Bear Encounter - cool or idiotic...you decide

[freefall]

Idiots often appear cool til reality bites.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Video- idiotic


I agree with you on everything but the warning shot. Alaska Magazine had an article 10 or so years back about bear protection. One of the take aways from stats and experts was warning shots aren't really all that loud to them and rarely phase them much. And now you have less shots in your weapon. The only exception to that are cracker rounds that drop near them and then explode. I have a friend who works for USFWS and has had to use one of those. The initial shot didn't phase the bear, but when the cracker went off near it, it left in short order.

I work for USFWS; I train with the cracker shells. I have seen one used in the field and it was effective.

My experience has been different. Twice I have had bears try to walk into camp at dusk. Twice I had a warning shot cause them to run the other way.

 

[sestoppelman]

While it certainly could have had a very different ending, it had a good ending. Nobody, not them nor the bear were hurt or killed.
I'd say everyone behaved pretty well, especially the bear!

 

[flatwater bill]

@BRICKBURN and @Longwalker made good observations. After a lifetime in bear country, the only predator allowed to wonder around in my camp is me. Letting blackie have his way with your camp does him no favor in the long run. Thanks for showing us the vid.......FWB

 

[uplander01]

I used to hunt bears all the time, been around a lot of them, black bears in particular can seem calm and reserved almost like a giant raccoon, but that can change in a split second. Bears are dangerous animals and distance should be kept, they're just being bears and it's their neighborhood. That bear looked fat and happy to me,....if it wasn't, that encounter would not have gone well for them.

 

[Scott CWO]

Video- idiotic


I agree with you on everything but the warning shot. Alaska Magazine had an article 10 or so years back about bear protection. One of the take aways from stats and experts was warning shots aren't really all that loud to them and rarely phase them much. And now you have less shots in your weapon. The only exception to that are cracker rounds that drop near them and then explode. I have a friend who works for USFWS and has had to use one of those. The initial shot didn't phase the bear, but when the cracker went off near it, it left in short order.

Yes, I’ve had warning shots work and not work. It depends on how it’s done. On brown bears, I’ve had it work when the bear is on a gravel bar or in shallow water. I don’t shoot into the air. I shoot right next to the bear and the bullet impact into the gravel or water usually scares them off and peppers them. However, in May of 2022, we had a big, dark, 8’ fearless sow that kept coming into camp on my second hunt. The first time she came into camp, I yelled and chased her off with my .458 Lott but didn’t shoot. The second time, I shot next to her at 30 yards but it was soft tundra and the bullet just disappeared into the tundra without peppering her with dirt, gravel or water. She circled and got my scent and then left while I continued yelling at her with the rifle ready. I was guiding a hunter with a bad knee and he couldn’t hike so we glassed from a hill above camp that overlooked the river. He failed to get a shot on a couple stalks on boars, due to his knee. The third time she came to camp, he shot her for his trophy. She was a big, beautiful, dark sow. Most sows are lighter in color. I don’t usually like to kill sows and had only killed one previously with a bowhunter but my hunter with a bad knee wanted her and she was being a problem. Problem solved!

Most sows have pointy, small noses and high, prominent ears closer to the top of the head. When you see a stovepipe nose and small ears more on the side of the head, you know it’s an old, mature bear.

 

[1dirthawker]

Most sows have pointy, small noses and high, prominent ears closer to the top of the head. When you see a stovepipe nose and small ears more on the side of the head, you know it’s an old, mature bear.

hey scott,

that bear looks kinda like a boar in the face, and as you noted pretty dark!

one thing about bears, they change behavior around dusk. a bear that was afraid of you at 3 in the afternoon, suddenly becomes emboldened and very not afraid around dark. your methodology is a pretty good one for running them out. i suspect pepper spray would work as well, just never fired any at a bear. i have had brown bears within 12-13 yards on several occasions and have yet to have to shoot at or near one, but they are covered by a loaded rifle as i try to persuade them.

the black bear that came into my camp and mucked with my stuff while on a moose hunt....was shot and eaten later. he came into camp, wrecked stuff, then came back later that night. bears that come into camp almost never become less bold, so, i generally cut to the chase and kill em. i always have a black bear tag on me, so, it is a justifiable homicide.

