Black Bears

[treehugn]

Have people been seeing more black bears lately in CO? I seen about 4 black bears last year about 100 yards out from me. I've never seen any in my 10 years of hunting for elk. I'm sure that's what was moving my carcass around the year before I seen them in the same area. Do most of you carry a side arm for these critters or spray?

[wawhitey]

I always carry a sidearm. Had some very close calls with blackies, one i shot from 8 feet. Yes, most of them are scaredy cats, but some arent. First day of elk season last month i was drawn on one during a 10 yard stare down that ended with him running back to 30 yards, then growling and popping his teeth at me, thrashin around the brush making ugly noises at me just before dark. Made for a creepy hike back to camp after shooting light was over.

[ElkNut1]

Ya, see them every year elk hunting during archery season. Not as many this year though.

Funny thing is I was home barbecuing on Friday evening, I had my truck in the garage with garage door open. I dropped my tailgate & set a small gas portable barbecue on it, cooked my steak up & brought it inside, it was about 30 minutes after dark now. I left the lid open to cool down still on my tailgate. I'm inside the house eating & hear a loud type of thump in the garage which is hooked to the house. I set my plate down & open up the door that goes into the garage & there is a bear on my tailgate heisting himself up with his front legs, he is 15' away, sorta startled me at first, it clicked in my head BEAR, I ran at him screaming loudly to get the crap out of there, he ran like his tail was on fire as our small 15# poodle is right on his heels barking as she feels she is protecting me, man what a riot with me & the dog running at this bear as it tears down the driveway with both of us trying to run the bear off barking & yelling!

The noise I heard was the bear had knocked our empty plastic garbage can over which was next to my truck.

ElkNut1

[powderhogg01]

I have had the privilege of spending nearly the entire archery season in the field here in co, been that way for the past 4 years, kind of how the cookie crumbles with my seasonal work. In those years a summer does not pass that I do not see a bear, last year I had several encounters with the same cinnamon momma with twin cubs. This year it was a big boar that kept waking me up during my naps.
Possibly my most memorable encounter was about 4 years ago at my house. It was early, maybe 6 am when my husky started making noise at my bedroom door, growling and moaning. At this time my husky had both her back legs in casts, I had accidentally ran her over while out 4-wheeling a few weeks prior. So I get up thinking maybe she just needs to go out, and open the door. This dog turned the corner and was face to face with a skinny blackie, who had pushed in my back door and was helping himself to my pantry. Needless to say my husky was not going to let this heathen get her snacks, so she set off full sprint, rear legs more or less dragging behind her and she gave chase. Chase she did, she ran that bear about a mile and a half straight up the mountain. I could not keep up with them, so I grabbed my rifle and went tracking. I found my pup laying in a stream, at first I feared the worst, that she had caught the bear and a fight had ensued, but that was not the case. she was just laying in the stream cooling off. I ended up having to take her back to the vet as the water ruined the casts, not to mention dirty mine tailing water is not the best for wounds to heal.
Still to this day I do not carry a side arm, I do carry spray if I am entering certain areas known for troublesome bears. I ALWAYS have a large blade on me though, I understand that in an attack I may never get the chance to get the blade out.. but it has always been with me as a last resort fight or die scenario. I feel fairly confident that my 8" bowie can get me out of most situations I find myself in.

[Tireguy]

Have people been seeing more black bears lately in CO? I seen about 4 black bears last year about 100 yards out from me. I've never seen any in my 10 years of hunting for elk. I'm sure that's what was moving my carcass around the year before I seen them in the same area. Do most of you carry a side arm for these critters or spray?

I can't speak for Colorado, but I have definitely seen an increased number in Arkansas. It only took 1 close encounter for me to decide to never go in that area again without a sidearm of some sort.

[82ndreddevil]

I always carry a sidearm. Had some very close calls with blackies, one i shot from 8 feet. Yes, most of them are scaredy cats, but some arent. First day of elk season last month i was drawn on one during a 10 yard stare down that ended with him running back to 30 yards, then growling and popping his teeth at me, thrashin around the brush making ugly noises at me just before dark. Made for a creepy hike back to camp after shooting light was over.

So funny that my encounter in Southern CO last year sounded so much like this other story. I was working my way through some dark timber on my way back to camp. It was getting late to the point where you could see it getting darker by the minute when I woke a sleeping cinnamon bear at 8-10 yards. I tried yelling and I kicked dirt at him but he wouldn't budge. I did not want to shoot this bear since I am the person that wondered into his bedroom. But I felt that with the coming darkness that this could really potentially get dangerous. So I shot an arrow at his head, thankfully it skipped off his forehead and stuck in a pine. The bear ran off faster than Dez Bryant (prior to foot injury) ha ha. I still do not carry a sidearm though, not sure why.

[CurlyTail]

I grew up in Colorado and Black Bear sightings were rare indeed in the 70's and 80's - pretty much no bears anywhere unless you actually went looking for them. Maybe a few in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Now, I see bears regularly while camping and hunting. My sister lives on the mountain in Colorado Springs, and bears in the neighborhood are a regular occurance.

I think they outlawed Spring Bear hunting in Colorado in 1992 along with the use of dogs to chase bears, and the populations have sky rocketed. I have never had a bear encounter in Colorado that was "scary" and do not carry bear spray or a side arm. They have not bothered my base camp yet either - but just a matter of time I suspect.