JANUARY 23, 2024
An 80-year-old Troy man was charged this week with evidence tampering related to the fatal shooting of a grizzly bear on his property in 2020 and the discarding of the bear’s GPS collar in the Yaak River, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Othel Lee Pearson on Jan. 22 was charged with a felony count of tampering with evidence and a misdemeanor count of failure to report taking of a grizzly bear in U.S. District Court. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

“As alleged, Pearson discarded a GPS collar on a grizzly bear and hid the bear’s claws and an ear tag in an attempt to avoid criminal prosecution for unlawfully killing a grizzly bear. Such conduct is illegal and, as shown here, will result in the prosecution of a federal felony,” U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

According to court documents, Pearson on Nov. 19, 2020 shot and killed a sow grizzly bear on his residential property using a .270 rifle and he cut a GPS collar fitted to the bear and discarded it into the nearby Yaak River.

Pearson also cut paws, ear tags and an identifying lip tattoo from the bear carcass. He then concealed the bear claws and an ear tag in a hollowed-out tree on National Forest land near his residence, records state.

Pearson tampered with these identifying objects to impair the criminal prosecution for the unlawful killing of the grizzly bear. He did not report the grizzly bear killing to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within five days of the incident.

The parties informed the court that there is a plea agreement in the matter, and it is anticipated that Pearson has agreed to plead guilty to both charges in the information.

The plea agreement calls for prosecutors and the defendant to jointly recommend a sentence of three years of probation and an $8,000 fine. In exchange for guilty pleas, federal attorneys agree not to prosecute another individual in connection with the taking of the grizzly bear, and Pearson agrees to cooperate regarding the skull of a second grizzly bear discovered on National Forest lands near his property.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Tanner is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the investigation.

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On Dec. 2, investigators found the GPS discarded in the river and were able to pull the data off it, which showed the bear died just before 9 p.m. on Nov. 19 about 40 yards from Pearson’s home and on his property.

Investigators served a search warrant at Pearson’s home on Dec. 16, and Pearson originally denied any knowledge of the killing of the bear, according to the affidavit.

But agents found what they called a “shooting room” attached to the home whose windows were removed and which opened out to animal baiting sites outside. The investigators also said they found empty bags of deer feed, feed dispensers attached to the trees, a salt block station and a spent rifle cartridge.

They also found blood in the snow and animal tissue on Pearson’s truck, as well as a bag of meat in his freezer that was labeled “ham.” But the affidavit and criminal information say a forensic analysis of the meat and blood showed it belonged to the same bear that had been killed and dumped a month earlier.

A neighbor also told investigators that Pearson told them he had shot a bear with his .270 rifle, after which the agents seized the gun.

More than a year later, in April 2022, a person hiking on the Forest Service land nearby Pearson’s home found a garbage bag filled with grizzly bear claws and an ear tag inside a hollowed-out tree. When they were tested, investigators found they belonged to the same bear.

Awee…..an old fart BAITER too. POS baiter.

Bragged to neighbor. What a dumbass.

And old farts don’t understand GPS telemetry. Sucks to be old and stupid.

His piss ant yard backs up to Natl Forest land. He assumed it was his God given right to do as he pleased beyond the boundaries of his cat food shack.

Oh and getting a plea deal, how special.

Meh , I'd contribute to his gofundme.
Hope he got a few wolves whilst he was at it.

Couldn’t have made many more boneheaded moves could he?

Osky

He got a plea deal because of the Biden/Harris sticker on his truck.

With a properly selected jury he could be found innocent due to a 270 not being capable of killing a grizzly.

It's gotta be BS. Ever body knos ya kaint kill a bar with a 270.

Dang. You beat me to it.

Hahaha. Tff. Winner winner....

The .270 controversy is the only reason I posted the story.

Earlier stories stated that he incorporated the assistance of a younger neighbor to help him get rid of the carcass making him a accomplice in the crime.

The plea deal is protecting him from prosecution.

Especially if the jury had a few LGBTQs on it.......

JFC. 🤦‍♂️

Osky;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope the day looks to be a decent one out your way, they say more snow for us which I could do without, but it is still winter after all.

The fellow seems like a bit of a poor planner for sure, but it's not up to us to lay out plans for successfully dealing with problem bears on a public forum.

