Who hunted bear with a knife?

[Ontario Hunter]

I have shot a few animals in self defense. A bull moose and bull elk at less than ten yards. The wounded elk at night with a flashlight. Not sure how I pulled that off. It happened so fast. Presumably shot it one handed with my Springfield. The moose I probably should not have got that close, but I was down to the last round I had with me. If I missed it would have been a knife fight to put him away. Figured he was about done for anyway so may as well get close for insurance. He had more life left in him than I thought! My first gemsbuck in 2019 was also self-defense ... maybe ... or maybe I was just in her way. Incoming full tilt at twenty yards I shot her twice through the heart before she piled up.

Those were thrilling enough for me. I cannot imagine going after bears or cougars with just a knife. That Lilly guy, if he was alive today, would be a great running back. Anyone that nimble and brassy would be Heisman Trophy material.

 

[meritman]

That would be a terrible idea

 

[Nyati]

In 1808, a 16 year old called Toribión killed his first bear with a knife in the north of Spain.

He went on to kill more than 60. Over the time, he lost one eye and had is left arm badly mangled and nearly useless.

This is documented from old hunting books, there were other individuals who also hunted bears with knives, but none so successful.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Ben Lilly & probably several others.
300l or 300lb pig. Hardest to kill?

 

[HankBuck]

I have shot a few animals in self defense. A bull moose and bull elk at less than ten yards. The wounded elk at night with a flashlight. Not sure how I pulled that off. It happened so fast. Presumably shot it one handed with my Springfield. The moose I probably should not have got that close, but I was down to the last round I had with me. If I missed it would have been a knife fight to put him away. Figured he was about done for anyway so may as well get close for insurance. He had more life left in him than I thought! My first gemsbuck in 2019 was also self-defense ... maybe ... or maybe I was just in her way. Incoming full tilt at twenty yards I shot her twice through the heart before she piled up.

Those were thrilling enough for me. I cannot imagine going after bears or cougars with just a knife. That Lilly guy, if he was alive today, would be a great running back. Anyone that nimble and brassy would be Heisman Trophy material.

Ontario, I think You killing an Elk, at Night, with a “Flashlight” is more impressive then killing a Bear with a Knife…. Also, that must be a Helluva Flashlight — what brand is it ? (I want one of them !!)

 

[thriller]

The three hundred lbs hogs are not as dangerous as the 180-220lbs class. Those ones are a lot more athletic and agile.

This applies to ferals I have hunted with dogs and a knife at least

 

[mdwest]

I’ve hunted hundreds (literally) of hogs with knives and spears… we do at least one, sometimes two large group hunts a year for them and typically take 12-15 hogs per weekend hunt…

While they can be dangerous, the danger is largely mitigated by the dogs.. we’ll send in 2 catch dogs any time we’ve got a big pig bayed up… between the dogs and usually 1 human catching the pig, getting in with a knife and dispatching said swine is the vast majority of the time easy and without incident..

 

[mdwest]

The three hundred lbs hogs are not as dangerous as the 180-220lbs class. Those ones are a lot more athletic and agile.

This applies to ferals I have hunted with dogs and a knife at least

I agree.. the really big pigs are strong.. but typically pretty worn down by the time you get to them..

The 200 lb porkers are the right blend of size, strength, and speed to be most dangerous IMO

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Ontario, I think You killing an Elk, at Night, with a “Flashlight” is more impressive then killing a Bear with a Knife…. Also, that must be a Helluva Flashlight — what brand is it ? (I want one of them !!)

Nothing special. Just two D size batteries. I bought it at a local grocery store. It was armor-ized black with yellow trim. Around the tube I scratched a list of stuff to pack for my horse camp. I think it's probably packed away in one of my four box panniers in the storage shed.

