Yet another Bear thread - two campers become bear food

After the "Binky Incident" there were a lot of bumper stickers in Alaska in support of "Binky's Catch and Release Program".
Greg
 
After this and what happened to that guy and the white lion in Las Vegas, how is it Man is at the top of the food chain?!
 
In other Alaska bear news a friend of the family was at the taxidermist shop a couple of weeks ago to get his moose head mounted when he saw a TWELVE FOOT TALL GRIZZLY they'd just finished mounting for a guy. Said it set a new world record. the peak of the roof here on my log home is around eleven and a half foot. I'd be nervous as hell thinkin' about takin' a shot at that boy with a .458! Much less trying something a damn knife.

The preferred blade for a bear attack?

Definitely a Kwaiken, so I could slit my own throat and go out like the scared little b!tch I am!:D

(That is unless I get to choose an M-9 Bayonet on the end of a slug loaded Remington 870)
 
I hate to sound insensitive, but I would really like to know what type and caliber rifles the rangers and troopers used to kill the two bears.
 
Originally posted by SteelDriver
I hate to sound insensitive, but I would really like to know what type and caliber rifles the rangers and troopers used to kill the two bears.
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SteelDriver, that's not insensitive -- that's the best question on this thread!
 
My gun of choice for a bear that big......Smith&Wesson 500 and for rifle .50 cal Barrett........That is one huge bear:eek:
 
"Once he was filmed crawling along the ground singing as he approached a sow and two cubs."

I was skeptical of this guy's "bear expert" credentials until I read that.:D
 
"So what kind of knife would you use against a bear."

If I had to try to fend off a bear with a knife, I guess I'd pick a Busse 8" Pure Bred Fighter: fast, accurate, good penetration, strong enough not to snap when trying to penetrate. Of course, this is a situation I'd rather avoid. I'm under no illusion that it would be easy to stop a bear with a knife.

By the way, if you read Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance (by Stephen Herrero), Alaska Bear Tales (by Larry Kaniut), and Shooting Bears (by John Pazzenti), you will see that most firearms are also quite unreliable in stopping a large, determined and/or enraged bear. A large bear will have a thick enough skull that bullets will often bounce off, or lodge in the skull, stopping short of the brain. A really big bear will also have a tough enough hide over a thick enough fat layer that bullets will often stop short of penetrating vital organs. Even a successful, mortal shot is unlikely to stop a bear's attack until it bleeds out (which is likely to give the bear plenty of time to finish mauling you).

On the other hand, there have been some cases of (doubtless, tougher than I) people killing bears with knives, or even sticks. And let's not forget that our prehistoric forebears successfully fended off bears with stone and wood weapons, many, many times.

--Mike
 
I read in my paper that a ranger shot one of the bears around 12 times with an unspecified hand gun to put it down while 2 other rangers were backing him with shotguns. :confused:
99 times out of 100, man with knife vs bear is dead if bear wants him that way. Carry bear (pepper) spray, aim for the nose, and you have a decent chance.
 
Originally posted by Esav Benyamin
SteelDriver, that's not insensitive -- that's the best question on this thread!
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:) Thanks, Esav. Jeff, that was actually one of my guesses. Shotguns are relatively inexpensive and don't require much skill to use, and 12 ga. slugs would be the natural choice of ammo. If they went out to hunt for the bear instead of a defensive posture, a large-caliber rifle may be more appropriate. If I didn't have a gun to fend off a bear, I'd choose pepper spray and a spear.
 
I understand that bear hunters in Russia tend to use only shotguns. For a long time under Soviet rule all they were allowed was shotguns and they got really good with them.
 
Somewhere in the back of my dusty mental files I tend to recall a conversation with a Brown Shirt (Fish and Wildlife Trooper) in which they had told me that they most often used a 375 for such endeavors, though I'm not positive.

