having one in your backyard isnt a problem per se, unless its on its way to eat you

my point was 10 years ago here in my area black bears werent a concern b/c we didnt have any

Really? How will carrying a gun get you into more trouble than it will get you out of?? Only if you are a criminal would that be true. Almost sound like an anti gun person!

C-Rad,
I have killed 5 black bears with my bow and have hunted Elk and Deer where were lots of Black bears. Like you I never had any fear of them. Well last year I formed a differnt opinion. While walking through a large patch of scrub oak on my way to my stand I must have somehow got between a sow and her cub. It was dark and I was walking with a small head lamp for light. She charged me and stoped 10 yards away poping her teeth and was making very loud huffing sounds. Let me tell you I now have a whole new opinion and this year I am carrying a side arm while bowhunting in bear country.

Having a firearm is always better than not having a firearm. That said, having a firearm doesn't give you license to do things that defy common sense - or guarantee that you'd be able to handle the consequences of a situation you'd have been better off avoiding.

So, yes - carrying a firearm CAN get you into more trouble than it can get you out of if you invite or are too unaware of or detached from your surroundings to avoid a confrontation.

Most of the time, my threat is a cat. I'm perfectly happy with a .45. If I'm in black bear country, I'm probably going to carry a .44. In any case, I'm going to be paying pretty close attention to things in order that I not find the need to draw and fire.

Well stated, Homers Brother. I am not anti gun, however I am against belligerent people owning guns. You shoot a black bear in the state of Pennsylvania and there better be claw marks on you. Just this last deer season a girl hunting deer was attacked by a bear in PA. One can never get an accurate story from a newspaper, but allegedly she was attacked. Two of her family followed it and shot it. Last report I heard, the shooters were in trouble.

Think you had a run in with a boar, never in 35 years of bear hunting have I witnessed a sow popping jaws and blowing, even when there was a tranquilized cub on the ground and a sow in the brush.
an adult male bear with no fear of humans is a bad situation.
RR

General stats show that 99 out of 100 blackies will run from a person. Problem is you may be the unlucky one that meets that 1 out of 100 the very first time you see one. Like most have said the 45 acp would not be my first choice to defend myself against a charging black bear. FBI has proven that a person within 21' and average can be on you before you can draw a holstered sidearm and fire. And a bear is a lot faster than a human.

I carry a good Bear mace.

If that's what yer proficient using go for it. PA ain't the bear attack capital of America.