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Posted

I mentioned it here before, but I had a bear come up my driveway last summer and tear the downspout off the side of my house.

 

Darned things are everywhere around here.

Posted

Just remember guys that you're not supposed to have a gun with you in the bush out of hunting season. I know of one case many years ago when a guy and his wife and kids were berry picking and he had a rifle with him. A CO approached him and charged him. When the guy got up in court he told the judge that there were bears in the area and that he was protecting his family. That's one of the few times that I ever heard of a judge using common sense and chastising the CO for wasting the court's time on such an issue. Nowadays, you might lose your gun possession rights. Has anyone tried those bear bangers? They are almost as loud as a 12 gauge. Been tempted to buy a couple but even then old "betsy" won't be far away. As the mayor of Hearst said on one tv show recently, if you have to shoot one, make sure you practice the 3 S's ( Shoot, shovel and shut-up)

Posted

Just remember guys that you're not supposed to have a gun with you in the bush out of hunting season. I know of one case many years ago when a guy and his wife and kids were berry picking and he had a rifle with him. A CO approached him and charged him. When the guy got up in court he told the judge that there were bears in the area and that he was protecting his family. That's one of the few times that I ever heard of a judge using common sense and chastising the CO for wasting the court's time on such an issue. Nowadays, you might lose your gun possession rights. Has anyone tried those bear bangers? They are almost as loud as a 12 gauge. Been tempted to buy a couple but even then old "betsy" won't be far away. As the mayor of Hearst said on one tv show recently, if you have to shoot one, make sure you practice the 3 S's ( Shoot, shovel and shut-up)

 

 

false...

 

you are legally allowed to carry non-restricted firearms (rifles) for protection of wildlife in the woods, provided you are legally allowed to possess firearms....should be able to google it quick and easy, rcmp website, common question

 

it is possible (but very hard) to receive an authorization to carry (ATC), is generally restricted to law enforcement, security guards, etc as well as trappers and some professionals who work in the woods...surveyors, geologists, etc

 

sad story, hopefully the guy recovers quickly....but I do personally feel a lot of dog involved incidents are due to poor pet owners who let the dog run wild and aggravate resident moose and bears in the area.....

 

respect for bears, not fear

Posted

Funny after we start talking about this, when I went to work this morning there were bear tracks in the snow in my front yard. So one had been passing through sometime through last night.

Posted

false...

 

you are legally allowed to carry non-restricted firearms (rifles) for protection of wildlife in the woods, provided you are legally allowed to possess firearms....should be able to google it quick and easy, rcmp website, common question

 

it is possible (but very hard) to receive an authorization to carry (ATC), is generally restricted to law enforcement, security guards, etc as well as trappers and some professionals who work in the woods...surveyors, geologists, etc

 

sad story, hopefully the guy recovers quickly....but I do personally feel a lot of dog involved incidents are due to poor pet owners who let the dog run wild and aggravate resident moose and bears in the area.....

 

respect for bears, not fear

I don't know that I would want to try walking around the bush in June or July with even a non-restricted gun in Ontario. If a CO saw you, he would probably charge you with hunting out of season. Even if you weren't, he'd still lay the charge and seize the gun. You'd probably have to hire a lawyer to go to court to get the charges thrown out and then still fight to get the gun back. The CO doesn't care because he has a charge to his credit and he gets paid anyway whether he's in the bush or in court. Unfortunately the mentality around firearms in Ontario is far far different than in BC. My son got his PAL out there in one four hour course. Here in Ontario, one of the instructors who used to live down the street from me and who was a retired CO quit because the red tape was getting so bad and they kept stacking more and more stuff on the course. Now I know I'm a little long in the tooth, but when I took my licensing course in1964, and I will admit to not having hunted for 20 yrs or more. at that time you could not carry a gun in the bush in the off season.

Posted

I don't know that I would want to try walking around the bush in June or July with even a non-restricted gun in Ontario. If a CO saw you, he would probably charge you with hunting out of season. Even if you weren't, he'd still lay the charge and seize the gun. You'd probably have to hire a lawyer to go to court to get the charges thrown out and then still fight to get the gun back. The CO doesn't care because he has a charge to his credit and he gets paid anyway whether he's in the bush or in court. Unfortunately the mentality around firearms in Ontario is far far different than in BC. My son got his PAL out there in one four hour course. Here in Ontario, one of the instructors who used to live down the street from me and who was a retired CO quit because the red tape was getting so bad and they kept stacking more and more stuff on the course. Now I know I'm a little long in the tooth, but when I took my licensing course in1964, and I will admit to not having hunted for 20 yrs or more. at that time you could not carry a gun in the bush in the off season.

Even if thats the case I'l still take my chances. Not many CO's where I live. I'd rather have the gun on me to defend myself than only keep it around during hunting season that's for sure

Posted

Even if thats the case I'l still take my chances. Not many CO's where I live. I'd rather have the gun on me to defend myself than only keep it around during hunting season that's for sure

LOL, There's enough of them. My fishing partner and I got checked on Sinclair last summer by Mr. Sirracco out of Gogama. Seemed like a nice guy but I wouldn't want to cross him. I'm a Timmins native myself. Don't know if you now the name but it was Archie Chenier of the Porcupine Rod & Gun that taught me my gun course in 64. It's not the first time we've been checked. The previous CO in Gogama checked us in 2005.

