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johnbt · January 13, 2009, 12:03 PM

I told it before, but my father, uncle and grandfather went face to face with an angry black bear in the early '50s. All they had was high brass #6 in 2 12 ga. guns and my father's 20 ga. Model 12. They were taking a walk after lunch and I didn't get to go because I was 5. The bear was coming down the mountain in a hurry and they were walking up the logging trail next to the creek. The path down lead straight to 1500 apple trees.

The bear was mad because 3 guys had been hounding it for 2 or 3 days. They weren't too happy about losing "their" bear. They showed up after the bear had been hauled down off the mountain and started talking trash in front of the women and kids in the side yard. It's at this point in the story where my father demonstrates how he told them to be quiet and wait for him to step into the house for a second. He came out wearing his State Trooper hat and sidearm.

It took a lot of shells because the only angle they had was on the head, face and shoulders as the bear stood in the creek and swatted at them - mostly at my grandfather's little farm dog who would not stop charging the bear. There was a reason the mutt was named Sparky.

Lots and lots of birdshot.

January 13, 2009, 12:03 PM	#26
johnbt Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 1999 Location: Richmond, Virginia USA Posts: 6,004	I told it before, but my father, uncle and grandfather went face to face with an angry black bear in the early '50s. All they had was high brass #6 in 2 12 ga. guns and my father's 20 ga. Model 12. They were taking a walk after lunch and I didn't get to go because I was 5. The bear was coming down the mountain in a hurry and they were walking up the logging trail next to the creek. The path down lead straight to 1500 apple trees. The bear was mad because 3 guys had been hounding it for 2 or 3 days. They weren't too happy about losing "their" bear. They showed up after the bear had been hauled down off the mountain and started talking trash in front of the women and kids in the side yard. It's at this point in the story where my father demonstrates how he told them to be quiet and wait for him to step into the house for a second. He came out wearing his State Trooper hat and sidearm. It took a lot of shells because the only angle they had was on the head, face and shoulders as the bear stood in the creek and swatted at them - mostly at my grandfather's little farm dog who would not stop charging the bear. There was a reason the mutt was named Sparky. Lots and lots of birdshot.