bear protection

[rjohns94]

Had a black bear come into camp in summer of 1981 during a rain while I was sleeping. I was back country backpacking off the blue ridge trail. I heard what I thought was the far off rumble of thunder or a plane but it turned out to be bear growling. I looked up just in time to see the bear grab the back pack off the tree it was leaning against. I had hung everything that looked or smelled good up a tree at a distance from camp. at about 7 yards he proceeded to tear the pack apart while we got dressed and made plans to exit the area in pitch black. The bear, despite pot banging, rock throwing, yelling and making all sorts of gyrations, was not moving off. We hiked out in the rain, leaving everything there and every stick that cracked we thought it was the bear. got up to the campground, told the rangers, they said we would go to the camp in the am. slept in the car. the next morning was really foggy and after the lousy night sleep, I wanted to get out of there so I ran back to the camp. I got there and the area was covered in fog and I was beat from running in. Went to lean on a rock and woke the black bear coverd with dew (darn big rock) I actually touched the bear before realizing it was not a rock. I could smell his breath (he had eaten sterno from my pack) as he uncoilded from his sleep. I backed up and exited the area on a run and he went off into the fog. I got back up to the ranger station only to discover the ranger had taken my partner, via an access road, back to the camp. I ran back to the camp again to warn them (this is about 3 miles each way) and got there as they were picking up the camp. they said they had stopped to check out another site when they heard some crashing in the woods. the Ranger had gone on to check other sites leaving my partner to fend alone. got the gear all picked up and the ranger gave us a ride up the trail and we left. Later got word that they had trapped a #400 pound bear with no tags, and relocated it. TRUE STORY!

[66GTO]

I would like to hear from those who know more about humans actually being EATEN by bears, as opposed to just being killed by bears defending their kills or cubs.

Don't look if you are squeamish or don't want to look out of respect for the poor soul in the picture: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/n ... izzly3.htm

[JustaJeepGuy]

some guy (in an inuit village, as I recall) killed a Polar bear that was trying to get into his house with an AR in .223.

Well if the bears are carrying AR's now we're all sunk.

That might be the least of our worries.

Met a girl who was a cook on a survey crew in the Brooks Range. She killed a bear with a .22 rifle that came in the tent after her.

Good thing that one came in the tent after her, as it helped her, but what if it had of been one of those "EVIL GUNS" we keep hearing about? It might have helped the bear! ...P.S. ...Great thread! I'm enjoying it .

As Groucho once said, "How an elephant got in my pajamas, I'll never know!"

[Travis Morgan]

some guy (in an inuit village, as I recall) killed a Polar bear that was trying to get into his house with an AR in .223.

Or they start voting democrat, along with the hippies, bunny huggers, and butt pirates!

Well if the bears are carrying AR's now we're all sunk.

That might be the least of our worries.

Met a girl who was a cook on a survey crew in the Brooks Range. She killed a bear with a .22 rifle that came in the tent after her.

I bet nobody even tried to get in her tent after dark!

[Travis Morgan]

I would like to hear from those who know more about humans actually being EATEN by bears, as opposed to just being killed by bears defending their kills or cubs.

Don't look if you are squeamish or don't want to look out of respect for the poor soul in the picture: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/n ... izzly3.htm

Well,...... he's wasn't jewish!

[rjohns94]

Ok, just to help keep this thread going, here is a story of Black Bear taken with an air gun! If my state allowed it, I would do nearly all my hunting with an air rifle:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/414006/m ... Black+Bear


