Ok, so if I decide to come to Australia, I'm gonna bring a 375H&H magnum.
The Bear Facts, a Few Photos, and Some Northern Hunting Lore
- Thread starter gord
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When all you can do is stay still, wait, and hope.
Holy shit
(click the "watch on Youtube" thingie... it won't play here, "inside" the thread)
Holy shit
(click the "watch on Youtube" thingie... it won't play here, "inside" the thread)
Pray. Real fast. Then exercise remaining calm and slowly leave. Backwards. That is what I'd do. Or follow Sig's advice. He's more experienced than I'll ever be.
Sounds like you've had some experience Sir. Yeah, pray for sure, I'd have my Rosary beads crushed if I was in that situation!
Waiting to hear if Sig will chime in on this.
If I was armed, I'd flip off the safety and try to disengage, never taking my eyes off of the critter. I'd do the same if not carrying the shotgun. If I black bear charges, my choice of action would be to defend myself. Make myself big, yell, wave my arms and such, to try and intimidate it.
A grizz or brownie? Play dead if I can't disengage. All of this is based on anecdotal information from others who have been there, done that. And, my experiences. Have a plan and do what you think is best at the time. It'll be a crap shoot. At my house I'm constantly aware of the proximity of the out buildings if gardening or other yard work. y wife was stalked by a black bear a few years back. She kept her head ona swivel and watched the dog. Pal alerted, she looked over shoulder, saw the bear, got the dog off his run and made a beeline for the front door. It all worked out.
A grizz or brownie? Play dead if I can't disengage. All of this is based on anecdotal information from others who have been there, done that. And, my experiences. Have a plan and do what you think is best at the time. It'll be a crap shoot. At my house I'm constantly aware of the proximity of the out buildings if gardening or other yard work. y wife was stalked by a black bear a few years back. She kept her head ona swivel and watched the dog. Pal alerted, she looked over shoulder, saw the bear, got the dog off his run and made a beeline for the front door. It all worked out.
It’s interesting to see some of the comments on black bear. I have lived around them my entire life and in an area considered one of the highest densities in the country (estimate is 3 per square mile) but most natives don’t give it a ton of thought. Their power is awesome, but they usually aren’t looking to interact thankfully. They’re just out foraging like everything else.
There are some great bear watching areas in Alaska. Plenty of food for the bears and they have little to no interest in the photographers. This afternoon I met up with an old friend, she'd been on the coast shooting brown bears. One passed, nonchalantly, within arms reach, paying her no attention. It all depends on the circumstances at the time. If the bears are concentrating on feeding, moving about the water, content and such, human/bear confrontations rarely occur. The bears expect to see and be close to humans, no cubs around, not the breeding season. Rangers, armed and not, are always in the area to referee. But, it's still a crap shoot.
I know around here every single time there is an issue with a black bear, some idiot was feeding the thing. Or if there is a shortaghe of food for them.
The shortage of food is the big factor in Northern BC. We have the highest density of black bears in the world from McKenzie north (ie 50 miles north of Prince George, into the Arctic Watershed) They are small up there, and seldom reach 450 pounds. Mostly about 250. They're just regular bears until there is a food shortage. Then they get nasty. A major food shortage happens maybe once every ten years or so. Then we pack, and don't leave home without it.
Garbage bears, ie those accustomed to living around humans, are also not to be trifled with. Fish and Wildlife shot 152 bears last year in the city limits of Prince George. There was a food shortage due to wildfires.
This year no food shortage, but I've had my garbage can knocked over and raided 6 or 7 times. Even though they are diurnal by nature, they quickly adapt to street lamps. I've seen them running across the street while walking my dog at 11 pm at night (we have a long twighlight up here until September). Garbage is the path of least resistance . . . . bears are highly intelligent, and like humans, and they quickly adapt to habits that facilitate laziness.
I'm 73 old and have buggered knees (and a hernia) so I'm trying to get the walk done well before dark now, which is currenty happening at 7:30 pm...,T'would be frowned upon to carry an equalizer at the time my dog wants to squat. T'would, T'would. By Christmas, it'll be dark by 3:30 pm. Fortunately bears go into hibernation here about Halloween . . . . if there's snow. Right now I have piles of bear droppings all over my yard. They strip my apples and berry bushes whenever they can.
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though compared to the deer here they're down right safe. You'd think they'd figure out not to run into traffic at some point. The deer also eat so many things. Lucky for us our bear population is not huge, but what amazes me is that an animal that weighs that much and is that huge can be so stealthy. I also love that an animal that size can be afraid of little ole me.
I've read that deer in the Northeastern States kill more people than all other animals combined if you include traffic accidents. I've heard of many people up here in the north gored and seriously injured by deer during the rut. And moose kill several people a year at least in traffic accidents. At dusk, you cannot see them when they cross a road. They're just THERE. I've come close myself. That's why we call them Swamp Donkeys.