Anybody PERSONALLY been charged by a bear?
- Thread starter 280_ACKLEY
- Start date
One time while going into place bait,the dominant male was there(about a 375lb black) he winded me but I guess didnt know which way it was comming from..As he bolted out of there the blind bat ran right into my groin/hip area with his head,knocking me flying sideways into the junipers..I dont think it was a real attack. More of an I'm getting the hell outta here...Its funny,cause I remember pulling my bowie from the sheath as I hit the junipers,but really even though that only took me a second,I turned and he was long gone,telling me that had it been an attack which started from 15 feet you'd be screwed even with a gun at the ready.No damage,bruised hip,bruised ego......BUT BOY DID HE GET HIS....54 cal mini through the brisket two weeks layter and he's still on the wall
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Summer 1999. I spotted him sleeping in the rocks a half mile away, the big patch of white wasn't really all that hard to pick out. My boys wanted a closer look at this thing so I agreed, but warned that we would not attempt to close closer than 50 yards. There was a gentle east wind blowing, so we made a big loop past the outcrop so that we could give him our wind and not startle him. The lay of the land was two large rock outcrops on the Hudson Bay coast separated by a low gravel esker, and our truck was left directly below the western outcrop.
We climbed up from the east side, and once we were on top I realized I had made a serious mistake...no bear in sight. We stood there for a minute, then just for the hell of it I whistled. Well this thing bounded out from behind a boulder like I had just whistled to a Lab. At that time it was the biggest bear I had ever seen, and the fact that it was 30 feet away didn't diminish it's apparent size in any way. My boys were impressed suggesting that they would never see home again, and would I please shoot!
We held our ground, and the bear slowed his approach turning broadside to us. At that point I told the boys to start backing away when he looked away and stand still when he looked at us. In this manner we put some distance between he and us, and managed to get back on the low ground. We began to circle back towards the truck when it happened. There was a place on the hill which was a gentle slope of gravel, and he came down this slope at a hard run. There was nowhere to go, just stand and face it. My gun was up, a short barreled Winchester M-37 12 gauge single shot with rifle sights. I picked a point on the ground and said.."when you hit that you're gone!" I did not want to shoot this bear, not because I have a soft spot for polar bears that are about to eat my family, but because his down hill momentum would carry him into us, and I could not figure out how we could escape without some injury. First he was running, then he stopped cold, with his foot right on my "line in the sand" or in this case gravel. I kept watching over the sights as he slowly turned and headed back up hill...the wrong way...he was cutting us off from the truck! Once over the rim of the hill he was out of sight, and we looped back around to get to the west outcrop above the truck.
Now what I have not yet mentioned is that my German Shepard TJ was with us, and up until now he had been well behaved, but now that we were close to the truck he though he should stir things up a bit. We were back from the edge maybe 15 feet when TJ lets out a woof and disappears over the edge. Mother didn't raise any foolish children, so I had the gun at my shoulder waiting - listening - no sound, then TJ bounds back to us, distracting me just for a moment and that big white head appeared - 2 feet between the ears - coming up over the edge. Well, I didn't mind the idea of shooting him now because he would fall away from us, and for the second time that day that bear read my mind, turned and disappeared over the edge. Reappearing so quickly now 30 yards to our left that for a moment I thought there were two of them. We just stood there and watched him disappear into the rocks, then we climbed down to the truck and drove home quietly.
We climbed up from the east side, and once we were on top I realized I had made a serious mistake...no bear in sight. We stood there for a minute, then just for the hell of it I whistled. Well this thing bounded out from behind a boulder like I had just whistled to a Lab. At that time it was the biggest bear I had ever seen, and the fact that it was 30 feet away didn't diminish it's apparent size in any way. My boys were impressed suggesting that they would never see home again, and would I please shoot!
