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How about bears?


Guest LaFrance

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Guest LaFrance

While hunting a cache this weekend in an area with a very popular hiking trail pretty close by, I stumbled across a bear's den! The piles of spoor lying near should have given me a clue... Needless to say, we quickly and QUIETLY got far away from there! Especially since it's spring...and those mama bears get really ferocious if they think there is a threat to their cubs!

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Guest Mike_Teague

Always carry a suitable firearm. That is the best advice in my opinion... All the knowledge of bear behaviour, planning to avoid, tricks and so forth, etc. etc. are not going to do much good when the **** hits the fan! An appropriate firearm is the best tool you can have to repel a bear attack.

 

Anyone who ventures into bear-infested (or any other human predator) areas without means of self defense, is asking for trouble...

 

The bear doesn't walk into the woods without the impressive teeth and claws... Scrawny Homo-sapiens shouldn't walk into the woods without the most effective tool for defense his mind could create...

 

dadgum.. does that sould wacky? At least it is the truth!

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Guest 300mag

I gun is a good way to defend yourself but a lot of caches are hiden in parks where hunting is prohibited.So don't get caught with a gun in there.Another alternative is pepper spray.There are some types especially made for bears.My friends father as some of this.It is usually used by hunting guides etc.I think this type of spray is also stronger than the usual mace.The best is to avoid them if you can.And if you can't back away slowly and walk away if he didn't see you.If he see's you talk to the bear while slowly backing away.I have came face to face with several bears and walked away.But i admit it is pretty scarry.And don't slip in that brown stuff leaking from your pants) icon_biggrin.gif

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Guest 300mag

I gun is a good way to defend yourself but a lot of caches are hiden in parks where hunting is prohibited.So don't get caught with a gun in there.Another alternative is pepper spray.There are some types especially made for bears.My friends father as some of this.It is usually used by hunting guides etc.I think this type of spray is also stronger than the usual mace.The best is to avoid them if you can.And if you can't back away slowly and walk away if he didn't see you.If he see's you talk to the bear while slowly backing away.I have came face to face with several bears and walked away.But i admit it is pretty scarry.And don't slip in that brown stuff leaking from your pants) icon_biggrin.gif

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Guest ALacy

NOTE FOR THOSE IN GRIZZLY COUNTRY:

Grizzly bears usually make an effort to avoid contact with humans. Using ribbon to tie small bells on your body before conducting an outdoor activity in grizzly bear country is a wise and common practice as well a carrying pepper spray. The bells will alert bears of your presence as you approach and pepper spray is helpful in chasing them away. If you notice bear scat (droppings), inspect it to determine if it's black bear scat or grizzly scat. If it's grizzly scat relocate your activity to another area. It's easy to distinguish between black bear scat and grizzly scat. Black bear scat will have seeds, acorn shells, and twigs in it, while grizzly scat will have ribbon and small bells in it and smell like pepper spray.

This was a joke.

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Guest Mike_Teague

quote:
Originally posted by CaptHawke:

Lions and tigers an bears, oh my!

A couple of weeks ago, a bear was spotted at N42.9805 W71.4520, ie, the middle of downtown Manchester NH, about 2 miles from my home. (See news story at

http://www.theunionleader.com/Articles_show.html?article=14668&archive=1)

Living in a bear-infested area (and the largest city in the state), should I be strapping on a .44 magnum when I get out of bed in the morning? Does that sound wacky?


 

No, not really... I would!

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Guest Moun10Bike

On a somewhat related note, I caught a bear poacher while geocaching this weekend. I had ridden one of our trail bikes up to check on my Camels Prairie Stash in northern Idaho, then planted the Cougar Rock Cache nearby. While riding back down to our cabin, I came upon a white SUV parked in the road with the doors wide open and two women standing nearby looking down the bank. I have seen many moose in this area, so I stopped and asked if they had seen one. They replied, "No, a bear!" So I looked down the bank and see a guy holding a rifle and a little black bear cub.

 

The story was that they had been driving when a mama bear and her cub crossed the road in front of them. The guy grabbed his gun, jumped out of the vehicle, and took out the cub. He was then waiting for the mama to come back, which she had started to do when the cub yelped. She was nearby, behind a tree. I couldn't believe that this guy would shoot a cub (never mind the fact that black bears are not in season). I played nice while I took some pictures of the dead cub, memorized the license plate of their car, and then raced back down to the cabin to call the sheriff.

