Yesterday morning I had the pleasure to finally go hunting with my friend Bentpole. We arrived at our destination early enough to drive around the perimiter of the public land and get the lay of the land. After we chose an area we parted ways with the plan of hunting from the ground for ease in moving around if need be.
I quickly disappeared into a wood lot next to a clover field and soon found a small clear area to set up on. I set up my stool and hung my bow up waiting for the sun to rise.
After sitting there for about 5 minutes I heard some thing walking through the woods approaching me from behind me (down wind of me). I knew that it could be 1 of 3 things, deer, another hunter or a black bear. I soon let out a shout that I was there in case it was another hunter. No answer. The footsteps kept getting closer.
It was then I noticed a large black shape moveing in the brush not 5 yards away from where I was standing. Then with my head light beam I saw a large black bear. I say large because it was much larger than I am. I quickly looked around for cubs while saying a slient prayer. :pray:I quickly nocked an arrow in the pitch dark as fast as I could, just in case. Never taking my eyes off the bear.
I started shouting at the bear to let it know I was a human. I've learned that when you come upon a bear you should let the bear know you are a human and that they will run away for the hills to get away from you. Yea right! Any way this bear hung around me for 30 minutes. He spent most of his time inside of 10 yards from me. During this time I was shouting at this bear, throwing rocks and hitting it with sticks to try to get it to move along and leave me alone.
I didn't bring any food into the woods with me because I was supposed to meet Bentpole at the truck at 9:30 to discuss what we saw and to refine our game plan.
This bear made no agressive moves towards me. No jaw popping or false charges. I don't know why he did what he did. Maybe he was just courious or he had lost his fear of humans.
After 30 minutes of dealing with this bear I was exhausted but very happy the bear moved off with out me having to shoot a broadhead into his hide.
It was a win win for both the bear and myself. This is not the first time I've encountered a bear in the woods but it is the first time I've had to deal with such a stubborn one.
I want to add a note here. On my way out of the woods I took a quick recon of my area to see if there were a bait pile of some kind of food but I found none at all. I also saw no deer that morning either. I wonder why? :biglaugh:
Has any one else here had a simmilar experiance happen to them? Any one have any advise for me or any constructive critisism? I am now seriously thinking of buying some bear pepper spray. What do you folks think?
I've hunted black bears for around 15 years now and have taken 5 with a bow. The ones that show no fear once they know you are a human really scare me.
I had one walk up behind me a few years ago while I was slowly walking along the top of a ridge. I just happened to turn around to backtrack to my truck and nearly tripped over him. Never heard a thing. It was daylight and he would have had to have known I was human. I puffed myself up and started talking to him telling him "go away bear". He stood there looking at me for another 45 seconds and then turned and loped into the woods.
Thinking it through later, I have often wondered what he was up to and what would have happened if I hadn't turned around. I was out scouting just before the season and had only a pocket knife on me for a weapon.
These days, I don't leave the truck without my Gary Reeder .45 Colt:)
Make a guy wonder what it would have done if you did stick him. Would it take off or get in your face?
Eric
When black bears look at you as their next meal, there's no display -- no woofing, no jaw popping. They look you in the eyes, sum you up, might walk around you a bit to look for a weakness. When they decide to come in, it's hard and fast. They mean business.