I'd also like to make a public service message for anyone venturing into bear country with a shotgun: Leave the buckshot at home!! for some sick reason there's a trend for people to try to "dutch load" thier shotgun with buckshot and slugs, and I firmly believe that is NOT a good idea. Here's why: weight penetrates, there is not question of that. any buckshot is relatively light, and basically has a crappy ballistic coefficiency, meaning penetration sucks for them. I had a friend that used to do that very same practice, right up until the time that he shot a blackie raiding his cabin. He shot three times with a Mossberg. The one slug was what killed the bear. Later on when dressing the bear out we discovered most of the pellets baaaaarely underneath the hide, like you coulda put a small slit in his skin, pressed and popped the pellets out. So...there's the reason why I'm rather adamant in my opinions with the buckshot. Take it for what it's worth, eh?


Am I being too nasty here, or is there anyone else that positively cringes when they see this clown referred to as a "Bear Expert"??

What kinda "Bear Expert" handfeeds bears, tries to pet them, approaches mama bear and cubs, and refers to bears as "party animals"?

had he acknowledged the bears were WILD animals, not to be confused with PARTY animals, he might not be facing the celestial challenge that he faces today, or....am I being too jaded an' nasty here? :confused:
 
The problem with the shotgun is it's range. If I have to hunt one of these I want to tag it from a couple of hundred yards away. If you allow an aggressive bear to get within 50 yards of you; then you are only going to have one shot to take it down or turn it. You are not going to have time for a second shot.

If you are going to hunt these monsters with a shotgun, then make sure you take 3-4 armed and reliable buddies with you.

n2s
 
One of the network news shows had a segment on this guy tonight. Had some interview footage from a few years back.

Looked and talked like a surfer dude from Malibu, which is where he lived.

The segment made him look like the Jane Goodall of grizzlys. A regular enviromental hero. Never mentioned what others thought of his fool hardy approach.
 
Alaska Department of Fish and Game Bear Advisory Released
Recommendations for precautions in the backcountry

This notice is to advise hikers, hunters and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert for bears while in the field, in light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear conflicts. We advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears that aren't expecting them. We also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear. It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat. Black bear scat is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear scat has little bells in it, and smells of pepper.
 
Well, just in case no one else did, I sumbitted this guy to the Darwin Awards website. Guy wanted to be famous, that's where his 15 minutes of fame belong.
 
I'm no bear expert, but I've been to Yosemite and a few other places often enough to have done a little bear research. From what I understand, penetration is the biggest issue with a big bear once contact is made. What Evolute said is true.

The best advice is to stay clear of them and not invit ethem into camp. I've seen car doors that were ripped off by a bear that wanted to get at a cooler sittin in the now doorless car. It's a scary sight. If you think about what it takes to rip a car door off it's hinges with your bare (bear) claw, it's a pretty amazing feat. I hear if you encounter one up close, hop youre on a hill and run downward fast, then stop quickly, their mass makes them have a hard time slowing down and reversing.

If I was going looking to go tangle with a bear for fun I'd probably want a .375 H&H Magnum as a bare (bear) minimum. Maybe a .458 Weatherby or even a .500 Nitro Express! For a side arm, count me in on a Benelli M1 Super 90 loaded to the gills with the baddest slugs I could find as a backup! But seriosly, for a back-up I hear a .44 mag with heavy loads can be effective and is more managable than something like a .454 Casul, but the Casul would certainly be a consideration. Maybe even a Desert Eagle .50 Cal. as it would allow quicker reloads. Not sure how the DE's Bballistics stack up against a .454 Casul?

IMHO in a bear fight a knife (any size) is only useful to take the bearskin home if you can shoot him before he eats you.

jmx
 
A very well known Hollywood character-actor/hunter killed a Brown bear with a 12", double edged dagger.

the dagger was as wide as a large bowie, had a good-sized guard and a stag handle. The blade was ground of almost unbreakable VascoWear.

This really happened, I have seen the pictures.

Needless to say it never made it to ESPN.
 
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