Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Another bear victim in MT

Not your average bear "attack"

"According to the crash report, a motorcycle was southbound on the Swan Highway Sunday morning, when a bear came onto Highway 83 at mile marker 53.

The motorcyclist was unable to avoid the bear and was thrown from the motorcycle. The driver wasn't wearing a helmet, and died."


https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/motorcyclist-dies-after-collision-with-bear-on-swan-highway

He was probably wearing flip-flops.

A few years back, I looked up the stats for motorcycle deaths in Wisconsin...

90% plus rate of death when a motorcyclist hits a deer... no joke.

I would not think hitting a bear to be much different...

Ape hangers and bears don’t mix!

Couldn’t believe the amount of folks not wearing a brain bucket over there couple weeks ago. But hey, they look cool!! 👊🏻😂

bear survive ?

hope so

Barely

One of the last accidents I assisted with some traffic control was a guy who hit a wild hog( big damn sow) while on his HD. Sherriff said it was Hog vs Hog! About 5 in the morning. Messed up the old boy pretty bad.

Bear was put down.

That’s a bad highway for deer and other wildlife. It’s curvy road but the amount of bicyclists, RVs and traffics make it dangerous. Add in the wildlife and you have to be on your game the whole drive. Lost a friend on that road years ago when he fell asleep at the wheel and rolled his pickup coming back from elk hunting.

Probably why it had trouble getting out of the road as the bike came by. Those SOB’s are hard to walk in.

Funny because we travel that road at least 3 times a year and have never seen a bear. Guess that dude won the Bear lottery that day.

I believe that would be Bearly

Bears wear crocs

This why you always carry a .44mag while I’m bear country, those things are tough and determine beast when they are pissed off.

Bears wear crocs

I once hit a deceased domestic sheep. I had just passed a car, in a heavy downpour, and was travelling at about 80mph. As I pulled back in front of the car I saw what I thought was a bale of hay in the middle of the lane. By the time I saw it, it was only about fifty feet away, if that, and I had no time to do anything but get ready for impact. I moved back on the seat as much as I could (my son was strapped to the back rest behind me) and opened up the throttle a bit and hit the sheep. I recognized it as a sheep when I noticed the feet in the air! I don't know how high we went or how far before we touched down but it was a ways. When we touched down we bounced once then settled. I was concerned for my wife and daughter who were on her Kawasaki 750, riding behind us. She did not pass as it was our practice to always pass one at a time and give the first person time to get back into their lane before following. Luckily, when I hit the sheep the car veered into the left lane to dodge the sheep and Sharon, figuring the car swerved for a reason, followed him. She then passed and pulled up beside me and hollered over, asking if I had noticed that bale of hay. I replied that it wasn't hay and pointed to the wool hanging off the bottom of the Gold Wing.
Because the sheep was lying down (what with being dead and all) the impact point was, at least, below the centerline of the wheel. Of course, a sheep is a little compressible too! If that same sheep has been standing upright, it would have probably folded the front wheel back under the bike and we would have been in big trouble. This was, without a doubt, the closest call I've ever had in fifty years of motorcycling. GD

Was just on highway 83 today. The incident happened about 10 miles from our cabin. Lots of motorcycles using it at present as well as bikers. Beautiful ride but it does have its hazards, be it bear, elk, horses, deer, etc.