Advice for dealing with bears from a former spert.

"you should lay face down with your hands over your head with dominant hand underneath the weak hand."

Really? I was told that is the worse thing to do. Guess ya learn something new everyday.
 
SoCalEDC said:
"you should lay face down with your hands over your head with dominant hand underneath the weak hand."

Really? I was told that is the worse thing to do. Guess ya learn something new everyday.
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I guess the idea is to keep the dominant hand from serious scratches or bites. Still, if I were capable of doing anything else, I wouldn’t lay down.
 
Here's what I was told. Never tried it myself.

Carry a fairly long stick. If you meet a bear that's interested in you put your back to a tree and tap him on the nose with the stick. He'll stop and bump the stick away.

Repeat till the bear looses interest.
 
Brommeland said:
A .454 Casull perhaps....
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Not a bad choice. Mine is the 480 Ruger..... but these are big guns (at least mine are) and unless I'm hunting or a special circumstance, I won't have such a big handgun with me. If I choose to carry a larger handgun with bear defense in mind, it's a 4" 41 mag with solids. Normally I will have no gun with me, a 22 revolver, or perhaps my 38spl carry gun.... I just never encounter any problems in the woods and my main concern in the Eastern woods are human predators.

I have never encountered a grizzly bear outside a national park and that was only once.

If a black bear is acting aggressive or particularly nervous and you are within 50 yds, back up and keep your eyes on that bear.
 
Thomas Linton said:
"Don’t Play Dead
You have always heard the rule that you should play dead if you ever happen to come face to face with a bear. However, this could get you killed in an instant! If you do see a bear nearby, use those legs to back away and run for your life!"

Survival tips by Nancy Smith of Sport Preacher

:rolleyes:
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Nancy Smith is all wet, running from a bear, any bear will get you killed faster than anything else you might choose to do. I have been a bear guide (blacks and brown/grizzly) for 35 years. Bears are like cats, they chase and catch whatever is running from them. The guy who taught me to hunt bears (Joe Want, fairly infamous up here in Alaska, has been in National Geographic twice) was mauled by a brown bear, a sow with a cub when he was quite young, 16 years old, and playing dead saved his life.

Brown and grizzly bears are the same bear, generally, brown bears are coastal grizzlies.

I will relate to you a story experienced by another pretty well known bear guide I worked for, John Swiss (took no. 1, 2 and 4 polar bears in Boone and Crockett)

When we were still allowed to hunt polar bears (before the Marine Mammal act of 1972) John was hunting polar bears with a paying hunter. They were set up on the ice pack north and west of Nome Alaska waiting for a polar bear they were hunting to come into view from around a pressure ridge on the ice. When the bear came into view 90 or so yards away, he told the hunter to shoot. The hunter shot but wounded the bear in the shoulder. The bear started charging. John yelled "Shoot again" Nothing. John yelled "Shoot again" still nothing. John looked over at the hunter to see that he wasn't there, his rifle was laying on the ice where he had been. Looking back he saw the hunter running away. John turned back around to see the bear almost on top of him, he had been filming the whole thing and his rifle was on the ice below the camera tripod. He reached down to get his rifle and as he looked back up to check on the bear, all he could see was yellow polar bear belly fur over him. He thought he was had but as soon as the bear was there, it was gone again. The bear jumped completely over John and was chasing the hunter who was running away.

The bear caught the hunter and was hauling him in by his butt. John ran up and shot the huge bear in the neck.

You can read the whole story and others in his book "50 Years in Alaska" if you like.

The best way to turn a bear that is coming at you is to shoot into the ground (if you have a firearm) in front of the bear to spray the bear with dirt. This is more effective than shooting over his head, bears hate to be touched and spraying them with dirt has an amazing effect on them.
 
Yonose said:
Does anyone believe black bears can smell fear or confidence? Most of the cues mentioned in attacks are vocal or visual, but their most developed sense is smell—from what I’ve read.
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For a bear to smell fear in you or anything else, he would need to be down wind of you or on top of you, by then it's too late. I'm sure, like you said, it would be other cues too. My dog, and anybodies dog, can sniff me and know what I have eaten, if I am sick or healthy. Researchers tell us there are many other things a dog can tell by smell and I suspect that bears can do the same. It would not surprise me to learn that they can tell if I am scared or confident just by smell if the conditions were right. I am also sure, they would be using all of their' senses to figure that out.
 
Jhansenak47 said:
I live in Alaska and it is amazing the kind of BS advice people give. Bears will outrun you, the only exception is traveling across a hill where the uneven terrain ruins their stride. That is a special case and it should be noted they can run up and down hill faster than you can. Running is not needed, just back off and go around.
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A bear can run around a hill, any hill, much faster than we can.
 
Danke42 said:
Here's what I was told. Never tried it myself.

Carry a fairly long stick. If you meet a bear that's interested in you put your back to a tree and tap him on the nose with the stick. He'll stop and bump the stick away.

Repeat till the bear looses interest.
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AKA, the "patty cake" bear attack survival technique. :eek: I hope it never comes to that - don't know if I could keep up the rhythm :(

Ray
 
There has just been an incident in Alaska with a bear .A hunter shot a bear above him and the bear rolled down the hill into the hunter .The bear was dead but the hunter was seriously injured from rocks and bear damage !
 
I was always told that while some people do indeed have real expertise (are experts), a lot of those who proclaim themselves as "expert" could also be described as "has-been drips under pressure".

Interesting interaction here: @ 2:15
 
C_Claycomb said:
I was always told that while some people do indeed have real expertise (are experts), a lot of those who proclaim themselves as "expert" could also be described as "has-been drips under pressure".
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I like that. I have not heard that before. It makes sense when you explain it.


Back to the "ex-spurts", you ever notice how people always recommend this or that gun, but never mention what a PITA actually getting in a shooting incident with a bear can be. Up here in Alaska you have to bring the hide and skull in to surrender on top of doing a report. That means you have to skin it and haul out the hide.
 
Not sure where you read this story, but the last brown bear (grizzly) in New Mexico was hunted down and killed around 1921. Aldo Leopold wrote a short story about the Forest Service group that hunted it down and killed it. There are only black bear left in Arizona and New Mexico now.
I spent every Summer for nearly 20 years in and around brown and black bear in Alaska. Often fly fishing next to them during salmon runs! The only bears that actually hunt humans are polar bear. Black and browns are relatively safe, as long as you are smart and follow the rules. The folks that get hurt by bears are the ones that are lazy around food and viewed as a food source, or are unlucky enough to run across a bear while feeding on a kill, or a sow with cubs. Around population centers and garbage they are the most dangerous, but out in the wilderness, educated outdoors men/women have little to fear. It is this unfounded fear that gets bears killed and causes mass bear and wolf hunts from helicopters in the far North where it is still legal. Oh and by the way, killing a grizzly with even a .454 cal magnum handgun would be just a lucky shot. Nothing short of a medium+ bore rifle with a high velocity round is likely to stop a bear when charging. Being safe around bears is mostly a mixture of good bush practice and a healthy respect.
 
The bears I've met have been polite , knocking on the door !
The Rutgers kids made all the mistakes possible . A needless death. Loud noise is one possibility for your safety ,Shout, use a Loud whistle [ mine is a STORM supposed to be the loudest, a gunshot is good also. Many a black bear leaves the area before you notice it . Leave it alone , When camping keep all food and cooking at least 75 yds from your tent .
 
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