Any Badger encounters?

[C-Money]

I would like to hear about peoples badger encounters. I have had two in a month, both ending without an attack. Out of all the animals out there, I have never seen a set of canine chompers like the teeth badgers carry, add the claws, and courage, WOW. That is an animal I dont want to tangle with!

[shedcrazy]

Havent seen any here, but as a kid in Wyoming we ran into them all the time. Awesome claws and teeth on them.

[bearpaw]

In Montana we run them down all the time, they can't run very fast, you can take off after one and corner him up for closeup photos pretty easy. They will try to take you if you get to close....

[Jason]

I had two of them cross about 10 yards in front of me on an old trail up by Adams in 05.
I exactly sure what they were, so I followed them for about 30yds and they stopped and
turned back toward me and started snarling, thats when I realized they were badgers.
I was pretty stoked just to see them up in that country. I wish I packed a camera back then.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Once upon a time... (before I knew that you couldn't shoot them)
During the second week of Early Archery Elk up in the Manastash, I was walking around a patch of "Dog-Hair" and saw something moving along the edge, after getting closer I saw it was a badger sticking his nose into all the holes in and around the bottom of stumps (looking for squirrels)
I thought I would take a whack at him, drew my bow and released at his head......
He picked that moment to stick his head into a hole and my arrow thumped harmlessly into stump (only the arrow was harmed)...

IMMEDIATELY THAT BADGER THREW HIS HIND LEGS IN THE AIR, TURNED TOWARDS ME AND RAN AS FAST AS HE COULD (still with his rear straight up in the air)
RUNNING AT ME HISSING AND SNARLING ( did I mention he was running on his front legs only?)

I suddenly found myself about 30 yards away and increasing my lead, don't even remember turning around and running 
realizing I was the dominant (well maybe not this time) predator, I put on the brakes, grabbed another arrow, but before I needed to defend myself, the badger decided I was too fast (or smelly) for him to catch and eat, and broke off his attack, and returned to the patch of dog-hair, leaving me to continue searching for the less aggressive Elk.......

I now know that I am not allowed to shoot them, but still wonder if it would be legal in self defense, after all ANY animal that would attack me (6'4" and 280#) and think that they would show off in the process by doing it while on their front legs ONLY just to make it a challenge, deserves my respect....

[CAMPMEAT]

I've seen 7 in my whole life. They are really cool little critters.

[ORCA_SIX]

The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger (original narration by Randall)

[saylean]

Nice quote there Orca 6....Bryan Fantana rules.

We chase em down in Montana on our cousins farm....they're great fun and a nice break after blasting prairie dogs all day.

[Rob]

Amusing story:  at least for my dad and I.

We were killing time by hunting prairie dogs after a successful Pronghorn hunt in Wyoming.  After about 30 min of shooting, we noticed a badger had appeared on the outskirts of the prairie dog farm.  From that point on, everytime we busted a prairie dog, the badger would run out in the farm at full speed, grab the prairie dog, and high tail it back to his den.  He must have collected 10+ prairie dogs over the next hour or so.

Smile!

[Rob]

Once upon a time... (before I knew that you couldn't shoot them)
During the second week of Early Archery Elk up in the Manastash, I was walking around a patch of "Dog-Hair" and saw something moving along the edge, after getting closer I saw it was a badger sticking his nose into all the holes in and around the bottom of stumps (looking for squirrels)
I thought I would take a whack at him, drew my bow and released at his head......
He picked that moment to stick his head into a hole and my arrow thumped harmlessly into stump (only the arrow was harmed)...

IMMEDIATELY THAT BADGER THREW HIS HIND LEGS IN THE AIR, TURNED TOWARDS ME AND RAN AS FAST AS HE COULD (still with his rear straight up in the air)
RUNNING AT ME HISSING AND SNARLING ( did I mention he was running on his front legs only?)

I suddenly found myself about 30 yards away and increasing my lead, don't even remember turning around and running 
realizing I was the dominant (well maybe not this time) predator, I put on the brakes, grabbed another arrow, but before I needed to defend myself, the badger decided I was too fast (or smelly) for him to catch and eat, and broke off his attack, and returned to the patch of dog-hair, leaving me to continue searching for the less aggressive Elk.......

I now know that I am not allowed to shoot them, but still wonder if it would be legal in self defense, after all ANY animal that would attack me (6'4" and 280#) and think that they would show off in the process by doing it while on their front legs ONLY just to make it a challenge, deserves my respect....

OK, that is a hysterical story!

[7mmfan]

This is kind of similar to Rob's story. My uncle lives in South Dakota and we were visiting when I was about 15. On his land is a gigantic prairie dog town, probably 1/2 mile X 1 mile long. He handed me his 223 and told me to go do some damage. While I was out shooting I saw a badger and took a pot shot at him but missed. I told my uncle about it later and he chewed my ass. All i knew at the time was that they dug holes and people with horses didn't like them because horses stepped in the holes and broke their legs. My uncle didn't have horses anymore and he loved the badger because it ate the hell out of the prairie dogs.

[Rob]

Yeah, the rancher we were with also advised us not to kill the badger as they are good for P-dog control. 

[baldopepper]

I've had several encounters with them and I can tell you they are feisty!!  One of the very few animals that will regularily challenge you. Years ago we were going through some brush when one popped out of a hold and iterally charged my brother-he grabbed a lrg rock and was lucky enough to bonk it with the throw-knocked in cold-not knowing any better we put it in a lrg. burlap bag we had with us and took it home.  Kept it for a while but it was so mean I finally gave it to a friend who built a cage for it next to this house.  Unfortunatley it never occured to him to put a wire floor in the cage and the d---- thing tunneled under the foundation of his house.  He finally called in an expterminator because it was literally undermining the house's foundation with all it's burrowing!!  Guy had to poison it!!!! I run into them quite frequently at my cabin, I like them except the holes they dig chasing gophers are murder on my little tractor. I drop a tire in them and end up have to tow it out!!!  I give them a wide berth when I run into them and warn the kids to not mess with them.

[MADMAX]

I saw 2 in the Wenas a few years back cool looking critters up close

[C-Money]

Dose Montanna consider badgers a varmint? Anyone know what Oregon and Idaho regs are on hunting them? Funny our states lists them as a fur bearer.