Charged By A BEAR! Pics

[TheKnack]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-25-08 AT 05:16PM (MST)[p]While archery elk hunting I heard a scraping against a tree so thinking it was an elk I stalked up close.....
It was so thick that I could not see past 10 yards as I sneaked over the little knob and once I came into an opening all hell broke lose.
Two mother black bears and four cubs exploded all around me at 5-yards. I was shocked as you might discern.
One of the cubs climbed a tree a few yards from me and I could not help but get out the camera and snap a few pictures for memories and it's also rare in the wild to get so close...too close to bears like this.
Earlier and each day I had seen bear tracks and scat eveywhere...

Here is the cub in the tree...

Then mother showed back up at 10 yards and started huffing...I took a quick picture and she suddenly bolted right for me. I yelled and waved my arms and she turned tail at the last second.

The mother bear hung out above me around twenty yards away and I did not want to press my luck so I left before her next charge was no bluff.
Considering the circumstances I kept fairly calm even with the bluff charge she made. Maybe I am crazy I guess black bears do not scare me as much as they should even though she was a big black bear.

Is it normal for two mother bears to hang out together?
Was I lucky not to get mauled?
If anything with the way a bears nose is and how close I got it explains I am pretty decent at stalking.LOL
Still holding out for Mr. Big Elk hunting and have gotten close but not close enough.
Have past on 11 legal bulls and many, many cows trying to get him. With a couple days left wish me luck.
Had to share this incident with you and would advise against hanging around a cub to get a few pics. It could have been my last pics from what I hear.
Best,
Jerry

 

[NeedaNu4x]

Wow! Just about the same happen to my friend. We were stakin' out a water hole when we heard an elk in the distance and my friend used his cow call, I was opposite end of the water hole watching his 'Six'. It wasn't more than 2 minutes later this young bear come running out he tree line, stopped at the closest bunch of trees and started stalking toward the pond. The bear came out out of the trees, to my friends rightside, at about 25 ft. My friend already had an arrow knocked. he tought i said a deer to his right. The bear came out and just looked at him for about a good minute or so then he just moozied back up the hillside. In all the excitement my friend was unable to get any pictures, he was more worried about cleaning the mess he made in his shorts, lol!! Sure was amazing to see something like that.

mike

Never got to see that bull we heard....hmmm, wonder why?

 

[eelgrass]

Jerry, I say you are very lucky! The next sow/cub you run across may not be so forgiving! Next time forget the photos and back out of there slowly.

It sounds like you're having fun with that new bow! Good luck for the remainder of the season!

Eel

 

[buncoboy]

Not crazy, just very mentally impaired, wow!

 

[bobcatbess]

I HAD A SIMILAR SITUATION ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO!!!

FEED WAS SCARCE & I FOUND A PATCH OF BERRIES & GRASS THAT I'D SEEN A FAIRLY NICE BUCK IN A FEW DAYS EARLIER!!!

SO'S I DECIDE TO LOAD THE BOW & HEAD BACK IN!!!

THICKEST $HIT YOU'VE EVER SEEN!!!

SO I BUST THROUGH THE THICKET & START GLASSING!!!

I SEE'S THE BACK OF WHAT I FIRST THOUGHT WAS A BLACK MOO-COW!!!

I KEEP GLASSING & ALLS OF A SUDDEN THE BIGGEST SOW BEAR I'VE EVER SEEN STANDS UP ON HER BACK LEGS & HONES RIGHT IN ON THE cat'S ASS!!!

I JUST SIT THERE & WATCH & ALL OF A SUDDEN THE SOW CHARGES ME!!!

I GET MY BOW TANGLED UP IN THE THICK CRAP & I CAN'T GET AN ARROW KNOCKED!!!

YA I FELT REAL SAFE WITH THAT BOW IN HAND!!!

I STOOD UP & STARTED YELLING!!!

SHE CAME RIGHT UP TO ME & I THOUGHT I WAS HAD!!!

SHE WAS SNAPPING THEM JAWS & I MEAN HARD!!!

I COULD ONLY THINK ABOUT HER SNAPPING MY ARMS OFF WITH THEM JAWS!!!

THEN SHE TURNED & I COULD SEE SHE HAD A GOOD SIZED CUB THAT WAS NOW IN VIEW!!!

AS SHE STARTED LEAVING I SLOWLY BACKED OUTA THERE & EVERY FEW STEPS SHE'D TURN AROUND & LOOK BACK AT ME!!!

PROBABLY A GOOD THING I DIDN'T HAVE A GUN THAT DAY BUT I'LL SURE AS HELL TELL YOU I FELT HELPLESS WITH THAT STICK & STRING!!!

I SEEN 7 BEARS IN 2 DAYS WITHOUT DOGS!!!

