Bear encounter!

Before you even ask, I'll tell you what I told LOTH: "NO; I didn't get a picture of the bear!"

But there are some other neat pix, and a mini-review of a great daypack ... anyway.

When I can, I like to slip away to a nearby state/national park. Though small, it's pristine forest. And though close to suburban development, it's got some animals; notable coyote packs- which venture out to kill pets nearby. Our cat stays very close to the house these days, but that's another story. You want hear about the BEAR.

I hike a lot in there, and at this point know the trails well enough- to leave them. With GPS or a compass, I personally enjoy exploring strands where you won't encounter other hikers, bikers, power-walkers etc. I've studied satellite photos and look for interesting spots to "daycamp," a kind of lazy camping with a hammock, 2-meter radio, cooking stuff etc. Spend a few hours in the woods. It's good for you. Anyway.

(inset - 5" Golden Orb spider)



I was using a new pack from Spec Ops Gear, a veteran-owned company whose products are American-made, hard as nails and guaranteed for life. I really like their stuff. Though pricey, they sometimes put stuff on sale for too cheap, IMHO. I have a full-size pack of theirs, and notice I tend to overload on dayhikes. So picked up their SLAB pack for $60 on clearance. It's a flat, thin pack, meant for laptops. Don't need or want a laptop, but I realized water is the most important thing, and that a bladder would fit well in there, along with minimal food and gear.



So. Got out early yesterday, found a nice deep spot in the woods- shady against hot and rising sun. Tied up the hammock and popped open my one can of diet soda was enjoying the quiet. Heard a squirrel over my blind (right) shoulder, tick-tick-tick.

Drank some more soda. Week was long at work. Problems; now slipping away. (tick-tick-scruntch).

Sat up. Straightened up in the hammock. Saw the bear 10 yards away.

We saw each other, technically. And both of us spazzed at the same time.

I leaped up and shouted, "What the ____!" Why that expression, I don't know. I don't know.

The bear stared at me, reared up an leaped away the left. Saw its sides rippling with muscle and was impressed with its shiny black fur. I mean that bear could have just come from a pet groomer. Clean and shiny.

It did not stomp away like an elephant, it was eerily quiet as it slipped away. Visibility was short in there as I was looking for shade.

I didn't strike camp at once; I let my racing pulse settle down. I thought about not moving, and then in the still I did hear a snuffle/whorlte sound. Time to go.

Never occurred to my love of quiet places could be dangerous. But bear sightings have been on the upswing; lady's dog was killed and there have been numerous sightings.

So I hiked to a spot on the water. Do black bears swim? Probably, but so can I!

Daycamped on the water.









Day ended well. Some of you may live in real bear country, but this is the first time I've seen one since being in Alaska.

Thoughts on sharing wild spaces with bears?

Thanks for listening


AA

Bears are no joke. I would have used the same expression Followed by going completely berserk to scare the bear away and look intimidating. Those are great photos and day camping sounds like a lot of fun.

My bro got charged by a black bear in the Pigeon Forge, TN area last year. He was out hiking, saw the bear and decided he needed to film it with this cell phone. Big dummy kept walking closer and closer, the bear decided enough was enough and charged him. The video is pretty funny now. But thankfully it wasn't a mama bear or it didn't keep coming after him.

We in Tennessee recognize bears for what they are and respect the fact that they can turn on you in a Dixie minute. Although this shall possibly open up a thread of differing opinion, I must say we locals almost always have some form of "bear defense" ordnance on hand when wandering through the woods. Often such equipment is manufactured by Ruger, S&W, or similar companies. Rember..it's not Yogi you are dealing with out there.

There are a lot of Black Bears around here. Generally there is no trouble if you give them space, don't surprise them or come between a mother and her cubs. They are generally just as happy to give you a wide berth as you are of them. They can make a mess of a camp/camper/camp site when looking for food. Black Bear attacks are rare but some do result in fatalities. I'd keep my distance if possible as bears are amazing sprinters.

OTH Grizzlies are a whole other ball of wax.

Wow! Always wonder if I'll stumble across a bear on my land. A black bear was sighted south of me, and they're all over further norh of me, but like Acmemfg, I'm usually accompanied by Mr. Ruger when I'm strolling my woods....

And I forgot to mention: Great pics!

Great photos. Looks like a very peaceful afternoon. I have black bears all over where I am at. As a matter of fact, I have at least one that is somewhere very close, because he likes to tear up my new garbage cans a day or so after I get them.

Not sure where you are at and whether you can carry one of the above mentioned "deterrents", but there is a cheap little trick some of us use to keep bears away here. Ammonia. They have extremely sensitive noses and really don't like it at all. Some farmers will make a water balloon of it and cover it in peanut butter then hang it in a tree. When they pop that, they usually don't come back.
I soaked a rag in it and placed it in the top of my garbage cans, and they stay new now. (I'm sure my collection guy just loved that one though. )

I wouldn't rely on it for a charging bear, or one with cubs, but a stream of it should keep a curios one away.

Whoa! I'm glad it was such a great day!

As much as I respect the sort of "bear deterrent" some of you are discussing, you're much better off with some bear spray. This isn't a message sponsored by PETA or the Sierra Club, either. It's just a better choice. Aim is not nearly as important with bear spray, and it's a lot quicker to fire. Disabling a 400+ pound bear isn't as easy as one might think when that dadgum thing is charging you.

Just about every time someone looks into this, the findings come back that you are twice as likely to get out of a bad bear encounter without serious injury if you use bear spray rather than a firearm.

Now, if you're out hunting and you already have your rifle out and ready, I expect you might be better off opening fire. However, if you're just hiking around, you're probably better off reaching for bear spray instead of a holstered sidearm.

