Sometimes a khnife's not ekhnuf....

G

gunhou

Joined
Jan 20, 1999
Messages
199
Last night, the wife upstairs with the TV, me downstairs on the computer, when out on the deck there arose a great clatter, my wife peeked through the drapes to see what was the matter. The deck is 10 feet high, accessible only by a vertical 'escape' ladder used chiefly by my watchcat. This time, however, it was a 250 lb black bear, who had been attracted by a seed and syrup feeding station on one of the deck posts. He was standing on the deck rail on hind feet (My wife said all she could see when she switched on the outside floods was this guy in shaggy black pants...)
I watched, holding my 7mm, as he knocked down the feeder, bending the steel stanchion into a pretzel. He then returned to the ground where he attempted to demolish the squirrel-proof feeder box to get at the seed treasure within.
Obligatory knife content: I never ONCE thought to put down the rifle and get my sirupati or GS. :D
Called the Maine Warden Service to report the incident, but they were all in a meeting today. If you knew how screwed up Maine's game department is, you'd all see the joke in that statement. :rolleyes:
If that bear comes back again, he's a rug. This morning I put away the scoped 7mm and got out the .45-70 Marlin lever action!
:mad:
Ken
 
Sshhhhh..... You are suppose to shoot him and then break out a khukuri for the pictures. :)

It sounds like you had an exciting day. The Wife will probably be sleeping with one of your rifles from now on.

n2s
 
Sounds like you live in Bear Country....me too!
Only I have a different take and a different solution.
I live in the mountains, the home of the black bear.
There are about six different Blacks that I know and can identify that visit regularly .
I too feed the birds and the squirrels on my deck, about 15' up with NO access except from the house or up a tree or post.
I have had several feeders destroyed and more claw marks on the deck than I can count. I have encountered two different bears on the deck, both took off like scared puppies when they saw me, as agile as a dancer jumping on the railing and then off into a tree.
I tried sheet metal to discourage them to no avail and have since installed an electric exclusion fence which works.
Point being, I choose to live here and I choose to feed select critters and so take responibility for my actions and deal with the bears. After all they are just being bears and doing what bears do, eat.
Blacks aren't aggresive most of the time, more like big puppies and mostly a delight to have around.
Unless attacked I would never consider my 9mm/ .45 cal or .307 or a khuk for that matter.
I live in their home, not the other way round.
Something to think about.
 
Difficult issue, true we share the world...but I live in this world too..and if a bear gets too close, or a cougar, they've made the wrong decision, taken the wrong evolutionary path, and at any suspicion of trouble, they are dead.

I do not buy the "Im in their backyard" anylonger...I am alive and have a right to live. Pays your money and takes your chances.

BTW, I don't kill for the sake of killing, wouldn't shoot a bear for nothing....BUT!!!

munk

Gunhou, does your Marlin have the new rifling or the older micro groove? I've got the older and it shoots jacketed accurately, but I wish I could use lead easily.
 
Originally posted by munk
Difficult issue
munk
Click to expand...

very true, kind of like the issue of deadly force and its use.
Thought I made it clear that I will protect myself as necessary, in this case, if attacked;
AND I keep a loaded .45 HK USC by my bed.
Guess I am saying that to shoot a bear because he is eating seeds I have a hard time with. The behavior described is hardly threatening.
To each his own, just my two cents worth.
Sorry if I offended anyone.
 
I love the Marlin lever guns, but I don't know what the heck they were thinking when they put the micro-groove on the .45-70. People who shoot .45-70s tend to be handloaders and bullet casters and it just makes more sense to me to go with traditional rifling.
 
marlin got stuck on micro groove as a somewhat proprietary design for sales. I say somewhat becuase different lands grooves combos and depths, widths have been around for...ever? But they were reluctant to stray from a winning formula. they did finally answer the need because of the SASS if nothing else.

