First thing I would do…
is pull the safety pin on my bear spray canister.
Then try to evaluate the situation for quantity of intruders. One curious bear- observe and Make lots of noise if he is behavingly badly.
More than one- gotta recon that one.
I have read that bears take a direct look in the eye as a challenge.
last resort to fend off an attack is the spray.
~Glenn
Mama and cub
Had a mother and cub up a tree trying to get my food supply. Nothing scared it away except gun fire. All we had at the time was a 22 which would not of been any help if the bear turned nasty. Now I take my 357 mag. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it
So…not to open a can of worms
But are guns legal where you are carrying them or do you just take them and hope to not have anyone check?
Anyone here ever attacked?
I wonder, how many of you have ever actually been attacked by a bear? For that matter how many have ever even seen one up close? You may have had one rummage though you gear but has anyone here ever actually had a bear initiate physical contact with you or anyone you know? Never mind stories you’ve “heard”. Just any incident that you or someone you know well has had where the bear has made contact and caused an injury? I personally have spent several thousand hours in the past 12 years in close proximity to black bears and have never once been swatted or bitten. Not once. Perhaps that is something you should think about.
The visceral reaction people have towards bears never ceases to amaze me. When in the bush if you feel the need to carry a gun, put in an electric fence, build a moat, or whatever, well perhaps it’s time for you to find a new hobby. The most dangerous creature you’ll run into in the woods by far is another human, not a bear. That is not an opinion; it is a well-documented fact.
As far as a bear taking a direct look in the eyes as a ‘challenge’, Well depending on a # of other factors the bear may perceive it as a threat. To put it into perspective if you saw some seedy looking character staring at you you’ll probably feel threatened and your fight or flee instincts would kick in. However if you’re in a club and an attractive member of the opposite sex is staring at you I doubt very much you’d feel threatened. Kind of the same with the bear, has to do a lot with your whole body posture and other actions rather than just the stare.
By the way I personally know of two incidents where black bears have gotten through electric fencing to get at beehives. In both cases they were the hard wired type of fences used to keep cattle in check. I’m guessing the portable fence will dissuade curiosity but not have much effect on a determined bear so would still be a good idea to keep things tidy around the tent.
nope never been attacked
– Last Updated: Mar-28-08 8:37 AM EST –
but then I've only gone in country where less aggressive black bears live and--never in grizzly bear areas---
as far as carrying a gun---some of us just carry them in the woods because its second nature---someone who comes from an urban or suburban enviorment looks at people who "carry guns" as aggressive whakos or paranoics--those of us from rural areas(who grew up in them, not moved there to spend our trust funds) just accept firearms as part of the landscape.
Incidently I used to live in northern Maine where I kept a number of horses---around my place lots of bears--would see them 3-4 times a year but never bothered me or the horses---only run in I ever had was described above. Where I lived moose running through the electric break away wire was the bigger problem---
and as far as people being the most dangerous creature in the woods, a firearm works on them too.
Just to clarify
Just to clarify a few points, I’m not trying to enter into a debate on guns. As far as carrying a gun, what ever floats your boat as they say. Where and when allowed by law I’ll carry a handgun. That’s my choice, and it has nothing to do with bears. I used to hunt quite a lot when I was younger but have just given it up over the years, aside perhaps for some upland bird hunting. I do not have a trust fund nor have I won the lottery. I’m not trying to cast dispersions on anyone that does or how or where they grew up or what they do for a living.
My point is solely that too many people have a very unjustified fear of bears, to the extent that it takes away from their wilderness experience. They feel a need to go to great lengths to ‘protect themselves’ from what is in reality an extremely timid animal. Bears certainly are capable of inflicting a lot of damage. They are very powerful and surprisingly fast. Once in a great while a bear will, for reasons no one understands, decide to predate on humans but he fact is your neighbors’ dog is much more likely to attack and kill you than a bear is. How many people have evr felt it necessary to arm themselves against that?
I have been charged 6 times by
– Last Updated: Mar-28-08 10:43 AM EST –
bears...5 were brown bears and all bluff charges and one charge by a black bear that I shot at 12 feet...thats the short story...I walk in the bush almost every day...
I’ve only heard
of one person I knew personally being attacked by a bear. He was traveling north with his family on I-95 from Bangor to Houlton and struck a black bear just south of Houlton—he stopped the car, got out and went back to remove the “dead” bear from the road so it wouldn’t be a danger to anybody else. That’s right–you guessed it, the bear wasn’t dead, just stunned—It came to and chased my buddy back into his car–he got out of there quick—I don’t know what happened to the bear but I assume it recovered ok.
The only other time I ever witnessed any body get into a problem with a bear was in 1997 driving back from round pond on the allagash–4 guys including me in the car–we saw a bear cub up a tree–we stopped to watch, from the car, when one of my friends, nice guy but not real perceptive sometimes, got out of the car–we then noticed momma bear on the other side of the dirt road we were on—my friend was finally persuaded by the rest of us–yelling at him, to get back into the car—Momma didn’t attack but she looked awful close to doing so
HUH ??
So…not to open a can of worms
Posted by: Mystical on Mar-27-08 9:24 PM (EST)
But are guns legal where you are carrying them or do you just take them and hope to not have anyone check?
Unless you are “carrying” openly, how would anyone know you are armed? I have a large cal. pistol in a break away fanny pack. Shotguns and rifles could be a problem though in national parks unless the rules get changed.