Hey Mete...
mete said:
I hear all the stories about how to defend yourself against bears. The ones I've met close up [10' away] ignored me !!! I ask them 'aren't you going to attack me, even a little ?? But they just walk on ! These are black bears who rarely cause problems .
I'm an avid Black Bear hunter, and I'll tell you,, you Don't want to piss them off...
10 yards away is Extremely dangerous..10 feet is tempting fate...
The bear will be ontop of you before the thought of running even crosses your mind..
Pound for pound they are the fastest animal in the woods,, and will take down deer if need be, and Any bear that doesn't run from the sight of a human is one to be very careful with.
When we go into bait we are usually armed with a slug gun or 00 Buck loaded up..
The last thing you want to do is tangle with a pissed off black bear,,especially a mom with cubs..
Running across a bear in the woods,,where there are few bear around is one thing..
Running into a bear in the woods,where they are overpopulated,constantly on the hunt for an ever dwindling supply of food, harassed by other bears,humans and have lost their natural fear of humans is completely, yet another thing...
A stroll in the woods in Central Ontario cottage country is taking your life in your hands..
This past Sept,, I was talking with a OPP officer(Ontario Provincial Police) who lived down the road from the cottage we were using, he said that there were no bears in this particular area...The owner hadn't seen any bears,, and basically they pretty much laughed at me for even thinking that..
Well the day after I shot me bear,,I decided to let my bait cool down for the day and went for a little stroll into the woods directly scross from the cottage, unarmed..
Less than 75 yards from the road, I found several piles of crap.. nothing huge,, but crap none the less..
The Police and MNR very rarely respond to bear calls anymore,, making these bears fearless and Brazen, and the possibility of a bear turning Rouge even that much greater...
No bears I thought... Geez what an Idiot....
My partner was coming out of his stand..The same stand that had six bears under it,,and wouldn't let him down. There was a 175-200lb bear standing on the trail leading out..My partner stopped, the bear stopped,, looked at him and sat down on the trail 10-12 yards away. He would have been shot, however with only a crossbow,, the risk was far too great...
People in bear country have to start taking these things seriously..There were several people killed this past summer,, and the Body Count is going to sky rocket in the next few years....Mark my word!
ttyle
Eric....
:foot: )