Prag, you made a good point. You didn't offend me. I see things from both sides. I love all God's Creation. I don't want to see any of it leave, by my hand or ours, but I darn well know it is leaving and changing all the time. Change can be very neat, Prag. (I'd just answered someone in another forum who thought the jelly fish had equal rights to the planet as humans.)

munk
 
It appears I opened a can of worms here, without intending to. Item: I didn't shoot the bear, although I had ample opportunity to do so. Nor will I, unless he continues his predation. That deck is separated from where my lady was sitting, by a usually unlocked sliding door: not enough of a barrier between a large beast who is unencumbered by human views on the right to life and happiness, and my one and only wife. I am aware of my good will towards the bear, I am not so confident of his towards me and mine. I long ago outgrew any Bambiist leanings. A big bear is at least three times as dangerous as a human prowler of the same weight and size, and I'll deal with each of them apropriately. Perhaps if we had bears calling regularly and knew them by sight, I too might have more charitable views of their visits.
Munk: I have the old Marlin...long barrel, unported muzzle, uncheckered stock...call it the '2nd model 1895S', since it has the ramp sight and pistol grip, not the 1973 barrel sight and straight grip. I haven't shot any lead in it yet, since it has only had 30 or 40 rounds through it. I used to have a .35 Marlin that shot lead very well, but sold it. I also have a .357 1894c with the Microgroove, slightly modified...I think it's 12 grooves instead of 16...which shot lead very well, after a few hundred rounds of jacketed stuff went through it. The secret to lead bullet accuracy in microgroove barrels is: a) a very clean smooth barrel which is well broken-in, b) a HARD bullet with ample bearing surface, which equates to a bullet heavy for it's caliber, and c) a load of near maximum charge. I wouldn't shoot .38 target wadcutter factory loads in my .357 for instance, although a long 170 grain hardcast does fine.
Obligatory knife content: for scraping rifle stocks, a katas kagne is great for the concavities;)
Ken

Addendum: The bullet should, in addition to hardness and long bearing surface, be a couple of thousandths over equivalent jacketed diameter. In my .357 Marlin, for instance, the hardcast bullet diameter is .358, and I have shot as-cast .359's without problems. In the .45-70, I have some .458"/375 gr. slugs that may work well. These are very accurate in a pal's Ruger #1.
 
Where's Yvsa when we need him?

(ole bear-story expert...)
 
Originally posted by munk
(I'd just answered someone in another forum who thought the jelly fish had equal rights to the planet as humans.)

Click to expand...

Just what we need, more inverebrates on the welfare dole. :)
 
more invertebrates on the dole, eh Bruce? !!

Yeah. I know about bearing surface, the large weight for calibre is the secret as long as you don't go too far. It hasn't been a handicap to me though. My Marlin is very accurate. I have a williams peep on it.

Handloader has addressed shooting cast bullets in the Marlin and i've saved the articles.

You know, you can pick up a old style marlin 45/70 with micro in Pawn for cheap and it is a very good thing to own.

The worst stock I ever inletted Gunhou was a overseas discount for a FN mauser which took the final work with a butter knife. That's what I call soft wood.

It looks to me that we are all of us on the same page regarding wild animals...we want them around, don't want to get eaten

munk
 
Glad to know I'm not the only person here who shoots a Marlin 45/70. I love my Marlin Guide gun, and have a lot of fun shooting it. If I can survive my first home buying experience that I'm going through right now, I'll start reloading for it. HI khuks and Marlin lever guns, doesn't seem like they would go together but my 15' AK and my guide gun will be my companions on my first elk hunt this fall!:D


Cole
 
I love it! :D I too live in the woods and have upon occasion come upon the stray bear. Never on my deck though:eek: I feel you handled as should be done. I also attempt to feed just certian select birds at our feeders. I am constantly trying to discourage the skunks that eat off the ground under the feeders from making homes under my shed. (Right next to my dogs pen area.) Fortunately, I outweight the skunks, and if I talk real nice to them, they leave. I must stink, since they leave when I go out to the feeders to talk to them.:o They are shy creatures though. Most bears I have met seem shy also, although I would not tempt fate and try to talk them out of a meal!! If I had a bear come by too regularly I might be hard pressed not to try some method of forced dissuasion. I like the electric fence idea. Maybe I could throw a skunk at the bear?:rolleyes: Get rid of two problems at one time. Either that, or I would have a stinky bear hanging around, all pissed at me for making him smell! As an aside, I am also a lover of the Marlin Guide gun. It is a great gun and a nice round. I need to buy one of my own sometime soon. I have shot my friends alot and love it. It is sound medicine for most game that Maine has to offer. Let us hope that you are not forced to make a bear coat with yours. Might be handsome though. Sorry, that is the hunter side of me speaking. We do what we must in the end to remain safe and alive is my motto.
 
