Could ya trap a bear ???

pitdog

pitdog

Joined
Apr 13, 2007
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Just a bit of fun here but let's pretend your in the middle of nowhere and being hunted down by a rogue bear, think Anthony Hopkins film the edge type scenario.

Do you think it would be feasible to rig up a trap to kill the bear ?

I don't think the 15 ft pit traps with spikes at the bottom are practical ( too much work, if at all possible to dig down) so lets try and keep it within the realms of reality.

I did find an really old documentry where an Indian supposedly trapped and killed one in a type of deadfall trap so it must be possible.

So what type of trap would you rig up, please give details including the trigger mechanism etc.
 
You talking about that totally staged Canadian film in black and white?! The one where the Indian made a birch bark canoe in a day.

As far as I know the oldest way of killing a bear is a LONG spear, you lay on the ground with the spear at the bears chest, when it lunges for you, you prop the spear in the dirt/ice and roll away while the bear is falling on you.

Short answer, yes, you probably could trap a bear, but make a spear first.
 
I think that would depend on the tools you have at your disposal. That being said, I'm sure I don't have the skill or the know-how to do such a thing.
 
As far as I know the oldest way of killing a bear is a LONG spear, you lay on the ground with the spear at the bears chest, when it lunges for you, you prop the spear in the dirt/ice and roll away while the bear is falling on you.
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^^ I was thinking this too, maybe in an enclosed area kinda like Leonitis and the wolf in 300. But as far as me goes, I'd probably die...not without a fight though.
 
Yeah, even in the most dire of survival situations, I wouldn't want to try unless I had an actual beartrap. In a melee, a bear could kill even the most robust and well-armed man with ease, and the only improvised traps large enough to stand even the slight chance of working would be difficult and dangerous to construct. A stake pit might work, but that's a lot of effort for a slight chance.

Maybe if I were in that movie The Edge, being inexplicably stalked by a bear of uncommon intelligence and nerve, I might be more inclined to have a go at it...
 
Best way to deter a bear that is after you is to throw some poop at it. Where do you get the poop you ask? The first place i would look would be in my pants.:D
 
I think I'd go with as many of these as I could along the way, simpler and faster to set up than a spike pit. Hopefully after the 10th or 20th wooden stake to the face the bear would give up.
survival-skills-4.jpg
 
i saw one once where an eskimo dude gets a polar bear by making a bait with some meat and sharp bones which are tensioned inside the bait.bear eats bait & as meat dissolves in bears gut the bones spring open & pierce the stomach causing the bear to die in an agonising way.ingenious.how true ? dunno
cheers
 
I think the most effortless is to play a patience game and tangle it. To make sure it cant use strength to break the hobble anchor, or become motivated to chew its foot off, snare it to a free moving heavy wooden 'clog' or grappling iron. “The clog should be only heavy enough to be an impediment, and may consist of a log or heavy stone”.
 
I really hate to say it but since intelligence and brutality are our main natural strengths the main way I can think of beating a bear just for the sake of defense is luring it into a blind, say a small box canyon with a run in it maybe 20 yards or so with walls higher than the bear maybe 20 feet or so. Dig out the box maybe six inches to a foot. Line the box with a descending order of tinder or dried brush, kindling, dried logs. Make spears and post them at the end, maybe eight feet long, buried three feet deep at a 45 degree angle. Bait the kill box, with the carcass at floor level under the spears, climb into your hide and wait.

Bear goes in, set the fire behind it, close it off with dead wood.

I didn't read up on this one, just trying to be a little out of the box with some guerrilla tactics.
 
I heard that old eskimos used to dig a hole in the ice and hide behind a rock. When the polar bear would walk by, they would jump out and kick it in the "ice hole".
 
First, you dig a hole, size of the bear comes into play here, but just enough to get it in is a good start. Then you line the hole with wood-ash. When thats done, you'll need to put a row of shelled peas around the hole, bears love peas. When the bear comes to take a pea, kick him in the ash-hole. Then probably run like hell!
in seriousness, I'd be thinking along the lines of a cage trap made of timber, and or rocks. On the other hand, I did see a video where a beaver dropped a black-bear into a lake by taking down the tree it was in, but that would only work for a climbing bear.
 
The spear type trap did cross my mind and could well work. I've not made one of those yet, might have to give em a try.

I still think a deadfall type would be the easiest, however, as the weight of the deadfall needs to be 5 times the weight of the intended prey you could end up needing 2500 lbs or more of weight for an adult grizz !!!
 
Les Snyder said:
amazed Bear Claw Chris Lappe didn't respond.... "can you skin grizz?, Pilgrim" from Jeremiah Johnson
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"skin that one! I'll go get another!" Love that movie. If I needed to trap and kill a bear, I think baiting and then striking from above would be my best bet. Either from a tree stand or an overhang. Of course a large heaping amount of luck would be needed :)
 
mtwarden said:
I've had pretty good luck w/ these :D

bear-trap.jpg
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MT, That's the kind they used in Louisiana to catch bears in the basin when they were bothering the people in town.One lady said that the bears that were eating her trash liked the Taco bell leftovers.LOL.
Jeff
 
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