Guess who is checking out my hives???

[Keth Comollo]

[TrvVn5]

Well that can't be a very comforting sight.

[Andrew Dewey]

This is why we have electric fences. I have a game camera at one of my yards and I'm hoping for some pictures to share. So far all it has captured is me,

[Tazcan]

[Mountain Bee]

I am not a bear hunter but if I was that would definitely be a shooter.

[Keth Comollo]

The only reason that bear hasn't knocked over the hives in the bottom of the picture is a 9000 volt electric fence baited with sardines. It touched it once and now just walks by waiting for a power outage!

[Aerindel]

It touched it once and now just walks by waiting for a power outage!

That may not be a joke. I had bears outside my electric fence all summer but they waited for a raining night that probably shorted out the fence to attack and kill the bees.

[Oldtimer]

Nice Pic!

Isn't that just a bit scary? Eyeballing a bear?

[wdcrkapry205]

Drop the tailgate!

[Virginia Bee]

45-70 time!

[tsmullins]

45-70 time!

+1 on the 45-70! Maybe a 3" 12 gauge slug.

Shane

[martinvermillion64]

Wrong time of year for bear hunting. All one can do is take preventive measures the bear is not to blame for centuties of evolution. I do understand it is hard not to hate the bear. rabbits have been eating my cabbage and I want to pop a cap on them too.

[Bush_84]

Maybe a stupid question, but t what point is it legal to shoot a bear? Do you have to catch it tearing up your hives? Is it even legal then?

[Mountain Bee]

Don't want to shoot bear out of season in VA for damaging hives. You would most likely end up in the hole about 5 G's, loose gun, and hunting privileges.

[Rader Sidetrack]

Maybe a stupid question, but t what point is it legal to shoot a bear? Do you have to catch it tearing up your hives? Is it even legal then?

Laws vary by state. In Vermont, where the original poster is,

§ 4827. Black bear doing damage(a) A person, an authorized member of the person's family, or the person's authorized regular on-premise employee may take, on land owned or occupied by the person, a bear which he or she can prove was doing damage to the following:
(1) livestock, a pet, or another domestic animal;
(2) bees or bee hives;

The snippet above is from this link:
http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/...&Section=04827

[Keth Comollo]

Yep, we can shoot em if they are damaging a cash crop or livestock. I will let the electric fence speak for me but if it violates that I will take further action. They are beautiful animals when they aren't eating my beehives.

[Aerindel]

Shooting them only works if you only have a few bears. If you live in the middle of bear country you need to have an armed guard stationed 24 hours a day, every day. They are just smart enough to wait until things are unguarded to attack.

I'm really not opposed to solving problems with a gun but if a gun won't actually solve the problem I generally try to avoid purely vengeful actions.

[Bush_84]

The only concern is that something like a bear will come back. So if you are lucky enough to catch one in the act, you may as well finish things.

[tsmullins]

In VA you can shoot a bear if it is actively attacking livestock. I could not find the actual law, so check with DGIF before shootin a bear destroying your hives.
Bears are no joke. A good friend had an adult male hanging around his house. The bear caused a lot of damage. My friend got a kill permit. One night he heard some commotion, so he grabbed a rifle and went to check. He walked outside and the bear was a little over twenty feet away. The bear charged. He had time for one shot, and literally, it was a hip shot.

Had he just walked outside, with no gun he would probably have been mauled.

[Ted Kretschmann]

Your bears up north are twice as big as the ones we have here in the hills of Alabama. WE have the florida variety here. We knick name them "gummybears" because of their half size. And sometimes they do tear up beeyards with combs and busted boxes scattered everywhere. But here they are considered endangered and thus we can not shoot them. Though I have conteplated shooting them many times. And there are getting to be more and more of them.