old 3 Shoot:

Now you've gone and done it. I'm force me take all the fun out of the story, by telling you a few secrets that will make you realize that I wasn't in as much danger as it's fun to think <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

Though I would never choose such a distance, the slugs that I have described earlier in this posting, are about the only thing that can stop a bear from 10 ft. (better be good at shooting from the hip though). But even then, you may have to do some quick moving to avoid being run down. This is why I kept the gun propped on the carcass, never more than arms length away, and made sure that the carcass was between me and the bear when ever possible.

The combination of many years of practice and some combat competition training, combined with actual instances of use, gave me the ability to asses my chances of ending an altercation with this animal with me on top.

Additionally, I felt that I had no choice, cuz I wasn't going to leave my moose out there to be eaten by the bear, when I have two freezers to keep full, and several families to feed.

Having studied bears and having had many close encounters over the years, it is inevitable that I've become very familiar with bear behavior, and can read a good deal of their body language.

Now for the secrets: While the brush line started at about 10 feet away, the animal vacillated between the edge of the brush (the three times I saw him), and deep in the brush. With that kind of surge and retreat pattern, you can pretty much bet that the bear is just trying to intimidate you. Otherwise, you would witness a series of perpetually advancing surges. Or worse yet, if things got unexpectedly quiet after such a commotion, followed by a sudden low growl, that's your cue that your about to experience an all out charge.

Since I could hear him huffing and popping, and batting at the brush interspersed with the occasional quiet period, I knew he was bluffing, and had a pretty good idea where he was, thus worked at never having my back to him.

Yes I had to reassure myself by standing up and looking around, and yelling at him to let him know I was still their, and no this was not an optimum situation, but by knowing a bear's language, you have a chance of predicting an actual charge.

This does not mean that I wasn't as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof, or that I didn't have good incentive to hustle. I definitely did not want to be there after dark (hard to shoot a bear you can't see, and they tend to get a bit bolder after sunset).

Technically, I could have popped him on one of the occasions that I saw him, but I felt that there was a better than even chance that he wouldn't complete the charge, and that I could finish up just as dark was hitting.

Now don't make me give away any more of my secrets, or all the bear tales will lose their glamour <img src=icon_smile_dissapprove.gif border=0 align=middle>

<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle> If You Ain't Hunted Alaska, You're Still Just Practicing <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>