Bear charge?

[CanuckShooter]

We just returned from our elk hunt in 7-21, sorry no success this year so no pics!!

This years while sitting in camp we had a very large boar black bear [est. 4-500lbs] actually come charging into our camp!! Thankfully we had our rifles handy and managed to run him off by firing the 7mm!! We didn't try to kill him because neither of us had a tag onboard....I seem to be hearing about this sort of thing happening with the bears more often these days....is anyone else seeing more aggression out of bears the last couple of years???

[shadow1982]

Glad you guys are ok... so far i have been lucky

[madrona sh]

I find Black Bears more curious than aggressive in general. That said there are exceptions. I had a Sow with cub who was really thin not back down after I tried to put a run on her. She later stole my tent fly and socks from camp.
Bears are brats that's for sure.

[.270boy]

Seems to be a lot of bears out this year.. Saw a lot over the summer working in forestry. Ran into around 10 or so in the bush while working, had one huffing and stomping the ground at us out of the ten. All the others took off once I made my presence known.

Were you staying in a popular camp spot? The bear may have learned where to come look for food.

[pork n beans]

bot a lot of berries this year, on the coast anyways. the bears can be a bit more protective of their food if they're feeling desperate, mums with cubs to fatten up before winter and stuff. lots of bluffing by bears. they often make a big show. popping, chuffing and swatting stuff.

[ELK Seeker]

I am not saying you were, but people are becoming very irresponsible with the way the handle there food and garbage in there camps. As we know this is a open invitation to bears to come and investigate. Due to this more and more bears are becoming use to contact with humans/hunters. I believe some people mistake this curious behaviour for intrusive aggression and that is why there is more and more reports of aggressive bears when in fact its just a bear looking for a easy meal.

[pete_k]

We are new to PG. My wife and two kids (3 and 1) and I were going to setup a hunt camp on Bowron FSR. After we read some of the posts
on here we decided against it. Too many bear and Griz encounters. Especially with two little ones to keep an eye on.
She would have been OK with camping at Purden Prov Park though. Apparantly not alot of mulies in that area anyways so we ended up
at a friends yard in Houston.
Your story will add more fuel to the fire. Good to know. I carry a bear tag just for that reason.

[LukaTisus]

People in town here are freaking out because of a big blackie that's hanging around a couple streets from my place. People on that street haven't cleaned off their fruit trees, and its' the right time of year for them to wander in, but as long as I've ever lived here (Whole life), there's never been any outward aggression by the bears. They come and go.. most of them end up dead, just for being curious.

Worst part, is a town-bear is usually stuffed full of parasites from all that lovely garbage they're eating. :P No good as meat-bears.

[pappy]

I've had more than the usual bear encounters this year too. It goes in cycles just like fishing and wolves.

[greenhorn]

Nah. Bears are never aggressive towards me. But, I'm a bit of a bear ninja. They don't know I'm there until I put a hole in them :)

[madrona sh]

You can have the cleanest and worlds most bear aware camp in the world. But if the people before you were messy or a camp over the ridge was messy the bear will still check your camp and probably try to eat you in the night.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

There's only one way to stop agressive behaviour like that......BANG!

Always pack a blackie tag for situations like this. That way there's no need to justify your actions to anyone...as long as it's not dark.

SSS

[BigfishCanada]

The stupidest thing ever is what the gov charges for a bear tag. They should be $5, bears are over populated. The BC Gov says they want more bear hunter...reduce the cost of the tag to a reasonable price

[CanuckShooter]

I am not saying you were, but people are becoming very irresponsible with the way the handle there food and garbage in there camps. As we know this is a open invitation to bears to come and investigate. Due to this more and more bears are becoming use to contact with humans/hunters. I believe some people mistake this curious behaviour for intrusive aggression and that is why there is more and more reports of aggressive bears when in fact its just a bear looking for a easy meal.

Our camps are always kept clean of food and nothing is ever left out to attract them...this bear just appeared to be passing close to camp [upwind], and he was definitely being aggressive. He displayed no fear of us in the least as we were clearly visible, I think he may have thought we were the easy meal? :-)

[finngun]

[QUOTE=Stone Sheep Steve;987525]There's only one way to stop agressive behaviour like that......BANG!

