Animal Attacks

A

Africa Huntress

Handloader
Feb 14, 2012
461
2
someone sent me a video of a black bear attacking a bow hunter in Canada. first and foremost I was glad to know that he was o.k. and after knowing that he was o.k. I must admit I had to laugh and I will tell you why and then ask a question.

All he did as the animal started his charge was yell at the bear. For me, that is crazy. I dont hesitate for one second when an animal starts charging toward me. I dont yell at him, and if I had done so in the past I would not be typing this.

Are you fellows not allowed legally to simply kill him and then call the warden or ranger or whoever ? Secondly, we actually practice quick reaction shooting, set up in different practice sequences, do you fellows who live in bear country do the same ?

Best Regards

Jamila
 
Jamila, if it is the same video that I saw the person was hunting with a bow :wink: so I am not sure he could have or is good enough to hit a charging bear.
If he was hunting right around now it is bear hunting season so he may have been actually hunting bear when this happened.
Here in Canada we are not allowed to carry a sidearm even while hunting dangerous game :shock:.
The video I saw that guy was not hurt but I am sure that he had to change some of his clothing afterwards :lol:.

Blessings,
Dan
 
Though it maybe illegal to kill a grizzly bear in most states in the west you can best believe I will not yell at him first before shooting him if he charges and Rol and I are in immediate danger.
As far as special training goes the military provided that for me plus jump shooting game over the years is great practice but not a charging animal that will eat you.
 
I have been charged twice by grizzlies and once by a young black bear. The young black bear was dissuaded when I stood my ground and yelled. Yes, I yelled, "Hey Bear!" fully intending to pull the trigger on my 7 RM if he did not stop. He stopped and turned and ran. I count that as "teenage bravado" on the part of the bear. A hunting partner and I were pushed about a hundred yards down a mountainside by a determined young grizzly boar that had been disturbed while he was digging for roots. A shot over his head and another at his feet moved him back about forty or fifty yards, giving us enough time to move out of the area and leave him to his own interests. I know that I was prepared to shoot him, though I realized that it could entail a major expense if the conservation officer couldn't determine that the shooting was justified. The other grizzly charge gave every appearance of being determined against myself and a hunting partner after we had walked up on him as he was on a gut pile during moose season. He covered a hundred an twenty yards or so amazingly fast, stopping about ten yards from us and engaging in threat display of popping his teeth, huffing and stamping his front feet. We chose not to pull the trigger, though either of us was well equipped to kill him. We chose to believe this was a bluff charge (which it turned out to be) and did not have to shoot the bear. If the same thing happened today, I might be inclined to pull the trigger, but I didn't that day. That particular bear was known to several hunters as somewhat ill tempered, having put several of them on a brush pile. He was taken during a legal hunt by a friend the following spring. He squared about eight feet and five inches, which is reasonably respectable for a mountain grizzly.

Other than that, the only wild animals that have attacked me were an enraged ruffed grouse and a mouse. Each of them did give me a start, but I felt I was overgunned in either instance and chose to yell (okay, scream, if you must be precise), which didn't really turn them from their single-minded pursuit. I can say with sincerity that I'm glad no one was nearby to verify the accuracy of the report, though I'm being somewhat accurate in relating it now.
 
great stories Dr Mike

I was ask to respond and will do so in as minimal way as possible

Dan is correct, except there are exceptions and I am able to carry a side arm and do.

Jamila, the only animal I encounter that "might" compare to your Lion or Buffalo is the Polar. The Polar may actually view you as a meal, not necessarily as a threat. Various things are used, pepper spray ( but the tricky Arctic wind can be a killer on this one ) Flares, Horn;s, Paint Balls, but if they are serious they will not stop and you will need to put them down. The Grolar is another unfriendly bear. I have never had to put down a black bear and only one Grizzly. Usually they act exactly in the manner Dr mike described. A moose protecting her calves can and will charge you but so far I have been able to simply out run them or at least run far enough that she didn't want to get any further from her calves. This is also one of the reasons I prefer the lever action rifle. I also us a dog and find that if nothing else it confuses the animal and it does not know who to charge and therefore decides to leave the area. They also, if properly trained are excellent at eliminating the possibility of accidentally walking up on a bear and surprising it. I did not see the video, but in all fairness some folks hunt once or twice a year and maybe have a bear encounter once in their lifetime, if that, unless of course they are hunting bear.

Ralph, if that is your name, if you and your friends dont like my post please advise Dr Mike, Gil, Rodger, Earle, Charles, Allen, Hodgeman, or Scotty, I am sure one of them, or all of them will have an answer for you
 
I saw this video- it looked like he dropped his arrow from the arrow shelf as the bear started his charge.

In my area- I'd have been shooting with something. It seems that even if you can't carry a handgun while bowhunting then bear spray would be an obvious choice. Here a common setup is a two person tree stand- one guy with a bow and one guy with a shotgun to keep a bear off the guy with the bow.
 
