Big bear: woud you?

[Bucnutz.wis]

can we still shoot deer and elk in their beds or is that a no no now too????

Good Question Buckman... I'd say if your comfortable with the shot - take it... who cares what others think...

 

[belly-deep]

I say tit for tat on this one. Bears have been known to rip a tent camper out of a sleeping bag on occasion. Now we're finally showing them how it feels...

 

[Horn Seeker]

If I saw tracks that big..I really doubt I would crawl in after him... however, I think I would try to get him out to get a shot in the light... that is a bear of lifetime...even if he is only 9'6" from NOSE TO TOES!

I have crawled into several caves that were full of screaming hounds and a pissed off bear. That is a bit more exciting in my opinion... everytime the bear makes a jab at a dog, all the dogs pile into you and you dont know if the bear is going to pile into you or what....goal was mainly to get dogs OUT OF CAVE before they got bit up... Seen a few shot in the cave. Tricky part there was always wondering if they were dead... no flashlight... "you go in and pull him out"... "uh...nahh... you go ahead, you are the one that shot into the dark hole"...... "here, I"ll shoot a few more times for good measure"...

Hehehe

 

[Horn Seeker]

This is one Rockydog and I found in the Root a few years ago... this is just the result of me shoving my arm into the cave as far as I could and RockyD standing with his 300 about to blow my arm off.... There were actually 2 in there... evidenced by tracks only... I think momma and kiddo... their tracks were all around this giant boulder and she'd been tearing limbs off all the trees... as you can see, for bedding.

 

[Horn Seeker]

Here's RD at the entrance... Pretty cool Den...

 

[Goldtip]

Those are pretty cool pics Hornseeker.

 

[Buckmania]

Good Question Buckman... I'd say if your comfortable with the shot - take it... who cares what others think...

point noted from pic.....however, legalities come into play with your argument.

 

[Breaks Runner]

Well I haven't killed a lion yet, although I spent 2 months running the dogs everyday to get them in shape, shoveled a mound of dog crap from the kennel, and have spent 6 days snow mobiling and hiking looking for a track and have yet to put one up a tree,,,seems this cat hunting is easy.

Maybe I could spot one from a plane.

Good luck with that....I have 4000+ hours of low level fying(supercub and helicopter) and have never seen a mountain lion from the sky.

 

[Bucnutz.wis]

point noted from pic.....however, legalities come into play with your argument.

Legalities - maybe.... Ethics - absolutely.... IMO

 

[Lawnboy]

Good luck with that....I have 4000+ hours of low level fying(supercub and helicopter) and have never seen a mountain lion from the sky.

I used to live up Sypes Canyon and was spotting some deer up on the mountain from my living room when I saw a funny looking animal with a long tail. It walked a ways then went up into a tree. I was sure it had to be a cat and sure enough he jumped down and continued sneeking around the hillside toward the deer. I consider myself dang lucky to have seen a cat let alone from the comforts of my living room window. I yelled for my wife to come look (as it was a rarity to even see a cat) and she says no thanks....women

 

[tjones]

Good luck with that....I have 4000+ hours of low level fying(supercub and helicopter) and have never seen a mountain lion from the sky.

Sometimes my jokes are't as funny as I thought,

 

[Breaks Runner]

I'm sure we've flown over a bunch of them over the years, just never got my eye on one. Coolest critter I've ever seen from the sky was a wolverine up in North Valley County....that was a treat!

 

[Oak]

Well I can tell you guys that the DOW already has an issue paper circulating that will make it illegal to kill a bear in a den in CO. That didn't take long.

Issue paper to be presented at the Wildlife Commission meeting this week:

http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/395EB99B-B670-4E26-8193-14828DD1A31C/0/BearsinDens.pdf

 

[BuzzH]

This is probably the main problem:

"other states have adopted regulations that make it illegal to take a bear while in its den. Examples are New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan."

 

[Horn Seeker]

:hump:

New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan

You are saying Wyoming, Montana, etc... dont fit in that list???

 

[1_pointer]

That would be WAY cool!! Hats off to him. I just wonder how cold brass balls get in that weather?

 

[Mudranger1]

The Commissioners passed this if you haven't seen/heard

 

[noharleyyet]

you called it Oak...

Colorado Considers Ban on Hunting Denned Bears
January 6, 2011.

The Wildlife Commission will consider a new regulation to prohibit the take of bears in their dens during its January meeting.

During the morning session, the Wildlife Commission will get a first look at a new den-hunting regulation drafted by Division of Wildlife staff following an incident this fall in which a potential state record black bear was taken by a licensed hunter while in its den.

The incident has prompted a discussion about whether taking hibernating black bears in their dens is ethical, safe, or adheres to the concept of fair chase.

According to the 2010-2020 Strategic Plan adopted by the Wildlife Commission, the Division should look to maintain and increase support for wildlife management activities by emphasizing ethics, safety and fair chase in hunting, fishing and other wildlife programs. Although no regulations currently prohibit den hunting in Colorado, other states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan have adopted regulations to ban the practice.

The proposed regulation is scheduled to receive a three-step review by Commissioners, who could approve a final rule in May

.

 

[wgiles]

The DOW person I spoke to today made a good point. Bears will still be killed in dens if a person is motivated to do it. The DOW will never see the kill sites. The only reason they heard about this one is because it is a potential state record.

The fact that this case drew so much publicity kind of backed the DOW into the corner. Hunters would likely lose any ballot initiative proposing to limit any predator hunting in this state. We already lost trapping and spring bear hunting that way. There are just too many non-hunters here these days.

I think that this is a very good point. Even when something is not illegal nor unethical, it still may not be a good idea. There are unintended consequences of many of the actions that we take. When we do something that is considered wrong by the general population, we run the risk of having action taken that prevents us from doing that thing in the future. I consider it to be unsportsmanlike to kill a hibernating bear in its den, but that's all.

 

[Dinkshooter]

Why am I always late to the show? It was used in 2009 as well.

I am not as brave as Hornseeker