Always pack a blackie tag for situations like this. That way there's no need to justify your actions to anyone...as long as it's not dark.

if bear is chargin me bear tag is last thing i worry about still good to have it.. in my buddys hunting camp grizzly start aggressvely approuching ,,didnt go away..moose was hanging..
only way was to shoot grizz.. no tag.. just rolled bear over the cliff...happens many years back..

[troutseeker]

Yeah, people are becoming irresponsible with the way they handle bears. A bear that's got the balls to charge through my camp would end up dead. If more hunters did theii job and killed them varmints them bears might regain their fear of humans...

Now what is the best weapon and load for bear defense? hehehe

[new hunter]

Ive got a fat ass black bear that keeps hanging out in my drive way . First time I saw her she was hanging out on the passenger side of my truck when I went to pick up the missus from work .
I yelled at it " hey you stupid bear , get out of here " which usually at least gets them to move off , but this one just backed out of sight and hid behind my truck .
I said screw it , I'm gonna be late and climbed in anyway . I rolled down the passenger side and yelled at the bear again , even honked my horn . Bear looked at me , turned to move off , then stopped . You could pretty much see the thought process as the bear though " No I'm not going anywhere ". So the bear turned back around , went over to the berry bush it was visiting and kept eating .
I swear to god the expression on that bears face pretty much said 'No , f-ck YOU ".
Recently someone got footage of another bear going into "Fat Tonies " pizza in the village and raiding the hot case . Apparently it's either in this weeks Pique {whistler free paper } or the next one . I've also heard that it's been posted on youtube .
I'ts been five years since anyone in Whistler got mauled and it sounds like we might be over due .
I keep some 3inch slugs with my riot gun , and if one of these bears end up in my house or hurts one of my neighbers , I'll kill the damn thing , then call the C.O.

[Peter Pepper]

Buy some bear spray, cover ther can with peanut buttter, and put it somewhere the bear hangs out, but dogs cant get to it
Ive got a fat ass black bear that keeps hanging out in my drive way . First time I saw her she was hanging out on the passenger side of my truck when I went to pick up the missus from work .
I yelled at it " hey you stupid bear , get out of here " which usually at least gets them to move off , but this one just backed out of sight and hid behind my truck .
I said screw it , I'm gonna be late and climbed in anyway . I rolled down the passenger side and yelled at the bear again , even honked my horn . Bear looked at me , turned to move off , then stopped . You could pretty much see the thought process as the bear though " No I'm not going anywhere ". So the bear turned back around , went over to the berry bush it was visiting and kept eating .
I swear to god the expression on that bears face pretty much said 'No , f-ck YOU ".
Recently someone got footage of another bear going into "Fat Tonies " pizza in the village and raiding the hot case . Apparently it's either in this weeks Pique {whistler free paper } or the next one . I've also heard that it's been posted on youtube .
I'ts been five years since anyone in Whistler got mauled and it sounds like we might be over due .
I keep some 3inch slugs with my riot gun , and if one of these bears end up in my house or hurts one of my neighbers , I'll kill the damn thing , then call the C.O.

[The Dude]

Recently someone got footage of another bear going into "Fat Tonies " pizza in the village and raiding the hot case . Apparently it's either in this weeks Pique {whistler free paper } or the next one . I've also heard that it's been posted on youtube.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/30/bear-gobbles-up-pies-at-bc-pizza-joint

Hope he enjoyed the pie. Might be his last meal.

[Jagermeister]

Charging black bear????? Only one solution........Bang/flop. That would have been me. I'll take my chances on explaining it to whoever.
The next people in that camp may not be so fortunate as the bear will become more aggressive with each passing.
If you had a campfire going, the smoke should have been enough to deter his approach

[pete_k]

Thats dumb for too many reasons to explain. Regarding Peter Peppers post

[Ioneth]

5 years ago I was doing some work in a farmers field in Pit Meadows (by swan e set) we saw a black bear it got spooked by us and took off running and would of ran right into another group. we called them on cell and said black bear running towards you. The biggest guy in that group stood up yelled and charged the bear. the bear stood up fell backwards rolled over and ran the other way. If the bear had pants I'm sure he would of messed them lol

Poor bear was probably just looking for some food then got chased by a crazy human.

