black bear defense

Rifleman1776 said:
In the year or so I have been a member here the question of:
"What gun do I need for bear defense?" has been addressed 6,842 times.
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Yeah, but it's not close enough to Halloween to allow zombie threads. So until then, bear defense will have to suffice. :)
 
I've had a half-dozen encounters with black bears in my life, and every single case they were more afraid of me than I was of them.

Make a little noise and jump around, and they bolt. That even includes a sow with 2 cubs I ran onto picking blackberries in my teens. Grizzlies and polar bears are probably a different matter, however.

I'm way more worried about people (and zombies, of course ;) ) than I am about bears
 
Here in sunny FL, it's bear spray. Shoot a black bear and get caught and it's straight to jail being they are protected. Personally know a guy who killed one with a bow and bragged to the wrong people and a game officer paid him a visit. He had the head and cape as if he were going to have a head mount made ( which would have got him busted then) in the freezer on the back poarch. After a search of his house and property, and some help from a neighbor, it was found. He tried to tell the officer he was deer hunting from a stand ( which it was not deer season) and it tried to climb the tree he was in and get him. He said he shot it in defense. Well, after lying in the beginning and denying he ever shot and killed one, and admitting to hunting deer out of season, the officer arrested him and hauled him off. After going to court and some testimony from some people he bragged to , he was found guilty of killing a protected animal and was sentenced to 5 yrs of which he actually did 3. So for here at least , it's spray or run like hell and shoot only as the very last resort, and then probably a good idea to leave the animal as is and call the game commission right away.
 
hardworker; said:
Take that 45 and load it with hardball. I've hunted in Virginia my entire life and have yet to hear of anyone ever needing to defend themselves from a black bear. The thought of bear defense never crosses my mind when I hunt. I'm pretty sure your chances of getting in a car accident on the way to hunting are greater than having to defend against a bear. They're about as dangerous as overgrown raccoons.
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Interesting. I think it all depends upon where you are, the motivation of the bear, and how "adapted" they are to humans.

Where I go to some mtn trout lakes, they don't like to share the trout, especially if they are hungry. And, because people go up there a lot, they are not afraid of humans and are not afraid to attack them. When fishing there , you 'will' see between 3-5 black bear each "day" , night time, don't go out ... as they are all out, and you don't want to be where you can't see them.

I wouldn't want to go with the "no more dangerous than an overgrown raccoon " theory there. I've been tracked by black bear a few times, had an encounter with a mother who's cub seemed to want to visit me, and a full attack by a black bear. But, having trout with you or fishing from the same resources, brings on an instant conflict with nature.

Hunting, I"m sure is a different environment and situation, where they would rather go one way while you went another, you aren't in competition when they are hungry and you aren't messing with one of their food sources.

But for me, I'll give a lot of respect to a 200-800 lb + carnivorous animal coming at me, and I hope your raccoon theory works for you in your circumstances. Up there, 200 lbs are the young-ens.

There was an article about 6 mo's ago, that in Alaska a guy killed a brown bear with a .45. I think one point of the article was, how unusual that was.

For me .. it's a .357 with a 180gr XTP tip and bear load & a 30-30 rifle. A .44 or a 454 casull would be even better.... if you are a great shot at a running bear while he's showing you his teeth.
 
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The folks in Alaska with the .45 acp were quite lucky in many ways. If you read the account, the bear did not continue its attack, if it even was an attack, it might have been a bluff charge all along. In any case, after being shot, the bear turned around, wandered off and died, but unknown how long that took.

Many grizzly attacks even against .375 H&H magnums do not stop after being hit, often more than one time. Many hunters have killed the bear that killed them.

.45 acp is a great weapon against gangbangers or muggers, but it is NOT anywhere near ideal for bears at around 500 ft-pds of muzzle energy when a minimum of 3000 ft-pds is recommended by many bear experts. I believe that the ballistics tell the whole story. Can it kill a bear? The stories are there to say yes, but can it STOP a bear, not very likely.
 
