Are you afraid of black bears?

[rasbo]

I'm thinking 99 percent will say No...But I find the greater percentage of people I hunted with or try to show them some things are..This not to say having a fear is or makes one less of a man,Just an observation..of all the time I used to spend in the woods only one bear has tried to get me without calling or hunting them.I shot that bear at the end of my rifle barrel.I have had them come so close when calling,or when you could bait,just walk up to you a few times.Once while calling in the off season,myself and a buddy where in and I called a nice blackie in,when he was within what I thought was close enough,I growled at him and stood up,this made him keep coming with the hair raised on the back,and slobber dripping from his mouth.My buddy Bruce said Damn don't growl at him. :chuckle:I pulled my 44 mag and yelled at him while waving he turned and just walked away.I quit calling in the off season,I didn't want to shoot one out of season...I find black bears are like people attitude wise.Some are brave,some are Leary,most just don't want anything to do with ya...Hunt the bears the way you are comfortable,I like to be where they are,and I love to be close to them.Be prepared for any attitude one might have.There was a popular guy treadwell I believe his name WAS.He thought he knew bears and was foolish and that ended up in the death of him and his girlfriend.I know that was a Griz..my point is don't be so cocky or so know it all that you think a black bear wont but the bite on ya....If you prepare yourself mentally and practice in your mind{Mental masturbation} several scenarios you will be rewarded with great times and a sense of calm while hunting them....

[ICEMAN]

Heck ya I am afraid of them!

A fast animal that has teeth and claws.... we should all take note. I don't lose any sleep over it, I do not feel they are at all interested in coming at or after me, but shoot one and then go into a thicket after it, yeah, this makes the hair on the back of my neck stick up...

I am not generally not their prey but they would surely rip me up quick in an attempt to get out or put me down temporarily to get the cubs to safety... something to be concerned about.

Had one sniff at me thru my tent on a solo hunt trip once....spooky. Never had one close on my while hunting, at least that I knew of... 

[D-Rock425]

I'm not scared bears are big Teddy bears.  I'm cautious of them but not afraid.

[grundy53]

Not particularly. But the first bear I ever killed came in full tilt when I was calling in the timber. I shot the bear at about 10 yards and it was still on a dead run when i shot and it somersaulted to a stop near my feet. That will get your attention. I don't really fear them but i respect the hell out of them.

[woodman]

I guess that I would be part of that 99% and say no. I have a respect for them and even more, I have developed a fascination with them.

I get lots of pictures with them by trail cam and hand held cameras. I have been charged by them and even been swatted at by one. One thing I did learn was that they mostly do shy away from you if they see you but not always. One of the first times that I was photographing bears I ran into one while very far from my vehicle. I took it's picture while it stopped and looked at me, then it started to come to me. I took another picture and it stopped for a moment and then kept on coming towards me. I figured that it was close enough, so I started waving my arms and telling it to go away. It just kept on coming to me, I was pretty surprised at it's behaviour. Well I had a 357 with me that had 6 bullets in it, I figured that it had only one warning shot coming and the rest would be to stop it. When I fired a warning shot, it took off like a race horse. Man they can move fast, faster that you think they can by far.

I love seeing them and being around them and feel very fortunate to be able to find them and watch them. As I type this I just decided that I am going to head for the hills and see if I can get some more pics today.

[Woodchuck]

Afraid? I don't think so but I believe it is a fine line between fear and respect. I will say this, when I walked up on the first one I killed that was buried up in the pucker brush I am pretty sure my heart was beating faster than a cardiologist would have liked to have seen.

[h2ofowlr]

I'm not scared of them.  I respect them.  If they were to charge, I would shoot them all well knowing they would kick my a$$ if they got a hold of me.  When in the thick and they come barreling through the bushes as they wind you or you spook them, there can be some pucker factor.  But I like that adrenaline rush!

[JohnVH]

its a wild animal, and I dont trust wild animals. There are enough vids out there of people getting mauled by anything that I dont mess around.

[Broken Arrow]

Bears no.....cougars YES.

[Skillet]

While I don't fear them, and would never burden myself with the additional weight of a sidearm for the sole purpose of defending myself against one, I maintain a healthy respect for any predator in the woods that is capable of taking me-sized prey.

[runamuk]

I was terrified of the damn things, saw too many too many times way too close, back then I was more afraid of guns than things with teeth and claws  so spent all my time unarmed in the woods and fields.  Then I decided to learn about them something Rasbo posted on here about hunting them caught my attention and then I started asking questions. BTKR took me out hunting them and that sealed it and changed my mind, now I dont fear them as in terror stricken oh my god I am gonna be ate by a bear, instead I get one hell of an adrenaline rush at the thought, and still cannot wait to finally kill one.  I just keep looking for them and when I can afford it I will hunt them again, until then I am learning this new area.  I do wonder if anyone ever nailed that big guy that I had been chasing around 

[Huntbear]

I respect them and what they are capable of....

Fear them?  Nope..

[Gringo31]

You have a higher chance of being killed driving to or from hunting than you do having a bear or cougar eat ya.  I like them and one day hope to kill a brown with my bow....

[Kain]

Sometimes in the middle of the night I get the creeps but most of my hunting is done alone.  Lots of calling.  Walking hours and hours in the dark and naps against a stumps and I never even think about bears or cats.

[Blacktail Sniper]

NOPE!!  Always carry a .22 LR pistol and hunt with a partner......

A .22 pistol.

Reasons:

1. Small, light weight, easy to carry.
2. Mild report and almost non-existant recoil.
3. Affordable ammo so can practice with alot without breaking the bank.
4. When your hunting partner is shot in the knee/shin area with a .22, the resulting thrashing and flopping around on the ground along with the high-pitched screamming like a little girl, not only will distract what may be a threat to you, but can also double as an attractant for predators allowing a chance at an additional trophy.