[Jagermeister]

5 years ago I was doing some work in a farmers field in Pit Meadows (by swan e set) we saw a black bear it got spooked by us and took off running and would of ran right into another group. we called them on cell and said black bear running towards you. The biggest guy in that group stood up yelled and charged the bear. the bear stood up fell backwards rolled over and ran the other way. If the bear had pants I'm sure he would of messed them lol

Poor bear was probably just looking for some food then got chased by a crazy human.That should be the typical reaction for a black bear. Once in a while it doesn't go that way and those are the bears that are not to be trusted. The adage is, "if a black bear is not showing you his backside, he is sizing you up for dinner."
I think it would be worthwhile for all you new hunters with limited field experience to read James Gary Shelton's books. The first book is titled "Bear Encounter Survival Guide" and the second is titled, "Bear Attacks; The Deadly Truth". Both books will give you great insight into bear behaviour with regards to both species of bears.

[new hunter]

forgot , last week a bear took a giant shit on the front steps of the hotel , then climbed the fence , ate some berries and left .
Bear was only there for a few minutes , but it took the housemen over an hour to decide who would clean it up .

[curt]

i respect bears and really respect people who actually give the aggressive bears a chance but the reality for me and I'm not afriad to say it is this. Any bear brave enough to wonder into my camp with people sitting around is eating a bullet the bottom line because as time passes that bear will get braver and braver and if it isnt me he starts chewing on it will be someone else and I'm not ok with that. Aggressive bears are dead bears in my book and I'm very much a believer in only killing what you eat unless something is trying to eat you!!

[steepNdeep]

I agree with SSS. We have tons of bears on our property... my bear dog or rubber snubbers on an arrow 'educate' most of them that my yard 'bites' & isn't an easy meal. The tag is for the odd one that doesn't learn. I haven't cut it for several years, but it's cheap insurance.

[Trapper D]

im hunting in an area with quite a few blackies , and most of them are quite big. I took a large one last week at 20 yards, practically walked right on top of him. Same thing today walked right up on him, the one i got last week growled then i plugged him. this one today was simular except panting and growling at the same time , it was over 300 lbs to. he stood sideways to me making these sounds , also i had him up against a rocky knoll , and i think he was weighing me up. anyways he made the right decision and scaled the rocks. very slowly and panting all the way up. later in the day i went up through that area and i found 2 deer kills just below the knoll, and most of the bear turds are full of hair on this hill. the one i shot was a berry eater i would say, but the one today seems to me to be a meat eater . My question is , do you guys think the deer hunter type bears are more agressive ? Im just wondering if any of you have come across this before. reviewing the day, i should have popped him,as i have 1 bear tag left, cause im not sure i want to come across that one in the thickets, and we share the same hunting territory. i recorded via iphone but its pretty cheasy, and its at the crack of dawn . my gun was over my shoulder, as my iphone was what was in my hand, now in front of the computer im thinking what the hell was i doing.

[walks with deer]

Most bears are freindly and want to eat berries and grass,
however last week my dad and I encountered the devil bear he ran at my dads buddy at 6yards lucky for me and a couple 12 gauge slugs.
Or i honestly beleive we would be at a funeral right know my dad always tought me always keep a tag for bear its cheap and if theres a problem you have no issues.
ps it was a male black bear around 350lbs

[Buckzilla]