You are correct, Cheyenne, in noting the danger from moose. I would add in elk as a danger. When with calves, either moose or elk can be much more worrisome than bears. Bears are more a nuisance.

I was with three boys hunting bear yesterday. When a smallish bear ran, I sent the elder of the three boys to see if he could tag it. As he was moving through the bush, the other two lads yelled simultaneously that they saw cubs. Three cubs were scurrying up a tree. I called out to the older boy to break off the hunt as he was on a sow with cubs. When the boys asked if she would attack, I took the opportunity to do some instructing. She was a black bear who chose to stand at the base of the tree to protect her cubs. I commented that I had witnessed some determined rushes in such situations, but more common was witnessing the sow move back reluctantly with an almost pleading look in her eyes. Nevertheless, I counselled that it was best to leave her alone as she was nowhere near human habitation and not showing any particular signs of aggression. I viewed this sow as wary (and perhaps worried) but not dangerous.

The boys had asked me to go with them as there were problem bears near their home. These were native boys whose father had deserted the home a few years back. We did find why they were seeing bears in vicinity of their house. A neighbor had dumped fish and goose carcasses in the bush near their home. Another neighbor had dumped grain in another area near the house. This accounted for ready foodstuffs that would serve as attractants for the bruins. Then, there was a moose carcass from a road crash a few kilometers from their house. Most of these were cleaned up by the time I was able to go with them, so I suggested that they shouldn't have trouble if they kept the groups reasonably clean. I did give some instruction on how to respond to the presence of bears (what rifle to carry, ammunition selection, etc.). I think they will be fine now.
 
Africa Huntress":1ivejyhu said:
someone sent me a video of a black bear attacking a bow hunter in Canada. first and foremost I was glad to know that he was o.k. and after knowing that he was o.k. I must admit I had to laugh and I will tell you why and then ask a question.

All he did as the animal started his charge was yell at the bear. For me, that is crazy. I dont hesitate for one second when an animal starts charging toward me. I dont yell at him, and if I had done so in the past I would not be typing this.

Are you fellows not allowed legally to simply kill him and then call the warden or ranger or whoever ? Secondly, we actually practice quick reaction shooting, set up in different practice sequences, do you fellows who live in bear country do the same ?

Best Regards

Jamila
Click to expand...

I haven't seen the video in question so can't comment on that.

If it comes down to where my companions or myself or the bear need to die then I choose the bear even though some people would rather the bear win and hurt a hunter. I have had a few interesting encounters with grizzlies where they bluff charged but we held our ground and they backed down. The one time we had a sow grizzly with cubs around our tents on a goat/grizzly hunt at midnight, she was huffing and bluff charging us but stayed just out of the range of our headlamps where she would have been gunned down. Thankfully she never came all the way and she lived to see another day, it was very unnerving to have her doing that for an hour or so non stop. Another time we were stalked by a grizzly while packing out some goat meat, seeing it come in from a long way off and knowing she was sizing us up wasn't fun but at around 70 yards we had a standoff and she decided to back down since we were yelling at her and throwing rocks. There were three of us, I'm convinced a solo hunter would have had to shoot her.

Oh and DrMike the only animals who have tried to follow through and take a chunk out of me were a beaver when I was a kid and a marten about 10 years ago :lol:
 
Yeah, those beavers can be disconcerting, Gerry. :shock: Never had a marten threaten me, though I did have a mink pop up beside me while I was fishing one afternoon. I saw that as more a matter of his being inquisitive than threatening (fortunately, as I was unarmed, except for four-pound test). :mrgreen:
 
When I thought about those big teeth sinking into my leg from that big beaver it made me run pretty quick, at that point I wasn't much bigger than he was. Later as an adult I found out about another guy in this area had trouble with one wanting to "hang a lickin" on him too so I didn't feel to bad :lol:

The marten wouldn't stop trying to jump on me for about 10 minutes while I was in a tree stand hunting for moose. I kept trying to hit him with the barrel of my gun, eventually I had enough and when his nose touched the end on my barrel I let him have a 35 cal 225 gr Trophy Bonded, where upon he disappeared and all I could smell was burnt fur ;)

Would love to hear about the grouse attack, I have heard of others with similar stories..........
 
The closest I came to being attacked by a beaver was while fishing for steelhead on the Coquitlam River. A beaver kept swimming back and forth, slapping the water and diving. With every slap of the tail, the beast came a little closer. I couldn't understand what was going on until I heard a sort of "thwip!" I was standing in the water between a mama and her kit. The little tyke tried to slap the water, but it could make as much noise as mama made. I waded back toward the shore, and the little critter swam past me to rejoin mama. It swam so close I could have reached out and touched it; the little head stayed focused on me the whole time it was swimming past. Great memory.