If you're going to call those coyotes in with a predator call, keep in mind that bears will also respond to your critter in distress. I've called in some bears that way, and use the method when hunting bears.

My advice would be to buy something with a little more thump than the .45 ACP, and then use it only if you have to. You should also carry a can of pepper spray, since you really don't want to have to kill several bears per season of calling coyotes. Game & Fish would really frown on that.

When bears respong to a call, they're looking for something to eat...and you are the one making that noise that attracts them.

Out here in Az, I usually hunt coyotes with a .17 Remington. It's easy and fun to shoot, and works admirably on coyotes. Hunting under the conditions you describe (bears are thick), I'd switch to something with a bit more power...at least a 30/30 or .45 Colt carbine, loaded appropriately.

Black bears are not generally as agressive as a brown, but they can be plenty agressive enough when responding to a call. Keep it in mind, and take proper precautions.

And again, a can of pepper spray might keep you out of a lot of hot water with the F&G department.

Daryl
 
Yes .45acp will do.
A 12ga even with #4 buckshot will do.
If you have a centerfire rifle that will do as well.

Beer spray is better.
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Interesting.
Any preferred techniques using Beer Spray?
Does it take a lot of beer? because I usually dont have enough.:eek:
 
Interesting.
Any preferred techniques using Beer Spray?
Does it take a lot of beer? because I usually dont have enough.
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It would probably work on a properly trained "camp" bear. Used to be one up north of here that would slap a beer around a bit, then bite a hole in the can. After that, it was busy licking the spray and foamy beer from the outside of the can.

Not sure how it would work on an untrained, non-camp type bear.

Need more input!

Daryl
 
Chimps are the real danger

"+1 FairWarning, the chimp attacks we have seen in the last few years should get everyone's attention of just how deadly this critters can be. A 100 pound chimp against a 300 pound man is no contest, man dead or severely injured every time."

++1 No kidding, watched a show last night about just this issue, owners that don't understand what happens when their "baby" chimp hits puberty. When they attack, and its just a matter of who and when not if, they go for the eyes/face, fingers and "reproductive organs" on males which is what they do in the wild to defeat rivals. The poor woman that was attacked in CA by a friends chimp lost her eyes, lips, nose and fingers. More scary in my book than bears!!:eek:
 
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Just thought about something as many have said carry bear spray but what about a taser. I could bring along my dept issued taser. I would think it would work well since tasers affect the muscles and bear have a lot of that. Just not sure if it would penetrate the hide.
 
Bears should not be taken lightly.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98537234@N00/7211343/#/



Except during the rut, and even then it's conditional.

bear_attack.jpg
 
Watched the most recent episode of Man Woman Survival. They were really worried. Why? I have no idea. TV I guess. Go away bear... Go away bear!

All that said, I wouldn't want to fight even a 100 lb bear intent on hurting me with my bare hands. Go away bear...

You're fine with the hard cast although I would carry either a 357 mag or 41 mag since I prefer them.

I doubt the taser would penetrate the mix of hide and hair sufficiently. Let us know how it works. :)
 
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Lol... Yeah your probably right about taser penetration. I hope to never have a problem with a bear but i have weird luck. I once has to shoot a rabid raccoon while fishing cuz it was hell bent on getting in our boat. Another time while deployed in iraq i awoke to the sound of a rodent caught in the glue trap under my cot. It turned out that rodent was a 4ft sand viper:eek:
 
Don't think I would want to be close enough to a bear to use a taser. Probably would be a little to late then. Hell even bear spray requires you to be closer than I would want to be. But I guess you don't always have controll over the situation.
 
Don't think I would want to be close enough to a bear to use a taser. Probably would be a little to late then. Hell even bear spray requires you to be closer than I would want to be. But I guess you don't always have controll over the situation.
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Which begs the question, how close is too close?

The act of defending one's self from something sorta indicates that it's close enough to do you harm if you don't act. The wardens would frown on shooting a bear at 50 yards in self-defense if you don't have a valid tag with you.

So how close is too close? Might very well depend on the behavior or the bear, I'd guess.

Daryl
 
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