Pssst! (Whispering) I don't live there any more, GA82. I have electricity and piped in water now. (Normal tone of voice) I don't know any other bear hunters. He said he preferred a .45 himself, but that a woman should probably get a .357. He always had his pistol, because often enough a bear that was supposedly out of action from a rifle shot would rear right up when he came close to examine it. He had a lot of tall tales and made our nightly sit-around-the-wood-stove-and-chew-the-fat ritual very enjoyable. Grizzlies might require a .45. As it was, I had to hold my wrist with my free hand whenever I shot it, just to keep it from kicking back at me. And if I'm being a little too serious for you boys....well...bag it (hihi)
We take our bear fighting very seriously. I mean really, what are you supposed to do when an 1800 pound kodiak is barreling down on you wanting to have you for lunch? You gotta take this stuff seriously! It may mean your life!
This reminds me of a great cartoon I saw once. It was called when legends meet, and featured a battle to the death between Paul Bunyan and Smokie the bear.
I just recently saw the new updated version of Smokie The bear on a commercial. Just as everything else in life, the older versions of everything are always better and the new ones suck. And Paul Bunyan vs. Smokie The Bear? Pfffft. No contest. Paul Bunyan, hands down.
Smokie got his nickname from when he was a Marine Sniper. He preferred the Barret .50. Note he still wears a Campaign Hat. (We need a half-head smilie.)
Is a campaign hat the same thing as a drill sergeant's/gunnery's hat? Cause that's what it looks like.
In the cartoon Ol' Smokie had disembowelled Blue and had taken off the top of Paul's head with the loss of one of his limbs. On a camping trip in Northern ontario one spring we saw a bear come out of the woods on the opposite side of a small lake we had just walked around. It slipped on some ice and slid into the water . It looked really pissed off when it got out. We laughed and laughed until we realised we had to walk back that way.
I once walked through a meadow and came upon a large bear dropping. It was still steaming. I left the immediate area in a hurry.
Exactly. There are different styles. They are considered archaic now, since they are the latest thing from 1898.
The general rule with bears is the same with wolves and rattle snakes. Let them know you are there and they stay out of your way. You don't want trouble and either do they. Generally when you come face to face with a black bear they run one way and you go the other. Grizzlies are more agressive and less predictable. Polar bears will actively hunt and kill humans. I've got friends who work in the lumber indusrtry in BC and they all work unarmed.
Generally true, but it's nice to have options. Not getting killed most of the time is also known as 'dead'.
There was an interesting study I read about wolves in Italy. The people who were most afraid of them lived in towns, the people who were least afraid of them were alpine shepherds who came in contact with them the most.
That's true of high explosives, too. Members of the group that is less afraid dies more often from that cause.