 

The good news is the sheriff caught them while they were waiting to get the mama. They had the cub in a tarp in the back of the SUV, so the evidence was there. I'm not sure what the punishment will turn out to be, but the word I have received is confiscation of the gun, confiscation of the SUV, fine and/or jail time, and revocation of hunting privileges for some odd years.

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Guest EraSeek

I came running down a mountain after sunset one night and through some brush into an opening. There were two or three bears there and a couple of little ones in the bush. YIKES! I thought. I stopped and threw my hands up and yelled "Hey! Get out of here!" the nearest one sat down and looked at me like I was some kinda idiot. I calmly walked down the hill and they just watched me go. These were not Grizzlies though. I've come across one of them too. And boy! They are impressive whether running at you or away from you! Thank God he was a shy one!

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Guest Moun10Bike

ka. We were spending the day in Katmai National Park, which is reknowned for its brown bear population, and were with a guide and a handful of other fishermen. A mama bear and her cubs were coming down the river, so we backed out and made our way across an adjacent oxbow to the shore. Just then, two juvenile male grizzlies came out of the brush ahead of us. We were between them and their food source (the river), which was not good! One of them charged, but it was a bluff -- he stopped about 30 feet away. We all dove into the brush to the side of our position at once! I'm sure it looked funny on onlookers to see all of these fly-fishermen desperately scrambling through the bushes with 9-foot rods getting caught on every branch!

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Guest LaFrance

Moun10Bike-

VERY good job! Now see, about carrying a firearm...If I had one and came across those guys with the cub, I don't know if I would be able to keep myself from using it on them! Therefore, I stick with the pepper spray! Safer for all concerned! Though I WAS a crack shot when I was in the Navy!

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Guest EraSeek

I'm with you guys on the bozo that shot the cub. Good work Moun10Bike! Just remember though, they say you can tell if it is bear poop because it contains a lot of little silver bells and has a stong scent of pepper.

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Guest WrongWay

Moun10Bike, great job on the poacher. I'm a hunter and believe in wildlife management but guys like this harm the wildlfe population and give honest hunters a bad name. He deserves everything he gets.

 

I also agree with Mike, in addition to basic first aid/survival gear when venturing into the outdoors a firearm is a good resource. Firearms won't make you invicible, but they sure even up the odds.

 

If you are not currently a gun owner consider taking a training/safety course before wondering off loaded for bear...oops, bad pun.

 

regards,

 

Jim

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Guest Exaibachey

ghter? His response? ?I must have lost it in the bushes somewhere?

Needless to say, I am still pissed, disappointed and do not trust our government officials to make the right decisions when I am in need.

Sorry this is so long winded, but wanted to make sure in that situation people exercise caution. You were lucky to befriend the poachers, and for them to allow you to take their picture.

Thanks for letting me rant. Cache on!

 

 

------------------

I used to think the world was flat. Now I know it's just crooked.

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Guest n1niq

Monz is right. I saw an english movie once (can't remember the name of it) with a rabbit in it. It had huge teeth and was real nasty. If I remember right that had to usea hand grenade on it. Maybe we should get a few grenades for the bears!

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I could just see the news....Geocachers discover proof of Sasquatch, Big-Foot, Skunk Ape (Whatevers supposed to be in your neck of the woods). The Geocaching.com website is swamped with pictures of the big guy. Actually it would be interesting to see someone's log for that one!... I found the cache...but that's not all I found!

 

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Guest xanthari

quote:
Originally posted by n1niq:

Monz is right. I saw an english movie once (can't remember the name of it) with a rabbit in it. It had huge teeth and was real nasty. If I remember right that had to usea hand grenade on it. Maybe we should get a few grenades for the bears!


 

..."prepare the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch..."

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Guest db8tr

quote:
Originally posted by n1niq:

Monz is right. I saw an english movie once (can't remember the name of it) with a rabbit in it. It had huge teeth and was real nasty. If I remember right that had to usea hand grenade on it. Maybe we should get a few grenades for the bears!


 

..."prepare the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch..."

 

I never before thought of the similarities between the movie "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail" (from which the above quote comes), but come to think of it, geocaching is a lot the same. We go on long jaunts through the woods, always searching for the "holy grail" of a cache. That might make for an interesting spoof of geocaching. Hmmm. Enought ruminating. Now if I can only find castle anthrax... ;-)

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