Darth Vader gave me the creeps. It was a bait station situated on high ground at the end of a narrow ridge, several miles from the nearest unimproved dirt road. The ridge, shaped like a hog’s back, was thick with spruce trees, some as big as my thigh, that seemed to grow at grotesque angles to the game trail that ran its entire length, ending abruptly along the shores of an impenetrable mosquito-infested swamp deep in the Canadian bush. Even at noon on a cloudless day, the trail was full of dark shadows, requiring at times the yellow beam of a flashlight to help illuminate the path.

I never went down that trail without some sort of personal protection. At first I shouldered a full-size ax, but later, once the bait started disappearing, I began toting a lever-action .45/70, and never found it to be too much gun for the circumstances. The swamp was, after all, an ideal location for a mature black bear, the kind of bear that holds its ground despite your intrusion. The kind of bear that goes “woof” in the dark.

For a week the honey and assorted food items I left at the end of the ridge went untouched. Then one afternoon I discovered the barrel of goodies had been disturbed. At first I thought it might have been ravens or wolves, but upon closer inspection I discovered several curly black strands of hair caught on the bait barrel, and knew I had a bear working the area.

I tossed some more food onto the bait pile and left to check out the rest of my baits. I then waited for a couple of days before sneaking back in for a quick look-see. This time the bait was gone. All of it. I knew that unless spooked, the bear would eventually return again and again, so I quickly erected a portable stand downwind of the bait barrel and carefully exited the site.

My goal was to make sure there was always plenty of food in and around the barrel and to let the bruin feed relatively undisturbed until I could learn more about him. I have shot several good bears over the years, including a half dozen that tipped the scales between 300 and 500 pounds. I wanted my next bruin to be of that caliber.

A week later, after carefully examining the bear sign around the rest of the bait line, I sat over the Darth Vader bait for the first time. As if on cue, a huge Pope and Young bruin appeared just before darkness set in, and approached the set-up with little hesitation. I confidently sent an arrow at that book blackie a few moments later when he stuck his head inside the bait barrel. The big bruin growled and banged his head on the barrel when the arrow struck, and then exited the scene like a scalded dog. His quick escape was to no avail, however, as he was already dead on his feet. I found him piled up less than 50 yards away.

WHY PACK A GUN?

There was a time I toted a loaded pump shotgun each time I replenished a bait site, but it soon became cumbersome to load and unload at every station. Then I starting carrying a single-bit axe with me, thinking I could swing it if need be in self-defense. Well, those days are over, too. The axe is worthless against an enraged black bear, but a firearm is always handy should you encounter a black bear with an attitude, if you take the time to carry it every time you expect an encounter.

But let us face the facts. Any big-game animal that you choose to pursue today in North American can kill you. A bugling bull elk, for example, will go after just about anybody that gets too close to one of his cows, and rutting bull moose have been known to charge locomotives. Indeed, we have all heard stories of how a “dead” whitetail buck suddenly stood up and raced blindly towards his attacker, and we all know what a grizzly sow will do if she feels her cubs are in danger. Even the lowly wild boar will give you a run for your money if he senses you getting a little too close for comfort.

However, it is the black bear that probably accounts for more bites and clawings today, if for no other reason, than it is our number two big game animal. There are a lot of hunters in the bush chasing black bears around these days, not to mention campers, tourists and fishermen, making bear-human contacts nearly unavoidable in some areas. Indeed, black bears make great bow targets, and the fact that they can kill a full-grown moose with one swipe of a forepaw simply adds to the adventure.

Over the years I have had plenty of bears stop me in my tracks. A young boar, for example, kept me pinned in my treestand one evening until the outfitter came along and shooed him away. That bear was quite aggressive and for the next several evenings followed me out by staying in the brush 10 or 12 yards behind me. I thought we were going to have to pop him with a gun before someone got hurt, but he finally left the scene.

I have also had several bears stand on their hind legs next to my stand for a better look-see, and two have actually climbed up the tree sniffing and woofing all the way. A harsh word was all it took to send them packing though.

It is the wounded bears, however, that can really make you question your sanity. One year a pal and I were blood-trailing a big boar when the outfitter handed me his .30-30. He had to get on his hands and knees to look for blood, and told me to shoot the bear if it charged. I looked down the barrel and saw that the front blade sight was bent horribly to the left. I asked him where the rifle shot. His answer gave me goose bumps. “I don’t know,” he told me, “I never shot it before!”

Other outfitters that offered firepower for back-up have also given me cause for concern. One had his 12-gauge loaded with #4 bird shot while another had to use a hammer to open the action on his rusted British .303. And yet another was such a poor shot he could not hit a 4x8 sheet of plywood at 50 yards!

I have had enough bad experiences that today, after bowhunting for bears for 30 years or so, I now supply my own back-up. In fact, I often tote it right to the treestand just in case I run into an aggressive bruin at the bait pile, or have to track down a poorly hit bear by myself in the near darkness as I had to do several years ago. Fortunately, that bear was D.O.A., but horror stories abound of hunters who pursued bruins only to find an angry ball of teeth and fur waiting in ambush.

FIVE GOOD CHOICES

What makes a good back-up weapon for black bears? The most common choice is a 12-gauge pump fitted with open fiber optic sights. My Ithaca Deerslayer II loaded with Winchester slugs, for example, will make quick work of any angry bruin. It is quick and easy to shoot, and if need be, just about anybody can squeeze off a shot on your behalf.

A large caliber high-powered rifle is also a good choice, especially if you are on a two-species hunt such as moose-bear or elk-bear. In these cases I carry one of four lightweight lever-actions with me. Not only will any one of them body-slam a big bear if need be, each is also capable of downing a moose or elk in a pinch. Like the Ithaca Deerslayer II, they are quick to point and nearly foolproof in times of need.

Winchester’s big-bore Model 94 chambered in the .356 Winchester pushes a 200 grain flat-nosed pill from the muzzle at 2,460 fps, delivering 2,688 foot pounds of energy at point-blank range. I installed a large Lyman peep sight on mine for better aiming at close range.

Marlin’s Guide Gun, the 1895G chambered for the .45/70 Government, is a good second choice. It weighs only seven pounds and features an 18 1/2-inch ported barrel. Factory ammo in a standard 22-inch barrel with a 405 grain pill generates 1,330 fps and 1,590 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. The shorter barrel is 75-100 feet per second less.

My third choice is the Marlin 1895M in the new .450 Marlin caliber. Like the Guide Gun, it too sports an 18 1/2-inch ported barrel, and is easy to swing in tight situations. This gun is a real banger. It generates 2,100 feet of muzzle velocity with a 350 grain bullet, and over 3,400 foot-pounds of energy, which is more than enough firepower for a black bear.

The ultimate black bear back-up however is undoubtedly a Winchester 1886 converted to the .50 Alaskan by the well-known gunsmith Doug Turnbull, a gun that pushes a 500 grain pill around 2,000 fps creating about 4,000 foot-pounds of energy!

After converting a newly manufactured Winchester, Turnbull spruces up the lever-action by offering several options. These include new wood, fancy checkering, a pistol grip, a take-down or solid frame and shorter or longer barrels. The gun also comes with complete metal work to duplicate the turn of the century metal finish, including rust bluing and, of course, his famous color case hardening. Conversions start at around $1,200. For more information on the .50 Alaskan, contact Doug Turnbull Restorations at 585-657-6338 or check out www.turnbullrestoration.com.

So if you are in need of a back-up for black bear, and every bear camp should have at least one, any of these guns should do the trick. Just do not be afraid to use it!