Black Bear???

[jcoberley]

Terry, maybe if you talk with the nice bear enough he might give you a nice BIG OL HUG! LOL I think I would avoid him and let him eat, fish or what ever he's doing that keeps him happy! LOL

[taxidermist]

IN the spring young bears being weaned from their mother are ran off. So they start to try to find a territory they can call their own.

Arkansas stock black bear (there are several colors of black bear from brown to almost blonde) back in the late 60s-earky 70's in or around 1985 (I dont remember the year) Arkansas opened the season on black bear again.

Currently there are an estimated 3000 bear in Arkansas.

We have a young male that is staying pretty close to the farm here, my son has seen him as have I during the day foraging for food.

When looking at the maps of Missouri and Arkansas you see that Boone County Arkansas has some fairly spare populated areas, look for thetown of Self, SE of Omaha, we have friends there and we have seen several bear on Bear Creek and Barron Fork (called BArn fork by the locals) Some of my reletives in the Omaha area have had several encoutners with bear.

So yep, its a pretty sure bet many travel to Missouri. They are very able swimmers.

Bear in the Delta regions of Arkansas recently opened I think it was three years ago due to high bear populations.

Our encounter here on the farm amounts to my horses seeing the bear and running after him, a client saw the bear out in front of the house, and tracks around the pond. I have run the bear off a couple times as we all KNOW "A FED BEAR is a DEAD BEAR." Its hard not to feed it scraps from mounting fish and game, but it is something one must refrain from.

I live southeast of Harrison 22 miles and there is few people between HWY 123 and HWy 7 South of Harrison.

Yes, its sure a bear they videoed, not a big deal around here unless it gets into trouble.

Just dont feed them scraps or other household garbage.

[RiverRunner]

I once saw a bear that had been hit by a car on HWY 7 just south of Harrison. I'd hate to see what the car looked like after the encounter. Every now and then someone over here spots a young male that has been run out of the hills and ends up on Crowley's Ridge eating from trash cans. There are also a few between the levees of the MS river.

[jdmidwest]

If hunting or floating remote areas in MO, there is always a handgun within reach. Usually nothing of bear caliber, but something for self defense from all manners of threats. Last float on the Castor, the parking lot was littered with cotton balls, somebody was cooking meth and did not have a headache. Streams are a popular place for the druggies to make their products and coming up on them could cause problems. I have used it a signaling device when idiots fire guns in the stream or fireworks. It just lets them know I am there which in heavy vegetation it is hard to tell. Stray and agressive dogs can be an issue to while wading streams. I take small game in season while fishing sometimes with a pistol. I have even used it to shoot thru limbs and retrieve a plug or 2. I don't carry in crowds, I don't have a CCW permit, so open carry intimidates some folks. I am discrete and don't draw attention.

I will carry in Alaska, just like the last time. The grizzlies aren't as skiddish as the blacks. Make a little noise and a black will leave most of the time if you ever see one at all. Grizzly is different, more aggressive and more plentiful in Alaska. I will take a .45 cal, not really enough for a bear, but I will count on 8 well placed shots center mass if needed. The high power rifle or shotgun slug would be better, but too heavy to carry while fishing.

[gonefishin]

I will carry in Alaska, just like the last time. The grizzlies aren't as skiddish as the blacks. Make a little noise and a black will leave most of the time if you ever see one at all. Grizzly is different, more aggressive and more plentiful in Alaska. I will take a .45 cal, not really enough for a bear, but I will count on 8 well placed shots center mass if needed. The high power rifle or shotgun slug would be better, but too heavy to carry while fishing.

.454 Casull

[jdmidwest]

.454 Casull, too heavy, takes too long to recover for second shot, too long to draw. .44 magnum revolver in 4" bbl would be best choice, but I don't own one. I will stick to the 1911 with 20 years of practice. Accuracy and followup shots are the best bet. Semi auto instead of a revolver for faster rate of fire. The only shooting will be self defense, close range. I won't be hunting for them.

[jcoberley]

I'll take my 22 it should work for anything around here!

[Terry Beeson]

WUSS... I carry my bare hands... Davy Crockett style...

Seriously, tho... the pepper spray is probably the best idea...

[gonefishin]

.454 Casull, too heavy, takes too long to recover for second shot, too long to draw. .44 magnum revolver in 4" bbl would be best choice, but I don't own one. I will stick to the 1911 with 20 years of practice. Accuracy and followup shots are the best bet. Semi auto instead of a revolver for faster rate of fire. The only shooting will be self defense, close range. I won't be hunting for them.

Yeah, well, I always did have a problem with being over-gunned.

WUSS... I carry my bare hands... Davy Crockett style...

Seriously, tho... the pepper spray is probably the best idea...

I see them people in the circus using buggy whips to tame Lions. I would think a person who uses a buggy whip to fish ought to have all the weapon needed to handle a lil ol black bear.

[jcoberley]

To tell the truth I have never carried a gun to go fishing! I never felt the need! But I would say Terry might be right on the pepper spray! Should work on bigfoot also!