Posted on 07/02/2012 6:14:40 AM PDT by marktwain
A Stony Point resident hosting a family barbecue shot a black bear he deemed a threat to his guests when the bear would not leave his property Saturday afternoon.
The incident took place at approximately 1 p.m. at 567 Willow Grove Road, Stony Point Police Sgt. John Wood told Patch. Guests, including children, were outside when the bear came onto the property and at the time of the shooting, but police did not know how many.
"The bear came onto his property in close proximity to his guests and was not shooing away," said Sgt. Wood. "He took matters into his own hands."
The homeowner, Richard Wheeler, used a rifle to shoot the bear, which died at the scene. The Department of Environmental Conservation arrived at the home and "found everything to be fine," said Sgt. Wood. A DEC represtentative was not available for an interview at the time of publication.
The DEC released the bear to Wheeler, who declined a phone interview with Patch regarding the incident.
The Willow Grove Road home is located in a relatively low density, wooded area close to Harriman State Park.
Several bear sightings in the Hudson Valley region have been reported recently. Earlier this June, black bears were spotted in New Castle and at Armonk's Wampus Elementary and H.C. Crittenden Middle Schools. The DEC provided safety tips following those sightings.
"Any time people come in contact with a bear, call the police," advised Sgt. Wood. "Try not to go near a bear."
More likely, the bears are overpopulating for the territory they have. Time to SSS and thin the herd.
Heh. I had a beagle when I was a kid. He got upset enough when squirrels came into his yard. A bear would have had him foaming at the mouth, all the hair on his back standing up. I’m pretty sure he could have shooed a bear away. A bear would have found him too small and annoying to mess with.
We have the same problem with liberals around here. Is it a good idea to apply the same philosophy?
I'm just a bit south into NJ, but I wont work my acreage without a sidearm or rifle. Too many coyote, bear and whacky people around here.
Figures. Wait until the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Bears (NAACB) hears about this, not to mention the New Black Bears (NBB).
And I can't wait to see Al Sharpteeth and Jawsy Jackson bemoaning the plight of minority bears.
If you give a bear some barbecue he’s going to want a beer.
Killing a bear with a .22 falls into the realm of Divine intervention. For an eye shot, you’d have to be able to hit a moving and partially obscured target the size of a 50 cent piece, under duress. The round would have to enter at just the right angle so as to not embed itself in the orbital bone, or ricochet off from a pathway to the brain. And, most importantly, being a rim fire, you’d have to count on it not misfiring.
Just South of Bear Mountain State Park :)
Good Shot!
Words to live by! :-)
“Honey did not like those bears in HER yard.”
Honey needs to try using a scale and looking in a mirror for a dose of reality. Honey is a snack.
LOL!
Now don’t you be messin’ with dem black bruins. Bear power!
Anyway, if my backyard was in bear country, I wouldn’t aim on one with anything less than 30-06. A 45-70 would give even more peace of mind.
indeed
but anyone who hunts larger game knows that a .22 is unsuitable for game such as black bear
shot placement or not, it’s chancy and too risky to leave a maimed animal or a very slow death
it’s like ego hunting to me...same notion as women having babies in a risky fashion with no medical help around because it’s more pure or natural..yet riskier if complications happen
i don’t hunt predators as a rule but would shoot any to protect myself or mine and would prefer larger caliber...
folks down here where I live in Tennessee who hunt bear use most often probably the ubiquitous .30-06
another note is that tracking a wounded bear of any sort through think cover is certainly not where you want to take that .22 with you that you just used to wound him/her
where seconds count and bullet energy matters
for what it’s worth.....22LR is perfect for squirrel
for those who can’t see or aim as well....20 gauge shotgun in light load will fill yer bag quicker
.410 only come full choke and shoot such a tight box that you have to pick even more lead out and miss more
i confess i don’t eat squirrel anymore...but my kids do...a lot of trouble for a gamey little critter
Now that there's racist, idn’t it?
gun control is hitting your target
More likely the humans overpopulated the bears turf
A .22 was probably all he had available, in which case he should have gotten everybody into the house and taken his shots from a window. If you're gonna piss off a bear, better to do it from relative safety.
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