Quote:
Originally Posted by Budo
I was born and raised in Appalachia and have had many encounters with black bears. Not long ago, I deliberately approached to within a few feet of one. Unless some dumb bass has been feeding them, one has about as much to fear from a black bear as a hummingbird. Out in the Rockies they get much larger and can become aggressive if they begin to associate people with picnic baskets. Anyone who shoots a "nuisance" black bear in Virginia better have a pretty good story to tell Game and Fisheries personnel. I also spent a year on Kodiak Island and the bears there are a far different story. I think a good loadout for easter black bears is a wooden spoon applied with great velocity to an aluminum pan.
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I second the wooden spoon/aluminum pan approach. An imperfectly placed 357 may result in a really, really angry bear. JMHO, but I used to live and work in serious bear country in Alaska.. but also grew up in the Blue Ridge mountains. A police whistle makes a great New York reload.