In the "for whatever it might be worth" file, he's in the Yaak Valley and just south of Creston and Grassmere, BC, neither of which have any shortage of grizzly bears whatsoever.

One short hop over east in the Flathead Valley, absolutely close enough that any bear with a modicum of enthusiasm could travel, BC bios have 74 individual grizzly bears tagged.

Since we've stopped the grizzly hunt up here, they've become as much of a pest as the black bears, which we still can shoot, but not always off the back deck so to speak.

Insert obligatory interior grizzly tracks from our part of the world last October chasing whitetail.



Mostly what chaps the hide of many of us who live amongst the bears is the fools in the cities making the idiotic rules all the while chanting, "the bears were here first".

There seems to be a fair bit of evidence that the FN folks and the grizzly wandered down from Siberia together, but they don't want to talk about that.

Best to you today sir.

Dwayne

That’s an ignorant comment. Do you know when GPS technology was invented?

Sometimes you should just let someone else win the “Most useless posts of the day” award.

Dwyane,

That would make me pucker a bit, me thinks.

He is 80 years old. I can see where there might be some truth in the concept that prison becomes less a deterrent the older you get. An $8,000 fine in exchange for free health care, room and board the rest of his life wouldn’t be much different than living in a rest home. He didn’t hurt or injure anybody. Others have done a lot worse. He might have done it to protect his dog. I like dogs.

He won that title a long time ago and his record is untouchable

Rooster7;
Good morning to you sir, I hope winter is behaving out east for you folks and you're all well.

The crazy thing about that day was it was close to -20° with maybe a foot of snow or less in some places up there, but cold as it was we weren't expecting to bump grizzly tracks.

As it turned out we cut the tracks of a single bear and then a pair, which we guessed to be a mother and maybe a cub that'd den with her another winter? Not sure.

We did track them for 5 km on a logging road and lost the tracks at one of the many appropriately named "Bear Lake" which like "Fish Lake" seems to have multiple locations.

But for sure, we didn't want any long chases into the pucker brush after wounded whitetail that day, the theory being that if the bears were still up, they'd be pretty hungry.

It does keep an old guy like me on my toes for sure.

All the best.

Dwayne

Dwayne, good morning.

My comment was not in any way meant to pass judgement on the guys decision to deal with the bear. It was about stashing parts in trees etc.
His decision as to solution I certainly respect. Knowing the glowing love for the precious carnivores a bit more thought should have been used in the aftermath.

With respect.
Osky

Dwayne

At the place in Northern MN I have been out in the nastiest sub zero cold and deep snows, generally running the sno go trails and found fresh bear tracks a number of times. In the deep snow years it looks like someone has pulled a 55 gallon drum by the end thru the snow from belly drag. Can’t miss those trails, particularly the bruisers.

Now these of course are black bears, but it still amazes me that they are up and moving in those conditions. I have followers a few when possible and they seem to be lined out and not circling. Moving to a new den site in 35 below weather? Go figure.

Not as hair raising as your experience above but more mystery of bears.

Take care
Osky

What if.....you were to gut shoot the bear or wolf for that matter and just let it wander off to die? Not suggesting it be done.

Not being able to DLP shoot an animal is just wrong. crooked azz.gov just sticking their nose where it should get shot off really.

There is no such thing left in any country as natural life anymore. I am so sorry for Canada. yet we are in line right behind with stupidity.

Its a shame the guy didn't understand what could happen and maybe find a better way to solve the issue.

On the other hand WTF is wrong with government in these instances.

Osky;
Good morning and thanks for the reply.

For sure and certain I believe I took your comment in the spirit it was offered.

As my girls might say Osky, "we're good".

My rant was mostly me kicking at the wall, living rural, having had 7 different black bears raiding our yard last year and being very narrowly restricted as to what options I had to deal with them.

Back in the day when I'd was in management, I'd tell my lead hands, to remember that 5 Ps - Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance - usually is fairly true.

I agree with you 1000% that his lack of a clear plan for the vague uncertainties of life showed up in spades.

But again sir, I believe for the most part we're on the same page of the same book on this one.

Thanks nonetheless, I appreciate you taking the time for the clarification.

Conversing without seeing body language and hearing intonation has it's challenges, at least for this boomer.