With grizzlies, it's often best (not always) to be as subordinate as possible. Not with blacks -- be big, loud, and dominant. If you acted submissive to a stalking black bear, you'd be the entree all the faster. Sounds like you did the right thing in a very dangerous encounter. :scared:
Man this is exzactly what I
m starting to wonder too,, I hunt state land primarily and in the morning darkness I'm always wondering if a bear will walk in on me,, You have comfirmed my worst fear in the morning woods so I'll be pickin up some pepper spray for sure,,LOL,,call me a wuss if ya wan't but I don't want to shoot a bear cause I think he's going to do me harm,,wouldn't be right in my mind. I would rather detour him from me with spray but push comes to shove something will give,,If I was in your boots I probably would have made a poor desision because of my lack of experience I have with bears and I'm just being honest,
I'm glad you got out of that deal unscathed,,Good post to inform folks on bears,,Anyone else have any info to share,,would lke to read more,,Take care JB
oh yeah almost forgot to mention,,The last place I scouted I found a bear baiting station,,It was real abviouse cause there was a burried holoow log wich inturn had a heavy log over it,,got my picture taken too by the camera,, Me a Drew poused for the next picture,,LOL,,It looked very inactive with no bait and the stump over the hollow log but still,,Someone knows they are there,,J
I once stepped off the trail into the woods to get around a blowdown and a bear was just sitting there watching me. He took off but it was a little unnerving to know that a bear had been just watching me stroll by. The bear that I killed in Quebec this year came quietly and directly to my stand (below) and just as he looked up at me a squirrel jumped on the bait behind him and he chased it off. He then continued to chase off critters in different directions including once just past my stand! I was not confident that that bear was going to let me cross his area to get back to my truck. That's when I decided that: "so THIS will be the bear I take!" :)
A guy was just badly mauled in Washington state a few weeks ago while bike riding with his dogs. Generally bears will leave you alone so that one that hung around was definitely sizing you up in my opinion and you did just what you are supposed to do!
(http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j2/stevet_01/bearhunt2007407.jpg)
QuoteOriginally posted by Recurve50LBS:
He spent most of his time inside of 10 yards from me. During this time I was shouting at this bear, throwing rocks and hitting it with sticks to try to get it to move along and leave me alone. What do you folks think?
Inside 10 Yards... :scared: The bear would not have had a good day if he had gotten that close to me. :eek:
thats jersey!!!
pretty good pucker-factor!!larry
on the jersey opener this year i had 3 cubs gallop into my set-up [on the ground] and you know who showed up as soon as i shouted!!!after 10 or 15 second stand-off they bolted!!i was dozing off--when i heard them galloping in-if i hadn't heard them the cubs might have past me and that would have placed me between them and mama--i'm sure there would've been a rucuss!!![my spray is with me now!!!]
Bears will come in for anything smellable. Several backpacking trips in the mountains with my scout troops confirm bears will come for scents the are not used to. And it always gets exciting when they arrive!
that's a little to close and personal. doubt i would have been able to keep from launching my quiver full at him.
Brought to you courtesy of the no bear hunting laws of New Jersey's Governor.
Sounds like Knife River nailed it. I need to find my magazine articles....I read that balck bears attack to eat you , where as griz attacks usually to defend(kills, cubs, etc.)
Anyway, the article I refer to also stated the ratio of fatalities....blacks kill more than grizze each year.
I know....I need to find the article. I cant remember what mag it is in but I will look for it.
It put black bears into a whole new light for me.
Ever see that video footage of the bear following the guy?
Sounds like it could have gotten a lot worse Recurve....also sounds like some pepper spray might not be a bad idea.
I know I have seen more bears in NJ than here in NY....Ft Lee, Picatany(sp?) arsenal....bears all over.
Good luck on future excursions.
I can honestly say that I was more afraid to shoot this bear because of what had happened to a hunter I know last deer season.
He shot a doe and while field dressing it some thing told him to turn around. When he did there was a bear 6 feet from him.
He quickly ran the bear off and went back to dressing out the doe. It was then he was knocked to the ground, travleing 10 feet from his doe from the force of the blow from the same bear he just ran off.
He quickly picked up his compound and nocked an arrow and then sending the arrow through the bears boiler room.
Thinking he did the right thing he reported the incident to the game warden, brought him to the spot where the state did a CSI investigation of the scene.
The game warden later told him that he did the right thing that day only to return 2 months later with a court summons for killing a bear out of season.
This court appearance cost this guy a lot of money for a defence lawyer and the fine he had to pay.
There was no way that I wanted to shoot this bear just for that reason. I'm pretty sure that if I had to shoot the bear I sure as heck would not tell a soul out of fear of being draged into court and be forced to spend money I can't afford to spend in the first place.
I think it's sad where a person has to fear doing the right thing to protect himself to be politically correct. But such is the way of life here in New Jersey.
