Northern Virginia Roll Call

Definitely the latter, we both get better fuel economy that way

 

This one from my house (last year) would have made a nice rug...

 

I have no idea how big the one around me is. I'm willing to bet he comes around my yard. We have a garden in the backyard. My overpriced cameras never seem to catch animals for some reason. I'm worried I'm going to go let the dog out one night and get mauled! Or she'll decide she's brave for once and chase after it. Then I'd have to rescue her. It's pitch dark in my neighborhood.

 

Black bears are pretty innocuous. As long as you or the dog aren't between the sow and her cubs, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. They get a little more aggressive if they're hungry but generally they are pretty timid. They used to get scared off by the motion lights I had outside of my house when I was on a farm in Hamilton.

I was hunting GWNF in 2015 outside of Harrisonburg and had one come within 10 yards of me. I'll admit I was pretty terrified. I stood up to try to, well...I am not sure what I was going to try to do, but it took off as soon as I stood up.

 

Good to know! I have a motion light over on the driveway and I sometimes take the dog out with a handheld spotlight (we had a local opossum for a bit). I'll get back into the habit of that. We have a lot of wildlife around here, but this is my first bear!

 

The lights didn't work for @Truggin though, unfortunately. I guess it depends on your bear population. I can't pretend to be an expert but I would imagine if you ran out there banging on a metal trash can lid that would work, too.

Where in Manassas are you?

 

Canova. Or Woodbine Woods. It's near 234/Hoadley.

 

The one in the pic above was not at all timid.

I was working in the garage, when I saw her between me and the house. All of my bear repellent stuff (pepper ball gun, horn, and bear spray) were in the house. So with her being 100 feet or so away, I stepped out onto the wooden tractor ramp on the side of my garage, and started yelling, stomping, and waving my arms. I expected her to skedaddle like the small ones had when I hollered at them. She simply walked back inside the fence to where you see her in the pic, and we locked eyes... Neither of us were going to go away.

So I grabbed my phone and a pitchfork to go to the house to get the pepper ball gun. (Figured I could try to poke her with the pointy end of the pitchfork, if she charged, and that if that didn't work, and the wife came home and found me in bits and pieces, she could watch the video on my phone to know what happened)

We stared at each other until I go to the corner of the house, and couldn't see her anymore, when I dropped the fork, and ran to the door. By the time I had the pepper ball gun and came out the back door, she had crossed the yard, and I saw here go into the brush. I decided to NOT chase her. (You see, I'm NOT as stupid as you thought I was!)

A few days later, I saw her in the back yard again. So I grabbed the pepper ball gun, and quietly opened a back window. I popper one of those pepper balls right onto her backside.

I haven't seen her sense.

 

The bears around my property are completely unfazed by my motion sensor lights.

 

I think I need a pepper ball gun. Not necessarily for the bears, but for party fun!

The video of you escaping the bear would be priceless!

 

$245 Tippmann TiPX Paintball Pistol - Black

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BG1XHA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

FireStorm 10X Police Grade .68 Caliber PAVA Balls Tube of 10

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07847DTXZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Oh yes indeedy! I can use this on my backyard tree rats, too!

 

Indeed. (I just use paint balls for them though). You may see a yellow squirrel or 2 around my place.

 

@IPNPULZ, what make/model is that .22 you brought to the mod day?

 

She just wanted Scotch!!

 

Then she should have just asked. I'd have poured her a dram.

 

Apparently mine too. Motion lights or dusk to dawn lights.

 

Bears in Manassas?

 

Crazy ain't it? I didn't believe it either, but two of my neighbors have seen it and others have seen it nearby. I'm more Independent Hill or Bristow really.

 

What about the time a bear went through the drive through at Arby's in Leesburg?!

https://www.insidenova.com/headline...cle_98ae9cc8-3234-11e6-b23d-7fe3d157d74f.html