Posted

LOL, There's enough of them. My fishing partner and I got checked on Sinclair last summer by Mr. Sirracco out of Gogama. Seemed like a nice guy but I wouldn't want to cross him. I'm a Timmins native myself. Don't know if you now the name but it was Archie Chenier of the Porcupine Rod & Gun that taught me my gun course in 64. It's not the first time we've been checked. The previous CO in Gogama checked us in 2005.

Unless they've added more there's usually only 2-3 Co's on patrol at a time in the area which is nothing for how vast it is. I was down camping on SInclair/Kapiskong last summer too for a weekend, didn't run into any of them there. Usually they are near the main big lakes (Kenogamissi,Horwood,Mattagami lakes and Nighthawk/Barbers Bay area)

Posted (edited)

I'm not a hunter myself, but even if I was my opinion is that I am safer with bear spray than a shot gun. Your odds of missing with bear spray is less likely. Your chances of missing and or getting a shot at the bears vitals is very difficult when a bear is charging full speed at you.

Edited by Fish4Eyes
Posted

I was stopped with my rod and rifle years ago ..

Was asked where I was going and what my intentions were , rifle was for target practice or protection against aggressive bears , the rod was for catching specks , was told if I shot a bear to report it , that was it , free to go .

Posted (edited)

I'm not a hunter myself, but even if I was my opinion is that I am safer with bear spray than a shot gun. Your odds of missing with bear spray is less likely. Your chances of missing and or getting a shot at the bears vitals is very difficult when a bear is charging full speed at you.

 

I disagree with you here. Is bear spray effective? Yes, certainly, it provides a behaviour break that can allow for you to seek safety. (See an article by Herrarro on its utility) But you have basically 2 effective bursts from a can, and regardless of what is advertised you need the animal at hear handshaking distance to be effective. Lets not forget the wind and blowback.....

 

To score a good pattern on a bear (with spray) you have to hold your ground which is quite unnerving.

 

Things that push me to a fire arm are the predatory type bears that stalk and push and test you. You can tap your bear spray supply and have the animal back in minutes. It is a great first try to be non lethal to an over zealous bruin, but in my experience when a bear encounter gets to the point of requiring deterrents I would prefer to have the option of lethal force....though for most animals something like banging pots together are enough to move them along.

Edited by Jason Hamilton
Posted

I hear ya Jason. I guess it does really come down to personal preference. An experienced hunter and in my opinion especially a duck hunter who is accustomed to shooting fast moving targets would have less difficulty putting a shot in the vitals. However, duck hunting for pleasure and table fair is alot different than shooting at a bear knowing your life is at risk in seconds. If you follow recommended bear encounter techniques you should be standing your ground anyway if the bear is coming towards you. When I read the bear spray cans it said that the deterrant can spray approx 15-20', but your right with a wind that is botched. I would imagine that the bear would suffer for longer than a few minutes. I would think that they would not return to that same area as they encountered a negative experience there. Regardless, I would hope anybody with a brain would get out of there in a heart beat unless they have reserve bear spray.

 

I read something a little while back where it stated that if you did shoot the bear and were unsuccessful in killing it, they would become even more agressive during the attack as you have aggrivated the bear even more. I talked to a guy who said he shot a charging bear in the shoulder, it fell down from the impact and jumped back up on its feet and began charging even more aggressively, which prooves what I just said.

Posted

SmackUm that is an interesting story.

Did it make the news? Is it online? If so can you put it up please.

No it did not make the news Jack has been dead now for 10 or 12 years now..

He survived Ortona Italy and I can remember him saying it was like I was in slow motion I had a decision to make and I made it...

My German Shepard Kazan stalled the bear just long enough for me to make a kill shot with the axe..

I think he was lucky I'd think you would only get one shot better to scare them off if possible with a bear banger..

How ever in this occasion he was gathering fire wood and actually fell on top of the bear he could feel it under his feet and he got out from under it..

The dog distracted it long enough for the swing and he dispatched it with an axe he was using for limbing the tree..

I didn't have the heart to tell Jack that the bear was probably blind due to hibernation but who is to know it could very well have killed him.

The German Shepard was his favourite after World War 2 and he had to have one Jack also served with Farley Mowat on the Gothic Line & Hitler Line in Italy...

I think he killed quite a few people when he was there but he did not like to talk about it as did Wilf our neighbour that worked on the Corvettes on the North Atlantic...

Quite fankly I think when you have seen death up close you don't want to talk about it just forget it!

As they said we did what he had to for our country!

Cheers,Pat

Posted

our neighbour that worked on the Corvettes on the North Atlantic...

 

Cheers,Pat

 

Interesting story Pat, thanks for sharing it with us.

 

As for the Corvettes, my dad served on HMCS Kitchener during the war.

Posted

Interesting story Pat, thanks for sharing it with us.

 

As for the Corvettes, my dad served on HMCS Kitchener during the war.

Cool Wilf was on board HMS Port Arthur most were named after small towns like: Fort William, Chillawack BC etc..

Life on board a Corvette no thanks... Too funny I can remember the stories still to this day...

But I think they need to reinstate the bear hunt we really need this in Ontario now!

Cheers, Pat

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