Bears !!
- Thread starter GunBlast
- Start date
well, i've killed several pigs on the farm.. and two big ones that weighed 400lbs dressed on a friends farm and the most we used is a 22cal or a 410 with slug (shot in the so called butchers cross )
- the black bears i've skinned didn't have a 3 inch thick skull
my point is that these are creatures of flesh n blood and not some mythical beast !! by jeez the way some people talk them up, you'd think we were dealing with fire breathing dragons ????
i've shot a deer with a 300win mag through lungs n bottom of heart and it didn't even skip a beat and ran off.... thought i missed ( the big gun and instant dead is a myth... like the hydrostatic shock bs ! unless you like english caliber guns )
- although the " break it down " by spine shot makes bigtime sense
also i wouldn't include grizzlys and polars in the same class as black bears ..... those two i wouldn't mess with
- another thing... don't discount a 6 inch hunting knife for protection... a knife can inflict a massive and grievous wound and not need to be reloaded ... its more likely to be on your belt and with you when in the woods
- the black bears i've skinned didn't have a 3 inch thick skull
my point is that these are creatures of flesh n blood and not some mythical beast !! by jeez the way some people talk them up, you'd think we were dealing with fire breathing dragons ????
i've shot a deer with a 300win mag through lungs n bottom of heart and it didn't even skip a beat and ran off.... thought i missed ( the big gun and instant dead is a myth... like the hydrostatic shock bs ! unless you like english caliber guns )
- although the " break it down " by spine shot makes bigtime sense
also i wouldn't include grizzlys and polars in the same class as black bears ..... those two i wouldn't mess with
- another thing... don't discount a 6 inch hunting knife for protection... a knife can inflict a massive and grievous wound and not need to be reloaded ... its more likely to be on your belt and with you when in the woods
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
yeah...'cause Ontario bears are all small....
While I'm happy for your success, and he's a good bear, you sure he was 700lbs? He doesn't look even close to it, what did he measure? Looks like a decent shooter 350lbs BC bear, not a 700lb monster, that's Grizzly size and he ain't!
If you guys are average height / 6' tall, that's a just 6' bear (nose to tip of tail, bear's exact same length as the guy on the left). Good black bear, no monster.This said, they do get big out east, the biggest black bear was from NB.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Unfortunately you're getting hurt for sure if you're able to use that, and anyone who's bow hunted knows how slow bleeder wounds are to kill.
MIRAMICHIER
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Miramichi,Nb
Welcome Gunblast.I have a H&R 10 Gauge 3/1/2 Magnum 00 buck,thats 18 x 32 cal. balls .The bear came up on the back deck once to many times when he was hit there was just a pile of dust came off him, he was dispatched.That gun is probably out of date as well as the round.You can not go wrong with 12 Gauge 00 buck.Good Luck
Thanks. good advice. 12 gauge - nice bear duster.
I have camped for almost 20 years at the same place on Crown land on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay just south of the French river. It is only accessible by boat or canoe, and we are usually there for 4-5 days in late June or early July - sometimes late August too. For many years we rarely saw a bear, and if we did it was usually just the back of the bear as it was running away. However lately we are seeing them more frequently, and now count 3, 5, 8 bears over the course of a few days. We hang our food, clean the dishes, and have bear spray and noise makers. No problems yet. But, last year a skinny bear appeared on the opposite side of the small bay while we were swimming. He could clearly see all 4 of us, and he began to walk around the bay to our camp. Even as the 4 of us talked loudly and walked towards him, he continued to walk towards us. When he was about a hundred feet away I picked up my chainsaw and started it. Even with the chainsaw running he did not turn around until I held it over my head and revved it a few times. Even then he just ambled away.
It spooked me a bit, and I think from now on I will have a short shotgun at the camp. Unfortunately there are other camp sites nearby where boaters will dump garbage, or leave a cooler on the ground while they are in their tent 50 yards away. They wake up to find a momma bear and 2 cubs rummaging through their food. These are the bears that are conditioned to associate people with food, and they become difficult to scare away. I would be less concerned camping around bears that had not been around careless people, but since I cannot fix the stupid campers I want to make sure I have a back up plan.