It all started at the Canadian border with one of Dennis's LA .457's. Went in to register it. The inspecter came out to get the serial number off of the gun. The number 813 is stamped on the riser as we all know. Well the officer said it was not valid as it has to go on the main part of the rifle. (for a firearm) I told him it was an air rifle and was not considered a firearm in my state. He looked at me like I had 3 eyes. He says Air Rifle!. Yup would you like me to discharge some air? He said yes! . After making sure it was unloaded I let one rip under the canopy. BOOM! , in a flash all the agents that were inside came running out shouting is everything ok? The officer with me hollers back , it's ok , it is just an air rifle. He was sure surprized. After a laugh, off I went. In Canada anything over 450 fps has to be registerd as a firearm. (By the way he could not believe the bore size). Got to camp in another hour and got settled in. Later that afternoon I went to my blind at 4:00. It consisted of a pile of boulders . I snuggled in for the long wait. Legal shooting time ended at 9:43. Well at 8:45 I spotted him coming towards the bait from my left side. I got down low and kept trying to keep an eye on him. He dissapeared. Twenty minutes go by and I am wondering where he went. I looked to my right and there he was again. He had circled around me from behind. He was very cautious as he made his way by me. My heart was pounding. He headed towards the bait again and stopped. Seemed like he was not going to come any closer. He started moving again. Again he stopped and looked all around. Finally he committed himself and moved towards the bait again. He was about 25 yds from the bait and around 35 yds from me, as he came into full view I raised the trusty .457 and let him have it .KA BOOM , he spun around and bolted off. It was only a few seconds and I could hear him thrashing behind the bait around 50 yds or so. I loaded another slug and went looking for him. It was not long before I found him piled up. The 422 gr. Robert Vogel hollow point went clean through both shoulders. When my guide came to pick me up he could not believe I was successful with a BB gun as he called it. Needless to say we had lots to talk about that evening. Was a hunt of a lifetime. I have taken many bear with bow, & rifles. This was a fun hunt. Thank you Dennis for making such a fine hunting rifle, and Robert for such a fine slug! (Gun has not been modified at all except for the two cocking knobs)

[Travis Morgan]

I've been looking for a coupla serious high power air rifles; something along the lines of a 6mm-.30 caliber, and a .458. It may be stupid, but if it's stupid and it works....

[jeepnik]

Wow, 11 pages and counting. I wonder what the record is?

[Bigahh]

I would prefer more shots at a charging bear, thus a 45/70 Guide Gun would fit that scenario. I am sure there are many of them in Alaska in use right now for that purpose.

[a357lever]

Well thanks guys I'm bringing my 45-70 xlr w/buffalo bore 430gr cast core w/ 3800+ fpe and a mossberg 12ga with a slug barrel w/ sabo 385gr and some condoms to put over the tube for sand and such, and because i like it my s&w m28 6" .357 180gr HC @1400fps just for fun its sure handy for eneything else. This has been most interesting and very informative.

[Cosmoline]

I would like to hear from those who know more about humans actually being EATEN by bears, as opposed to just being killed by bears defending their kills or cubs.

Don't look if you are squeamish or don't want to look out of respect for the poor soul in the picture: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/n ... izzly3.htm

The "urban legends" name probably gives this away, but the unfortunate soul in the photo was NOT eaten by bears. That's part of a set of photos some miscreant put together with a nonsense story about killer bears. The other photos show an Airman from up here with a good size island brown bear he took while hunting. There was no maneating involved. The thing just keeps getting circulated over and over again. The body actually appears to have been eaten upon by aquatic wildlife-- taking bites from soft tissue around the bone. Bear do not need to do that. They can take whole limbs off and just bite right through the bone. There's a video taken from up here that shows a sow drag a dying moose across a driveway, then punch a hole right through the moose's ribcage and grab a big red chunk of heart to gobble up! Just like a kid grabbing the prize at the bottom of a cereal box. Those are ribs that will deflect an axe blow, so imagine what such an animal could do to a person.

Timothy Treadwell and his companion were eaten a few years ago. The fellow up on the Gates of the Arctic and his wife who got attacked in 05 or so were partly eaten. Mostly though the brown bears and griz don't eat people. The black bear seem to be more likely to do so and have actually stalked humans.

[El Chivo]

I asked about this because I heard from an unreliable source that bears sometimes bite a human and then spit them out in disgust. Also I read about one encounter where the bear subdued the human, then backed off. When the human got up, the bear came right back and subdued him again. In other words, it was playing a domination game but that doesn't sound like feeding time to me.

Again, I was asking for more examples, this is not part of my general knowledge.

[silverbuzzard]

I hunt just outside the Bob Marshall

Place where we park the rigs had a guy eaten 2 years ago
He was cleaning a cow elk and Griz ATE HIM AND IGNORED THE ELK
True story ,DNR documents
Last year SAME [ 300 yrds away] place two hunters were charged by 3 THREE full grown griz. They killed one and the other two turned and ran.
Griz in Montana are now conditioned to move TOWARDS a rifle shot to seek food
true story DNR documents
Gonna carry hand grenades there this fall

[Travis Morgan]

I hunt just outside the Bob Marshall

Place where we park the rigs had a guy eaten 2 years ago
He was cleaning a cow elk and Griz ATE HIM AND IGNORED THE ELK
True story ,DNR documents
Last year SAME [ 300 yrds away] place two hunters were charged by 3 THREE full grown griz. They killed

I believe that'd be one of those "We're @#cked now!" moments!