We held our ground, and the bear slowed his approach turning broadside to us. At that point I told the boys to start backing away when he looked away and stand still when he looked at us. In this manner we put some distance between he and us, and managed to get back on the low ground. We began to circle back towards the truck when it happened. There was a place on the hill which was a gentle slope of gravel, and he came down this slope at a hard run. There was nowhere to go, just stand and face it. My gun was up, a short barreled Winchester M-37 12 gauge single shot with rifle sights. I picked a point on the ground and said.."when you hit that you're gone!" I did not want to shoot this bear, not because I have a soft spot for polar bears that are about to eat my family, but because his down hill momentum would carry him into us, and I could not figure out how we could escape without some injury. First he was running, then he stopped cold, with his foot right on my "line in the sand" or in this case gravel. I kept watching over the sights as he slowly turned and headed back up hill...the wrong way...he was cutting us off from the truck! Once over the rim of the hill he was out of sight, and we looped back around to get to the west outcrop above the truck.
Now what I have not yet mentioned is that my German Shepard TJ was with us, and up until now he had been well behaved, but now that we were close to the truck he though he should stir things up a bit. We were back from the edge maybe 15 feet when TJ lets out a woof and disappears over the edge. Mother didn't raise any foolish children, so I had the gun at my shoulder waiting - listening - no sound, then TJ bounds back to us, distracting me just for a moment and that big white head appeared - 2 feet between the ears - coming up over the edge. Well, I didn't mind the idea of shooting him now because he would fall away from us, and for the second time that day that bear read my mind, turned and disappeared over the edge. Reappearing so quickly now 30 yards to our left that for a moment I thought there were two of them. We just stood there and watched him disappear into the rocks, then we climbed down to the truck and drove home quietly.
troutseeker
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Prince George, BC
Yup, once, and it was not personal...
Troutseeker
Troutseeker
I had a young black bear charge me in my driveway before. I went inside grabbed the 30-30 and went outside for round 2. The bear came at me again and stopped within inches of the barrel. I pulled the hammer back and she took off running. I didn't shoot her but I had to change my shorts after.
Ah yes, the fuzzy white bears are nothing to fool with! The other bear that is exceedingly pushy is the barren ground grizzly..........no they are not very big on average, but they are very unsophisticated and think that they are the biggest and toughest thing on earth....well at least the barrens.
When you have a caribou down and a bear is near by they just come right in........no not a charge, just the joyous exuberance of a bear coming to a free meal. Straight in......here I come.....get out of my way. Grab the antlers and cape and head out, cause if you don't you will have to do some shooting and the gov't boys will be asking questions.
When you have a caribou down and a bear is near by they just come right in........no not a charge, just the joyous exuberance of a bear coming to a free meal. Straight in......here I come.....get out of my way. Grab the antlers and cape and head out, cause if you don't you will have to do some shooting and the gov't boys will be asking questions.
I have really only had 1 bear charge me and that was over 20 years ago. I shot him at 8 to 10 yards with a 308 Norma mag with 180gr 3060fps bullets. The poor fellow did a summersault instantly than stopped completely when I shot again.
I have so many bear experiences now that I'm really amazed that I do not have more problems with bears. One fairly recent experience that comes to mind was 1 1/2 years ago. I was working in a remote area of the Fraser Canyon in South Western, BC in an area that resently had a forest fire.
I normally have my dog with me but it was the last day of my trip and raining very hard. I was heading home in couple of hours and wanted to check this one last area out before I left. I had left the dog inside the truck because I didn't want her to get soaked before the trip home.
I had only been hiking about 10 minutes from my truck when I noticed up hill to my left a chocolate brown black bear @ about 50 yards. It sat there for a little bit then started to walk uphill away from me. I watched it until it was about 100 yards away from me then I continued on my way. After hiking another 40 to 50 yards I spotted another black bear about 30 yards uphill form me. This one had spotted me as well and started to head up hill away from me.
I turned away from it and spotted another black bear down hill about 20 yards away from me. It hadn't seen me so I continued up the trail but noticed another choclate color phaze black bear coming towards me down the trail. I stepped off into a little creek beside the trail and drew my Ruger Super Redhawk 454 Casull handgun with 360gr WLNGC cast bullets @ 1520fps. I was expecting the bear to walk within 8 to 10 feet of me but fortunately for me the bear turned right and headed up the hill as well. I reholstered my handgun and I walked up to where it had turned off and watched it through my binoculars until it disappeared from sight at about 100 yards.
This was a very steep hill side that the bear had gone up and when I lowered my binoculars standing not even 10 yards in front of me was another black bear looking at me. This one was so close that I drew my handgun again and stood my ground waiting for it to make a decision. It took it's eyes off of me and came down the hill on an angle crossing the trail in front of me and disappearing into the blue berry patch on the down hill side of the trail.
