runin with a bear last night gun saved my butt.

Well to start off my old man is in the hospital and he gave me instrustion to take care of the place. so when i went to take my dog out i grabbed my uncles 38 special hes in afganistan and left the gun with me. I loaded up 5 out of 6 chambers. I got the dog out and she started growling and ran off towards our lower field and i ran after her when i got down there i got the surpise of my life a big ol black bear probly 250-300 lbs i figured it would run when it saw me and the dog but no it ran towards me and why i dont know i think it was after my dog not me. But it came within 15 yrds and stopped and just looked at me. I was almost pissing myself so i pulled out that 38 and let 2 fly right beside the bear in hopes hed run and if he dident i i would have aimed at him with the remaining three. well he ran and my dog ran o thother way back towards the house. well after i cam back up i was bobmarded with question as to why i was shooting and when i explained everyone was happy i was alright.

Just thought youd like to hear of one of the finer things of my life the time a gun saved my but

Glad you're still here and glad your dog is fine too. Guns save lives. Stay safe up there in PA.

Wow, way to keep your cool and respond correctly under pressure! Glad you're OK.

There are those times when Smith & Wesson are the best friends you will ever have. Good job.

Amen to that wescap it sucks i cant carry that gun off our property since im 16 i cant carry a handgun but when im on my property its with me quite a bit and after last night it will be with me way more.

I thought this story would end with a picture of bear roast with dear trimmings.

no luckyly it did not, altho i enjoy hunting bear and deer i like hunting bear with a crew of guys with deer/bear rifles, not me and my dog with a 38 speical 6 shooter.

I ate bear around 20 years ago. I cannot remember exactly what it tasted like, just that I ate a lot of it.

When I back packed in the rockies in '94 the only time I got nervous around the black bears was when I saw some cubs. We got the hell out of dodge.

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Originally Posted by Deerhunter1995

no luckyly it did not, alt
ho i enjoy hunting bear and deer i like hunting bear with a crew of guys with deer/bear rifles, not me and my dog with a 38 speical 6 shooter.

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So let me see if I got this right. You run into a bear and he wants to come up to you real friendly like and probably wants to just lick your face and say hi and you assault him with your weapon?:rofl2:

That bear probably just wanted to play. They love a good tussle now and then. Poor thing is probably crying in the woods wondering why you didn't want to play with him. You've probably given him a complex and really damaged his self esteem. I hope you're happy, you big Bully!

It really shows that you thought to scare him off with a warning shot or two before putting a couple of pieces of lead in him. Great job, maybe you should stay off the "Mama Bears Acorns and Oak Leaves" when walking around the property

dang that is crazy! we usually don't have to worry about bears down here in Houston :) but good thing you were carrying a handgun on you

Good job keepint your Sh!t together

When I'm in the wilderness I always pack my .45 or a .357mag, Its better to have it and not need it especially out here in Mountain Lion country.

tru and its for reasons like that i do have that gun on me when im leagly able to, Im glad the warning shots scared him off too i wold have hated to kill it and then explain to the game commission the whole deal and cause more drama than it was worth. Like someone said im sure he just wanted to play and now hes sad i scared him like that.

Glad you and your dog are ok, but to be brutally honest with you, you could have accomplished the same thing by shouting, making any other loud noise or throwing a rock in his direction. That bear was obviously more curious than a threat. Unfortunately, too many people would would have just let fly at the bear rather than scaring him off as you did, and say they were "attacked" and the gun was the only thing that saved their life. Sad but true.

He probably went home and ratted you out to his dad Mr Big Grizzly. I hope you can run real fast. Don't try shooting him with that popgun you'll just make him mad.

Bears gotta eat too !!

no i dout the bear wanted to hurt me i think it was running towards the dog and was just curious about me, thats why i dident shoot him i just wanted him to be a bit farther from me than he was. ive seen a few bear since ive lived up here and most of the time they look at u for a few min and then go away i just got a bit startled by how close he came to me so i shot to scare not kill. ive been told if you surprise one and are unarmed the best thig to do is make nosie and dont run just slowly walk backwards while making nosie. and to be honest i know why he was where he was take food scrapes and throw them n that general area at times. mostly things lke used cooking oil and vegtable scraps. so he was just coming to investigate and then my dog scared it or made it feel threatened.

