@roger,
Black bears usually give you time to think it over before you should commit any serious gun action. (Look big, talk and sing, have a small group of people,(alone is bad)
The ber's autonomic nervous system is so tuned that they can often be on you before they know theyre dead from several well placed shots. Guns are ALWAYS a very last ditch action, just because of that.
My gun is nicely velcroed into its holster .It sits high, and allows me to "run through the jungle" (Actually a slow diagonal away from any bear action while not looking directly at the thing is the first step in diffusing any political discussions.
Most human/ bear interactions are bcause the human is oblivious to its location in the woods and ones pathway restrictions(wrt the bears direction). Dense undergrowth is not your friend in a trail walk, bears can usually smell you downwind several miles away. You really dont want to just bust into them upwind cause they dont see well. When the wind is on you and you must go up wind. Hike slowly and sing verses of " LOUIE LOUIE".
We have a bear country teacher who trains all our technician and engineers (And geologists) what to act like in the deep woods of the Appalachians. While we dont have many bear attacks, we hear of one or two a year that usually get busted up with just common sense, nothing fancy. I saw in the Pa Game News that last summer several "nuisance" bears had to be moved (2 times they are moved, then if they dont adapt and stay away , they get
harvested").
The bear guys also go around to Game Land properties and State PArks to see how the garbage handling is done so it doesnt turn into a bear " Dunkin Donut shop" and dumpsters arent becoming attractants.
I only had 2 bear "interactions" during my "fracking years" and bothe were diffused by my voice and that of my partner.
Ill be hiking up there a few tims in early 2021 (jan an Feb) and all bears 'll be denned up. The big problems in the N western part of the state in deep winter is coyotes ,and lake edge snow.
Still beats workin behind a computer a bazillion times, and Im gonna be 70 next week. I cant believe it WHAT THE ______HAPPENED????