That was enough for me. I then turned around and headed back to my truck and home thinking that I'll check that spot out some other day.
I have so many bear experiences now that I'm really amazed that I do not have more problems with bears. One fairly recent experience that comes to mind was 1 1/2 years ago. I was working in a remote area of the Fraser Canyon in South Western, BC in an area that resently had a forest fire.
I normally have my dog with me but it was the last day of my trip and raining very hard. I was heading home in couple of hours and wanted to check this one last area out before I left. I had left the dog inside the truck because I didn't want her to get soaked before the trip home.
I had only been hiking about 10 minutes from my truck when I noticed up hill to my left a chocolate brown black bear @ about 50 yards. It sat there for a little bit then started to walk uphill away from me. I watched it until it was about 100 yards away from me then I continued on my way. After hiking another 40 to 50 yards I spotted another black bear about 30 yards uphill form me. This one had spotted me as well and started to head up hill away from me.
I turned away from it and spotted another black bear down hill about 20 yards away from me. It hadn't seen me so I continued up the trail but noticed another choclate color phaze black bear coming towards me down the trail. I stepped off into a little creek beside the trail and drew my Ruger Super Redhawk 454 Casull handgun with 360gr WLNGC cast bullets @ 1520fps. I was expecting the bear to walk within 8 to 10 feet of me but fortunately for me the bear turned right and headed up the hill as well. I reholstered my handgun and I walked up to where it had turned off and watched it through my binoculars until it disappeared from sight at about 100 yards.
This was a very steep hill side that the bear had gone up and when I lowered my binoculars standing not even 10 yards in front of me was another black bear looking at me. This one was so close that I drew my handgun again and stood my ground waiting for it to make a decision. It took it's eyes off of me and came down the hill on an angle crossing the trail in front of me and disappearing into the blue berry patch on the down hill side of the trail.
That was enough for me. I then turned around and headed back to my truck and home thinking that I'll check that spot out some other day.
DId anybody else notice something funny about this thread?
Almost everyone that had an encounter was somewhat aware of the bear(s) prior to any hostilities breaking out.
I odn't know how many times I've read on various forums about how "If your pistol is in your holster or your rifle slung on your shoulder, you won't have a chance, because the bear will come too fast for you to react."
That's true in some circumstances. There is at least a couple of high profile cases where someone had inadvertently stumbled onto a grizzly defending a carcass or in betweeen a mother and cubs, and had no time to react.
But the majority of the time, it seems everyone is aware of the bear prior to anything happeneing, and if they are armed with a suitable firearm, can reduce thier chances of becoming bear turd considerably.
I can recall 2 instances with grizzlies that I just stumbled on to them, very close, and that was hairy for a moment, until one grizz backed down from us on our horses, (no way to draw a rfiel at that moment) and the other I backed up, (on foot) talking to it,, while pointing my 7mm RM at him.
Almost everyone that had an encounter was somewhat aware of the bear(s) prior to any hostilities breaking out.
I odn't know how many times I've read on various forums about how "If your pistol is in your holster or your rifle slung on your shoulder, you won't have a chance, because the bear will come too fast for you to react."
That's true in some circumstances. There is at least a couple of high profile cases where someone had inadvertently stumbled onto a grizzly defending a carcass or in betweeen a mother and cubs, and had no time to react.
But the majority of the time, it seems everyone is aware of the bear prior to anything happeneing, and if they are armed with a suitable firearm, can reduce thier chances of becoming bear turd considerably.
I can recall 2 instances with grizzlies that I just stumbled on to them, very close, and that was hairy for a moment, until one grizz backed down from us on our horses, (no way to draw a rfiel at that moment) and the other I backed up, (on foot) talking to it,, while pointing my 7mm RM at him.
two years in a row now i have had bear encounters in one of my favorite hunting areas where i always go by myself.