Coming off the mountain to meet up with my brother at the end of the afternoon, I saw three guys coming down the logging road below me. They literally ran to get ahead of me. Oh well. Arseholes. They were about sixty yards ahead around a corner when the shooting started. I found them plinking at a raghorn bull elk on the edge of the cut 400 yards away. "That's OUR bull!" Big deal. It's just a raghorn. "Stop running around and find a rest to shoot against. It still doesn't know where we are." They were all badly afflicted with buck fever. One fella had a surplus P14, one had an ancient lever Winchester, and the third guy was shooting a capable Model 70 300 WM. The guy with the magnum finally hit the bull in left ham. Pathetic. I leaned against a birch tree and raised my Springfield. "Don't you shoot. That's our elk!" "Well, you better put him down. If he gets to the trees, I'm gonna shoot." The bull stopped at the edge of the cut, I touched one off, he jumped and kicked and was gone. Turns out these three clowns just moved to Whitefish from Pennsylvania. And they were hopping mad at me. Too bad. The elk needed to die. Tracks in the snow revealed it was hobbling on three legs and also bleeding badly underneath dark red blood. Probably gut shot. By now it was almost dark. "We're gonna go home and come back in the morning to track OUR bull." Nope. That poor bugger is gonna die tonight. I dug the flashlight out of my daypack. Those stupid dudes didn't have anything but their clothes and guns. They started to get nasty and the guy with the 32 WCF cowboy gun worked the lever and pointed it in my general direction. Told him to smarten up. This elk was not worth a shootout. "You with the iron sights get in behind me and get ready to finish the job." About half an hour on the trail I heard something above us. And there it was bedded fifteen yards away in the deep snow. "Shoot him in the head." Bam! Elk jumps up and runs off. How could you miss it? "I was shooting low so I didn't wreck the cape." Really? You want to mount a little raghorn? Disgusted I walked off on the tracks. Twice they stopped to have a conference and pretend to be threatening. I had just blown them off again and walking around a small Doug fir when the bull came for me from my right. He was waiting in ambush behind the tree. I shot him in the neck a few paces away and he dropped dead. The nimrods were furious. "You were supposed to let us kill OUR elk." Well, you would have shot it if you'd followed orders. I actually had no ambitions of taking the elk. Just wanted the poor bugger dead. They didn't have a clue how to dress the thing so I did it. In thanks the boss with magnum offered me a quarter. You guessed it ... the quarter he ruined with the arse shot. Whatta guy. Thanks but no thanks. Oh, my long shot at it broadside next to the trees just grazed the bull's belly blowing off his manhood. No wonder he wanted to kill me. Or maybe he wanted me to kill him? Not sure I would want to live without my third leg. Well, not back in my youth anyway. Today? It's just excess baggage. Meah.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Not sure how he dispatched the one at three, but he reportedly killed one with a butcher knife.

Yes it was before then Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett there are books written about this! I remember Daniel Boone surveying additional territory they actually called it the Western front at the time LOL but it was just Ohio West Virginia Kentucky but he killed many a bear in that manner.

 

[C.W. Richter]

…but when you do, it pays to have a gun.

I see them all the time in my yard black bears are like big raccoons generally harmless they just want food when they smell it including garbage. That said during droughts they also just want food and they will eat your kids or you for that matter especially up in Alaska! In my 30 years of living here in Bear country I recall one baby being eaten across the river in New York it was actually the mother's fault there were three kids in the yard one infant she sued the children back in the house one at a time leaving the infant for the bear to snack on.

 

[BeeMaa]

I see them all the time in my yard black bears are like big raccoons generally harmless they just want food when they smell it including garbage. That said during droughts they also just want food and they will eat your kids or you for that matter especially up in Alaska! In my 30 years of living here in Bear country I recall one baby being eaten across the river in New York it was actually the mother's fault there were three kids in the yard one infant she sued the children back in the house one at a time leaving the infant for the bear to snack on.

Stressful situations can be difficult to navigate for anyone, not just a woman with small children. In hindsight, it's easy to critique the decisions she made in real time. I'm sure she had some reason for her actions even if they were not the right ones, they made sense to her at the time. Unfortunately she will have live out her days with the consequences. I feel bad for her and the family.