The grouse came charging out of some dried grass. It was trying to look as large as possible. Since I was in grizzly country, the immediate noise in the grass only a couple of feet from where I was secreted was unnerving, to say the least. The foul fowl burst from the grass, wing tips dragging, head low and tail spread wide. After I was able to calm my dancing feet, I turned to face my attacker. At that, the bird immediately began to drag a wing as though it was broken, running a few feet before stopping to see if I was pursuing. At last, I had the presence of mind to realise that there must be young about. Sure enough, looking into the grass, there were about four or five small ruffies quietly shuffling off. If I had had nitroglycerin tablets with me, I would have needed one after the initial attack. It was startling, to say the least.
 
I had a run in with a wolverine on a sheep hunt... I was far more worried than when I was charged by a grizzly.

He (or I) got lucky he decided to lope the other way or he was going to catch one off the muzzle.

Griz was exhilarating, wolverine was terrifying...wolf gave me a sense of indignation and he's the one that got shot!

Cheyenne's right...give those moose a wide berth!
 
DrMike":r9j1zhp2 said:
The closest I came to being attacked by a beaver was while fishing for steelhead on the Coquitlam River. A beaver kept swimming back and forth, slapping the water and diving. With every slap of the tail, the beast came a little closer. I couldn't understand what was going on until I heard a sort of "thwip!" I was standing in the water between a mama and her kit. The little tyke tried to slap the water, but it could make as much noise as mama made. I waded back toward the shore, and the little critter swam past me to rejoin mama. It swam so close I could have reached out and touched it; the little head stayed focused on me the whole time it was swimming past. Great memory.

The grouse came charging out of some dried grass. It was trying to look as large as possible. Since I was in grizzly country, the immediate noise in the grass only a couple of feet from where I was secreted was unnerving, to say the least. The foul fowl burst from the grass, wing tips dragging, head low and tail spread wide. After I was able to calm my dancing feet, I turned to face my attacker. At that, the bird immediately began to drag a wing as though it was broken, running a few feet before stopping to see if I was pursuing. At last, I had the presence of mind to realise that there must be young about. Sure enough, looking into the grass, there were about four or five small ruffies quietly shuffling off. If I had had nitroglycerin tablets with me, I would have needed one after the initial attack. It was startling, to say the least.
Click to expand...


You know Dr. Mike,

I think all of us have been intimidated by a scary beaver once or twice........................... :lol:

Now, the grouse story is almost laughable except that I have surely lost years off my life from a coveys of quail blasting off from under my feet.
 
Animals with young can be intimidating and one of the worst I have encountered is a Holstein Cow which will stomp the heck out of you.
I have had one Black Bear encounter that ended up with a dead Bear while hunting deer. Unknown to me the Bear was on a watch list for being a rogue and had been relocated ( 1980's) to a remote Mountain area from the suburbs. The encounter lead me to buying a new gun of larger caliber ( 30-06 ), this bear wouldn't back down and I guess it was still mad from it's unwanted relocation.
Another interaction with wild life was with a Screech Owl while fishing one evening and ended up with a bloody scalp from that encounter. The Owl was quicker than I was plus it could fly out of reach but it didn't take me long to vacate the area once I knew what was after me and getting hit in the head several times. They can be some mean little birds when they want to be.

I saw a Gray Squirrel try to take on a 3' Black snake yesterday in the middle of the street not far from my home and the Squirrel was rather funny looking jumping and dancing around that snake. The squirrel was scarred off by my car and the snake lived to see another day.

Let me just say when push comes to shove if I have no other option then dying the animal is going to lose if I have a gun in my hands.
 
Great stories and information guys, very interesting.

Charles, your humor did not escape me and your right!!!!

Dr Mike, you are a very good man. Besides teaching, you gave the boys a father figure that they could relate to even if it was just for a day. Kudos;s to you Dr Mike

Hodgeman, the two that I will never forget in the states are an encounter with a mountain lion and I decided to shot him and worry about the game dept later. Another one I have never been able to get accustomed to, are rattlesnakes. I believe you are originally from the south, so you might have also encountered a water moccasin or two.

Gerry I have had the same experience as Dr Mike with Grouse and another bird that I found to be unfriendly was the Crane.

Rodger, I agree, if it is me or them, it is them.

I have mentioned this before, but Africa brought on an entirely different level of fear or adrenaline rush or whatever, but it was worth it. I mentioned this before, but waking up to find elephants had been standing just outside your tent at night didn't help me sleep.

Cheyenne, thank you for the post, it is appreciated and informative. Several, including you have tried to explain the handgun law in Canada to me, I understand the concept of a well trained dog and glad it works out for you. We all love are dogs but I bet the bond between you and your dogs are at an entirely different level

Gerry, if I understand correctly you live in sheep and goat country. Do you also have mountain lions to contend with when your in the higher elevations or just grizzlies ? If your in the area I think your in, it is very beautiful!