All the best.

Dwayne

BULLS HIT GALORE!

Gotta have at least a .470 Evans to down a Grizz!!

You can be the Jury Foreman.

So what does ya all believe the appropriate penalty should be for an 80 year old who killed a sow grizzly, hid identifying parts except for the ham which he kept in his freezer?

Does not sound like the evil trophy hunter label that the left has glommed onto.

Not understanding GPS pales in comparison to not understanding DNA.

Bear shows up on my property it’s dead meat.

He's looking at 20 years in prison for killing a bear, meanwhile in Commiefornia a woman stabs her boyfriend 108 times killing him after smoking Mary-Wanna from a bong. She went to trial and the Judge gave her 2 years of community service and probation, it was the bong's fault. JFC.

Pat on the back for doing the country a service since Canada decided no one can kill them anymore and has zero way to deal with the disaster they have created, other than to try to hang someone so to speak for doing the right thing.

Osky;
Me again sir, thanks for the additional info.

That's wild to me that they're still out in -35°.

We hear that it's not uncommon for grizzly bears to get up for a stretch in the winter here, but not as common with BC black bears.

Last fall at the end of our whitetail season, which is the end of November, buddy and I were on the mountain above the house on a crisp morning that the somewhat suspect thermometer on the Dodge said was -24°C.

As I was going through the snow, not quite up to my knees - I'm short so 14" or so - I cut the tracks of a small black bear and followed them until it dropped into a canyon that I wasn't about to head into.

My thought then and I'm not sure why exactly I had it, but my thought was that it hadn't had enough grub or fat buildup before denning. Whether it had denned already or was late denning, I cannot say either.

Again this was a young bear.

We had a massive berry crop failure in the mountains this year, which combined with a couple fairly big wildfires pushed the bears down into the valley here, contributing to the 7 we had in the yard. Not only did they total my pear tree, they killed one adult mulie and one mulie fawn in the gully below the house, judging from the hooves we found and the screaming the neighbors reported.

Mulie fawns especially, do not tend to go gently or quietly into that good night..

The CO's were run ragged this year with problem bears and are necessarily very tight lipped about how many went on the last ride in the big culvert, as that was the only option they had.

One BC bio I was chatting with this month figured there was every chance many of them will die in the dens this winter as there just wasn't enough food to go around.

Thanks again, it's good stuff.

Dwayne

Quit it already with all that new fangled acronym schit.

Evidently he didn't . And unless researched, most his age would have no clue.

rost495;
Good morning sir, I hope you're both having a decent winter wherever you're spending it and you're all well.

As mentioned in my post, BC has 74 grizzly tagged and/or collared in the Flathead which is only 40 odd miles northeast of Troy.

This past season I saw a couple different collared mulies and I ended up shooting a 2 point that had an ear tag.

We're doing a CWD test here, so I was going to turn the head in even before I saw the ear tag, however with the tag, the Bio was able to tell me some of the history of the buck, which was rather cool.

Before my rancher buddy sold off his herd, we talked about some of these little things.

https://okanaganfencesupplies.com/product/livestock-solar-gps-ear-tag-tracker/

It's a brave new world out there isn't it?

All the best.

Dwayne

scumload: YOU are so unbelievably stupid it hurts!
Like others have pointed out on this thread (and numerous others!) you are not only stupid YOU are useless!
Every spring I travel the 375 miles to Hunt Spring Black Bear in the "Yaak"! And many years in the past I have Hunted Whitetailed Deer thereabouts in the fall.
The numbers of Grizzly Bears in that area has increased to the point of now being dangerous!
While you constantly sit in your desk chair with your pud in one hand and your mouse in the other stopping only to post your mindless blather, many true sportsmen are out in the wild Hunting and recreating.
More and more of those folks are killed and maimed by Grizzly Bears every year here in Montana and the Rockies!
Look it up dickwad.
Idiots like yourself are simply to ignorant to realize there are TWO sides to every story!
I am not saying ANY of the actions that were/are illegal by the 80 year old are excusable but if'n a Grizzly Bear comes 40 yards from my house here in Montana IT is dead - whether it is eating my bird seed or not!
PERIOD!
To date the closest Grizzly Bear I have seen to my house has been 16 air miles and the closest Grizzly caused human death has been 45 air miles.
My suggestion to you (and I fully appreciate that YOU are to stupid to accept it) is DO NOT try to make yourself look stupid publicly, by espousing on subjects with which YOU have absolutely NO knowledge.
Sheesh.
In a way I feel sorry for you.
Sad.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Hopefully he still has the skull stashed somewhere.

