I've been thinking further on this, and was wondering if you (talanath) are American or Canadian?
The reason I ask is that a few years ago I was walking the Thames Path, and to avoid a sudden thunderstorm I took refuge in a pub in Windsor. While there I overheard a couple from Vancouver asking the barmaid for directions to a restaurant some 20 miles away. Unlike the barmaid I did know where it was, so volunteered the information.
Anyway I got talking to them, and explained that I was walking the 200+ miles of the Thames Path. The lady explained that she too was a walker, and asked what I was using for protection. They were a nice couple so I assumed she wasn't talking about condoms, so asked what she was talking about. She replied that in the areas around Vancouver they usually took guns as a (last resort) defence against bears. I pointed out that the biggest danger on the Thames Path was being mugged in Lewisham.
The point of all this being, that if any of our associates across the pond are considering walking in Europe, bears are not a major worry so don't think it necessary to accumulate an armoury to take on a simple hiking trip.
S.