Makes me wonder what would have happened if our govenor Corzine were in my shoes. The bear would probally be riddled by NJ State Trooper bullets, and the govenor sped away at a high rate of excess speed. I'm sure that he would receive no court summons either.
I hunt in Jersey, so feel for ya (I might even start to carry bear spray)...but my nature normally gets the better of me...
"After sitting there for about 5 minutes I heard some thing walking through the woods approaching me from behind me (down wind of me). I knew that it could be 1 of 3 things, deer, another hunter or a black bear. I soon let out a shout that I was there in case it was another hunter. No answer. The footsteps kept getting closer. "
I chuckle everytime I read this...
I think "adkmountainken" has the best "bear protection" going
(have you ever seen the KNIFE that boy carries?????) :scared:
Let some procecutor try and convince a jury that the bear wasn't getting "up close & personal"
There seems to be more and more of a trend these days from Black bears to consider people as a meal rather than as a curiosity.
One time we were told to adopt the fatal position and take a few bites from an agressive bear. Now adays the Bear Awareness Programs are telling us we must distinguish if a bear is attacking out of fear or if he is hungry. One we curl up into a ball, the other we fight for our lives.
It is a hard choice to make and many hunters and fishermen are being faced with this decision more frequently.
I don't think that it is a problem I will ever worry about, it is right up there with being struck by lightning. But it is always in the back of a persons mind.
Daniel
Vermonster hit the nail on the head.Our Bunny Hugging Governor NO BEAR HUNTING IN JERSEY.AND by the way if he has his way he wants a commitee of his cronies on the Wildlife management Board instead of an equal board of half famers and half hunters. He wants to hire all his bunny hugging cronies., Last year it was canceled at the last minute again.Problem bear where do they dump them on Wildlife Management Areas. The first time I had a bear follow me around 1985 or 1986 I realized I had Snickers in my pocket my fault . since then I had at least two dozen experiances.There have been break ins of homes by bears which is probably the only time they'll take one out. What do we Jersey hunters have to do get maimed by one. Like Larry described about his buddies case, the Game Warden told me the same thing you have to prove that the bear posed a threat and did bodily harm or caused injury. OK well then how can I defend myself if the darn thing kicked my butt already or worse. Larry it could have happened to you no doubt. I could see it pretty well shook you up.
Maybe Somebody should take the Governor Hunting... :readit: :goldtooth:
Can't Ron he's recovering from a near fatal car accident.The Jersey bear has NO natural enemies. We can't carry firearms in the woods during bow season, pistols wooo faaa that's another story.Any of you folks hear of a Momma Bear having FIVE cubs !!?? Well a few years ago there was a picture of this particular momma bear with her FIVE cubs in the NJ Fish , Game, and Wildlife Compendium. Where was it taken? Good Old Delaware Watergap National Recreation Area. A few weeks later Bucky and I were hunting the area and saw MOMMA with four cubs one must have gotten killed . I think us Jersey Trad Gangers should all order and start carrying Shrew Hawks and machetes besides their bows!
We've had a few aggressive bears in Quebec over the years but no one has ever been touched by a black bear in eighteen years. Quite the contrary, Allen was the one who touched a cub climbing his tree this year :eek:
With false charges or a bear just acting too interested in you, You certainly did the right thing...make yourself big, noise, and throw things at him. Their eye sight isn't their best sense so you need to make him very aware of you. Also pepper spray is illeagal in Canada...Doc
Larry , I just thought of something.... What if we stopped at the Crossroads Diner BEFORE we went into he woods Saturday. Do you think Mr. Bear would have smelled the bacon, eggs, frenchtoast, syrup, homefries, and coffee on you?
I also hunt Jersey with Brian (BJK) and Southpaw and Bamboo and Fedrizzi....bears are a problem. Bamboo and I encountered one very large bear that prevented us from bowhunting a certain area.He just wouldn't leave.....Bamboo has had a few run ins with sows and cubs...thank God he's light on his feet... :biglaugh:
Jersey needs to re-evaluate the bear problem. Lack of fear and too many black bear in the woods will soon lead to bear/hunter confrontation and if the bear is killed in self defense, I'm sure a citation will still be written by the Fish and Game....