Expensive memento, but still pretty cool.

But…. but….. but…….. I thought that marijuana users weren’t violent criminals and never hurt anyone. 🤪

I read that story the other day and thought only in Californification can a woman stab her boyfriend 108 times, killing him, and get probation & community service, by blaming her actions on the wacky weed.

California woman who got high and stabbed boyfriend 108 times will not go to prison, judge rules

https://www.foxnews.com/us/californ...iend-108-times-not-go-prison-judge-rules

Explore the Fox News apps that are right for you at http://www.foxnews.com/apps-products/index.html.

Since recreational pot is legal in Montana maybe he should just tell the judge he was high as all fk when this big assed bear came waltzing by.

It's an excuse that's worked for drunk drivers for decades.

Yep. They could probably get a Grand Jury of EX Californians that have moved to Montana to no bill him. 🤪

A collar attached to a west bound semi might do the trick.

When asked why he did it, I'd blame it on Rip from Yellowstone, & get John Dutton to get him out of the jam. Works on TV anyway.

Seems there's a Jimmy Buffet song that's appropriate here.......

You endorse violating the law. And other BAITING

maybe you’re too goddamm retarded to read all off it.

Got it

Anytime Peckerwood!! Anytime.

As one poster ha already said, if a potentially dangerous carnivore was at or less than 40 yards from my domicile, I shoot that S.O.B. about as dead as I could make it. I think my .35 Whelen would be more than adequate.
PJ

Inbreeding will do that to a person .

I've had Grizzly Bears in my backyard many, many times and they never skeered me or caused any real issues.

Maybe sum people should keep to the cities.

Or if the rifle had a Pink stock on it!

If an 80 year old geezer was looking for free room, board, and medical care for life, shouldn't he be targeting politicians instead of grizzly bears?

From someone w/inside info.

Lojack led Kojak to his doorstep... DNA sealed his fate... gotta' keep up with the flat foot gumshoe techniques...

you watched "Thief" ?...

If the legal limit on grizzlies is zero, shouldn't a person be allowed to go just a bit over that limit without being charged with a violation?

best answer

The way they manage those [bleep] things is beyond ridiculous

Delisting them is the only sensible option but I honestly don’t think will ever happen.

20 million illegals running amuck in this country,all supposedly unaccounted for, but shoot a collared critter and Uncle Sam can find it in a hollow tree AND a river. Dammit son...

Dwayne,

Thanks for the reply and the chuckle!

"Pucker Brush"

That's good stuff! haha

Bears can be trouble, no doubt.

Gonna almost certainly be trouble when you're baiting them into your property.

So true, but still made me chuckle... LOL

Dwayne
I hope your weather is better than here currently, though it is not terrible here.

Many times in sudden warm spells bears of any persuasion can get flooded from their dens and wander around in a daze for a while.

But more to your cold weather case... back before the sea otter population exploded around Kodiak the beaches had plenty of food to keep the bears interested. One huge bear had been tagged for over 20 years and had never been known to den up. He was a top 10 all-time B&C bear killed by a former neighbor.

With beach food choices down the option to wander all winter is gone.
Best to you, Dwayne

Sitka deer;
Good afternoon sir, I hope the day has been behaving for you and that you and your fine family are well.

Thanks for the informative post, that's interesting and something I didn't know.

Over the nearly 40 years we've been here, I don't think I've seen black bear tracks in the snow more than perhaps a double handful of times, thus my assumption it was unusual elsewhere too.

By far and away too Sitka, my experience is with black bears and not grizzly, though we are seeing more and more of them locally too.

It's always a good day when I'm able to learn something, so that and the fact it's been above freezing all day makes for a most excellent one.

Thanks again and all the best.

Dwayne

I did not want to bring you up.

