jroot

standard rules regarding bears:

1. if attacked by a griz cover roll in a ball, cover your head and play dead
2. if attacked by a black bear fight with everything you got ...they are not a preditory animal, if they take the initiative to attack they're gonna eat you
3. if winded by a bear they will generally stand on their hind legs to determine where the smell is coming from. an old indian told me to watch real close when he drops back down to 4 legs on the ground ...if those 4 legs hit the ground directly facing you with his shoulders square he's coming to get you ...if he comes down at an angle he has no interest in you.
4. always be prepared and when in dought blast'em

BrutalAttack

#2 isn't always true from what I've seen and heard in working with black bears at a local university. I feel it's only appropriate to fight back when the attacking black bear is a dominant boar. Because usually if a boar approaches you he is going to eat you. However this presents a problem, how do you know if it's a dominant boar? Well most people wouldn't know so I guess fighting back is the best option. But, my point is not all black bears approach humans as a food item only. There have been numerous black bear attacks by sows with cubs and subadult bears who mauled someone who was playing dead then let them go (aka didn't eat them). This shows there is a definite difference in behavior between the two.

Your last statement in #2 doesn't make any sense, both grizzlies and black bears can be predatory.

But my policy is #4 always!

emlaur

I spend a lot of time hikeing and camping in the Adirondacks where I commonly see black bears. In 40 years I have not even once been menaced by a bear. With that said I do realize that I could have a dangerous encounter at any time and carry a little security in the way of a .357 mag.. I would have been much more concerned about the encounter with the "little kitty" you referred to.I believe that a mountain lion is much more dangerous than a black bear.

j3k2c1

I have a south eastern tag. Funny that you mention the alpine thing, cause that is where I live exactly!

oldelkhunter

I can't imagine anything larger than a 357 shooting 158 grain slugs for Black Bear. When I lived in Florida the county DA bowhunted Wyoming during Elk season. He made a habit of carrying a 357 in his daypack and ran into a Grizzly. Fortunately it ran off and left him shaking with the 357 in his hands. He said that gun sure looked small after being so close to a Grizzly.

Nomercy

No offense, but if you shoot a blackbear out of "self defense", I'm not likely to believe it. They have been known to attack people in the past for whatever reason, but on the whole, they aren't aggressive as the "great bears" tend to be, black bears are more like big coyotes, they don't really want to eat you or hunt you, they're not even terribly concerned with running you off most the time, but if they feel they have to defend themselves, they will, I guess that's really how most people are too.

I'd recommend carrying a .44mag Double action revolver, with the cylinder indexed to put out the first round or two full of birdshot, if he gets a little too close for comfort, and hollering and waving your arms don't help, then you can put some shot into his rump and see if he still wants to hang around before deciding to kill him.

Like I said, black bears don't usually constitute much of a problem, even in instances where hunters are cleaning game and the bear comes to the smell of it...although I'm usually a little leary still as I'm walking out with deer blood on me and meat hanging on my back--it's usually a good idea in bear country to have a relatively large chunk of meat ready to rip off so you might give it to the bear and save your own hide.

Hoopy

Actually you are 100% wrong in case #1. If a grizzly bear attacks you he is looking for one thing, food.
I can show you more then a numerous amount of Grizzly bear sites that are .gov, .edu that point out from peoples expirience that at night, early morning, or mid afternoon (Their prime feeding times) if a grizzly bear attacks you, it has nothing at all to do with your in it's territory, it wants to kill you for food.

I submit the Canadian Goverment site for bears.

http://www.nwtwildlife.rwed.gov.nt.c...ry/attacks.htm
Case and point, if you are walking through the woods and a grizzly bear runs your ass down, you better not play dead, or you will be dead. No if ands or buts.
If he runs up to you and stands about 20 yds away and and growls, then he is NOT treating you as prey, you'd already be dead. THAT is when you want to pretend your dead.


Grizzly bears that are in predator mode do not play around with the whole wind and growl thing, they come to kill. If you suprise one on a trail and it grunts and grownls at you and doesnt stand, then you just scared him for a second, thats not predator. Predator is when you see a bear running towards you from 100 yds away straight at you, he is going to kill you.
May the best mammal win.

Hoopy

Oh yea, read this also

http://www.nwtwildlife.rwed.gov.nt.c...encounters.htm
Especially this part:
A hunting bear does not bother with displays and shows no signs of annoyance or fear. It may approach you directly at a fast walk or turn, follow you, or circle carefully, making cautious approaches.

BrutalAttack

lol! If you shot a bear with .44 mag birdshot then he would kill you for sure. That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard, I'm sorry.

jroot

why don't you read your own link ...it supports what i said in my post. SEE PLAYING DEAD AND FIGHTING BACK PARAGRAPHS.

very seldom do bears hunt people as prey. the majority of attacks are the result of surprise encounters where the person is viewed as a threat or hunter attacked over a harvested elk/deer.