I got lucky last night

[NSBound]

As much as they can be a nuisance at certain times of the year, I'll still take the black bears over Eddie's wild pigs!

 

[czechsonofagun]

When I want to check the outside I sneak out the back door with a gun - no lights, only flashlight on me. The theory is when I turn on the lights, they illuminate the door and me coming out - as a target. There is no better friend than darkness and I prefer to be unseen. Sometimes I take Montmorency - airedale who does not bark unless there is a real reason. But I would deall most likely only with human intruders - or small animals.

BTW the gun laws in Canada are just crazy, almost as bad as Czech laws - and we had 40+ years of dictatorship there to blame it on.

 

[scesnick]

I have black bears everywhere on my farm and the mountain I live on. The best way to keep them away from your house is a good ol' farm dog sleeping on the front porch. and of course if that fails a .300 ultra mag works great also..

 

[NSBound]

I just found out tonight I was likely luckier than I thought! Tonight across the road from me in a field were not 2 but THREE bears, grazing on new grass. Looked like a momma bear and a pair of year-old cubs, as the cubs were fairly big. So if I saw 2 of them 2 nights ago, the third wasn't likely very far away!! :shocked:

 

[Abe460]

That would have given me the chills to find the three of them the next day. I'm glad to hear you scared them off with no incident. Out of curiosity what time do bears really get around? I've never seen a bear in my life, but my wife saw one cross the road close to the house last year...or at least she swears it was a bear.


EddieWalker, I think I remember an article about the black bear being sorta "re-introduced" to the areas between us. I think the "big thicket" and Kisachiee, Kisatchee, Kisatchie (whatever) forest.


Czechsonofagun, I have a similar theory on the lights. I think if you are inside with the lights on, your eyes have adjusted to light. whereas, if you are outside in the pitch black your eyes have adjusted to the darkness.

Turning on your lights as you open the door would prove to be beneficial to you and be blinding to a person/animal outside that door. Just a thought. Cool to see someone else thinking about it too...kinda thought I was a little off for thinking about it.

 

[beenthere]

If my outside alarms go off, I turn off the inside house lights, pick up the gun, go to the door and turn on the outside lights (there is a motion detector light, and it may already have triggered). Then I can see if I want to go past the door and confront whatever might be there. We are getting bear around here, but understand they are not very aggressive....most of the time

Sorry and sad day if we in the USA follow the Canadian gun laws... and I don't plan to go with the plan if it happens. Have to fight it nearly every day now.

 

[Abe460]

I put IR cameras on my house and am in the process of mounting a replacement (wireless) IR camera close to the gate at about 400'. We can see from my bedroom or my laptop what is going on outside within these ranges day or night.

We've caught horses in our front yard (before the gate), turkeys running through the field, deer in the back yard, but I'm really not sure how to take a bear. Are bears a problem once they experience your yard or do they migrate on to other places? I'm sure it has to do with availability of food, but will they go after your pets like horses, dogs and cats?

 

[Mousefield]

I put IR cameras on my house and am in the process of mounting a replacement (wireless) IR camera close to the gate at about 400'. We can see from my bedroom or my laptop what is going on outside within these ranges day or night.

We've caught horses in our front yard (before the gate), turkeys running through the field, deer in the back yard, but I'm really not sure how to take a bear. Are bears a problem once they experience your yard or do they migrate on to other places? I'm sure it has to do with availability of food, but will they go after your pets like horses, dogs and cats?

So far we have not had a problem with bear bothering our goats or chickens. We do have, through our property, a year round creek that salmon spawn in during the fall, bears will hang around and catch them live or eat them after they have died spawning. They are, like most animals, always on the lookout for food. Bears eat lots of berries in season, fruit, grass, fish and of course dead animals some of which they kill. Bears can run FAST. Keeping things like garbage secure, no bird feeders and the like will reduce the chance of having them around. British Columbia has the largest Black Bear population in North America, and Vancouver Island has the densest population of bears in the entire province. OPPS that's where I live.
Have not seen any yet this year but should be any time now.

 

[Redneck in training]

I saw a movie some time back about bears in Alaska. If there is a nuisnace bear the rangers first yell and when the bear turn attention to them they shoot it with a "bean bag". The theory is that they will associate people and yelling with pain and try to avoid it.

 

[NSBound]

Out of curiosity what time do bears really get around? I've never seen a bear in my life, but my wife saw one cross the road close to the house last year...or at least she swears it was a bear.

The bears around here hibernate until early-to-mid-spring - I guess sometime in March or so, until there is enough food around for them to bother waking up. You're right, it was a bit un-nerving to see 3 of 'em the next day!

Back to the gun laws, I was looking into the 2 courses required here to buy and possess a firearm. The first available Federal Firearms Safety Course in my area is the end of May. It's a prerequisite to the other course. The other course, through the Department of Natural Resources, isn't available in my area until September. And "in my area" isn't real close - it's 45 kms away (27 miles). Well, that's part of living in the country, everything is a ways away. Well, there is one next week, but I can't take it until I've taken the other one first. And after I have passed both those courses, I have to apply for my license and there is now a 45-day minimum waiting period before you'll be approved. So I may have my license by sometime in November. :confused2: