bear !

[MOPanfisher]

Kind of agree that having a few bears around is sort of cool, doubt there will be a big enough population to be a big worry, and if they get that numerous there will be a season on them.  I am not in a big tract of wilderness, but plenty of room for a bear or something to come through, compost pile, apple/fruit orchard, fish remains area, deer gut piles in spring etc.  I certainly wouldn't be surprised to know there was a bear visiting occasionally.  I will happily leave my yard dog out to keep them run off, if it fails or gets eaten, well I never liked it anyway. 

[jdmidwest]

12 hours ago, Old plug said:

I tend to agree they cannot be any worse than armadillos and squirrels to property owners. IF I had one coming through that was tearing up things I might give him a dose of 410 ga target load. That is about the worst I would do. I do not think they are aggressive. Might even be able to run one off with my Yard Defender. That is a lawn sprinkler with a movement sensor eye. Does a real good job with keeping the deer away from my Hosta patch. Head rotates fast back and forth and makes a lot of noise doing so. 

Either shoot to kill or find something else to scare it with.  A 410 target load would just create a festering sore on it and maybe cripple it to the point that it would have to become a nuisance bear or an angry bear that would hurt someone or livestock.

Black Bears are pretty reclusive.  A shot in the air.  Nail him with a slingshot.  Throw rocks.  Just don't do anything to wound him, it would just make things worse.

[Old plug]

I do not think you understand what a target load is. A 410 target load Is a small load of powder and #9 shot that is very tiny. I been using it on deer butts for years. It would not penetrate a deer or Bears hide at 15 - 20 yards. Half the shot would not even penetrate through the fur. I have shot deer with that load and seen them down the road the next day and you never would know they got their hiney stung the evening before. I bet though if bear got picked up by the eye on my sprinklers it would about scare him half to death like it does deer. It has been my experience. That noise light etc will not stop a deer in and I bet bear either, but if something reaches out and touches them they will they will not come back for awhile. 

 

[jdmidwest]

I understand very well the load, it will probably penetrate more than you think. Unless it is loaded lighter than factory, it will break a clay pidgeon. You can find plastic and rubber loads designed for LE that will not penetrate. 

I killed a deer one time that someone peppered in the ham with small shot, 6 or 8. Ham was festered and whole deer was bad. Looked like a healthy doe when she walked up. 

[Old plug]

I said 9 not 6 or 8. I do not know the ga or the range it was fired from either. I know what works for me. Have never had to shoot at a bear. But I did if it would be done just as I said I would. 

[james]

Growing up in rural upstate NY and Canada i never feared bears, as soon as they realized what you were or heard you they were gone, it was the wolves that made me nervous, they would often follow me along portage trails in the deep woods, you would rarely see them, but you knew they were there, barking and howling as they followed, of coarse i was usually carrying a stringer of fish, near dark in the middle of nowhere, young and stupid i was.

[Old plug]

I am sure if I every Bear coming through the eye of my electronic eyed sprinkler would scare would give him a scare he wouod not forget. Like they do everything else. They catch out there a night or any other time

[Nimrod Nick]

Tigers and bears o my ??. I don't want to meet either one but there out there. Night fishing up the white I knew I could here a bear growling and something large crunching around in the woods. I think 99 out of 100 times either critter will avoid you, they think we stink.