I hope they just let him go. He is 80 and could play Joe Biden at his defense. Just mumble away and forget where he is . Might work. Kidding aside, I dont know how to poach, and Wisconsin < Upper Michigan and Minnesota has a wolf problem. Everyone says SSS. I would never do that, however, if a person did, the dumbest thing you can do is tell someone, keep part of it in his freezer , and hide the tag in a tree stump near by. I am suspicious about some of the evidence.. I am sure could hide a tag anywhere I hunt in NW . Wis. and it would never be seen again. he couldn't just took it somewhere and burned it in a big campfire? Something does not add up and I think the feds planted fake evidence to get him to fess up .

thats pretty cool in a lot of ways. And scary in others. All well in TX at the moment. Have had 72 hours below freezing. A severe drought. One pond almost dry. Hit 80ish 2 days after the freeze. And now in the last 3 days 13.5 inches of rain so all is normal.

lol,😂 72 hours below freezing. Knee slapper right there.

That is one way to keep warm in bitter cold!
Laughing!

Why is FedGov "protecting" grizzly bears? Shouldn't that be an issue for the individual, sovereign states??

You ever find your cheese hat k.huntz?

This ^^^^

BINGO

The only thing I can see that he did wrong was open his stupid mouth.

Did you ever find your brain?

JSTUART;
Good afternoon BC time and Happy Friday to you, I trust the day is behaving and you're all well.

Speaking as a BC resident, so emphatically not a Montana resident, the grizzly bear - and the wolf too I'd opine - are very politicized animals.

If one was being jaded and slightly less than charitable, one might opine that some on the left have made then cultural icons or even more. You know if one went there.

While we used to have a grizzly season, the powers that be in the capitol chose to stop it, admitting it was for non-scientific reasons and as political payment to some of the members of the Green party who had a coalition of sorts with them for awhile.

Even though I'm a semi-fossilized boomer, I know what a radio collar means and in so saying, I cannot conceive what the size of rock someone would have to be hiding under to not know that.

As a funny aside, as mentioned I shot an ear tagged buck this year, but didn't see the ear tag when I shot it. It was running with a collared buck and I purposely let that one walk because of the collar.

When I took the head into the Conservation Officers to give them the info on the kill area for the ear tag, I mentioned I'd let the collared one walk.

Much to my surprise, they said it was right in the hunting regs that we could shoot collared animals in legal season and they encouraged it as it gave them data. Sure enough too JSTUART, when I read the new regs, there it was.... f

All that preamble to say that if one chooses to take a grizzly here and one observes it has a collar, one needs to have several layers of fairly intricate planning in place should one further choose not to report it.

I will say that here in BC, the CO's have been pretty fair about defensive shootings on grizzly bears and we've had our share since the hunting season stopped.

Anyways sir, just some filler information I suppose and a view from a Canuck who is just a tad north of where this went down, but about 6 valleys west.

Best to you and yours sir.

Dwayne

$8k for grizzly bear hunt? He got a deal. Damn outfitters quoted me $$9650 for a mule deer hunt. I wonder if old dude has any mule deer coming to his back yard?

He broke several rules for SSS. Dummy.

It is when its south TX and it doesn't even freeze every year..... slap that knee. I'll slap that bag.

Thats super on being easy on the DLP/Defensive shoots. Common sense there at least.

I, for one, and there must be at least 2 of us, did not realize that the collar could contain time of death etc.... I should have, but I did not think about it from that view. I guess you would have to have proof of being threatened and just report it then. Guess it depends on who and what and how much of the government you fear. As noted though, we can find all of the evidence on this, but the borders are wide open. Child sex trafficking is rampant. No one cares if people do drugs and on and on.

I do realize we are both members of the choir though and since its about time for a shower I should get off my soapbox, grab the soap and head on.

Regards, Jeff

rost495;
Good afternoon again sir, it's always great to converse with you.

Since I'm on the short side, it doesn't hurt my feelings one bit if you stand on a soapbox as it's easier for me to see you that way if someone is standing in front of me.

Yes sir on some of the new collars there is a plethora of information being transmitted or at very least available. Crazy really.

On the DLP shootings, the couple that I know of locally were more or less the CO just coming out, taking a look and doing the paperwork.

From what I was told the CO's looked where the bear was, where the shooter was and more or less said, "Yah lucky you saw it and can shoot straight".

The hunter or grizzly shooter doesn't get to keep any of the carcass of course, but that's to be expected in my view.