My group Just got back from a sucsessful Moose Leh North of PG with 2 bulls and a cow. A few days in, I was bluff charged by an extremely large grizz from 40' out, raging top speed thru the swamp alder at me, braking 2-3" diameter branches with his head and body as if they weren't there. I was standing on a downed tree at the root ball taking a compass bearing when out of nowhere this thing is coming at me at speed, gets to about 20' away stops, turns and runs the other way as fast as it came in, grunting and snorting the whole time. I could hear him circle back around me for awhile as I was making my way back to the river. I'm really glad he stopped as I had hung my gun on the root ball as I was taking a new bearing, and would have been lucky to get a shot of from the hip at point blank at the rate he was coming. I had just got my gun to my hands as he stopped. That was my first look at what was coming in on me. Turns out there was a gut pile 1km away from that incident further into the swamp that I located the next day that had been mostly eaten.
I was making so much noise breaking thru tall swamp alder and willow, that I have to think he heard me coming?? I believe he was laying in ambush cause he liked the scent of my Cow in heat cologne I was sporting on my pack. Possibly when I didn't run like most things that he must charge, and I was 3-4' off the ground on the downed tree looking bigger he didn't like what he saw after all??? A first for me and a very intense experience. Sure glad he stopped. The 225m back to the river seemed like an eternity...

[Buckzilla]

I watched a show on grizz bears after I posted last night, saying the bluff charge is used to scare whatever away,not generally leading to attsck unless the victim of the bluff charge runs. Why would have it laid there silent till i was so close then? You would think if it wanted to scare whatever away it would make its presence known earlier than within 40'?

[.330 Dakota]

We are new to PG. My wife and two kids (3 and 1) and I were going to setup a hunt camp on Bowron FSR. After we read some of the posts
on here we decided against it. Too many bear and Griz encounters. Especially with two little ones to keep an eye on.
She would have been OK with camping at Purden Prov Park though. Apparantly not alot of mulies in that area anyways so we ended up
at a friends yard in Houston.
Your story will add more fuel to the fire. Good to know. I carry a bear tag just for that reason.

Houston??, Theres the odd bear in Houston to ya know..lol check the info booth, griz under glass

[.330 Dakota]

I watched a show on grizz bears after I posted last night, saying the bluff charge is used to scare whatever away,not generally leading to attsck unless the victim of the bluff charge runs. Why would have it laid there silent till i was so close then? You would think if it wanted to scare whatever away it would make its presence known earlier than within 40'?

The question is, If you had gotten a clear look at what was coming,(you probably had an idea) and your rifle was already in hand, would you have shot? Not judging at all, but I think 20 feet on a full charge is inside my comfort zone by say 20ft

[scallywag]

I was a bit more aggrrsive towards bears this year. Next spring I will be allup in their faces with the bow an video camera

[Buckzilla]

It wasn't that I was waiting to be in my comfort zone, i wasn't ready to shoot. Had he kept coming, I will never know if I would have had time to get a shot off. Yes I did get my rifle back in my hands, but I only got my safety off once he had turned. I told my partner that if It had continued on at its initial cgarge pace, I would have been lucky to get one off from point blank from the hip. It all happened soooooo quick, that by the time my brain REALLY processed the situation, it was over. Dropping my radio and GPS and lunging for my rifle was instinct I guess...

[.330 Dakota]

It wasn't that I was waiting to be in my comfort zone, i wasn't ready to shoot. Had he kept coming, I will never know if I would have had time to get a shot off. Yes I did get my rifle back in my hands, but I only got my safety off once he had turned. I told my partner that if It had continued on at its initial cgarge pace, I would have been lucky to get one off from point blank from the hip. It all happened soooooo quick, that by the time my brain REALLY processed the situation, it was over. Dropping my radio and GPS and lunging for my rifle was instinct I guess...

I am sure I speak for everyone when I say I am glad your'e okay..

[Buckzilla]

Had my gun been in hand from the get-go, I think the anchor shot would have been taken as i didn't think he was gonna stop. Glad it played out the way it did, as I have no desire to shoot a grizz, tag or not.

[Buckzilla]

Thanks.330! My wife and daughter got larger than normal hugs when I returned!

[Deer_Slayer]

not may hunters are taking bears anymore and they are becoming aggressive. They need to be shown who's boss,,and it aint them or they soon wanna kick ass with any human they encounter...just my 2 cents