[silverbuzzard]

Really startin to bug me!
I lived there 5 years and hunted that same spot probably 50 different days in the 80s and never saw a bear .
Me and pard are not going to hunt more than 20 feet from each other .
Just below the site is winter range [ Clearwater winter game range] ,mostly private ranches.
Last year they counted 7 ,yes 7 Griz ,ALL SEEN AT SAME TIME on one ranch in the fall.
Strange stuff.
When we hunted there in 98 the evidence of bears was overwhelming. Every dead tree stump [ from past logging] over the entire area south of the Bob , had been ripped open ,the bears lookiing for bugs.
We have seen the game numbers in that area decline,wolves,cats and bears OH MY !

[Travis Morgan]

Really startin to bug me!
I lived there 5 years and hunted that same spot probably 50 different days in the 80s and never saw a bear .
Me and pard are not going to hunt more than 20 feet from each other .
Just below the site is winter range [ Clearwater winter game range] ,mostly private ranches.
Last year they counted 7 ,yes 7 Griz ,ALL SEEN AT SAME TIME on one ranch in the fall.
Strange stuff.
When we hunted there in 98 the evidence of bears was overwhelming. Every dead tree stump [ from past logging] over the entire area south of the Bob , had been ripped open ,the bears lookiing for bugs.
We have seen the game numbers in that area decline,wolves,cats and bears OH MY !

Ya have to wonder WTF the environentalists are gonna say when their precious bears and wolves have kiled off all the other game? "Oops?"

[Buck Elliott]

[quote=Ya have to wonder WTF the environentalists are gonna say when their precious bears and wolves have kiled off all the other game? "Oops?"[/quote]

OOOPS! will never happen from those folks... "...all the other game..." is not the issue here. Their agenda is to close vast areas to human access, either through designated 'recovery' areas, or by eliminating the big game populations -- no more game = no more hunting

"They" know EXACTLY what they're doing, even if their financial contributors do not.

[silverbuzzard]

OK another Montana story
2001 . My pard, my brother and I are in the 5th wheel down at Beaverhead river . There's a rail line not far [bout a mile ] away and you could here the heavy diesels couple times a night as they struggled to pull the trains up the grade south of Dillon.
We're playing cribbage and not talkin and we hear another long one moan on for bout 20 seconds but then it suddenly ended with a sqeal .
Wellll.... it wasn't no train et tall , was my pard with the best imitation of a 2,000 horsepower diesel electric locomotive we ever did hear.durn beans , THAT was the end of the cribbage game as we wus then outside in the dark. He says later he was disappointed cuz he was goin for a grizzly bear sound ,not a train.
OK ,back to the bear stories !!!!!

[silverbuzzard]

OK one more.
My pard was shot bad in Nam and lost an eye ,now wears a patch.
We are hunting in the Swan valley outside the Bob.
He goes one way and I the other around a brush choked lake. I had to come back cuz it was to thick and I got on his path.
Pretty soon he comes blowin down the path at me full speed,that one good eye lookin like Rooster Cogburn as he passes me without a word. For a moment I think,hmmmm.. then I decided that discretion is the better part of valor.
When I caught him back at camp he said he was walkin the path, stopped and turned around , and there not 50 feet back is a STEAMING pile of griz stuff big enough to fill a coffee can.
Needless to say we got our arses outa there before we added to the fertilizer supply.

[madman4570]

I think I might have found somthing that will work well for bear protection at least for black bears here on the Pa/Ny border.
Two friends and myself went through three 5rd boxes of the fairly new 12ga. Federal 2.75" Fusion sabet slugs.385gr@1900fps($10 @ box) I was very impressed how they shot out of my 18" smoothbore Ithaca deerslayer barrel(grouped about 2" @50yds)w/open sights.Good enough for the deep woods.

We have made this kinda kludged bone/paper box to test penetration and compared to the 1oz Brenneke KOs and normal 1oz Winchester super X power points they had about twice the penetration.The also stayed together very well and had excellent weight retention.What impressed me was even though it was only at 50 yds that smoothbore(though those older deerslayer barrels were of a special type in regards to how they were tappered towards end of muzzle)they shot almost as good as when I put on the 24" Hastings barrel(about a .5" less accurate)
Whats your thoughts?do you think these Fusion bullets will stop blackie ok?I really like that Ithaca 37 w/18" barrel in the big woods !

[Modoc ED]

What is that "smoothbore Ithaca deerslayer barrel" choked at?

