A different perspective on bear defense.

Longboat said:
I'm surrounded by bears in Central Frontenac near Sharbot Lake. There is a small waste sight about half km from my house. I have a cell phone video from 2 weeks ago 30 feet from a mother with 3 cubs. It's posted on Instagram actually. They are very used to people, maybe to used to people. But still makes you pretty damn nervous knowing there are several bears with 500 meters of your house at all times and pass through your yard almost daily. Could be just riding the lawn tractor on the wrong day and get my ass torn to peices.

I keep a mag fed shotgun ready and mags loaded with magnum slugs when out in the yard. Best way to protect myself quickly and legally. We also keep bear spray around but that's more for my wife. But I have seen a mother bear run through bear spray like it wasn't there. Plus in a haste wind can blow it back in your own face etc. And I may never get to a gun in time. It's not like I carry an 8 or 10 pound long gun on my person out there.

A couple years ago I know the township shot most of the bears around my house. They drove into the dump, heard some magnum rifles shooting in there soon after. No bears for a few months after that. But they are all back again and I see they are live trapping and relocating them lately. I see them hauling them out with the large cage traps on trailers now and then.

As far as handguns, I have been seriously thinking about applying for permission to carry on my own property. I know they will grant trappers and workers in remote areas. At least then I can do work outside and have a sidearm ready on my person. But I do realize that might not even be enough in certain situations. And not to mention the coyotes and fishers and so on...

Handgun is not ideal bear defense. But a shotgun 20 yards from where I am outside is even worse.
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I am curious why you would consider a shotgun worse than a handgun. Handguns are generally under powered and harder to hit with than a long gun, and a 12 ga loaded with good quality slugs like Brennekes or Challengers have far greater terminal performance. I like carrying a handgun, and I am confident in a 325 gr hard cast WFN over 20 grs of H-110, and my ability to put it in the right place, but they are truly a last ditch defensive tool. When I woke up and faced a large bear, unhappy that I might try to take his dead whale, I was reasonably sure a charge was imminent, I would have been happier with more gun, but my .44 Vaquero was what I had. I was sure I could kill the bear, I was less sure I could do it unscathed with a handgun as I would have to wait until I was sure I could hit the brain or the spine, by which time he would be only 8' away, and if he was moving at 30 miles an hour, his momentum would carry him into me. Theory has it, that he would just fold up and drop. I'm happy I didn't have to prove the theory, but when you are there in the moment, you do what you have to.

I posted an amusing story about the encounter, but the circumstances where deadly serious.
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1266355-Waking-Grouchy
 
Years ago I set my brother a fishing fanatic up with a short barreled Rem 870 12 gauge shotgun and of course while fishing in northern BC he set the shotgun down on his daypack.

He figures he had been fishing for about 15 minutes when he turned around to find an appr 8' grizzly sitting beside his pack/shotgun his solution was to waded out deeper and started traveling downstream problem was the bear followed him for about 300 yards before it left him.

He kept the shotgun closer after that he doesn't worry about grizzlies much anymore = he packed up and moved to Darwin Australia...
 
Gatehouse said:
Yeah, I figured you would understand the pistol on the belt is worth more in that situation. :)
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Not sure they would ever grant me to carry even in my own yard anyways.

The only options in the application are for workers in remote areas or trappers.

Not for people who live in remote areas with high numbers of predators. You just have to get mauled to death instead.
 
Longboat said:
Not sure they would ever grant me to carry even in my own yard anyways.

The only options in the application are for workers in remote areas or trappers.

Not for people who live in remote areas with high numbers of predators. You just have to get mauled to death instead.
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Fill out the application anyway, keeping in mind that you will need to justify why you can't protect yourself with a long gun, and that there must be a commercial angle to your request. Its not difficult to register a company name, and if say your business involves vehicles, it would not be possible in any reasonable fashion to protect yourself with a long gun while lying under the vehicle with a grease gun, while doing an oil change, or while pulling wrenches during any other maintenance procedure. If you have to feed live stock, not only are both hands engaged in that activity, the smell of animal feed is an attractant to bears. In the geographic area portion of the application, you can specify that the gun would be carried only on your own property, and you could indicate the legal description of your land. They seem to be making a bigger deal now about holsters, so you need to choose one has a means of securing the gun, friction is not enough, it has to be a physical restraint like a retaining strap, a thumb snap, or some similar device which keeps the gun in the holster should you be engaged in gymnastics. You should be able to demonstrate that you can draw and re-holster the gun without covering yourself or anyone else. You will need a range officer to sign off on your demonstration of proficiency which includes marksmanship, loading/unloading, and drawing and re-holstering. If they are going to deny you, make them work for it.
 
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Longboat , if you could just get one of those "yard bears" to woof at you a couple of time and convince the dough-heads that issue the carry permits that they were conveying the "requisite" death threats required to trigger a permit......
 
Longboat said:
Not sure they would ever grant me to carry even in my own yard anyways.

The only options in the application are for workers in remote areas or trappers.

Not for people who live in remote areas with high numbers of predators. You just have to get mauled to death instead.
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I do believe they only give out permits if it's somehow work related. I remember someone on here complaining about being denied, he wanted one for when he goes prospecting on a chunk of property he owns for a few weeks each year and the response he got was unless 50%+ of his income was derived from that activity it was a no go.

That said, it never hurts to ask...
 
fingers284 said:
Longboat , if you could just get one of those "yard bears" to woof at you a couple of time and convince the dough-heads that issue the carry permits that they were conveying the "requisite" death threats required to trigger a permit......
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Well its definitely no secret. The township is well aware of it. Everyone around me within 2km has bears passing through. The township is trapping and relocating now. But that only lasts a few months at best before more bears move into the territory.

I'm going to give the Ontario CFO a call. It actually tells you to call first before applying anyways. Like you guys say why not try. I could carry on my property and nobody would ever know. But what a life ruining situation it would be to get nailed.

No firearms bylaws here to speak of. I can shoot a 50 BMG in my back yard but cant carry a pistol haha.

Less than a 1% chance anything will ever happen here. But I dont want to be the dude in one of those rare attack threads on here either.

I still wear my seatbelt which is law and also wise. Less than a 1% chance I will need it on as well. But you need it when you need it.
 
Tough to make 50% of your income on prospecting.

I'm thinking it would have to be 50 of your year needs to be out prospecting.

Tought to prospect when there is snow on the ground.
 
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