THEY WERE HUNGRY THAT FALL & IF YOU COULD FIND BERRIES YOU'D FIND BEARS!!!

I'M PRETTY SURE THATS WHERE I LOST ONE OF MY NINE LIVES!!!



THIS IS MY NEW GUN,YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT,YOU'LL LIKE IT A HELL OF A LOT LESS WHEN IT HITS ITS DESTINATION!!!

THE ONLY bobcat THAT KNOWS ALOT OF YOU HAVE HAD THIS IMAGE IN YOUR PEA BRAIN BUT DUE TO POOR SHOOTING TACTICS I'M STILL KICKIN!!!

 

[RACKMASTER]

your story almost made me spot!
good luck treadwell!!lmao!
rm

 

[TheKnack]

Treadwell....Now that is funny stuff there>LMAO!
Should I change my handle to SLOWJERBEAR.LOL
Ya I wouldn't recommend anyone do what I did, but I figured the other bears were gone till the mother showed back up.
Just call me Knacklehead.
Best,
Jerry

 

[Blueoak]

I had it happen to me at a cat kill. Problem was I had no way out and the boar was up hill of me when he charged. I fired a warning shot on the first advance right between the legs. I replaced that shell and good thing too, because he advaced again! This all started at 30yds and ended at 5 with a dead bear and a sweatin me! With a BOW! Jeez I don't know if I could take it. This bear was gona eat me.

 

[NeverStopHuntin]

That story is awesome and i'm sure you will never forget it, it just makes it that much sweeter that you have pics. I don't think black bears are viscious man eaters like some people think. They just want to act tough and see a grown man run like a little girl.

 

[400bull]

I had a very similar situation happen to me several years ago while Bowhunting mule deer. I had spotted a group (8 or more) bucks bedding down in a small pine tree patch. I had made my move and got as close to the pine patch as I could without spooking the deer (about 30 yards). The biggest buck in the bunch was no more then 35 yards a way but no shoot was presentable. So I decide to wait them out. About 15 minutes into the wait everything jumped up and left in a hurry. At first I thought that they had scented me but then realized that when the left the ran towards me. Baffled about the situation I started looking around trying to figure out what the heck happen. That's when momma bear and her two cubs stepped out of the pine patch the deer had been bedded in. She was no more then 30 yards away from me. I felt like her eyes where looking right through me and her facial expressions were defiantly saying ?come on I dare you?. Needless to say I slowly backed out of there and never returned the rest of that year.

400bull

 

[cast_n_blast]

I don't think you've ever read the book "Alaska Bear Tales" or you would have seen that cub and then got the H out of there.

One of the stories in there talks about a Black bear that takes on a Brown Bear and kills it, pretty amazing story.

I too had a bear come into a water hole while I was elk hunting many years ago, it then walked up the trail that we had to walk out. Believe me, I was talking very loudly the whole way up that trail.

 

[BOW_N_ARROW]

Damn you're lucky, but nice pics! More huevos than me, that's for sure...
JB

 

[mtmiller]

I had something similar last season.

 

[mtmiller]

The mother charged me, so I yelled and ran right at her.

She blinked.;-)

OK, maybe not exactly how it went down. hahah....

Seriously, cool pics. Thanks for the share.

 

[BeanMan]

Jerry,

Very cool story. I've had a close run in with a momma and cubs while biwhunting east of you a long time ago. Not as close as yours though.

Get mister big,

Fred

 

[Tisoykeis]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-29-08 AT 10:45AM (MST)[p]I had a similar experience years ago while hunting up near the Skyline above Manti. I went into some thick pines and immediately smelled something horrible, but continued on. I soon saw a buck and doe making their way down through the pines. I decided the buck was worth pursuing so I headed down as well. After a few seconds, I noticed that something had turned that buck around and he decided he was more afraid of it than me and he headed back up towards me.

It was his last mistake as I put him down almost immediately. As I was dragging him out through the bottom of those pines, I came across a four wheeler trail and started following it and I ran into a couple of guys who said I had scared a huge black bear out of the pines when I shot and it nearly ran them over before veering off the trail and down another ridge. Glad I didn't come face to face with it like you did.

 

[bigbull1]

I had a bear incident this year as well in New Mexico.

My brother-in-law and I were headed down a game trail for the afternoon hunt and spotted some bear scat. Not five minutes later, this chocolate colored blacky comes from below on a collision course with us at a full gallop. As I raise my bow (defense barrier mode, not nocked to shoot mode) and try to yell "bear" to my bro in law who hasn't yet spotted him yet, the bear changes directions 90 degrees and runs away. He at least got to within 15-20 yards before he changes course. The whole encounter lasted less than 5 seconds. I have always heard how fast bears can run, but he would have smoked my lab, Lucy in a sprint contest.

Ed

www.huntpacks.com