Ohioan kills bear on opening of deer gun season

[The Straight Story]

Ohioan kills bear on opening of deer gun season

MASSILLON, Ohio (AP) — A northeastern Ohio deer hunter netted a bigger kill than expected when he shot a 225-pound black bear on opening day of Ohio’s deer gun season.

Bears are protected in Ohio, and officials with the Ohio Division of Wildlife are investigating, Jamey Graham, a spokeswoman for the division’s northeastern Ohio district, said yesterday.

“We have to treat this as a criminal act because shooting a bear violates Ohio’s wildlife code,” Tom Rowan, the district’s law enforcement supervisor, told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.

Wildlife officials cannot release the name of the hunter from Massillon while they are investigating, and he has not been charged, Graham said.

The hunter notified the Harrison County sheriff’s office right away that he shot the male bear Monday, saying the bear had charged him and he shot it in self-defense near Cadiz in eastern Ohio, Graham said.

The bear was shot once in the head at close range with a rifled slug from a 12-gauge shotgun, she said. That is the typical firearm and ammunition used for hunting white-tailed deer during the gun season that runs through Sunday and resumes Dec. 18 and 19.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/12/04/ohioan-kills-bear-on-opening-of-deer-gun-season.html?sid=101

Being that it was close range I am guessing that the hunter here is telling the truth (bear charged him).

[Vickers]

1. Scary.

I bet he's glad he wasn't hunting pheasant at the time.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. I haven't seen black bears charge people like that. Not saying they don't but often

you can just yell at them to get them to go away. Wonder why this one was so agitated?

[NightWatcher]

5. accidentally get to close to a cub or get between them and food, oh yes they'll charge

[Angry Dragon]

6. You are correct

However it was a male bear not a female
I would find it very unusual for a male to hang around with cubs
at this time of year

[NightWatcher]

7. had a run in 15+ years ago, I didnt ask if they were male or female

I just ran and dove into the car, but that makes sense

[sarge43]

15. Males will attack cubs.

That's why mama is so defensive. She isn't all that afraid of us; a male on the prowl makes her nervous. Their eyesight isn't all that great and because we stand upright, to them we're odd looking bears.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. True, but I meant outside of those circumstances. They're not like Grizzlies, for example, which

seem to be a pretty aggressive species comparatively speaking.

[msanthrope]

3. I'd be surprised if he were charged--I don't think you bear hunt with

a 12 gague.

The bear might not have been charging, though...some people feed bears, who then think nothing of approaching people.

[doc03]

10. A 12 gauge shotgun is what you hunt deer with here, rifles are

illegal. I imagine the hunter thought the bear was charging him, so he shot it. If he was poaching bear I don't think he would have turned himself in. Cadiz is about 15 miles from my place, the last few years a few bear have taken up residence here. I can remember back in the 50's deer were nearly extinct now they are pests, in a few decades bear will be fairly common here too I suppose. That is one of the fringe benefits of being in the rust belt I guess as people move out the wildlife are moving back.

[Jackpine Radical]

12. We have 'em all over the place. One pulled down our bird feeder,

after the suet. I have encountered black bear in the woods on a number of occasions & always try to make sure they know I'm around so I don't surprise them. I haven't had any particularly scary incidents. One time I ran across a 150 lb. or so bear in the woods behind my house. It sat down to look at me. I sat down to look at it. It got bored & walked away.

Black bear are unpredictable. There was a case of one a few miles from here killing a kid in a sleeping bag & partly eating him.

[doc03]

13. I think I have heard before black bear are responsible for more

attacks then grizzlies.

[Brickbat]

4. Going only by the information in this story, I wouldn't charge him.

[Jackpine Radical]

17. I certainly wouldn't.

Knowing a little about black bear, my bet is that the bear probably hadn't made up its mind whether it was attacking or not. There's no way to tell. I'd have probably shot it in those circumstances. Certainly, while grouse hunting in black bear country, I was always aware of the possibility of a black bear encounter, and was quite aware that I was armed only with a shotgun loaded with birdshot--not exactly the weaponry one would choose for self-defense against a bear.

[eShirl]

8. That exact same thing happened to my dad.

He was deer hunting and was surprised by a black bear running in his direction. Adrenaline and reflexes take over; he's not sure if it was running at him, or just running through the woods and didn't even see him. The game warden didn't charge him with anything, and let him keep it. (Bear stew was warm and comforting in the winter of 73-74.)

[alphafemale]

11. whoa. This was the next county over from where I grew up

I never even considered that there were bears in that area, There's plenty of woodlands though where they could hide, though.

[sarge43]

14. Jerk got lucky.

Bears are like Mongo. Shooting them can make them mad.

[guitar man]

16. Don't know if it charged him

But I bet it scared the shit out of him :scared:

I doubt he was out there looking for it. A 12 ga slug isn't what I'd pick to go after a bear with by a long shot.

[lector]

18. Me to

I was fishing on the green river when a female black charged at my girlfriend. I always carried my 44 in a shoulder rig just in case. It took 4 44 cal.shots to stop her. Needles to say I never took the woman fishing again.