tabrink wrote:
Almost spit mt coffee out!
I love that!
Or...
A lot of photographers I know are into guns. Something about the love of finely crafted instruments maybe? Someone should start a show-your-guns thread here. My post will be a panorama!
RoyC wrote:
You know with all of the experience that the Yellowstone Park Rangers have one would have thought that they knew what worked for Ole Grizz.
"Firearms should not be considered a wildlife protection strategy. Bear spray and other safety precautions are the proven methods for preventing bear and other wildlife interactions."
The Park Service and park rangers are there to preserve the wildlife and to protect the visitors. Their approach is balanced between the two. I personally agree 100% that non-lethal means should be fully exhausted before putting a wild animal down. But don't stake your life on those, because they don't always work. Bear spray on the weak side and a sidearm on the strong side would be my recommendation. The bear gets one chance to prove the spray works, then you go to plan B. If both fail, simply run at 30+ MPH to the nearest bear-proof shelter..
Jorge Torralba wrote:
I like the wolf. I have always been fond of those animals especially since there was a campaign to eradicate them all at one time. Nice to see them come back. The 800 seems to perform well.
I'm sorry to say your bear attack grill will probably lead to a sad ending since those sprays have been know to aggravate the animals rather than deter them. I do a lot of back country hikes and trips here in the pacific northwest and you are much better off with one of these.
Not to be critical of your 45 as it is beautiful. However a 45 doesnt have the penatration to stop a a grizzly bear. The hunting rifle has the penatration but not enough impact force to stop it in its tracks. Sadly an expert hunter fell to this truth a couple of years ago. they found him and the bear dead.
Chosen weapon of force in Montana is the 44 magnum (or larger) and bear spray.
When going into the back woods always go prepared. Wear bear bells to announce your presence, and carry bear spray. Also be on the look out for signs of bears such as scat . Bears can be identified by their scat....
Black bear scat is medium sized, contains berry and pine nut remnents, and has little smell
Grizzley bear scat is larger, contains bells and smells like pepper
Be careful out there
BTW the .338 Lapua is the D800E of bear protection
I was charged by a black bear while backpacking in the Wind Rivers, Wy. It happened so fast and was so startling that there would be no way I could have accurately landed a single shot. Would rather take my chances with bear spray since the need for accuracy is much less important.
I have been through rocket attacks in Iraq that were less scary. The speed at which a bear can run and the sound it makes while charging is something that I was not prepared for and will never forget. IMO a gun large enough to possibly thwart a bear would be useless in a lot of situations and just adds a lot of extra weight. I've seen more evidence to support the effectiveness of bear spray as opposed to the many fatal outcomes of bear encounters involving discharged firearms. It is something I have given a lot of research and thought to!
That being said, I am in agreance that these pictures are amazing. Especially love the shot of the wolf and the elk!
Steezus wrote:
I was charged by a black bear while backpacking in the Wind Rivers, Wy. It happened so fast and was so startling that there would be no way I could have accurately landed a single shot. Would rather take my chances with bear spray since the need for accuracy is much less important.
I have been through rocket attacks in Iraq that were less scary. The speed at which a bear can run and the sound it makes while charging is something that I was not prepared for and will never forget. IMO a gun large enough to possibly thwart a bear would be useless in a lot of situations and just adds a lot of extra weight. I've seen more evidence to support the effectiveness of bear spray as opposed to the many fatal outcomes of bear encounters involving discharged firearms. It is something I have given a lot of research and thought to!
That being said, I am in agreance that these pictures are amazing. Especially love the shot of the wolf and the elk!...Show more →
stevemacko29 wrote:
What made the bear stop in your case?
He turned at the last second, kicking up dirt and mud in my face. Either he was bluffing or heard the shrieks of an adult male that was about 50 yards behind me that were almost as disturbing as the charging bear! I doubt that I would have fired off any bear spray if I had it hanging around my hip as it happened so quickly and I basically just thought that I had zero chance at that point. I would only think if he started to maul me I could spray blindly and hope the cloud surrounding us would be annoying enough for it to leave.