[Cosmoline]

I asked about this because I heard from an unreliable source that bears sometimes bite a human and then spit them out in disgust. Also I read about one encounter where the bear subdued the human, then backed off. When the human got up, the bear came right back and subdued him again. In other words, it was playing a domination game but that doesn't sound like feeding time to me

It depends on the goal of the attack. Most attacks are defensive and the bear isn't interested in making a meal out of the person. They are defending cubs or a kill and just want the rival out of there. These attacks are characterized by noisy charges, barking, stomping and all the usual ursine tomfoolery. The predatory attacks are less common and are characterized by a completely different attitude. The bear is not stomping, barking, or doing anything else to express domination. It just strolls up and tucks in. They're not particularly adept at quick kills, they'll just maul until the movement stops and return to eating. In Bear Tales there's an account of a man who was buried in a food cache by a bear while still alive and managed to sneak out when the bear left.

Either kind of attack can kill a person. A single swat from a brown bear can and has lifted men up off their feet and pierced their vital organs. After that the bear can just walk away. Sows sometimes go for the eyes in disabling attacks, and these are among the most horrific. A fellow was blinded up here a few years back that way. The sow's bite pulverized his facial and frontal skull bones, and his brain was coming out of what was left of his nose. Amazingly he survived.

Still, I love having them around. They keep the wildlife populations healthy and more importantly they ensure that I can ride my bike through a town of a quarter million people with a .450 Marlin carried on my backpack and nobody will care. Bears ensure the right to bear arms. That's another reason I think the brown ones need to be reintroduce to high population areas on the west coast.

Plus, walking in woods without them is not the same. Something critical is missing. People who don't live around them lose their edge and become softer. We tolerate astonishing levels of slaughter and the most horrific wounds imaginable as part of having automobiles, so what's a few maulings? We need our population weeded out too.

[madman4570]

I believe it chokes down to .692" (I thought thats what the Ithaca gun tech said last year when I ordered a lost front sight screw and we got discussing those older deerslayer guns)They were all handmade in 1972 he said they also used piano wire etc.??
It is very noticeable from about half way down the barrel.
I will double check it out to be sure.I am wondering now myself.

[madman4570]

Stand corrected!
"12ga Deerslayer bbls have a constant I.D. of about .708" from forcing-cone to muzzle". This allowed the slug to properly align in the barrel and would swage the slug to fit well, and thus their legendary smoothbore slug accuracy.

[Old Ironsights]

A priest, a Pentecostal preacher and a Rabbi all served as chaplains to the students of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. They would get together two or three times a week for coffee and to talk shop. One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard. A REAL challenge would be to preach to a bear. One thing led to another and they decided to do an experiment. They would all go up to the Smokies, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it.

Seven days later, they're all together to discuss the experience.

Father Flannery, who has his arm in a sling, is on crutches, and has various bandages on his body and limbs, went first. 'Well,' he said, 'I went into the woods to find me a bear. And when I found him I began to read to him from the Catechism. Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So, I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became as gentle as a lamb. The bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation.'

Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, with an arm and both legs in casts, and an IV drip. In his best fire and brimstone oratory he claimed, 'WELL brothers, you KNOW that WE don't sprinkle! I went out and I FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me. So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrassle. We wrassled down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to a creek. So right quick-like, I DUNKED him and BAPTIZED his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus.'

They both looked down at the rabbi, who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and traction with IV's and monitors running in and out of him. He was in bad shape. The rabbi looks up and says, 'Looking back on it, circumcision may not have been the best way to start....'

[madman4570]

Found the perfect slug.
Did more tests yesterday with the old(beat up) bone box.(reworked again)
I had just gotten 5 boxes of Brenneke SL122HFSGL
Item: 60352 12ga. 2.75" Green Lightnings!
Boy do these things penetrate.I dont know what they did but they OUT PENETRATED the Federal Fusions and penetrated 2 inches more than my 45-70 Buffalo Bore JFN 405gr@2000fps
Also they were dead accurate out of that deerslayer!
I have got to see what they did different compared to their KOs.
Must have added much more harder alloys to the mix?????????
These are 550gr@1500fps That will do!!!!!!!!!!!
I will call the Company and find out??????????

[RIHMFIRE]

this is one of the smaller bears on our property

44 mag is always on my side!

[madman4570]

RIHMFIRE,
Small? Big enough to make me want to pack pal!
Stay safe. That picture came out really cool too with the neat vegatation and that black/white shading look.Can I use it somtimes as a screensaver?
See ya,