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Originally Posted by Deerhunter1995

tru and its for reasons like that i do have that gun on me when im leagly able to, Im glad the warning shots scared him off too i wold have hated to kill it and then explain to the game commission the whole deal and cause more drama than it was worth. Like someone said im sure he just wanted to play and now hes sad i scared him like that.

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Shooting it 3 times and not killing it would have been worse. A .38 isn't much gun against a bear. It might die, but not until it has worked you over pretty good.

no when we hunt them i use my 30-06 with 180 gr bullets so a 38 is not the best choice but i dident figure on running into a bear. the gun is my uncles ccw adn when we was deployed to afganistan he gave it to me for safe keeping, he told me to shoot and and do what i want with it. mostly coon is what i inteded on running into my dog likes to try to play with them and they dont play nice.

That's what I am saying. If you had decided to shoot it instead of scaring it, things might not have turned out so well. Probably the best call.

I would have felt a lot safer with a 10mm.

still better than a 9mm lol glad i used my head (thats a change) and just scared him off. id rather kill him clenaly with my rifle in bear season than a messy volly of lead in his body and him just decided to rip me apart because i ticked him off.

Deerhunter, i think you were totally wrong to leave the house with a gun. I mean, look at what happened. You fired a couple of shots and scared the bear off.

Boring.

Think if you didn't have the gun. The story would have been WAY more interesting. You're grand kids would know the story. People would be talking about you all over town. Think of the reaction from the girls! You would have been in the newspapers for wrasslin' a BAR! But no, all you did was scare off a bear. Pfft, you aitn't gonna' get laid for that.

Kids these days...

Glad to hear you're well. I live in EastCentral, NY, not far from the border of MA. You know the place, where the hippies live and they don't allow any bear hunting. Well, those buggers come our way and sometimes cause a little trouble. My GSP treed one about a year or so ago and boy was he surprised. Fred (my GSP [German Shorthair Pointer] took off after the little sucker, chased him up a tree and while he was going up the tree, he fell down on him and almost killed poor Fred. So Fred, taken some offense, chased him for about a half hour before finally returning home. I wish I could've seen the run, it must've been quite a sight.

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Originally Posted by stonehenge

Glad you and your dog are ok, but to be brutally honest with you, you could have accomplished the same thing by shouting, making any other loud noise or throwing a rock in his direction. That bear was obviously more curious than a threat. Unfortunately, too many people would would have just let fly at the bear rather than scaring him off as you did, and say they were "attacked" and the gun was the only thing that saved their life. Sad but true.

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Let me know how that shouting thing works for ya when your that close to a bear.

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Originally Posted by joesixpack

Deerhunter, i think you were totally wrong to leave the house with a gun. I mean, look at what happened. You fired a couple of shots and scared the bear off.

Boring.

Think if you didn't have the gun. The story would have been WAY more interesting. You're grand kids would know the story. People would be talking about you all over town. Think of the reaction from the girls! You would have been in the newspapers for wrasslin' a BAR! But no, all you did was scare off a bear. Pfft, you aitn't gonna' get laid for that.

Kids these days...

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Nope might not be gettign laid off the story but at least ive got a spot i can take a girl to and then come up with some phoney story about how i saved my little brother from a bear with cubs and how i climed a tree with him on my back a dn use that story to get some lol

Poor l'il Yogi, prob'ly still hiding out in the brush from the crazy person with the bangstick...:p

You did real good man, congrats!

Dang, I was hoping to see a bear clock opening this thread! ;)

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Originally Posted by Deerhunter1995

Nope might not be gettign laid off the story but at least ive got a spot i can take a girl to and then come up with some phoney story about how i saved my little brother from a bear with cubs and how i climed a tree with him on my back a dn use that story to get some lol

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Hell Deerhunter, if you're gonna lie, then lie big. Tell her you wrassled that bear, not that you ran up a tree with your brother on your back.

Glad it worked out for you and the dog.

As for a 38 against a bear? I think that's pretty iffy. Better than throwing rocks though.

I used to wag a 12ga double with 00 buck in it when we rode the high the country looking for lost calvies. I figured if the professional white hunters in Africa depended on that set up to stop a charging lion reliably, it ought to work on a black bear. I usually had a Colt 38-40 SAA on my hip too.

