Grizzlies follow hunters

[Grayskies]

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/11/ ... w-hunters/

I think I would be worried!!!

[Scratch]

Good thing I carry my Ruger Mark III whenever I go Elk hunting!

[OldmanFCSA]

Good thing I carry my Ruger Mark III whenever I go Elk hunting!

Good Luck with that !!!


We had a black bear following 1 member of our hunting party on Sunday in Northern Wisconsin. Bear tracks on top of her tracks and within 30 yards of where she sat. 2 of the "boyz" went after him (these 2 boyz made me look small).

[smurfman]

Good thing I carry my Ruger Mark III whenever I go Elk hunting!

Good Luck with that !!!

I think they are referring to the old joke of shooting the partner in the leg so the shooter only has to out run the partner, not the bear.

We had a black bear following 1 member of our hunting party on Sunday in Northern Wisconsin. Bear tracks on top of her tracks and within 30 yards of where she sat. 2 of the "boyz" went after him (these 2 boyz made me look small).

I have had bears follow me on a number of occasions, it seems they are no less curious than humans. I found where a bear would lay down and watch me at the new stand site I used this year, It was behind me and not in line with my access trail. Now I have to figure out a different place to put my stand so I can have the possibility of getting a shot at him if he uses this same tactic.

A couple years ago I had had a sow at our cabin key off our arrival to visit the bird feeder as she learned we would fill it shortly after arriving. I have found bears are especially prone to keep tabs on me and follow once baiting has begun. Here they key off the noise of me walking or riding through the woods. I won't say it isn't somewhat spooky, especially when one is raiding the trailer between trips to the bait pit, but it isn't something I worry much about. If I had kids running around it might be different but for myself and wife, not a real big deal.

[Grayskies]

I wonder if they have connected hunters with the gut pile?

[smurfman]

The article makes it sound as if grizzlies have made that connection. Anecdotal evidence for many years has also believed this. I would not be surprised of this is true as I had a coyote make that connection one year when I was crow hunting- he would show up when the tape started playing and run off with the first crow which fell in his direction- and I think bears are as smart as coyotes.

Black bears do know when hunters arrive to replenish baits at bait pits and follow along to get the best morsels. The number of times bears have hit the baits soon after the hunter has left is
noted more than in the past due to game cameras. Bears which are regulars at this sometimes get a surprise once the season opens. I wish a bear like that would hit my baits, I hate dressing them out and hauling them out of the woods in the dark.

[Grayskies]

Bear kills student
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/26/st ... ew-jersey/

Maybe bears have decided that people are food?

[mrp]

Just Saying Howdy.

[Grayskies]

OMG! Ok not going hunting with out something fully auto in a .308 or bigger!!!

[smurfman]

I think anyone who has spent much time in a stand over a bait waiting for a bear has had such and experience. I've only had one such incident but I know people who have had several. If you are picky on what bear you shoot and hold out for a large one, this is much more likely to happen than if you shoot the first one that comes in.

[Grayskies]

Found the bear gun I want

[Grayskies]

hunter-fights-off-525-pound-bear-with-knife
http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/ ... /16411473/

[smurfman]

I don't know the person mauled but I know several who hunt that property and are related to him. One I have known and hunted with for over 30 years.

What happened there is a mighty rare occurrence and very unfortunate. At least with black bears. It is a reason I don't poke game which could hurt me with sharp sticks- from the description I was told, a rifle would have caused more damage, most likely fatal in the time given. That is purely conjecture as there is no guarantee but I have seen broadheads stuck in a bear scapula more than once when I worked at a registration station.

With so many bears being shot near dark, and especially the biggest it seems, follow up and recovery generally takes place after dark. It is a real heart stopper- and then starter- when the bear's body suddenly looms out of the darkness. So far it has always been dead but the startle factor is still great.

[Jackpine Savage]

A friend had sent me this article earlier in the fall.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/local-news/germantown-man-killed-by-grizzly-in-canada_92818589

"Novotny was hunting moose, and had just killed one, confirmed Becky Pendleton, who coaches Novotny’s daughter on the Houston High volleyball team. As Novotny was prepping the moose to be taken out of the wilderness, the bear “came out of nowhere” and struck him in the head, Pendleton said. The guide was uninjured."

The guy was originally from Minnesota:

http://www.kduz.com/2014/09/23/family-with-renville-county-roots-mourning-death-of-two-brothers/

[Grayskies]

Ok, I admit to having a small fear of bears, I class it as more of the I should prepare in case. Other predators in and about minnesota just don't seem to as random and unstoppable. Wolves uber rarely attack humans, the poisonous snake are just in a small part of MN and only attack from fear. Male turkeys during mating season are just insane...

I just keep getting this feeling that I need to carry grenades or RPGs to deal with the bears here.

I have Asthma so spray is out.

I just don't like bear bells, it seems to me that as bears connect people with food (hunters leaving gut piles, campers with snack, etc...) they will gradually lose what little fear they have of us and the bells will cease being a warning and more a call to dinner.

Short of buying a .454 with a wrist brace so my wrist doesn't shatter on the 1st shot, and since my income is not huge, and my wife loves off-roading the toyota (not entirely a bear safe car), what can I do legally?