Last year i'm walkin back to camp from my morning hunt, following an old slash trail. I'm draggin a nice buck, I'm all bloody and the wind is in my face. As i round a small bend, I see a blackie cub in my path, maybe 30 yards away. Knowing that momma must be close, I stop and chamber a 160 gr nosler in the pipe of my 7mm mag. I have no avenue of escape and have 200lbs of buck tethered to my drag harness. Another cub comes out of the bush and sees me and bawls. Momma bounces out onto the trail and upon seeing me, stops cold, ears down and lowers her head. She makes two "bounces" towards me, closing the gap by 10 yards to a distance of maybe 20 yards away. needless to say, I was pretty rattled. She raised up on her hinds and woofed at me, then swatted the ground violently, edging closer. I squeezed off a shot to her left, hitting the ground inches from her feet. She roared this time and swatted the ground again. Having racked another round into the 7mm I loose another shot, again to her left. I have no interest in killing this bear because that would also mean killing the cubs as well. As the report from the second shot dies, the cubs bolt into the trees, bawling as they go. I have now chambered the last round in my magazine and am prepared to drop this large, very pissed off bear. She bounces again and swats the ground, Holy Crap i'm thinkin, this is it. I put my eye to the scope, ready to take the shot, when she starts backing up, woofing and looking in the direction of her cubs. It was then that she just turned, head down, keeping eye contact and slowly edged into the trees to follow her cubs. I quickly dug more ammo from my pocket and reloaded the rifle. At this point I unhooked the tethers and backed off 30 yards or so. I sat down and waited 1/2 hour to ensure that these bears were on thier way before I approached my kill and continued on my way. It was an amazing experience that I am glad ended the way it did.
This year... was a little different... same area, same trail, almost the same spot, I bump into a BIG blackie male and i am again, draggin a nice buck and am covered in blood. This time the wind is carrying that tasty smell right to mr.bear. This bear was maybe 50 yards away and immediatly dropped his head and ears and was approaching on all fours. At 30 yards he stopped, stood on his hinds and sniffed the air. The 7mm was ready,3 rounds in the mag when this bear suddenly dropped to all fours and began to run straight at me and FAST!!! I squeezed 1 shot from my 7mm, striking the bear just right of center near his collar bone. He hit the ground chin first, tumbled and came to rest some 15 yards away, dead as a doornail. I am not a bear hunter but after last years incident with the momma and cubs, i buy a blackie tag so a kill will not go to waste should one have to be made. Final dressed weight of this pemberton, B.C. black bear was 321 lbs.
Last year i'm walkin back to camp from my morning hunt, following an old slash trail. I'm draggin a nice buck, I'm all bloody and the wind is in my face. As i round a small bend, I see a blackie cub in my path, maybe 30 yards away. Knowing that momma must be close, I stop and chamber a 160 gr nosler in the pipe of my 7mm mag. I have no avenue of escape and have 200lbs of buck tethered to my drag harness. Another cub comes out of the bush and sees me and bawls. Momma bounces out onto the trail and upon seeing me, stops cold, ears down and lowers her head. She makes two "bounces" towards me, closing the gap by 10 yards to a distance of maybe 20 yards away. needless to say, I was pretty rattled. She raised up on her hinds and woofed at me, then swatted the ground violently, edging closer. I squeezed off a shot to her left, hitting the ground inches from her feet. She roared this time and swatted the ground again. Having racked another round into the 7mm I loose another shot, again to her left. I have no interest in killing this bear because that would also mean killing the cubs as well. As the report from the second shot dies, the cubs bolt into the trees, bawling as they go. I have now chambered the last round in my magazine and am prepared to drop this large, very pissed off bear. She bounces again and swats the ground, Holy Crap i'm thinkin, this is it. I put my eye to the scope, ready to take the shot, when she starts backing up, woofing and looking in the direction of her cubs. It was then that she just turned, head down, keeping eye contact and slowly edged into the trees to follow her cubs. I quickly dug more ammo from my pocket and reloaded the rifle. At this point I unhooked the tethers and backed off 30 yards or so. I sat down and waited 1/2 hour to ensure that these bears were on thier way before I approached my kill and continued on my way. It was an amazing experience that I am glad ended the way it did.
