Peppered Bear

[Turkeyrangler]

This morning I was out opening up the run to throw a little scratch, open the coop and let the birds out for the day. I heard a rustle in the leaves behind the coop about 20 feet away. I take a look and here is a large black bear looking back at me. They all look large at that distance, but I've hunted a number of them and this guy was at least 250-300 pounds, fat and sassy with a beautiful coat. The temps have been warm here for this time of year. Generally they are pretty much denned up or ready to den up for the year by this time. Bear don't faze me much since I've seen more than my share here. I yell "hey, get out of here" but he just looks at me and doesn't budge. I then reach down, grab a hunk of 2X4 and pitch that at him. It bounced off the coop just missing his head but he still doesn't move. This has me a little rattled since they usually leave when you yell at them. I walked back to the house backwards watching for him to move, but he doesn't. He just continues to stare at me much more intently than I would like. I keep a pump 12 gauge just inside the door so I grab it and a few bird shot shells and head back out. My wife asks what I was doing and I tell her there is a bear behind the coop and her reply was "smokem"...gotta love her..

I load the gun as I'm walking back and he is still there, but has moved about 10 feet back into the trees. I again yell at him, still nothing so I fire off a round just over his head and he still doesn't move. He is just sitting there so I aim at the ground just below his butt and fire again. I'm sure a few pellets caught him in the rear which put him into high gear. The last shot I'm sure caught some fur as well as he was hitting light speed heading for the swamp.

I had no intentions of killing him, just letting him know that there will be a lot of pain if he comes around here again. I kept the birds cooped for the day, but put them out in the run when I got home from work. The 7 1/2 shot I'm sure didn't do much considering how thick his pelt is and the huge layer of fat they have this time of year, but I bet he isn't sitting down very well right now. I'm also sure he will not be back any time soon. If he does, I will not be so kind the next time.

I checked the coop and he hadn't done any damage. I'm guessing I caught him checking it out and getting ready to break in.

 

[Ema]

You didn't really have to pepper him a warning shot would have sent him running. a 200 - 300 lb bear is last years cub so he is actually just starting out on his own if he was all alone meaning he will be scared of everything anyhow. LOL

We have a few that come around and even walk up and down our driveway to get to the back of the land. One is undoubtedly about 600 lbs easy. He is not afraid of my dogs and has never bothered us, We think he is old cause he just doesn't even give my chicken pen a second thought. the younger ones though are scared of our dogs and run as fast as they can as soon as my dogs come out tot he pen and begin barking at them.

Don't get me wrong we have had issues with bears breaking into the barn before it was finished and destroying everything, last fall a bear tore down the mudroom door and he was shot. a couple weeks later my neighbour had family over and they were staying in their camper with their child when a bear tried to break into the camper late evening. The child was still in diapers. That bear became several stews.

I live in Hearst Ontario, since you live in the lake superior area it won't be your last bear encounter, we are avid hunters, but we truly don't like to hunt bear, too grease!!

In any event I doubt he will be back and if he does it won't be till next fall when he thinks maybe he might have another go at it and this time it might be safe...lol...

wait till you have a wolf pack encounter!!!! lets just say I would have preferred the bear. My gun Jammed ( i know I know, no lectures please) good thing DH wasn't far behind with his 303 and on the plus side the neighbour made a nice winter hat

 

[Turkeyrangler]

Quote:
Hi Ema,

I've spent some time a bit to your west around Hornepayne and Longlac. If you read my post again I did say that I sent a warning shot over his head with little or no response so he got one in the backside. As far as age for here goes, last years cubs are only about 100-125 lb. It takes them a good 3-4 years old to reach the size that I saw behind my coop. We have plenty of wolves here as well. Been shadowed a few times while out deer hunting, but have never felt threatened by them. They were curious though. What kind of curious I don't know.

 

[Ema]

Quote:
Hi Ema,

I've spent some time a bit to your west around Hornepayne and Longlac. If you read my post again I did say that I sent a warning shot over his head with little or no response so he got one in the backside. As far as age for here goes, last years cubs are only about 100-125 lb. It takes them a good 3-4 years old to reach the size that I saw behind my coop. We have plenty of wolves here as well. Been shadowed a few times while out deer hunting, but have never felt threatened by them. They were curious though. What kind of curious I don't know.

sorry I must of missed that part when I was telling my daughter to stop flicking pudding at her brother LMAO

I know what kind of curious!!!! you looked yummy to them ahahaha.

I wouldn't have been so intimidated by the wolves if it hadn't been that I recognized what they were doing. I had just gone over a fallen tree that was pretty big and I turned around cause I heard a noise and thought it was DH it was a nice big beautiful wolf just looking right at me!!! we already had snow, my initial reaction was not to show fear but then I caught movement in my peripherals and realized they were in hunting mode, I had a few to either side of me and I knew sooner or later I would have one right behind me. Of course you know how they work, u turn around the one in front comes at ya, u don't turn around the one behind ya attacks first. It was the wolf behind me the DH shot and the rest scattered.

I recognized this behaviour because it happened to me while on vacation in Cape Bretton Island. I with my g/f at her Ikeda farm and we had decided to go on a night walk with 2 of her largest akitas and soon found ourselves surrounded and she educated me on what they were doing...the Akita's????they ran for the hills so fast it wasn't even funny, I remember telling her, nice dogs you got!!!! but what I didn't know was that they went to get someone's attention back at the house. We ran on instinct and my g/f was tackled but before it could really do anything it was shot. We spent the whole summer there and we never again went for a late walk. that was my first encounter and only one until I moved here. I was also a first year hunter....Imagine my fear!!!

Hearst is nice, but I so wish I live closer to lake superior, I just love thunder bay, my favorite place is Sleeping giant, I go every summer!!

 

[mishellez]

IMHO the bears here (Northwest NJ) are more aggressive and less fearful than I've ever seen. Lived here since 2002 and have had PLENTY of experience...call me crazy but I love to see them tromping through my yard, which is fairly regularly. Whether or not they notice me I talk to them to let them know I'm there, telling them to keep moving and usually they put a little hustle in their step. This year me and DH have been faced down, approached, ignored, turned back on, etc. And the bears are taking notice of my chix, which they used to ignore, even when free-ranging. I'm not afraid of bears but I respect them, and until this year they'd never given me reason to be afraid of them. Sounds like it's the same in your neck of the woods.

 

[Turkeyrangler]

I've only had one other bear that stood his ground when I yelled and he was a huge boar that had little fear of anything except my dogs. I put the dogs on him and he treed pretty quick. I then took the dogs, left him up in the tree and went home. They get hunted here pretty heavily so they usually give people a wide berth here. This guy just seemed really focused on the great smelling coop. I'll be toting a weapon to the coop for a little while I think.

 

[Ema]

Quote:

that is a wise idea!!

 

[vicki2x2]

Not to hijack the thread, but how interesting, as big as Canada is, to find someone from an area where my Dad's cabin is! My Dad and his brothers own a cabin in Oba, Ontario. They go through Hornepayne and now Hearst to get to it. Small world!

 

[Ema]

Quote:

northern ontario rocks...lol...it is a small world!!

 

[chkn]

It seems to me that this bear is very aggressive and wouldn't have a problem grabbing one of your family. I don't like the sound of him or her at all.