I grew up in Upstate NY and have seen several black bears. They have ranged in temperament from raging psychopaths to scared little children...mostly the latter. But every now and then there would be one that wouldn't run away, and you better have firearm of some kind. They are much faster than most people would think and can close what seems like a safe distance in the blink of an eye. They are not to be trifled with.

 

[BourbonTrail]

I’m always impressed at the hand combat stories with dangerous animals. At the same time, I always wonder at what percentage were dumb luck/divine intervention, physical skill, or tactical advantage on the part of the human in the stories.

According to family legend, my wife’s great-great grandfather killed a lion with a knife in the first Italo-Ethiopian War (Guerra d'Abissinia). Not sure about the details, but would be interesting if true.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Stressful situations can be difficult to navigate for anyone, not just a woman with small children. In hindsight, it's easy to critique the decisions she made in real time. I'm sure she had some reason for her actions even if they were not the right ones, they made sense to her at the time. Unfortunately she will have live out her days with the consequences. I feel bad for her and the family.

I grew up in Upstate NY and have seen several black bears. They have ranged in temperament from raging psychopaths to scared little children...mostly the latter. But every now and then there would be one that wouldn't run away, and you better have firearm of some kind. They are much faster than most people would think and can close what seems like a safe distance in the blink of an eye. They are not to be trifled with.

I remember it like it was yesterday she was of a special breed from Brooklyn New York that knew absolutely nothing about the outdoors nature or wildlife. I'm sure some sort of weird old religious beliefs were guiding her at the time and we see how that worked out. I could say a lot more about them based on my vast business experience (and only having great business relations with one or two) but that will not bring her child back. That was a long time ago I'm sure she was completely panicked and the unfortunate sad affair played out the way it did. All the bear wanted was food and he got it. Now that I recall actually three he was cashing in on his 100 employees and his wife got to him explaining that without his workforce he would be nothing so he sold the company back to all employees under the ESOP program and enriched their lives! In the words of OJ it happens!! LOL

 

[C.W. Richter]

Just the day before my son and I left for one Zimbabwe trip in the past we were having breakfast out on the back deck discussing the details and this lone male bear shows up he wants our food he's freaking out growling popping his teeth mock charging the deck it was freaking my young son out but we had a Stern talk with him put him in his place 4 ft below and he begrudgingly went away. LOL. There are some bigger boys that would not back down and I had one climb my tree in archery season when I was eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich I tried to get the greatest photograph but at the last minute he noticed me slid down the tree and ran away faster than Bruce Jenner when he had junk!!

 

[C.W. Richter]

With everything that's going on right now it may take me a while but my son bought me a book about these 1800s trekkers in America and specifically their bear hunts you will love it!!! It's probably packed up in a box as we are transitioning from my house to live up at the farm but I just came upon the box today...

 

[fourfive8]

Campfires tales time eh?

I remember listening to the late Mike Andrew Sr, a village elder in the Yup’ik village of Iguigig AK, tell the story of how his father or grandfather taught him to handle charging brown bears. He had great stories… told as only those people can.

He said to use only a hatchet that you can easily swing with one hand. Get the bear to charge. Step out of the way at last minute and strike bear across nose as it goes by. Bears react wildly and forget about the original reason for the charge when anything affects their nose or eyes. (Same reason bear spray works if used correctly.) He relayed this as the method taught him by the experience of his ancestors. Mike was always on the lookout for brown bears around the village. Somehow I don’t at all doubt that was something done at least once by his father or grandfather.

 

[meritman]

I once killed a grizzly bear with a spoon. I was going to use my knife but I thought it would not be fair.

For all you people who choose to hunt bears with knives, you're probably the same people that use large fishing poles to catch sharks instead of jumping in the water and choking the shark to death.

 

[Randy F]

I keep going back to the question of "Why would you want to hunt a bear with a knife?"

It would be bad enough to have to defend yourself with only a knife. To actually go for the latest top Darwin Award by actively looking for a bear to kill with a knife? Even if you win, you lose something.

The smell of gunpowder just gets more and more appealing.

 

[Foxi]

Not sure how he dispatched the one at three, but he reportedly killed one with a butcher knife.

with this cap it only works with a knife