Well, here's where I sound off on a real pet peeve abut bears. I HATE it every time I read that a person is supposed to curl up and play dead when a hunting bear catches up with them. Yeah, sure--maybe a bear will occasionally take a close-up sniff of somebody and decide they're not edible. We aren't always as fresh as an Irish Spring. But bears eat carrion. And they equate already-dead with ready-to-eat. So, sometimes you just gotta ask yourself: do you feel lucky? Bears usually attack one of two ways--a flat-out charge, or a dogged stalk. With a charge, you may have 1.5 seconds to work a miracle. But if you don't have bear spray in hand, a ready firearm, and/or a couple of gutsy dogs with you, you're probably fast-food. Some charges are threat displays: the bear may charge a few few feet, posture up to show you how big he is, and then back off and amble away. (Lucky you.) Some threat displays convert to attacks if the person looks weak, cowers, or tries to run. Until the damn bear actually eats you, the best thing you can do is try to bluff him down. Posture up yourself: Stand as tall as possible, spread your arms wide, roar or scream at the bear, and take a step or two towards him. It's my opinion that bears tend to think that anyone that is as tall as a six-foot bear is also as strong as a six-foot bear. So for anything but a fight over food, females, or cub protection, most bears will pass on a fight to the death. Bears do not have much experience with arm-wrestling humans. If the bear backs off, then you can back off too. Slowly, while facing the bear. NEVER turn your back on a bear that is still in attack range. A dogged stalk is a much worse situation. A bear may pick up the scent of food in your pack, or menstrual blood, or that can of apple juice you drank an hour ago. Or maybe he'll just decide you look easy, and he'll start following, closing the distance slowly so as not to scare you off. Make no mistake: when he gets close enough, he'll kill you if he can. I read a story years ago about a couple in the Alaskan bush that were being slow-stalked by a bear. The woman was menstruating, and the bear had apparently homed in on the blood spoor. After not being able to lose it over a couple of miles of dodging and course-changing, it got very close. That's when the man--a real gutless slimeball--told his girlfriend to lie down and play dead while he ran for help. She did. He did. Six hours later when he finally got back with some real men, she was dead. The bear ate her, starting with her head. What a stupid waste of a human life. So--I decided what I would do in the event of a slow-stalk attack. And what I would do is very Politically Incorrect. I'd set the damn forest on fire. Bears don't like forest fires. (If you don't believe me, just ask the one with the hat and the shovel.) Forest rangers don't like forest fires, either. Tough noogies. I don't like getting eaten by a bear. If I have to burn down a few thousand acres of virgin forest, I'm good with that. And I'm even gooder with it if I have people with me that I am supposed to protect. People are worth more than trees. ONE people is worth more than all the trees a five-man crew can burn to the ground in a forty-hour work week. (Oh--I have been so reviled by the more fanatic Lovers of Nature for espousing this tactic!) My answer to them is "Come on along with me, then, and when a bear shows up I won't burn the forest down if you let him eat you." Never had any takers on that one. OK, sure: Make it as small a forest fire as you can. Maybe you'll find a nice isolated clump of brush and just a couple of trees. But err on the side of caution: make damn sure the fire (or fires) you set are big enough to cook the bear. Preferably without cooking you or anyone else. On a good day, the bear will beat feet as soon as your scent is joined by a strong smell of smoke. Then you can put out your little baby forest fire. Or try to, anyway. And if you can't put it out, no biggie. Eventually it'll either burn out on it's own, or get put out by some very irate people. Who will probably want to speak with you...
I remember deer hunting with my buddies in PA back in the 80s when some Pittsburgher managed to get a nice ten point buck we'd all be lusting for. Thing is, he never gutted or dressed his kill...which turned out not to be dead at all after he had loaded him into the back of his Suburban and started driving away. The driver bailed as a ticked off Bambo redecorated his interior. We didn't offer to help.
Holy crap that was funny! I now have dry my phone. I was just reading some of his posts...funny stuff!
I'm pretty sure the OP has been having a lot of fun pulling our collective legs The 38 and knife would have been absurd to me even prior to pubescence, and I'm not all that swift to begin with The OP switched from street slang to pretty standard college level writing in the same post Nonetheless, this has been a pretty good "guns and bears" thread, though I still prefer the "guns and girls" thread...
Yes, It is... Part of the GCA of '68 Which mandated that ALL FireArms manufactured, AFTER the Implementation Date, have an Exclusive Serial Number, Stamped into the Receiver, or Frame. Before that date, it was NOT REQUIRED, but Many OEMs already did that.....
The guy that starts a forest fire deliberately, I would put out with a shovel. then I'd put out the forest fire.. If the forest is my home, for the time being, I have a right to defend it. If a bear is on the hunt ,starting a fire might detour him, but it might also kill a number of other people as well. If one is not properly prepared to go to the woods "DON'T GO". If your unwilling to face the consequences of your actions "don't do them." When I go into bear territory, my defensive weapon is capable of handling the problem, even if I'm only hunting rabbits with a . 22, My.44 mag is in my shoulder holster My hunting knife on my hip. I've stood up to bear and mountain lion ,often with in only a few feet , and they've turned tail and run , but you can't count on that. How you present your self is every thing, "even if your scared inside ,letting it show, is signing your own death warrant." The warrior mentality must take place ,kill or be killed . I learned to deal with this issue as a teen when a little girl 8 years old or so walking home from school got driven in a snow field by several (8) or so ( when they are running in a circle around you it's hard to get a head count) farrel dogs circling less than a few feet from her, barking and snapping at her . I ran to get between her and the dogs, but the only thing I had to throw at them was snow balls but I found that yelling and acting a bit crazed like I was aimed at killing them, eventually changed their pursuit and left . The whole event only lasted 15 minuets or so, but it taught me a valuable lesson in dealing with aggressive animals .and it has served me well through out my life time.