Of course, no charge is best of all.

"Remember, best block, no be there."

There were some large fires in the Shenandoah National Park this last year and there have been a LOT of bear / people encounters.

Many of the trails have had to be shut down.

We are not going this year because of this. I find it best to just wait another year and let the vegetation recover so that the bears can get back to their natural food rather than feasting on pets which has occurred a few too many times this year so far.

http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/article_d4315e33-8854-5700-9dbe-46f6f74963f1.html

A real shame as last year we went for 3-4 days a month for the entire season the park was open. 20 minute drive from our home to the campgrounds.

Ever since getting the old fart National Park free entry pass we have been enjoying as many National Parks as we can get to.

Having made several applications of OC spray on inmates let me toss in my two bits.

- Range is 20-25 feet. Imagine a super soaker and how hard it is to hit a moving target at that range.
- Most of use preferred pulling the Taser instead, same range but quicker and easier to aim than a round can that might actually be aiming anywhere but your target.
- A holstered bear spray versus a holstered firearm is an even wash in deployment time.
- Bear sensitivity to OC is something like 25 times higher than humans, so if you can get it on him it should work
- Grizzly poop smells like bear spray and has little bells in it.

Nice looking place Mike! Seems like a great place to relax...and yes, I do believe bears can swim.

I wonder if realdog4 is going to chime in...he was charged by a black bear awhile back. He decided to procure a Ruger Blackhawk .44 Magnum.

Bear spray can be good, but you never know the conditions; it may be a bit rainy, wind blowing, etc. If bear encounters are common, no matter how slight the risk of an attack, it would seem to me that a can of bear spray, accompanied by an accessory made by Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson, or Mr. Ruger, would provide a bit of security. If conditions preclude the use of the spray, the firearm would come in as back-up.

I don't live in an area with a high bear population, but some small black bears are sighted around here from time to time. I've never seen one. Just my thoughts.

Thanks for the tips, tricks and suggestions! Though these woods don't have one deer in them, three bears- two large and one small-scale have recently been seen in surrounding neighborhoods, including mine. A dog was killed, fish and game people set this big trailer trap and failed to catch the miscreant. Fellow 2A guys: I follow Thomas Jefferson's suggestion about a constant companion. But ultralight hiking meant what I had with me was no more than a noisemaker in the case. If run down, Revenant-style, could have stuck it in his ear- maybe! Just glad there were not three, or with cub. The bear did, basically, sneak up on me- which is disquieting. Bad on me in this case. Far from a trail I felt safe, ironically. Wonder if it smelled the open can of soda, a smell it would know from trash cans.


AA

Think I just had an idea what to do with that almost full bottle of Lilac Vegetal ...


AA

I think you'd have to be a pretty cool cookie to whip out your 44 mag handgun in a surprise black bear encounter and get off a killing shot at close range.

Years ago a fellow I knew from the gun club nailed a black bear on his property late one afternoon with a 44 mag Ruger super Black Hawk. The bear took off and they found it next morning dead a ways away in the bush. He was an excellent shot and not under stress so I would not count too much on a 44 mag handgun as a stopper.

Bob

All about shot placement. I often cite the same logic when in a discussion with anyone dismissing (most often a 9mm) various handgun calibers, claiming a .45 ACP is the messiah of pistol rounds

Don't mess with this guy.

http://www.inquisitr.com/2057965/man-punches-bear/

You need to be very careful with food. Even clothes after cooking in them. Bears are no joke at all but they are usually after your food. Be mindful of your surroundings and I would definitely carry. There are great revolvers made for bear country. Great pics! Very nice looking place.

I have never ever been in Alaska, but have backpacked and camped in grizzly country a lot. I carried spray but wished I had a nice wheelgun. I wasn't sure how to get it through a bunch of states legally at the time. Best wishes.

simon1 said:

I wonder if realdog4 is going to chime in...he was charged by a black bear awhile back. He decided to procure a Ruger Blackhawk .44 Magnum.

Click to expand...

Ooops, I meant to say realdog4 got a 5 1/2 inch barreled Ruger double action Redhawk. I have a Blackhawk in .41 mag so Blackhawk just slipped in there. The .41 is what I would be carrying in bear country, just because I can't see buying a .44 mag when I have the .41. Load up that old 3 screw model, 6 1/2 inch, .41 mag. Blackhawk with some hot, hard cast semi-wadcutters....

Acmemfg said:

All about shot placement. I often cite the same logic when in a discussion with anyone dismissing (most often a 9mm) various handgun calibers, claiming a .45 ACP is the messiah of pistol rounds

Click to expand...

Yes, very true but when you see some lung tissue on th you know you hit him pretty good. It takes large animals a while to die and they can go some distance in the meantime, hopefully not in your direction. It also takes an calm shooter to precisely place a shot where most people aren't in that state of mind in a surprise encounter with a bear at close range.

You have a very good point Bob, that some people really don't realize. Animals, and people, can take awhile to go down even after they are solidly hit. Skunks had been eating baby kittens here awhile back, and I saw one in the front yard earlier this spring. He ran about 25 yards after a solid chest hit with a .22. You know on that small an animal the .22 did some major damage...there was some rib bone sticking out the off side and the hit was in the heart/lung area...closer to the heart. I do believe I'd rather stick the barrel of a .44 down the throat of an attacking bear than my fist though.

Many of the big bear protection revolvers come in a 4 inch barrel to cut back on weight for backpacking. They make some caliber a lot more potent than the 44 now, but they come in 44 cal as well. They kick like a mule. I have shot the .460 and .500 I believe. The .454 Casull is popular too.

According to a friend who used to guide in Alaska, if a grizzly is charging you, you "point it at the head and keep pulling the trigger till one of you dies!"