The local CO's that I've interacted with either hunt or are aware of how life works up on the mountains. Honestly I can't complain about one thing with them as far as my dealings went.

As you've said, it's also something that should give us all pause that there seems to be funds available to track a bear or even a deer's movements - which I support by the way - but there's no funds available to track missing kids.

Honestly it's a huge problem up here as you might well know and it's not a funds issue as much as the lack of will to really and truly deal with the problem.

We can speculate as to why that lack of will exists, but thus far all I am sure of is that it does.

Thanks again for the reply sir, it's always a pleasure.

Best to you all.

Dwayne

So I’m guessing the smart thing to do, once he realized the bear was collared, would have been to let the bear lay where it was, hand off the rifle to a sympathetic friend or relative, and when the Bear Cops showed up, plead ignorance of the whole deal.

I’m sssuming innocent until proven guilty still holds true in Canada.

but yer honor, it were eatin' all a m' deer kern. wut i'm sposed t'do?

Birdwatcher;
Good evening to you sir, I hope San Antonio is warm enough tonight what with the cold weather Texas is getting.

Like as not I'm part of the reason for the confusion of where that bear was shot, but the incident took place north of Troy, MT on the Yaak River which strangely enough becomes the Yahk River when it crosses into BC just a few miles north of there.

As to your question about the assumption of innocence until proven guilty, I can opine that based on a few of the politically motivated arrests made in the past few years, that's not always the case unfortunately.

We're not what we should be, could be or once were in a multitude of ways sad to say.

There are many of us working on the problem and aren't about to give up any time soon either, but some days it does feel like an uphill battle alright.

All the best regardless.

Dwayne

This day and age change out the barrel to a different caliber

you must have nerves of steel....bob

I don't know about Canada, but I do know from a whole lot of experience that if you shoot an animal with no witnesses and the bullet exits and most importantly you do not approach the animal or talk about it you are home free. Doesn't matter if it's on your property. Just tell them "I don't want to talk about it". Next tell them if that is their bear or cougar or whatever to get it off your place.

That would apply to a large number of crimes, but alas most people can’t.

A couple of points here. If he didn't want bears around his place, he would have been wise to not bait them in. He is a poacher, plain and simple. If the bear had been trying to tear through the door, or menacing his livestock, he could probably have gotten away with shooting it. I know he could have here. Baiting the bear in and shooting it from the house is a little less defensible.
I have shot a cougar on my place, behind the corral. Fish and Wildlife came and looked at it. The CO looked at me and said, "We're not going to charge you". I said, "No [bleep]. I had the right to shoot it". No more was said.
If we have a bear around, black or grizzly, I warn the campers to take care, watch their dogs and kids, and that's about it. I should probably have shot the last black bear that was in the yard, but the timing was bad, and I didn't have time to cut him up (we were leaving on a trip).
I do think we should re-open the grizzly bear hunt, just to keep them honest. On the other hand, if one is a danger or aggressive, we can shoot it. I almost always carry a weapon of some sort when I'm out and about. I've been on a few walks where I have seen more grizzlies than I have elk.
Here, in British Columbia, we are actually allowed to bait deer, elk, and sheep, but we are not allowed to bait predators (I don't think coyotes count). I have even heard the opinion stated, if you know where there is a carcass, whether it is a bear kill, winter kill or whatever, you are not allowed to hunt over that carcass, as that would be considered baiting. I would dispute that. If you put out a pan of dog food and some corn and molasses, that's baiting. If you do it in your yard, still baiting. The old guy from Troy is a poacher. On top of that, he's a stupid poacher. He deserves what he gets.
Dwayne,
I'm quite familiar with the area. I ride my motorcycle down through Libby, through Troy, then up the Yaak River, through Yaak, and over to Rexford and home. I've fished up the Yaak river, from Yaak, and down the Yahk River from Gillnockie. Good fishing on both sides. I've seen both species of bear often and am prepared for them. GD

I can't quit pin down the age, but, at some point my mind goes from:

"Well, that guy needs to learn a lesson about poaching/right and wrong"

to:

"At least the guy is still out there gettin' after it."

I suppose some of that also depends upon if poaching has been an ongoing life-long endeavor for that person.

Still out there gettin after it????