Jamila, cheyenne makes a good point. Everybody on this forum, "hunts". Many people"go hunting" a time or two each year or every other year or whatever and therefore many go unprepared. I dont know this but you ( when your in africa ) and cheyenne may be the only one's who never leaves home without a gun ( maybe folks like hodgeman, gerry, dr mike, and gil as well ). But most folks dont automatically take a gun with them when they leave the house and have never even seen a bear outside of a zoo
 
April, one more story from Florida. My father-in-law should have been born a couple hundred years earlier. He's 80, throws in a rucksack and starts off into the Florida swamp with a 12 gauge. The plan is simple, sneak through the mangroves, find a 200 # wild hog, kill it and pack out the meat. He does this routinely and 6 miles in, and 6 miles out.. is just a normal morning hunt. On this particular hunt, he found a sounder with several perfect 200# hogs. He loves the 200# because he gets a manageable 40# meat harvest. His 12 gauge pump has 5 1oz lead slug cartridges loaded. He picks the hog, head shots it, and it drops. Then something happened he hadn't thought could. Instead of the sounder scrambling out of sight, the 800# alpha hog went over to the dead one, then turned to my father in law and started to charge, he shouldered the 12 gauge and planted a 12 lead slug square between the eyes...down it went, but not for long, standing back up and shaking hits head to clear the fog, it resumes the charge, a second slug in the head, down again, up again, charge again, 2 slugs remaining, no way this 80 year old was going to out run it, and no trees to climb, 3rd slug in the head, down, up, one slug left, when the hog got up the third time and shook its head, my father in law fires the last slug into its ear, and it laid 3 yards from his feet. He stopped hunting hogs with a 12 gauge. He now carries a 3030 for those swamp trips...
I'll never be as tough as that old guy... and if I didn't have 25 years in him, I'd not be able to keep up.

In Michigan, if you kill a wolf, cougar, or bear in self defense, teeth or claw marks aren't quite required to keep you out of jail, but it's not far from that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ken, that is a great Story! It is so nice to see the older generation like your father in law, Dr Mike and April still active in the woods. Love it!
Dan/Cheyenne. Cheyenne you need to get Dan approved to carry a side arm
Cheyenne. thanks for the post, it is appreciated. BTW believe me I know how you feel as now I have been attacked on 24 hour campfire and I am not even a member.
Hodgeman/Gerry/Rodger---that is exactly how I feel. I shoot first and yell later
Dr Mike. I agree with April. When God made you he threw away the mold. Those were three very lucky young men.
Charles, I am not sure, but I think Dr Mike and you are speaking of two different animals.
Hodgeman, the Wolverine--like a Leopard, Mountain Lion, or ??? as far as tenacious ?

Polar Bears, Cranes, Rattlesnakes, Owls, Cows, Moose, Elk, Wolverine, Mountain Lions, Grouse, Hogs, Marten, Beavers ( two different breeds ) Suddenly I feel safer hunting Africa!!!!!

Best Regards

Jamila
 
"Gerry, if I understand correctly you live in sheep and goat country. Do you also have mountain lions to contend with when your in the higher elevations or just grizzlies ? If your in the area I think your in, it is very beautiful!"


We have black and grizzly bears here, there are a few mountain lions but I have never seen one. My young relative who has been hunting with me with said he saw one last year on the highway coming home from a hunting trip. Around here we have lots of mountain goats but need to drive about 5 hours north to get into the sheep country. It is beautiful country for sure.........
 
The area I live (and hunt) in has a large black bear population, with a 1 day bear hunt during the week. In other words they are unhunted with some being quite aggressive and bold. What we were told by a couple of game wardens was "If you need to shoot one leave it where it lies and don't tell anyone." That's the only way they can handle an impossible situation forced on them by the state legislature.
I have seen numerous bears in the woods but only once in a possibly deadly confrontation. I had gotten between a sow and her 2 cubs. I would have shot her but I couldn't get my 7RM into play so I would have come out second.
But our most dangerous game is the wild hog. Not just the boar but sows also especially if piglets are involved. Before I got old and crippled up I spent a lot of time in the palmetto bottoms and also trapping hogs. I learned long ago to always have my .44 Mag. SBH on my person. Often I carried both a Ruger .44 Auto Carbine and the SBH.
If you surprise a group or a single wild boar and have not been winded then expect a charge. I have never known one to bluff. When he comes he means it. I have killed several at very close range. The rule is, shoot until he stops moving.
Once, while bowhunting I was forced to climb a small sapling. I always carried my SBH after that.
Maybe not as exciting as facing down a bull elephant or old silvertip grizzly but being charged by a big old boar can be exciting just the same.
 
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