This year... was a little different... same area, same trail, almost the same spot, I bump into a BIG blackie male and i am again, draggin a nice buck and am covered in blood. This time the wind is carrying that tasty smell right to mr.bear. This bear was maybe 50 yards away and immediatly dropped his head and ears and was approaching on all fours. At 30 yards he stopped, stood on his hinds and sniffed the air. The 7mm was ready,3 rounds in the mag when this bear suddenly dropped to all fours and began to run straight at me and FAST!!! I squeezed 1 shot from my 7mm, striking the bear just right of center near his collar bone. He hit the ground chin first, tumbled and came to rest some 15 yards away, dead as a doornail. I am not a bear hunter but after last years incident with the momma and cubs, i buy a blackie tag so a kill will not go to waste should one have to be made. Final dressed weight of this pemberton, B.C. black bear was 321 lbs.
I've been in the bush all my 29years..... and have only one such story to tell. It was about 18-20 years ago... My dad was barbequeing chicken in the yard at my camp, which is on the northern border of Killarney Provincial Park, in Ontario. It was in July, at around five in the afternoon. My brother and I were fooling around with our slingshots at the time not paying too much attention to anything. As we were walking towards the bush both of us saw the bear come into view, approximately 20yds away. We kinda froze for an instant and we realized that the bear was staring straight at us. You could tell that it didn't look too healthy, as it's fur was a little patchy and not shiny at all. Almost looked as if it had mange. At that moment, my dad came up behind us and noticed the bear. He ordered us to back up slowly and head for the camp.....the bear watched for a couple of seconds and then decided to advance on us... I wouldn't call it a full out run, but it was moving pretty good none the less.... we made it to the safety of the camp and a few seconds later....out came the old Remington 35..... before my dad could get back outside, the bear left the yard. A few minutes later my dad went back out to retrieve the chicken from the barbeque (rifle slung on his shoulder). Out came the bear again making his way slowly towards my dad. One well placed shot in the boiler room took care of that problem. I'm still amazed at how quickly that bear died from that big chunk of lead. At close range the 35 Rem is a pretty deadly big game round.
Greg
Greg
Once, and I provoked it pretty well all by myself.
I was heading up to a party at a friend's place by 70 mile house. We pulled up to her cabin in the Winnebago I used to own, me, her, and another guy. We got out and the other guy said, holy ****, a bear! It was a medium sized blackie about fifty feet off.
Well, I thought, that's cool, so close to the cabin. I think I'd like a picture. So out comes the old Minolta and I took a picture. "Cool pic that'll be," says the girl.
"I guess so," I said. "I think I want a closer one." So I walked straight towards the bear until I was about twenty feet off. It was looking at me and not moving. I lifted the camera and when I looked through the lens it was suddenly much closer!
It took a couple of bounds at me and I hopped back a few feet. Greg screamed and ran in the house (to get a weapon, he later said) and Jeanette jumped back in the RV. The bear slowed down once I started retreating then stalked off, and I walked back to the RV, put my camera away and that was that.
Everyone hoped for a nice big picture of black fur on my next roll but I had a pretty wide angle lens on and it didn't capture how close it had all been very well. Also it was so out of focus it wasn't a very impressive picture, I'm sorry to say. It's packed away in all my stuff back east but I'll see if I can find it when everything arrives next week.
I was heading up to a party at a friend's place by 70 mile house. We pulled up to her cabin in the Winnebago I used to own, me, her, and another guy. We got out and the other guy said, holy ****, a bear! It was a medium sized blackie about fifty feet off.
Well, I thought, that's cool, so close to the cabin. I think I'd like a picture. So out comes the old Minolta and I took a picture. "Cool pic that'll be," says the girl.
"I guess so," I said. "I think I want a closer one." So I walked straight towards the bear until I was about twenty feet off. It was looking at me and not moving. I lifted the camera and when I looked through the lens it was suddenly much closer!
It took a couple of bounds at me and I hopped back a few feet. Greg screamed and ran in the house (to get a weapon, he later said) and Jeanette jumped back in the RV. The bear slowed down once I started retreating then stalked off, and I walked back to the RV, put my camera away and that was that.
Everyone hoped for a nice big picture of black fur on my next roll but I had a pretty wide angle lens on and it didn't capture how close it had all been very well. Also it was so out of focus it wasn't a very impressive picture, I'm sorry to say. It's packed away in all my stuff back east but I'll see if I can find it when everything arrives next week.
