer than carrying a rifle. This answers says the same thing.

Polar bear
From Wikimedia commons

I'm no hunter and I would hate killing any large mammal (or even small non-mammals). Is the statement about the safety of sprays vs. rifles accurate for all kind of bears? Don't bears run so fast that by the time they're within the range of sprays, they're already so close that it's more or less too late to defend oneself?

(Note: I've only hiked in Europe, and nowhere I've been are any dangerous animals apart from humans)

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Q: Which is better to have if you are attacked by a grizzly: a 10-gauge or a hollow-nosed .45? A: The 10-gauge, because you can use it as a club when you run out of ammo. In the wild West, a knife was reportedly preferred to a gun because a knife doesn't run out of ammo. Of course, neither will it save you, but... – JonathanHayward Mar 19 at 18:39

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US Fisheries and Wildlife (with black and grizzly bears) suggests that bear spray is statistically more effective.

A 2008 study by Smith et al included two polar bear encounters where the bears were successfully deterred with bear spray.

However, in polar bear country you have other considerations, as the Nunavut visitor information says

Pepper spray may work on polar bears but has not been thoroughly tested. Be aware that pepper spray may not work when it is cold or wet.

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It seems that the first study only looks at people that actually fire at the bear. With a firearm, the very first thing I'd do would be to fire it to the side, given that bears often can be run off by a loud sound. – Don Branson Mar 3 at 2:11
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@DonBranson That is certainly possible. But then there are better options than firearms for noise alone, such as noise flares, which are both lighter to carry, and easier to transport and purchase due to looser regulatory limitations. – Nisan.H Mar 3 at 2:23
Noise flares? Where are they available? – Don Branson Mar 3 at 2:34
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@DonBranson I've seen them sold as Bear Bangers, but I'm not sure if that's an official name. In Canada, MEC carries these, for example mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/HikingCamping/HealthSafety/PRD~4007-144/… – Nisan.H Mar 3 at 2:55
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The obvious downside to a noise flare in comparison with a big gun is that when the first attempt at scaring the bear is not successfull, with a rifle you still have a chance? – zoul Mar 4 at 7:34
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