I never had to try either of 'em out on a bear. :)

Probably a good thing as most of the mutts I rode in those days weren't used to gunfire. They weren't used to bears either. LOL We saw several ,but they kept their distance and we did too.

Couple years ago down here in Tennessee, a lady saved her 3 year old daughter from a black bear (yeah, I know how friendly they are supposed to be- but it was chewing on the little girls arm) with one shot from a .38

A .38 ain't no laughing matter... and neither is a pissed off mama.

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Originally Posted by nessmuck

Let me know how that shouting thing works for ya when your that close to a bear.

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Actually, I have been within 20 yards of 6 different wild black bears. Didn't even have to shout, as the bears weren't interested in attacking me. And 4 of them were all larger than the one the OP dealt with. I will admit that I had to check my underwear for stains after 2 of the encounters. These bears were both over 450 pounds and I can't say I can remember ever being so in awe and intimidated by the sight of a wild animal. Firearms were not allowed to be carried in both those encounters and I wish I'd had one because if they had wanted to do some damage, I would have been toast. I sympathize with the OP, as there is nothing more intimidating in the wild than coming that close to a large bear of any kind. But I've learned to respect them as well, and I personally will never kill one unless I absolutely have to.

i have respect for the bears but i also have enough commen knowlage to know that if they fel there in danger there gonna fight back hard.

When I saw them backpacking it seemed to work....

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Originally Posted by nessmuck

Let me know how that shouting thing works for ya when your that close to a bear.

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Most people assume Black Bears are pretty harmless as far as staying clear of people goes but I think research has shown Black Bears can be very unpredictable and aggressive and can be more dangerous than a grizzly which is more retiring. Of course grizzly's are more dangerous if they get a hold of you but really if a 300 pound Black gets you as opposed to a 500 pound Grizzly well dead is dead. The black might have to hit you 2x to knock your head off while the grizzly just needs a single small one.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

... Of course grizzly's are more dangerous if they get a hold of you but really if a 300 pound Black gets you as opposed to a 500 pound Grizzly well dead is dead. The black might have to hit you 2x to knock your head off while the grizzly just needs a single small one.

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I personally don't see as either bear would be that dangerous. I mean, have you actually ever seen a bear claw? Go to your local bakery and take a look at one. They generally have them in the case next to the cinnamon buns. Now tell me how a bear is gonna' hurt me with one of those? Hell, from where I stand, that bear better watch out for me! Bear claws ate tasty! If'n I get my hands on a bear, he's gonna have to get prosthetics after I'm done with him.

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Originally Posted by joesixpack

I personally don't see as either bear would be that dangerous. I mean, have you actually ever seen a bear claw? Go to your local bakery and take a look at one. They generally have them in the case next to the cinnamon buns. Now tell me how a bear is gonna' hurt me with one of those? Hell, from where I stand, that bear better watch out for me! Bear claws ate tasty! If'n I get my hands on a bear, he's gonna have to get prosthetics after I'm done with him.

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If I hit you with one a few days old your dead.

In case you're REALLY wondering about bear country and bears, this sign explains it all for you.
http://i658.photobucket.com/albums/u...1/BEARSIGN.jpg

thats priceless wullie i love it.

Where I live In NY, we have quite a bit of encounters. When I first moved here fifteen years ago there were more I think. One time - while living in Albany - we had blackie come into the city. He was shot dead by the man. That bear was actually a "known" bear. He had been a nuisance bear that was originally tagged down in PA. He wa reported along the way over time as he came up the Hudson River. He even at one time, had crossed the river somewhere before entering the city at the eastern border of Rensselaer County. I would love to have seen him swimming across that river! If I recall, he was a real brute of a buggger. The second one that came into the city came into it before I left and moved to Renssealer County. That one was in my neighborhood so I was able to take ride by and check him out. The reason being is that he was treed and the prior one in the city, well, the tree-huggers raised quite a bit of stink with the kill, so instead, the powers that being opted to dart the second one. All-in-all, we get a lot of bears where I live now. Only when you run a couple of hounds as I do, they tend to avoid you. However, one time I was shaving and peeked out my bathroom window, and lo and behold, there was my cat Clyde sitting on the back deck and I must've spooked the coyote because he was close to snatching 'ol Clyde off the deck when he turned an booked it out of there. Clyde never even saw him, that lazy, loafing, disgrace to the mousing world that he is!