Your story is exactly the same as what happened to a co worker years ago in Algonquin park, except you lived to tell about . Him and his wife didn't and were found a couple days later by park officials.
Bear defence...what would you do?
- Thread starter amber2010
- Start date
Your story is exactly the same as what happened to a co worker years ago in Algonquin park, except you lived to tell about . Him and his wife didn't and were found a couple days later by park officials.
I've spent a crap load of time in the BC woods hunting and fishing.
there have been MANY encounters with black bears in my life as a fisherman. In the majority of these, we made our presence known and the bears did their thing. if they seemed to want to be where we were.... we moved. Body language is everything but not everyone recognizes bear body language. a friend threw a rock and sprayed a bear once...... still took his 30 lbs spring salmon from the beach of the conuma river. that bear was probably a 500 lber, Vancouver island bear. it fished downstream/down wind of us some 100 yards for a whole morning. pulling dead fish out of the bottom of this very small river. buddy landed the big chrome Chinook and within 15 minutes, the bear came for a look. we yelled, buddy thrw a big rock..... still walking straight to us..... neutral, non aggressive body language. BUT it was his beach hehehehe at 30 feet and still not aggressive, we had the last of our gear gathered and were backing away from the fish when stevie hit it with the bear guard spray. it stopped the bear..... but it just shook its head, no aggression, picked up the salmon and turned around and walked away..
moral of the story.... that thing was taking our fish and it knew there was nothing we could do about it hehehehe a strange encounter that ended well but I would say the bear spray was not even a factor. while non aggressive as far as wanting to kill us or run us off..... that bear was determined to get what it wanted.
in a different scenario, while dragging a deer, I came upon a sow and cubs at very close range in front of me on the trail..... down wind and not a good scene. a stand off that consisted of 3 piss my pants scary bluff charges and roaring and jaw snapping at a distance of about 2 car lengths...... and after 3 7mm magnum rounds into the dirt at her feet , she and her cubs took off.
my rifle saved my life, there's no doubt about it.... and no, I didn't "really" piss my pants..... but I sat down on that deer and broke at least 3 smokes just tryin to get one outta the pack and lit LOL
I live and play in the upper half of BC regularly and I'd say if yer working or playing in the bush, from 100 mile house and north or anywhere in the kootenays, yer being irresponsible if at least one person in your group is not trained in the use of fireams and packin the bare minimum of a 12 guage shot gun with some good slugs regardless of hunting seasons and such.
there are also provisions in the firearms act for carrying firearms in the bush while working, contact BC CFO's office for the paperwork for these authorizations. several of my friends have them, they work in geology and forestry. it's not just blackies out there, we forget about cougars, ever increasing wolf packs and of course grizzlies. all exhist around prince George hehehe
burnt_servo
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- right in the middle of b.c.
bear spray = spicey Cajun seasoning for the meal the bear is about to eat
bells , bear bangers flares , air horns whistles and the like are nothing more than signaling devices to let the bear know there is a meal nearby .
if you run across a bear , if it isn't running away from you , yell at it , if it doesn't leave after that , it may be wanting to make a meal out of you .
bells , bear bangers flares , air horns whistles and the like are nothing more than signaling devices to let the bear know there is a meal nearby .
if you run across a bear , if it isn't running away from you , yell at it , if it doesn't leave after that , it may be wanting to make a meal out of you .
I think a picture worth a 1000 words. You guys have no ideas how effective and scary this thing is.
Bear Spray Range 30 - 35 feet (9 meters)
Probably not effective at point blank since you can "miss" the face. I never dared to try.
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So you used Bear spray (not the purse joke version) within its effective range and the bear was still charging?
I'm really really skeptical.
everytime i hear someone say "just use bear spray" i wish i could throw them in front of a bear with a can of that cajun sauce.
prove it.
prove it.
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Pepper spray has been known to be ineffectual on some people. This is well documented and known to the police.
So why would you put your life on the line with a large wild animal using the same product?
So why would you put your life on the line with a large wild animal using the same product?
I have many forms of bear repellent which I trust 100%.........they all have .375 or something similar stamped on the barrel. In this country, anyone going affield without a substancial firearm is considered a moron........In our travels this spring we have counted upwards of 100 blackies and about 30 grizzlies, and this is just what we've seen from the truck!!!!
#1 son had a deadly encounter with a grizzly a few years back, it was settled with 2 rounds from his 30-06 the second one being at about 15 feet. He had seen the fresh tracks on the trail and had the presence of mind to take his rifle in hand, loaded and keep his eyes open and his wits about him or he would be just another statistic and a reminder why all should carry a rifle in bear country.
Anyone who wishes to bet their life on a compressed can of pepper spray or noise maker, doesn't have much regard for themselves.
There is also a whole secondary aspect to non leathal bear dissuaders.....what about the next poor hiker or berry picker who comes along and encounters this aggressive bear which you so bravely deterred from eating your butt, but left same said aggressive problem bear out there even angrier and quite probably even more aggressive.
I favor my method of "aggressive bear encounter" situation control, my butt is saved as well as any companions and the future users of the area are also safe from at least THAT bear.
#1 son had a deadly encounter with a grizzly a few years back, it was settled with 2 rounds from his 30-06 the second one being at about 15 feet. He had seen the fresh tracks on the trail and had the presence of mind to take his rifle in hand, loaded and keep his eyes open and his wits about him or he would be just another statistic and a reminder why all should carry a rifle in bear country.
