I was hiking in PA & this happened. The lucky thing is, the Black Bear were as frightened of us and ran down the hill, thank God.
If I knew in advance, heck no.
1) I don't want to risk my life just for the heck of it. I would be thankful for the warning & use it to my advantage
2) I never hike with a gun
3) Bears are much stronger than humans. It wouldn't even be a contest