 

[mark-hunter]

So, they are fishing presumably unarmed, and bear appears in the camp?
What I would do?
I that situation, I would back up, easy and kept distance as much away as possible

So, this is stupid/crazy. They can get away with this in 99% of cases, but once in a while will not... Especially in a case with saw leading a cubs.

 

[meigsbucks]

I can see where the idea of being that close to the bear had certain “coolness”, but in reality I believe they should have slowly backed off and given the bear some space. They fact they remained calm and didn’t freak out and run was good..

 

[WAB]

I work for USFWS; I train with the cracker shells. I have seen one used in the field and it was effective.

My experience has been different. Twice I have had bears try to walk into camp at dusk. Twice I had a warning shot cause them to run the other way.

My experience has been the same. I’ve spent a lot of time around coastal brownies and feel that they do respond to a warning shot.

Using any pistol to try to stop a determined charge is likely to end in a bit of chewing. Make up your mind to keep a tight grip on that gun if he hits you, you’re gonna need it!

 

[Safari Dave]

I work for a game management agency that deals with nuisance black bears quite often.


Rubber buckshot to the arse from about 20 yards away, would have been my answer.

 

[BeeMaa]

Another addition to this thread...
I'm going with idiotic for this one.

 

[Scott CWO]

Another addition to this thread...
I'm going with idiotic for this one.

When the food runs out, watch out!

 

[freefall]

Darwin Award semi-finalists there.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Another addition to this thread...
I'm going with idiotic for this one.

Agreed: idiotic.

My first thought was "Where's Ranger Smith when you need him??"

 

[R.M.C.]

Good for a laugh at the time but someone probably has had to deal with that bear that associates people with food . Dumbasses for sure.

 

[Hunt anything]

Probably a death sentence for the bear. Dumb asses!

 

[Namagiqa]

I've lived in SW Alaska for several years and I've fished in SW Alaska for I don't know how many years. I have encountered hundreds - yes, hundreds - of brown bears during that time. Some were quite close. Had a fishing guide tell me once, "Watch your back cast. There's a bear back there." I saw a bear come out of the grass by the bushes behind my son once. We were fishing opposite sides of a small feeder stream. The bear was probably 3 yards away from my son. I was floating down a river with a friend. We were in a self-bailing cata-raft. The river came around a corner and the current pushed us to a far bank. Suddenly we were within feet of a sow with 2 older cubs. My friend, closer to the bank than I, could have touched one with his fly rod. I've chased bears out of my yard and away from my truck at the dump. I would say that I have a fair amount of experience with brown bears and I would make the following observations:

1. I don't trust bear spray. To be effective, you need to get it into the bear's eyes, which means you need to practice and the canisters aren't cheap. Further, their range is not long and a strong wind can make you miss. There's also a better than even chance you'll get it on you. For that reason, I prefer a pistol. For my own tastes, I use a 10mm with 200gr buffalo bore bullets. I just picked up a FN 510, in part because it has a 22 rd magazine. I know other firearms (.44mag and larger) have better penetration but: they're heavy; the gun and the ammo is expensive; recoil is substantial, which means re-acquiring the target is harder; and they carry fewer rounds. I don't claim the 10mm is perfect but it does a lot of things well. I'd rather have 15+ shots with B+/A- penetration than 6 with A/A+ penetration, especially when I can get off 5-6 shots in 3 seconds instead of 2-3 shots.

2. Bears on salmon streams have a different attitude than bears elsewhere primarily because there is so much food. While I give bears a lot of latitude, the catarafts I use to float down streams will frequently make bears scramble away from the banks if the bear feels the raft is too close. Keep in mind there are documented instances of bears attacking cars, boats, and even trains. Not saying the bears always live but they will attack large objects if they feel threatened. My own theory, which comports with numerous other people's experience, is that the sheer number of salmon in these streams make the bears far less 'possessive' than they would be over, say, a moose kill. That isn't to say that the bears are harmless or that I am careless. Rather, a bear encounter by a salmon stream is a lot more likely to involve the bear fleeing than a bear encounter on a narrow path where the bear feels hemmed in or coming across a bear over its kill. Small cubs near a sow can dramatically change this calculus.

3. The key to such a bear encounter is to remain calm as these guys did. This video is rather short and appears to have started shortly after the bear came out of the woods unexpectedly. The very LAST thing to do is to run away. That triggers the bear's predatory instinct. Rather, they stayed still and calm and did nothing to aggravate or antagonize the bear. That was 100% the right thing to do.