Anyone who wishes to bet their life on a compressed can of pepper spray or noise maker, doesn't have much regard for themselves.
There is also a whole secondary aspect to non leathal bear dissuaders.....what about the next poor hiker or berry picker who comes along and encounters this aggressive bear which you so bravely deterred from eating your butt, but left same said aggressive problem bear out there even angrier and quite probably even more aggressive.
I favor my method of "aggressive bear encounter" situation control, my butt is saved as well as any companions and the future users of the area are also safe from at least THAT bear.
Somewhere in my travel of literature reading, there was a story about a gal working out in the bush.
Bear encounter and she had not one, but two bear spray containers.
The first she levelled at the bear and she started for her truck.
The bear shook his head and stunned for a bit, then took to finding her again.
She luckily had the second can and it was enough to allow her safe passage to her truck.
With only one can, the bear would of had dinner.
Another story was years ago when the kid's were quite young, I had them in the tub trailer and me
on the quad. On the quad was my old 44-40. We were heading past Sussex Lake and there was a woman
tent camped there with her three very young children. They were coughing up a ruckus. The hair on my neck
was standing on end as for sure there must be a pack of yotes or maybe a cougar digesting all this banter.
I stopped and chatted and she showed some real concern about the butt stock of my rifle sticking out of the scabbard.
Is that a gun?
Yup.
What do you plan on doing with it?
Nothing if no animal wishes to cross my path. What do you plan on doing if a bear/cougar/coyote happens
to grab one of your kids?
Dunno?
Have a nice camping trip and off we go.
Yup, us rednick's is plum loco.......
Bear encounter and she had not one, but two bear spray containers.
The first she levelled at the bear and she started for her truck.
The bear shook his head and stunned for a bit, then took to finding her again.
She luckily had the second can and it was enough to allow her safe passage to her truck.
With only one can, the bear would of had dinner.
Another story was years ago when the kid's were quite young, I had them in the tub trailer and me
on the quad. On the quad was my old 44-40. We were heading past Sussex Lake and there was a woman
tent camped there with her three very young children. They were coughing up a ruckus. The hair on my neck
was standing on end as for sure there must be a pack of yotes or maybe a cougar digesting all this banter.
I stopped and chatted and she showed some real concern about the butt stock of my rifle sticking out of the scabbard.
Is that a gun?
Yup.
What do you plan on doing with it?
Nothing if no animal wishes to cross my path. What do you plan on doing if a bear/cougar/coyote happens
to grab one of your kids?
Dunno?
Have a nice camping trip and off we go.
Yup, us rednick's is plum loco.......
my father had the bad luck of actually having to use this #### spray on a bear encounter (works as a geologist in the woods, his company refused to let him carry a gun)
complete ####. the company apologized and he was back with his 870 the same week.
mildcustom2
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Surrey, B.C.
After having an issue with back woods critters in camp last year. My wife asked me to buy a shotgun for bear defence. Who was I to argue with her, I got to buy another shotgun. Now a 12.5" Dominion Arms Grizzly goes with us anywhere we go in the bush. Better safe than sorry and it keeps her happy.
Happy wife = happy life.
And since we sleep in a 16'x20' wall tent I set this up at the foot of the bed with 100 rounds in it when we sleep at night.
Happy wife = happy life.
And since we sleep in a 16'x20' wall tent I set this up at the foot of the bed with 100 rounds in it when we sleep at night.
Jeez guys I guess you have been extremely unlucky and hit the 3% not effective.
Just Youtube bear spray and see for yourself.
But I have to admit this one is semi conclusive (fast forward to 4:45 - the positionning doesn't seams to work)
That grizzly didn't look much disabled only after few seconds and really really p!ssed
Just Youtube bear spray and see for yourself.
But I have to admit this one is semi conclusive (fast forward to 4:45 - the positionning doesn't seams to work)
That grizzly didn't look much disabled only after few seconds and really really p!ssed
spray the entire bears face, you have 30 seconds to get the effing hell out of there. hopefully into a car. if not, you are screwed.
Our COs up here did a little impromtu experiment with a problem grizzly in a campground a few years back and found, the first time they sprayed him the element of surprize etc worked and he buggered off for about an hour. Upon his return, which they were certain he would do, they hosed him down again. Completely different reaction, he became immediately super aggressive and charged full bore into a loaded 12 ga with slugs, end of experiment!! Conclusion was that initially bear spray does work however, you don't want to be the 2nd poor sucker to try it. This ties back to my previous post of leaving an aggressive problem bear with a face full of pepper spray for the next person coming along, to stuble into, who may only have the false sense of security with his or her can of compressed condiments.
It is the opinion of most bear experts that any bear that shows undo aggression or too much curiosity towards humans needs to be terminated before an incident happens. Bears too, do not change their spots, apparently. The exception is a sow with cubs of coarse.
It is the opinion of most bear experts that any bear that shows undo aggression or too much curiosity towards humans needs to be terminated before an incident happens. Bears too, do not change their spots, apparently. The exception is a sow with cubs of coarse.
They didn't have any bear spray, but the park rangers found a broken canoe paddle were he tried to fight the bear off.
The couple were canoeing and camped on an island for the night and thats were the bear attacked them. there's not a whole lot of info since there were no witnesses and the park rangers found them partially eaten after they went looking for them a day or two later. The bear was still on the island and was shot.
I worked with this fella, and that was all we were told.
