How close is too close?

[Where's Bruce?]

Never had a black bear do much of anything besides run off quickly and die close, few times they've moved real slow and died within yards. Grizzly's and Brown Bears at 10-12 yards, of which I've seen several shot that close, a few have run directly towards us but the majority have run the other way. The reactions after an arrow hits the two 2 different species are quite a bit different. Grizzlys/Browns are usually looking for the culprit, black bears typically run away.

Once he gets downwind...shit happens quick.

 

[KHNC]

Did the hunter die? ^^

Edit, Video stopped, then restarted. I see the gun shot now.

 

[go_deep]

Once he gets downwind...shit happens quick.

That's a grizz, were talking about black bears.

 

[Nick Muche]

Knowing the hunter and the guide in that video, I’d agree. But we are talking about black bears.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Well it's like this fellas, when someone quotes another poster's comments and they appear above the reply...it means the reply applies to that post at the top...not necessarily the entire thread or OP. In this case, I was replying to the comment comparing blacks & browns. Class dismissed...there will be no quiz.

 

[Nick Muche]

All Hail Bruce! The international man of mystery and usually the least experienced on any topic he posts on besides spending money of stuff he rarely uses.

 

[Wrench]

I've been very close to quite a few black bears and so far they have all turned inside out when they realized I was there. I've killed 2 under 10 feet, but both were with guns. I can't say if they were gonna bail or not because I ate them before they had a chance to complete their thoughts.

Sow with cubs is the wild card that I am very cautious of. Curious cubs mixed with momma bear can be bad.

 

[philos]

The thing I worry about is simply any animal’s reaction at a super close range if they are frightened. I once had a dairy cow almost land in my lap because a vehicle scared her. Beef might be good for you but several hundred pounds of raw moo cow is not good dumped in your lap.

 

[mrolen]

How close is too close to take a shot on a big black bear?
Last week I was out in the central Oregon wilderness for archery elk season. I was calling for a friend who was hunting with a stick bow. While we were creeping around a big meadow to get the wind right he had a black bear that we estimate was 350lbs walk across the trail less than ten feet in front of him. He already had an arrow nocked and came to full draw but didn’t take the shot. His reasoning, which I support, was that the bear was so close there was a good chance it would turn and fight instead of run. What do you guys think? How close to a 350 pound black bear would you take a shot with a bow?

Really limiting your self with a stick bow if worried about stuff getting to close looking for that perfect range of 12-20 yards. All kidding aside as long the bear wasn’t directly up hill from me I would shoot it.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

All Hail Bruce! The international man of mystery and usually the least experienced on any topic he posts on besides spending money of stuff he rarely uses.

It always makes me smile when "some people" I don't know, have not and will never meet, seem to think they have indepth knowledge and understanding of me from thousands of miles away...based solely on tiny points of light shining on their monitor.

 

[Nick Muche]

It always makes me smile when "some people" I don't know, have not and will never meet, seem to think they have indepth knowledge and understanding of me from thousands of miles away...based solely on tiny points of light shining on their monitor.

Since you don’t hunt on your own much, I’d bet you’re a real chore as a client.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Since you don’t hunt on your own much, I’d bet you’re a real chore as a client.

You, your crystal balls and assumptions are quite entertaining. But you don't know Muche.

 

[zalewitz]

I would have shot and prayed for the best l