Bears

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Fascinating story. He left his 10mm Glock 20 feet away while field dressing an elk in griz country. Very sad.

Lot of unfortunate mis-steps in this incident. IMO, a semi-auto is not something I would depend on when someone with little to no experience is involved. The article does not state what, if any, instruction was given to the client should bad things happen. He apparently did not carry bear spray and he definitely was not familiar with a semi-auto pistol; he is fortunate to have gotten away with just the injuries he did. Unfortunately he now has to live with a tragic memory. A big bore dble action revolver is the usuall firearm of choice for most guides I have met, whether they be hunters or just tour guides. It is a point and shoot firearm, easy to use even with no experience. But I would expect any guide to go thru some pre-hunt education of a client to include live fire instruction for any firearm and spray. Will have see what happens with the guide company.
 
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1Jerseydevil

Explorer
Feb 14, 2009
567
214
Yes tragic story indeed. While reading I was having similar thoughts as most of you probably had. Since we don't know the precise details I'm not commenting other than to say that with stories such as this there is always Monday morning quarterbacking and hindsight is always 20/20.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Yes tragic story indeed. While reading I was having similar thoughts as most of you probably had. Since we don't know the precise details I'm not commenting other than to say that with stories such as this there is always Monday morning quarterbacking and hindsight is always 20/20.

The full report is linked in the newspaper article and there are more details at this link, including OSHA comments, but their report has yet to be published.

https://trib.com/osha-recommends-tr...cle_f001e89c-ddda-5f90-a671-048a93aaf592.html
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
........A big bore dble action revolver is the usuall firearm of choice for most guides I have met, whether they be hunters or just tour guides. It is a point and shoot firearm, easy to use even with no experience. ...

My family and I spent 10 days in Yellowstone about 15 years ago bouncing back and forth between Montana and Wyoming. We did a lot of hiking and fishing and I brought my Smith 29 in .44 mag with me everywhere I went. No special permits or licenses are needed for open carry in either State or within Yellowstone National Park.

It was then that I realized that both Wyoming and Montana are part of the Real America. ;)
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
We visited YNP each summer starting in 1971 for the next 23 years, except for 1988, the year of the big fire. There were very few grizzly around early on, a lot different now. Carry of firearms was banned then, even packed away n your luggage. WY and MT are both open carry, but the change to the law back around 2010 was not very clear. You can only carry in a NP if you have a valid CC in your home state and the park you are visiting is in a state that reciprocates, but you cannot discharge any firearm within a NP. :worms: Hoping to get back that way this year.

I have a Ruger Redhawk in the same caliber :D

https://www.nps.gov/articles/firearms-in-national-parks.htm

For while the law made it legal to carry a legally permitted sidearm or rifle, it did not go a step further and allow the weapons to be discharged in National Parks.

And that’s where Yellowstone and the National Park Service comes in. Packing won’t necessarily be as easy in Yellowstone as NRA advocates think: the Park lies in three different states, and each states have different laws pertaining to reciprocal permits and concealed carry. Wyoming, for instance, recognized permits from only 23 states; Montana from 40 and Idaho from 48. Wyoming’s gun laws are a little more restrictive than you’d think, so you will want to check up if you’re planning on bringing a weapon into the Park.

107238079.jpg
 
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Jon Holcombe

Explorer
Dec 1, 2015
967
1,934
Medford
I took my grandson to Batsto last Saturday, and this poster is prominently displayed as you walk into the nature center. I asked inside and they said the last bear spotted in Wharton was 2016.
2019_02_19_bear.jpg
 
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Jon Holcombe

Explorer
Dec 1, 2015
967
1,934
Medford
I think "Do not play dead" is, in general, good life advice.
When being approached by a black bear, no. When being approached by a brown bear, yes. From what I've read they behave very differently. If a black bear is coming towards you and doesn't stop, the behavior is considered predatory.
 

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
The only black bear caused death in NJ that I am aware of occurred in September 2014.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/...gers-student-during-a-hike-in-new-jersey.html
Patel was about to begin hiking with four friends in Apshawa Preserve when they met a man and a woman at the entrance who told them there was a bear nearby and advised them to turn around. They continued on, found the bear, and Patel and another hiker took photos. They turned and began walking away, but the bear followed them. The hikers ran in different directions, and found that Patel was missing when they regrouped. Authorities found Patel's body after searching for two hours. A black bear found in the vicinity was killed and a necropsy revealed human remains in its digestive tract. According to the State Department of Environmental Protection, this was the first fatal bear attack on a human in New Jersey on record.
 

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
976
656
64
Richland, NJ
loki.stockton.edu
Rowan Professor Harry Gershenowitz wrote a series of small undated papers on reintroducing bears to South Jersey:
  • The case for the restoration of the black bear in Burlington County.
  • Bears and the ecosystem of Cape May County.
  • Bear sightings in Franklin Township during the summer of 1896.
  • Black bears and bobcats in Monroe Township.
  • Recent sightings of black bear.
  • The last great bear hunt in Vineland.
When Gershenowitz passed away (on tip from Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society curator Patt Martinelli) historian Carl Farrell and I salvaged a number of the professor’s papers from oblivion. These are now archived as a special collection at VHAS. Gershenowitz wrote on a wide range of local cultural and natural history, with titles like Life Along the Tuckahoe River, Phrenology and Spiritualism in South Jersey, and The Mrs. Treat of Darwin’s Scientific World.

S-M
 
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Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,602
8,181
I just don't see South Jersey handling bears. I certainly don't want to have to deal with running into them. If I had a negative encounter I would be packing from that moment on.
 
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46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,143
Coastal NJ
Packing lunch maybe. You're in the wrong State for packing anything else. :D

Yep, even possession of a BB or airsoft/paintball is a 3rd degree felony if the intended use is to hurt something, and protection against a bear would probably be considered that by this administration. The laws regarding knives are even foggier in this great state.
 
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