The bear did come into our camp later that night. Tore into one tent. Managed to get my pack and eat every spec of food and all of my insect repellent, deodorant, and tooth paste. He left us alone for the remainder of the trip. I no longer sleep very well in bear country, but I do feel naked if I don't take bear spray.
Steezus wrote:
He turned at the last second, kicking up dirt and mud in my face. Either he was bluffing or heard the shrieks of an adult male that was about 50 yards behind me that were almost as disturbing as the charging bear! I doubt that I would have fired off any bear spray if I had it hanging around my hip as it happened so quickly and I basically just thought that I had zero chance at that point. I would only think if he started to maul me I could spray blindly and hope the cloud surrounding us would be annoying enough for it to leave.
The bear did come into our camp later that night. Tore into one tent. Managed to get my pack and eat every spec of food and all of my insect repellent, deodorant, and tooth paste. He left us alone for the remainder of the trip. I no longer sleep very well in bear country, but I do feel naked if I don't take bear spray. ...Show more →
Wow... Thanks for filling in the details. What an emotional roller coaster!
Steezus wrote:
He turned at the last second, kicking up dirt and mud in my face. Either he was bluffing or heard the shrieks of an adult male that was about 50 yards behind me that were almost as disturbing as the charging bear! I doubt that I would have fired off any bear spray if I had it hanging around my hip as it happened so quickly and I basically just thought that I had zero chance at that point. I would only think if he started to maul me I could spray blindly and hope the cloud surrounding us would be annoying enough for it to leave.
The bear did come into our camp later that night. Tore into one tent. Managed to get my pack and eat every spec of food and all of my insect repellent, deodorant, and tooth paste. He left us alone for the remainder of the trip. I no longer sleep very well in bear country, but I do feel naked if I don't take bear spray. ...Show more →
Crazy story! I've had a few bear encounters but nothing quite like that myself.
I don't mean any offense but rule number one in bear country is never keep any items you've mentioned in a tent (toothpaste, deodorant, food, etc). If you do you are asking for trouble.
I knew someone who broke the cardinal rule by bringing a 6 pack of soft drinks into his tent. A grizzly walked around the gents tent that evening to the corner with the drinks. in one swipe it tore through his tent (with the gent in it), grabbed the drinks and took off with them. the gentleman was just a 'little' disturbed after the event.
I blame my father. He had been backpacking for about 20 years prior, always leaving food and scented items in the tent or within camp and thought bears coming into camp must be a myth. After being charged, we were still foolish enough to leave our packs in our tent that night. When the bear came back, he swiped into one tent and ate a bag of candy runts. We collapsed the remaining tents and started a fire. He still managed to steal my pack out of a collapsed tent and proceed to open every zipper on the pack. The only thing he damaged was the tent with runts and one small tear on my pack. Quite a feat with such large claws!
Stdon wrote:
Don't want to hijack but Jorge there is no more leading proponent for a 1911 based .45 as I've custom built them for 30 years I would suggest one slight modification on your 1911 if you are to depend on it against bear attacks. Remove the front sight. That way when a bear does attack you you won't cut your lip when you stick the muzzle in your mouth and pull the trigger.
A far better solution would be something like a Remington 870, 19 inch barrel and a 9 round tube magazine alternating #1 buckshot and slugs.
Wonderful pictures BTW
Try and walk around with one of those in a National Park
markhout wrote:
This thread has unintentionally morphed into an appropriate place to post this link:
If you hike or camp anywhere w/ bears/wolves, the discussion is actually relevant since you can't call the police for help (and even in the city, it averages 20min for a 911 call response). Taking photos of a charging bear will only provide evidence of what ate you
I've heard that some bears are immune to pepper spray too...like some humans that like eating really spicy food because their taste buds are duller, some bears apparently think it's just interesting tasting and just find it irritating...there are also documented stories about criminals being pepper sprayed by cops and just shrugging it off...
But back to the OP's photos...amazing photos...were they sharpened/processed much or just resized for the web? Can't imagine what they'd look like w/ the D800E...