Maybe I could throw a skunk at the bear?
Click to expand...

:D:DROTFLMAO:D:D

Chemical warfare comes to Maine!!:eek: Come to think of it this might work well for two-legged prowlers as well. Perhaps a "monty python-esque" catapult, so as to keep the hands smelling nice for when you rejoin your lady back in bed:D
 
I sense much fear in you...

Reacting with fear and shooting a bear just because he is not aware of your presence in the house is surely not part of an ethical approach to this problem. How about showing him that he has entered your territory? Speak with him first and give him a chance to listen to you, just as you would have done with any other creature capable of communication. Believe me, the bear is a creature with communicative skills.

"Speak" means give him a scare. 100 years ago here in Norway we used to have little boys and girls only 14 years old herding the flocks of sheep, goats and cattle when they were grazing all summer on the mountain tops. The little children used to be all alone with the responsibility for the animals. Occationally a bear would approach of course. The little children used to swing a rattle in the air so it produced a loud noice and the bear would simply walk away from the sound. They knew it meant humans, and humans meant trouble.

So why not put on the stereo and play some loud music for the bear, or find a big metal sheet and make it sound like "thunder", or maybe just fire warning shots in the air? The method has been tested and approved in ancient times by little girlies half your size (not to offend you, but this really shows that it works). If he should return later even after a scare then repeat the noise and show him your claws too. Fire a couple of bullets in the ground in front of him. He will get the message I am sure. And you will have learned to live as a more integrated part of Mother Nature. I guarantee you that your life will gain a greater spiritual aspect if you do that instead of killing him on sight. You will feel "richer".

Even people who live in close contact with nature today have not managed to understand the inhabitants of the forest. It is time we got off our butts and started doing it. But that requires that we first become wise enough to be able to understand ourselves...

Greetings.
 
I think I've read about putting hot pepper powder with birdseed to discourage squirrels at bird feeders. As I recall, birds can't taste capsaicins, the compounds responsible for the hot flavor, but mammals can. The birds apparently don't know the difference, and it causes them no problems. My memory may be a little off, so you should maybe confirm this before you try it.

Only question is, do bears like spicy food while squirrels don't?
 
remember many production bullets for the 45/70 are often too explosive to use on a thick creature like a bear.

Instead of throwing the skunk at the bear, the image which came to my mind was the pumpkin thowing contests on the east coast. They use catapaults and air cannons...one year the competition was called off because they couldn't lease a field large enough. The pumpkins go a mile or two.. Imagine the airborne skunk!!!

munk
 
I'm amazed at a couple of the responses to my mostly light-hearted post. Astonished too at how people who don't know me, my culture or background are so ready to question my courage, ethics and responsibility; and lecture me on my obligations as a moral being.
To those who believe unsolicited judgements of my actions or comments are at all called for or welcome, be informed that they are not. To you I say, walk a mile in my shoes...I have an old pair I don't need any more...then you'll be a mile away, and that will be fine with me.
As for those, especially you Mainers and fellow .45-70 shooters, who understood my post and situation, thanks for the replies.
'Nuff said.
Ken
 
I'll bet Oregon trail has something not too shabby for handloaders.
This brings to mind my long lost 38/55 or 375 Winchester...Marlin has the 336 action in Cowboy design in 38/55...best lever gun cartridge I never owned.


I bet you could take a room full of 45/70 lovers and Khukuri lovers and find they'd be the same bunch with a proper introduction to the tool they didn't yet know.
The Khukuri may be the 45/70 of knives.

munk
 
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