Closest you've been to a Brown Bear?

[displacedtexan]

What's the closest you've been to a Brown Bear?

Last year in Glaicer NP the wife and I had one walk down the trail towards us. Peeled off about 10 yards in front of us, passed by about 10-15 feet away.

Didn't have a gun because we drove through Canada on that trip. Didn't use the bear spray I was holding.

 

[weekender7]

10 yards to a sow with 2 cubs, (we were stalking up a creek and came around a sharp bend, she was coming down the creek) 10 yards to a boar that charged us after a 30 yd double lung bow shot,

 

[displacedtexan]

10 yards to a sow with 2 cubs, (we were stalking up a creek and came around a sharp bend, she was coming down the creek) 10 yards to a boar that charged us after a 30 yd double lung bow shot,

I'd have charged you too! Lol

But a heck of a memorable hunt for sure. Glad you're here to tell us about it.

 

[CHWine]

Kodiak Island many years ago on a deer hunt. We had two encounters, but the closest: we were overlooking a thicket of alders glassing beyond for deer. Suddenly we jumped a medium sized bear out and he ran up on a trail the same level that we were on. I don't think he really knew what we were. He started walking towards us and it was a stiff cross wind. I quickly calculated we wasn't going to catch our wind until he has probably 50-60 yards away. He was at about 100 yds when he started our way. We started yelling and waving our arms to spook him. It wasn't working. At about 70 yds while he was approaching, my buddy fired a shot into the ground in front of the bear. It stopped, smelled where the bullet hit and finally spun on his heels and lumbered off.

 

[Q child]

I've about run into one. Literally. I was running and came around a corner and almost collided with one.

 

[BuckSmasher]

Other than the one I have shot or been there when taken it was few years ago sitting on an elk wallow in SW Montana. Came in at 40 yards. I yelled at it, it did a 180, and walked away.

One that that still makes me shiver I never saw. Elk hunting with a buddy in the same area a couple years later we seperated to cow call and cover different approaches to a different wallow. Hadn't been seated for more than 20 minutes or so and he comes busting out of the trees asking if I am ok and did I see the HUGE grizz pass right in front of me. Nope. He said it was heading my way when it went in the trees and he was only setup about 70 yards from me. It had to have walked to the treeline 20 yards in front of me and decided not to come out into the opening. I never heard or saw it.

 

[tkhuntsman]

18 yards this spring while back bear hunting with my son in the mission mtns. He was a young bear and decided to go the other direction. A few years ago got bluff charged by a big bear he started at about 60 yards and stopped and turned away at 22, he almost got a bullet.

 

[WesCAtoll]

Almost drove into one that was eating out of a dumpster one night in the flats on Kodiak. Bears home was the backyard of the airbnb I was staying long term at, the owner would throw out fish carcasses so his guests would get to see a bear.
Drinking at the Rendezvous there would often be bears (probably ^^^ ) moving across the parking lot
When I lived in downtown, occasionally I would walk home at night from construction at the safeway and there'd be a bear that would walk down the street with me or (us) . He'd stay on the opposite side and just lumber behind.

 

[dhatter9]

9 feet. Could have poked the sow that charged me in the eye with my fly rod. Thankfully it was a false charge and she broke hard right and went past me with her two little cubs following. I was done fishing for the day to say the least. In a feeder stream off the Yetna about 14 years ago.

 

[Q child]

I'd have charged you too! Lol

But a heck of a memorable hunt for sure. Glad you're here to tell us about it.

Haha. Yeah. Lucky we were both startled and promptly went opposite directions.
Edit: I meant to respond to your first post in the thread, but got this one instead. No matter, just adding a bit more detail to my previous post.

 

[TaperPin]

On Kodiak a buddy and I were shooting at the 100 yard range and we could see the alders moving so we sat and waited a few minutes - a sow and three cubs crossed at about 50 yards. That was fun, but the bears on this part of the island are pretty used to people so it was about like watching bears at the dump. Speaking of which, bears standing around at the side of the road by the dump are maybe 20’ away as you drive by - that felt kind of like Yellowstone. I also lived a short stretch from Safeway - once in a while someone would be walking down the road with a few bags of groceries and they’d get mugged by a bear. Lol. The best part of living there though was the bear trail in the back yard - about once a week in the middle of the night a sow with cubs would be passing through and the cubs would make enough little grunting noises to wake us up (the master bedroom was 2nd floor facing the back yard.) I should have had a trail camera. A very neat place for sure.

Edit: I had to chuckle the first time I noticed Safeway had boxes of 375 H&H, 416 Rem, and 458 Win.

 

[kodyshriver]

I was working for an outfit in the wood-tikchik and went out into the middle of the the Peace river to take a long overdue bath. Out comes a sow and two cubs, intent on crossing the river upstream of me. So there I am, with nothing but a bar of soap, as the bears begin to cross. The current was too swift for the cubs, so they ultimately swam downstream of me by a couple yards (could have grabbed them) & mama was a few yards upstream of me on her way to collect the cubs. It was a little unnerving to be sandwiched between a ma & her cubs with nothing but a bar of soap to defend myself. Ma collected her cubs and got them safely to the other side & I didn’t drop the soap. Win-win.

 

[LoggerDan]

While logging on Afognak, I had one stick his head into the window of my room in the bunkhouse. The bottom of the window is 9’. Had them behind me falling timber. Stopping the crummy in the road to piss and they come out. In tne sortyard. On tne Kenai Peninsula, 15 yards. Two days ago on the moose river I watched one chase a cow across the river see us, and bail back off into the river, rocking the hell outta my canoe! Fifty yards away and I thought we were gonna swamp.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Nothing real close, but my brother and I were retrieving part of a mule deer he had killed one morning in WY and part of it had been devoured, griz tracks everywhere and fresh as it was snowing. We made quick work with one of us standing guard and got the heck out of there.

 

[Bubblehide]

Less than 3 feet, same distance from a polar bear too. Yep, they were both living breathing and alive and healthy.

 

[adventure907]

I about stepped on one last fall while guiding in SE Alaska. Climbing over a log jam, stepped down on the other side and about three or four feet away a bear came barreling out of a hole he was fishing. That was a bit exciting.

 

[FairWeatherFisher]

When I was stationed in AK we had a pair of them charge at my platoon.

We were at a live fire range, but of course we were all standing around the ammo point, and no one had anything loaded. Just a pile of c wire between us.

Luckily, they stopped charging at about 30yds and ran back up the road. I imagine the mass of 25ish people was enough for them to rethink their decision.

 

[wyosteve]

Sow and 2 cubs at 35 yards. When she realized what we were, she left.

 

[logan123]

I saw one on my phone just the other day, was minding my own business. Stuck around till I opened a new tab

 

[gonhunting247]

30 yards, but I was in a tree stand. Fun to watch the sow and cubs interact. They sure didn't stay long when a boar was approaching though!