From a shooting room on the side of his house? Over bait piles?

OK, yep

He was born around 1943 and probably lived in Montana all his life. You can bet that he wasn't raised to look kindly upon bears rummaging around the place. I know times have changed but it is not like he shot somebody.

You can bet they aren't putting an 80 year old man in jail. I am not sure what I would do if even a black bear became a regular visitor to my back yard. Any time I moved a nuisance animal he became a nuisance in the place I moved him to or he returned to where I picked him up.

Montana is changing. Last year there was a hue and cry to lock up that poor girl Amber Rose that shot a Husky dog thinking it was a wolf. It was like 9 miles off the highway out in the boondocks and huskies do look somewhat like wolves.

Is a grizz that comes off nearby National Forest a "nuisance animal" when it comes to check out a bait pile placed there to attract animals?

VarmintGuy is a baiting sonovabitch based on him showing his ass in this thread.
No doubt his 80 yr old ass hauling out grain and treats.

Plain and simple

I keep trying to come up with a good reason to have grizzly bears in proximity to human interests....

I say good job! Maybe we should send a couple down to your place to hang out, Slum.

I put out feed for deer, birds, and squirrels like a lot of country people do. We have an outside cat that patrols for mice on the carport and protects the feed bags. Real often we have to dispatch a raccoon which we donate to a colored neighbor. The problem with bears and hogs is they will eat anything available and if left unmolested they can get very brave. Alligators are also an issue down here.

greydog;
Good morning sir, I hope the last Saturday of the month finds you all well.

Thanks for your take on the subject at hand, I was very much hoping you'd do that.

As well, I was more than "fairly sure" you were very familiar with that area.

We've got more and more grizzly sightings on the mountain behind the house and just like the wolves, are adjusting our behavior accordingly.

Like you, I just don't head up the hill for any reason without packing something that makes noise anymore.

I should note too that nobody seems to even raise an eyebrow over that part, perhaps because we can nearly always be hunting for something as the seasons overlap nicely.

Two springs back we were headed up for a load of firewood and had stopped our pickups to talk to a chap we'd met earlier that year when he was doing some long range target shooting. As we chatted a young RCMP Constable roared up in one of the Ford SUV type cruisers and asked if we'd seen some particular vehicle, which we had and told him when and where.

He thanked us, said something about the folks with the vehicle in question being nogoodniks and we should be careful. Buddy, bless his BC redneck heart, says to the young Constable something like, "Oh we're hunting too so it's all good" and the Constable just chuckled, gave us a thumbs up, thanked us again and left.

Oh, this isn't uncommon anymore for us lower down on the logging roads out here as there are crackhead squatters on pretty much all of them in the south valley.

Makes for some very interesting encounters some days, but so far nobody has been shot over it, though a couple squatters did have a run in with a grader operator either 2 or 3 years back.

Thanks again for your take, I do appreciate it.

All the best.

Dwayne

I keep reading this bear was Federally protected, but there were no Feds protecting it.

Probably the dumbest fugging post ever on the fire. Fact.

No you are

Talkin about Black Bears—I read somewhere once long ago that bears don’t starve in the den—they wake up and wander and generally starve in the Spring. That’s when they need their fat reserves cause they don’t burn much just sleeping. I used to run a bait line for Spring and fall hunts and had a few baits going all year on my trap line. 3 different times I tracked bears in mid-winter and all 3 times was after a berry crop failure —which happens here with some regularity.

. Bingo.

Bawahahahaha, Bawahahahahahaha.. Thought it would “bounce off “… I’d love to know what bullet he used….

Not sure why he didn't attach the collar to a piece of driftwood and send it down the yaak to canada. I mean ya know Canada don't bother their illegal aliens either.

Perhaps if the old fart hadn't been baiting for critters outside the window of his shooting room.........................






.......the grizzly would not have been in proximity to his interests???

Perhaps that's fine in LA, but apparently not in MT. Might have changed in the few years since this was published, maybe a MT member could say if it is now legal to "knowingly attract" bears there now.

https://vp-mi.com/news/2016/nov/16/wildlife-baiting-still-illegal-in-montana-14/



Of course, the purported evidence of a shooting room, might lead a reasonable person to believe there was something other than just doing what "country people do" ?