Maybe someone should take Gov Corzine hunting with them in prime bear area and let him know what its like being stalked by a large boar or worse yet....a sow with 3 scared cubs!!! I guarantee the laws would be changed real fast.
HHHMMMM I sure have alot I would like to say but will refrain on a public forum at this time. LOL Bears don't have rights when it comes to personal protection. :readit:
you know, I was walking to my spot on saturday here in NC and walked up on a BIG black bear eating peanuts from the field. Got somewhere within 35-40 yards, on foot. We sorta surprised each other- thank God he decided he'd rather take off than whup me and go back to eating peanuts!
I spent the rest of my afternoon reading my regs to see what'd happen if I had to shoot him. I'm guessing it wouldn't have been pretty.
Sure am glad it's not just me that this stuff happens to. And no, I didn't see any deer that day, either- unusual at that spot.
QuoteOriginally posted by tippit:
Also pepper spray is illeagal in Canada...Doc
It is illegal to bring it accross the border, but it is legal to buy, posess, and use here in Alberta. I don't know about Qubec.
BTW- I got some moose blood on that Bird and Trout knife you sent me!!!!
OK I read everyones post cause I'm OHHH so curious. All kidding aside I cant sleep at night when I hunt cause I'm thinking theres a bear in my camp...I mean NOT A WINK!! Here in Colorado I dont think theres been a person attacked in decades, Lions are the Big prey here, EITHER WAY I CARY my .357 at ALL TIMES, I lay there all night knowing exactly where it is and am on EDGE ready to bust out Blasting, Call me crazy, maybe it's cause i'm sicilian....LOL. But if it goes between me and a bear I can tell you I'll be sleeping on a fluffy Black rug when the dust clears.... Am I a coward..I guess so... Not something I would ever want to do , BUT.....
Hey Tom, I'm sure if we had stopped for that great breakfast before we hunted you just might have heard a very loud belch from my bear after making a meal out of me. :D
On the other hand this experiance did rattle my cage a bit. The part that makes my blood boil is that I know that as a NJ hunter I have no right to defend myself against an aggressive bear. So if I needed to shoot the bear the other morning I sure as heck woulden't tell a soul about it for fear of being dragged into court by our tree hugging ruling state government. I'd sure have no soft rug to lay on inside my cozy jail cell either. I bet the govenor would wind up with the bear rug for his office in Trenton.
Shooting the bear was the last thing that I wanted to do that morning. I'm glad it ended the way it did with no holes in my hide and no holes in the bear's. I just walked away with an awesome story to share with my trad hunting friends.
"Very Loud Belch from my bear" That's funny Larry.
I'd carry a Rib Eye, and the next time, give it a toss and run like H_ _ _ _ _...
Doc, pepper spray is not illegal in Canada, you just can't bring it from the States across the border. They sell it at the place we pick up our licenses. Didn't buy any myself.
you Jersey guys should tell the story about the 'wounded bear rescue team'....
I've listened to the news reports on NRA's radio show and ya'll got it BAD out there.
From destroying Fish and Game 'nuisance bear' traps; to getting in a hunters face - in the field mind you....
Hope you guys can find a way to protect yourselves.
Never trust a bear! (prolly quoted by the guy who got bit feeding one while attempting to teach it a new trick)
I'm in PA and we sat out the 1st couple archery seasons because of bears hanging outside the cabin door. Now a days, I treat them on an escaliting scale of respect.
Young, dumb, and large..same as I would a human.. I hand it a cookie as I apologize for my behavoir..while I cock the pepper spray. Young, dumb, and shorter than me.. I offer the cookie and lay on my elderly advice. Big, fat bore..that is atleast half my age and smart enuff to get that old..that has a problem with me and we can't explain ourselves with a few moments..no cookie, no pepper..cock the 45 and promise I won't use it til I feel teeth!
