The law on shooting a bear

Before someone gets hurt, I'll tell you what a working partner told me that was a professional bear hunter for the State of Colorado Dept of Wildlife. This was back in the late 60's.

He stated you can't shoot a bear in the head unless you want to die. First the skull is 2" to 3" thick and slopes up from just above the eye scoket to a thick crown on the rear of the skull thus causing any head shot to rochet off the skull. Only one head shot and that was in either eye scoket.

I personaly don't shoot what I don't eat.

Too bad the Dept of wildlife doesn't take care of your problem for you like they should as our wildlife numbers are quickly shrinking. I would bet your area wildlife system is out of balance and why the bear is killing your domestic livestock.

In my 50yrs of being out in the backcountry, I got to see my first black bear while sitting in my truck last year. I've seen one in the woods while elk hunting but never from a vehicle. That's only two bears in 50yrs.

T_Bone

Thanks for providing the badly needed larger perspective on this issue. Only a few individuals on this forum have achieved the position where their personal opinion, as well as their technical advice, commands respect. You, and MarkKw,and Steve US Alloys (a few others, too--you know who you are) hold the respect of one of the few groups in this era of declining competence which is worth having. Do Mark and Steve still post? It seems like it's been awhile.

One of the sad imbalances of life is having so much energy to do damage out of ignorance when you are young, and so little energy to correct it (to whatever extent that's even possible) when you are old enough to see more of the whole picture. When the wisdom gained from experience and broadened perspective is valued in the culture, the aging individual has the means to do something to set things right. Does anyone see that happening nowadays?

IMO, the reason this forum is so highly regarded by its users is that the qualities of real life experience, clear thinking, common sense, simple decency, and helpfulness are still understood to be essential. Society at large appears to be on a rampage to find out what it's like to respect none of those.

Excuse my ranting. I work with people half my age who are perfect specimens of their culture. It's frightening and discouraging.

All the best, Stan

I'd have thought you were angry if you hadn't included such a generous offer. I'll take 25 to start, and if they're good quality I'll have a thousand more.

Between the clear cutting and the timber company bear exterminators (a few years back one of them was honored for having rid timber company land of his 1,000th bear) it's getting hard to ever see a bear in the wild anymore. If you're a bear hunter, you'll miss them too when they're gone.

When I was a child there were still a few people alive who had been born into slavery in this country. Would it make sense to say that before the American Civil War, only slave owners were qualified to decide whether slavery was right or wrong?

The matter of how we treat other living things on this planet we're supposed to be taking care of is a complicated one. Of course the condo dwellers in Toronto are largely misinformed because, guess what?, everybody is. I'll bet you're expert in a hundred things I know little or nothing about, and I might not be expert in that many but I can spell better than most people.

We ought to be able to work things out if we don't dismiss each other's legitimate concerns on account of the opinions of people who think that real life is something that takes place in a room with a television. Every group that shares a point of view has its lunatic fringe to be embarrassed about.

All the best, Stan

I agree with everything you said in that post, especially the last line. I'm very sorry to hear it from that side of the border, though. My wife and I idealize Canada as a country where most of the people haven't lost their minds yet.

I'm not a hunter so I might be mistaken about this, but I think Washington state has pretty reasonable laws about hunting and game control. The overpopulation problems of trendy east coast summer resort towns (herds of starving, diseased deer blocking traffic) haven't happened here, so far. It would be great if people who don't know what they're talking about would keep out of other people's business, but that's getting to be pretty scarce.

If I was there, I'd gladly lend a hand protecting your livestock, or migratory guests, from bears or any other predators. Not that your border people would let me in the country with so much as the thought of a firearm passing through my mind.

The town Coldiron mentioned is Elma, a mill town that used to be owned by Simpson Timber, and might still be. Not all that long ago workers there were paid in company scrip, redeemable only at the company store. To me, it seems like all the spirit has been ground out of the people there. I'm a radical when it comes to the treatment of the working man, so I can hardly stand to drive through a company town like Elma. They do have a bear festival, though.

Here's one for you, buickanddeere. A few years ago I read a magazine article where the writer described television programming as "the toxic waste product of the advertising industry." I don't believe I've ever heard it put better.

All the best, Stan

Don't tell anyone anything, and had better know the taxidermy guy pretty good if plan on having it stuffed for the livingroom. Just my two cents.

Them DNR guys are whacked - wild animals first, humans no rights.

Mark

Certainly there is the matter of illegally discharging a firearm in close proximity to a dwelling (including your own), being out of hunting season, not having a hunting licence, etc.

But the main one is who screams about you shooting a bear. If you get HSUS and the other animal rights lunatics calling for your blood, you're going to jail. We've already seen that here. If you escape their wrath, you'll be fine.

For all of us dealing with predators, the rule of 3S's always applies. Shoot, shovel, shut up.