It spooked me a bit, and I think from now on I will have a short shotgun at the camp. Unfortunately there are other camp sites nearby where boaters will dump garbage, or leave a cooler on the ground while they are in their tent 50 yards away. They wake up to find a momma bear and 2 cubs rummaging through their food. These are the bears that are conditioned to associate people with food, and they become difficult to scare away. I would be less concerned camping around bears that had not been around careless people, but since I cannot fix the stupid campers I want to make sure I have a back up plan.
Living rurally means you fly to nearest centre. Usually less than an hour by plane. Then you go right in. Probably beat the lineup at emergency.
OP: We retired to the bush three years ago. You will have a ball. In my original post I said do what the locals do. That pretty much covers most things. You might want to watch what they do as opposed to doing what they say however.
Calum - Very good point, That's something I have thought about a lot, but don't want to retire in an area just because it's close to a hospital. Maybe I could clear an emergency helicopter landing pad "H" !?
yes, you'll get hurt, but it will also be an expensive cost for the bear to pay
or if your handy.... you can make one of man's oldest weapons ... heres last weeks rough forged creations
abit better than a 6 inch hunting knife
or if your handy.... you can make one of man's oldest weapons ... heres last weeks rough forged creations
abit better than a 6 inch hunting knife
Unfortunately you're getting hurt for sure if you're able to use that, and anyone who's bow hunted knows how slow bleeder wounds are to kill.
A Toronto counsellor said if you encounter a yote, instead of shooting it you should raise your arms over your head shake your hands and yell. If this method works for yotes and since it is coming from a politican it should work for bears to.
yes, you'll get hurt, but it will also be an expensive cost for the bear to pay
or if your handy.... you can make one of man's oldest weapons ... heres last weeks rough forged creations
abit better than a 6 inch hunting knife
WOW - You're really talented. You can come live in our village. Do you sell those? Where and how much?
I am not playing "word games"... I wrote very specifically and you have continually misquoted me... and did again above... I do not carry a defensive shotgun in the bush... or any shotgun unless hunting upland birds or waterfowl (which I do alot of). I made the recommendation to the OP, because IMO it is the best defensive weapon and that is what he was looking for. But enough of the semantics... I agree that it is highly unlikely that any particular individual will encounter a bear that poses a serious threat to their person in the Ontario woods... but it has happened and will again... while I don't sweat it, there are some that do, and I'm ok with that... weapon or not, it pays to be "bear smart" when in the wilderness. Good shooting.
While I'm happy for your success, and he's a good bear, you sure he was 700lbs? He doesn't look even close to it, what did he measure? Looks like a decent shooter 350lbs BC bear, not a 700lb monster, that's Grizzly size and he ain't!
This said, they do get big out east, the biggest black bear was from NB.
For comparison, here is one I took a few years ago... it was 500 pounds dressed (on the beef scale) and for comparison I am 6'4"... I made sure that my stabilizer was infront of the bear, so that you would know I was not standing in the background to make it appear larger (my pet "photo" peeve);
Unfortunately it is against the law to have an unencased, loaded firearm on your person after dark in Ontario... hence the belt knife and someone tagging along behind me with a guncase... truth be told, if it was not a clear "lung blood" trail (where I was sure that I was tracking a bear that would be found dead on arrival), some rule bending may have gone on...
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Never been much into pictures of dead game... I have taken a dozen or so bears that size or slightly larger/smaller and another 30 or so 200-300 pound meat bears... but that one I stalked for two hours to the middle of a 60 acre oat field before I got the shot and there were eight other bears around it when I took the shot... talk about pandemonium when my bow thumped... bears running every which way... a couple ran past me within touching distance... got the heart pumping for sure!
For comparison, here is one I took a few years ago... it was 500 pounds dressed (on the beef scale) and for comparison I am 6'4"... I made sure that my stabilizer was infront of the bear, so that you would know I was not standing in the background to make it appear larger (my pet "photo" peeve);
W O W - Seems huge!