I know we all like a good monster..these aren't it in my view...or maybe I've been lucky~ :p
A couple of years ago I had a large bear coming straight towards me. I was in a tree stand so I wasn't really concerned at first.Plus, I am from north Tx so seeing a bear in the wild was kinda cool (for a while).I thought for a moment about letting him come right in to get a good look at him, but it was gonna get dark soon and I figured I should run him off. So I tried rapping a few arrows together, he didn't seem to pay any attention to that. Then I tried talking to him, he stopped for moment staring in my direction, but then just kept on coming towards me. I remember thinking how his eyes reminded me of a pigs eyes. Anyway, this was starting to get less "cool" by the moment. He,or she (don't really know for sure), stops about twenty yards out staring right up at me. About the only thing I was sure of right then was that I was feeling a lot less secure in my position up in that tree.It was only a small pine about 10" in diameter, and I was about 12' up. After a few long moments of wondering what to do I remembered reading something about how making metallic sounds was an almost guaranteed way to alarm wild animals. So I reached into my fanny pack and pulled out a redi edge type knife shrapener and whacked it hard against the stand a couple of times. That did the trick. The bear got a nervous look on it's face for a second, then bolted away. I listened to it run for what seemed like at least two hundred yards, and then I still waited a good ten minutes before I climbed down.
I 'll tell you what, I walked the rest of the way out the woods on full alert with a nocked arrow. lol :scared:
Now I know you "ain't sposed to do that" but at that point I figured it was the least of my concerns.
Curveman,
Your pic looks like the add for my clothing wash. It realy stands out!!! just an fyi
I don't have bear experience, but there is a cool story in the "American Bowyers" book (profiles of about 30 bow builders) where M.R. Hamilton talks about having a large male black bear come up the tree after him, shaking the tree, etc.
Hamilton lost his arrows in all the action, etc.
Pretty good story. the bear was later shot with a rifle.
Be careful out there.
Tough situation, You're danged if you do and danged if you don't. Glad it all worked out for you.
Whom ever said "Never trust a Black Bear" was exactly right. After 11yrs in Alaska I learned that lesson all to well.
Sometimes we're forced into makeing some tough decisions. Being the self-preservationist that I am, I always remember, as a last resort, the SSS option. Shoot, Shovel, Shut-up. JMHO
LD
Yep Bamboobender it does work. Afew years back I had a couple of does around me for a while.Always stayed outof range. Any way they drifted off into a thicket. A few minutes later I hear a ruckess I say oh boy they're coming back. Closer and closer noisier and nosier . That's when I said to myself not deer too noisey. Then out pops two little cubs. With Mama back about twenty yards they nosed around for about a half hour. Now daylight is dwindling. Here comes the one cub right to the base of my tree to smell the glove I had dropped. Then his/her brother/sister comes over and puts a paw on the tree and starts climbing. With that Mama comes over . I yelled ,the cubs take off Mama doesn't. Mama looks at me and starts popping her teeth. Well I said enough already I took my tree set from around the tree and start banging it around my tree stand metal to metal she finally walked off. I came down that tree pretty quick and took the long way out... . One of many tales.Metal to metal does work at least that time.
I hunted in northern WI. last Sat.and while on stands for about 7hrs. I saw 8 bears all in bow range.Really gets the old ticker pumping walking out at dark.
Robhood23,
I know what you are saying and generally I would agree. Nice bear I got from that stand though this year and my friend arrowed one from it a few days later, and two BIG honkin' bears came out RIGHT beside me last year! Killed one last year as well that was from a stand just as low and exposed. (If you have seen the video from "Quebec Quest" the one where my friend Allen touches the cub, you'll see what I mean). The stands were set up by our "advance team" and have been successful for years. I like the low shot angle for the smallish kill zone on a bear but it wouldn't be my deer set-up obviously. I wear a head mask and stay very still. Seems to work with these critters.
longbow111 , yep there's a lot more bears up here than I figured there would be. They leave their "calling cards" ten feet from my bedroom window, pull my trash cans off of a 5' high shed,rip/chew/slash the lids off,scatter the contents, and can really ruin a good deer hunting spot. Not to mention I have blackberry bushes that ring my yard. Anyway, I still like to see em, but if I feel that my family or pets etc.. are under immediate threat, I would have no qualms with the "SSS" thing that Caddo mentioned (the WI DNR and their gestapo like search and seizure powers notwithstanding).