'She was coming at me with her mouth open': B.C. man shoots grizzly in front yard

[Jimbob]

The bears were there multiple days he tried to scare them away with noise, also it sounds like he has electric fences around the trees. What do you do if a sow and cubs keep coming back to your property? I'm not saying I would do what this guy did but I also know that I would not be fine with grizzlies coming in my yard.

Do you just call the CO and wait to trap them? What would you guys do?

[Downtown]

I trust we hear more about this once the F&W concluded there investigation. From what I am reading here I would be surprised if he does not faces several charges.

Cheers

[kootenaihunter]

The bears were there multiple days he tried to scare them away with noise, also it sounds like he has electric fences around the trees. What do you do if a sow and cubs keep coming back to your property? I'm not saying I would do what this guy did but I also know that I would not be fine with grizzlies coming in my yard.

Do you just call the CO and wait to trap them? What would you guys do?

Same thing I do now, pick the apples and take away the attractant, that's what the CO would have said anyways. I see one bear pawing up the tree, so electric fence wasn't helping. Didn't seem like this was the last resort.

If they came back, call CO, it's Bella Coola, I'm sure the CO wasn't too far away. They can shoot it if it's an issue.

Not to mention if it had been reported to the guy already that they were around, why not a call to the CO then? He obviously wasn't any more effective, succeeding in almost being mauled and wounding a sow with cubs.

[Jagermeister]

Few, if any, have walked in his moccasins so you should shut your pie-holes until you have had a close encounter with a charging grizzly, or any bear for that matter. Then you can render an opinion.
The only sensibly stated opinions were pertaining to the use of bird shot, but I can see that too. He thought birdshot would suffice but it was merely bee stings to the bear.

[tomcat]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I would suggest you critics should get Gary Shelton's books and read them.

[albravo2]

Tough situation. No bear is going to make me, my kids or my dogs hostage in my own home.

Sorry, I don't agree with the 'If you live in Bella Coola' or 'If you have an apple tree' arguments. There is lots of bear habitat out there, I'm not going to be a victim because they get my habitat confused with their own.

[moosinaround]

I have lived/worked in bear country, bears that do not move on from habituated areas, are nuisance bears. This fellow is allowed to protect his family/dwelling from the bears, and should have shot the sow to kill it! It has now opened up a can of worms, and an investigation will render a verdict on culpability, but he was protecting his property! Silly to send a warning shot at a predator like that! That mistake nearly cost him his life! If you are firing at the bear, shoot to kill! Moosin

[Big Lew]

People use bear bangers to encourage them to move on but most habituated bears soon become
habituated to the noise makers as well rendering them useless. I don't think the fellow loaded his
shotgun with birdshot with any intention of shooting the bear, only to scare it away. He shot the
bear with it only because it charged him when he didn't expect it to do so and it was all he had
available. The really big mistake that family made was to post it all on the internet. Why would you
do that? As some said, because the sow and her cubs apparently were repeatedly coming into the
yard, likely for the apples, he should have removed the fruit if possible, and called the CO department
for help, explaining the situation. That way the ball is in their court.

[srupp]

Some folks in Bella Coma..know how to deal with problem bears. .most do not. .
We dont know what steps this gentleman took prior to this event..so we should not speculate..
I think he showed fine shooting skills in that envounter...only thing that saved his life...birdshot was stoopid..dont bring a knife/birdshot to a grizzly fight.
Im not sure many on this forum would have shot so well under duress..of a 700 pound plus enraged coastal grizzly in full speed frontal attack. .he is a good shot under pressure.
Cheers
Steven

[weatherby_man]

The internet has made everyone act as judge, jury, and executioner and we now unfortunately live in a world of guilty til proven innocent now. Let all the facts come out before passing judgement. Maybe he erred, maybe he did the right thing, maybe something else altogether, but basing your judgement on a CBC (of all things) report is ludicrous.