norseman Posted May 23, 2018 Admin Share Posted May 23, 2018 1 hour ago, Catmandoo said: Cougar and black bear populations will increase in Washington State. The black bear population is under estimated in WA. With the addition of recently enacted Wilderness Areas ( read no hunting ), we will have the "Park Deer Effect". Deer populations increase and so the predator populations increase. Norseman pointed out that bear spray is a condiment. The carrier for the irritant is vegetable oil. Bear treat. That is why no one signed on to Smiths research when he was testing bear spray in Alaska during the early 90's.. The work is considered anecdotal. Smith watched Brown bears roll around on the ground where the irritant faded to no effect. I think wolves rolled on it also. Your can of bear treat has diminished range in cold weather. Practice cans are available that do not have irritant. Good idea to get the feel of range and spray pattern. If you practice with a test can or expired bear spray, please do not dump the vegetable oil where humans travel. I carry bear spray. I have trekking poles. I snowshoe and carry an ice axe. I carry the ice axe all seasons. I keep in mind the 'sabre tooth tiger thing'. Cats like to strike from behind. Many prehistoric skulls have puncture holes from large cats. The cats dragged the victim away by the head, especially children. Years ago I was snowshoeing and was passed by a young cougar, not quite running but not dragging it's tail. About 100' away, in a biting snowstorm, the cat had other plans and besides, I don't taste very good. I like to travel off trail so I can hear the ground snaps. Cats are quiet and i don't expect to hear them. I look behind frequently to remember the terrain for the hike out and to see what is following me. My daughter went to school with a boy that had been drug by the head out of the yard. He had some nasty scars on his face. The grandma luckily saw what was happening and frantically attacked it with a frying pan. It dropped him and ran. Cats are not tough. A .223 varmint caliber is plenty when shooting one out of the tree over hounds. Its not a Grizzly. But the stealth attack is still more spooky to me than a confrontational Bear. I wanna know prior..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catmandoo Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 PBeaton Should be an interesting show. I assume that they are visiting Chichagof Island. I was in Tenakee Inlet years ago. The bears are everywhere. Day or night, they own the island and are roaming, eating salmon on the beach seasonally or snacking on the Sitka Deer. The Sitka Deer is very small, slightly bigger than a large dog. People may wonder how the bears got there. They swim the channels. This is a bad ass bear. I watched a full grown bear run full speed on a beach in a territorial dispute charge. Impressive. Most important hiking equipment is a Remington 870 with a short barrel and a lot of Brenneke 12 gauge slugs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBeaton Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Catmandoo, Ya, lookin' forward ta seein' the show as well. Pat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiiawiwb Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 As mentioned above, Dr Stephen Herrero is a leading authority on bears and bear attacks. With black bear, it's male, predatory behavior to watch out for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7yoIheOrTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EijJMqmRJ5k https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jwmg.72 https://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-Causes-Avoidance-revised/dp/158574557X/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=52J63G3QNASFBQ7ZNG93 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bipedalist Posted May 26, 2018 BFF Patron Share Posted May 26, 2018 (edited) The cat that made the kill was a young emaciated male, a homeowner gamecam picked up the probable cat. As soon as I saw that vid. I realized if that was the cat that there was a problem with it. Same thing with bears, many times bears that attack are somehow damaged and ill, not all of them of course. I remember one case in Glacier Park where two park employees were killed in 1980 illegally camped on an island. That bear had stomach cancers and was a known garbage dump bear apparently--that particular day of the attack he ate well though. Edited May 26, 2018 by bipedalist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted May 30, 2018 Admin Share Posted May 30, 2018 On 5/22/2018 at 3:38 PM, cmknight said: Whenever I go out, I carry a KA-Bar, Pepper Spray, a telescoping baton, and my trusty Ash Tee-Ball bat (knockin'-stick). I've also usually got my 5 1/2 foot long monopod that I use as a trekking pole. All of which are no substitute for a firearm...... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmknight Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 On 5/29/2018 at 8:23 PM, norseman said: All of which are no substitute for a firearm...... This is true, but up here in Canada, the rules about carrying firearms are a bit different. http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/wild-sauvage-eng.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronD Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 So basically, they want to give the wild animal a fair chance to eat you before you pull out that horrible weapon and get it loaded... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted June 4, 2018 Admin Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, cmknight said: This is true, but up here in Canada, the rules about carrying firearms are a bit different. http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/wild-sauvage-eng.htm You can carry a SBR lever gun anytime anywhere..... I’ve got Canadian buddies. Edited June 4, 2018 by norseman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCBFr Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) On 5/22/2018 at 1:17 PM, SWWASAS said: Reading about what repels cougars apparently they do not like to be hit in the face. Problem with a knife is that if you are within knife range to fight back you are within paw range swiping at you. A hiking pole might be useful to jab at their face and repel them. Keep them out of paw swiping range and discourage them. One of the two guys attacked, the cougar had his head in it mouth. Law enforcement said his injuries were consistent with that report. I did learn from my experience if deer run past you and look behind at something else other than you, something is chasing them that could be a danger to you. I was hoping it was BF but turned out to be the cougar that was chasing the two deer. I recall a BF sighting report where the witness initially saw a bear staring into the woods at something other than the human. Looking where the bear was staring, the witness saw the BF watching the bear. Bears and BF must have an interesting relationship. Cougars are ambush predators and generally attack from the back. I agree, a knife will not be of much use. You best bet is a pistol on your hip. Not sure how that would work when riding a bike however. Norse - How much does that thing weigh and how do you carry it? Slung across your back. Would not be of much use buried/strapped in a backpack. Edited June 4, 2018 by NCBFr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC witness Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 One of our Canadian members is camped out in bear/cougar territory this week. When I visited his camp yesterday, he showed me his new short barrel break action 12 ga. That thing feels like it weighs about 3 lbs and is a very tidy little package. With a 1 oz slug or OO buck, it will do the job in close. Last year, we heard cougars mating near that camp, they make quite a ruckus during the process!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted June 4, 2018 BFF Patron Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 Was that four footed or two footed cougars? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airdale Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) Quote Norse: You can carry a SBR lever gun anytime anywhere..... I’ve got Canadian buddies. If I'm interpreting the link cmknight posted correctly, non-residents can take the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and apply for a Possession and Acquisition Liscense which is good for five years. There is also a Non-resident Firearms Declaration form good for 60 days. Living in Montana, I'd love to visit Canada when we get our travel trailer, but have a genetic aversion to being unarmed. My Rossi Ranchhand .357, a pistol in the US, would magically transmute to a carbine upon crossing the Canadian border. If any of our friends from North of the border are knowledgeable on this subject please chime in! Edited June 4, 2018 by Airdale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted June 4, 2018 Admin Share Posted June 4, 2018 1 hour ago, Airdale said: Quote Norse: You can carry a SBR lever gun anytime anywhere..... I’ve got Canadian buddies. If I'm interpreting the link cmknight posted correctly, non-residents can take the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and apply for a Possession and Acquisition Liscense which is good for five years. There is also a Non-resident Firearms Declaration form good for 60 days. Living in Montana, I'd love to visit Canada when we get our travel trailer, but have a genetic aversion to being unarmed. My Rossi Ranchhand .357, a pistol in the US, would magically transmute to a carbine upon crossing the Canadian border. If any of our friends from North of the border are knowledgeable on this subject please chime in! Ive looked into it. And yes there is a place in Castlegar about 70 miles from my house that offers the course. https://cereg.selkirk.ca/srs/cecourses.htm#option=course&chttps://cereg.selkirk.ca/SRS/cecourses.htm#option=course&crsid=FAST+1032A&allstart=Nrsid=FAST+1032A&allstart=N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC witness Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 (edited) Yes, Airdale, that is considered a rifle here in Canada. MagniAesir, a member of this forum, is a friend of mine, living about 10 miles from me here in the Fraser Valley, and owns that same Rossi in 44 mag. He can carry it on our outings, but be advised that most towns, and many rural municipalities, have local regulations re open carrying any firearm within their boundaries. In general, you're good to carry long arms on most open public land, known here as "Crown Land", which technically belongs to the British Monarch. 7 hours ago, SWWASAS said: Was that four footed or two footed cougars? Never heard that kind of caterwauling from the bipedal type, so I assume it was real felines. Multiply the sound of domestic cats mating by a factor of 8 or so, and you get the general idea. Edited June 5, 2018 by BC witness add comment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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