4. If it had been me, I would have done 2 things differently. First I would have assumed my "bear stance" and talked to the bear. By bear stance, I mean I would purposefully make myself look bigger. I stand with my legs spread farther apart and put my hands straight up. DO NOT LOOK THE BEAR IN THE EYE. Instead, slowly back up while talking in a soft, mellow sing-song voice. My own chant is something like, "Hello, Mr. Bear. I am leaving. You are fine. Blah, blah, blah." The words obviously do not matter but a low, calm voice demonstrates you are not a threat. Slowing backing up shows you are not a threat and gives the bear lots of room. Given the proximity of that bear, I would likely have my pistol in my hand (use a chest holster like the Kenai chest holster from gun fighters, inc.) even if it's in the air. That way it's ready in case that bear gets aggressive.

5. The second thing I would have done differently is I would have waited until the bear had passed beyond me and was facing AWAY from me and I would fire a warning shot into the river. I know some on here debate the efficacy of warning shots but I personally have used warning shots to scare away 3 bears over the last 20+ years. This is one reason I like a 10mm - 1 warning shot is a small price to pay for potentially scaring a bear away because I would still have 15 rounds or so if the shot did not work. I would have made the shot when the bear was facing away because the bear will run away from the shot. If the bear is facing me and I fire a warning shot, that bear could come right at me.

6. I would not have recorded it but that's because I've got plenty of bear videos and with one that close, I would rather have a pistol in my hand with one that close. I have a bear video I'd like to attach but I can't for some reason. I have it in .mov and .mp4 formats and it's only 3MB.

7. Legally speaking, at least in Alaska, there is no legal justification for shooting this bear. Many people in rural Alaska will have had similar experiences and would not be kindly disposed to shooting a bear that wandered through a camp like that. Damaging property or showing aggression would be different but if one of those guys had shot that bear and that video was played at the trial, I am not real sure an Alaska jury would be very sympathetic. I say that because a friend tried a case involving a pilot who shot a bear in defense of life and property (DLP) while moose hunting. The guy's testimony was about how the bear was aggressive and he was really scared but when they introduced the hide into evidence, it was clear the bear was a younger bear and not large. The jury convicted him of unlawfully taking a bear. You should keep this in mind if you are ever fishing in Alaska and you encounter a bear. Hopefully you'll have a guide who will be armed and can provide a good perspective because they deal with bears about every day. But its something you should keep in mind if you are in that situation.

I know it's a long post but I try to post only when I have something constructive to add. There's a lot to deal with in these scenarios. I don't know where these guys are from or their own experience. With all that I've said, I think they did pretty well by playing it cool and keeping calm when a large bear just comes out of the woods like that. While I would do a couple of things differently, I think over all, they did just fine. They did not provoke the bear, nor did they cause the encounter, at least from what I can see in this video. I appear to be in the minority, but if you're fishing and a bear comes out of the woods, what do you do? They did the most important thing: they did not agitate the bear or get it riled up.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I know jacksh....about black bear encounters but I see two major dumbasses in this clip....
Brainless idiots.....
When they get chowed the bear is at fault...
Same as wild encounters by dumbass tourists this side of the pond.....get your rental car destroyed by an elephant...etc.etc.etc...

The good news is that black bears are usually pretty docile animals. This one wasn't showing any signs of aggression or even worse, predatory behavior, so these guys were probably OK. Occasionally they wander through my back yard. I back away onto the house when that happens and have had no problems. I do not stand around watching or photographing them. One time while camping in Idaho I was sitting under the trailer awning a black bear passed by within about 10 feet. It was dark and he was there before I was aware he was coming. I sat still and he went by without showing any interest in me. Still it was an "ass pucker" moment.

Now having said all that, black bears can be aggressive, which is bad, and occasionally they will see a human as a food source, which will be fatal if you can't fight back. Contrary to popular opinion, most black bear attacks are by hungry young adults and not by females with cubs, though I wouldn't be messing with them either.

I'm not sure exactly what these guys in the video could have done differently, but just standing there staring or taking a video would not seem to.be the smartest move. Hopefully, someone was holding a gun or bear spray during the encounter.