Shot in the bears eyes

[Brokennock]

Timothy Treadwell Wikipedia
Read it yourself

You do know that one of the two founders of Wikipedia has come out and said that he has no faith in it anymore and that the information there can not be trusted, right?

Not saying you are wrong, but, be careful with using Wikipedia as a reference.

 

[4575wcf]

Very true, Wiki can be edited by anybody. I was pulling this story out of memory, just Wiki'ed to get the fellows name and some details. I remember when the story broke and I followed it awhile. Unfortunately, or fortunately I retain 60 % of what I read, but like a computer, I can never remember what I named it or where I stored it in the old grey matter : ).

Speaking of which I am pretty sure that the forensic people who covered the scene found some evidence that the bear left Timothy in some torn up condition when the lady got too irritating, did something really rude like broke her back or both legs, something to that affect and then went back to work on Timothy. I remember cause it was rather chilling for me at the time.

Back on topic, I am so glad I am not hunting those things with a single shot muzzle loader.

 

[LME]

Here in the Poconos we have decent sized black bears. One shot behind the NASCAR track some years back was weighed at the check station, using their formula the estimated live weight of that one was 834 pounds. I have had bears well over 500 pounds in my backyard. The last one snuck up on me while
I was barbequing. Never heard him, I turn around and he is about 25 feet from me. I grabbed my canned air horn gave him a blast and he took off, thank God. This is why I hunt squirrels with 20 gauge fowler. in a life or death situation a shot load from a 20 gauge will definitely put a hurting on a bear. I have cut down 3 inch saplings with my 20 gauge, not on purpose.

The world record Black bear was killed in N.C. it was 880 LBS.

 

[Erwan]

If you want to criticize Penicaut or call him a liar, I suggest you may be a couple of years to late

I am not saying that Penicault was a liar, but these kinds of old stories are like the ones we call : **"L'histoire de l'homme qui a vu l'homme qui a vu l'homme qui a vu l'homme qui a connu l'homme qui a connu l'homme qui lui a dit qu'il a vu l'ours et qu'il n'a pas eu peur"...
It is not very credible and so reported from person to person that at the end one does not know anymore what is right or what is pure invention...

**"The story of the man who saw the man who saw the man who saw the man who knew the man who knew the man who told him he saw the bear and was not afraid"...

 

[French Colonial]

The book was written by someone who was actually there, this is what we would consider a first hand account and what we treasure so much NORMALLY.

If he said he used a short starter or a priming horn with 4F powder, people would be buying the book like hot cakes and saying SEE! SEE!

 

[LME]

I am not saying that Penicault was a liar, but these kinds of old stories are like the ones we call : **"L'histoire de l'homme qui a vu l'homme qui a vu l'homme qui a vu l'homme qui a connu l'homme qui a connu l'homme qui lui a dit qu'il a vu l'ours et qu'il n'a pas eu peur"...
It is not very credible and so reported from person to person that at the end one does not know anymore what is right or what is pure invention...

**"The story of the man who saw the man who saw the man who saw the man who knew the man who knew the man who told him he saw the bear and was not afraid"...

AMEN! I had a relative that was in the War Between The States from Mo. He is idolized by some in books and chastized by others? I feel like he falls somewhere in the middle? When he was with Shelby he served as his right hand man. He was a news paper editor by trade and he praised The James gang in the news paper after the war. He knew the James family before the war.This made him the subject in several books. There is so much writen about him that puts him on a pedestal and some that defame him that the truth is lost? just like you said. Everyone should read what you posted and maybe this will open some eyes?

 

[SamTex1949]

Here is the youtube video on Tim

 

[French Colonial]

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

 

[GREENSWLDE]

A load of shot might blind a bear but it won't put it down. This was discussed on another forum so I posted this picture of a bear skull I killed many years ago. You'll notice that the eye sockets are on the outside of the skull. I'd be skeptical about killing one by shooting in the eye. What you might end up with is a very ****** off one eyed bear.

Definately sounds like a receipy for disaster.. O.D.

 

[ML48]

The thread is about a guy who did this in 1700!! If something big and furry was trying to digest me into little turds I would be more concerned with SURVIVAL than ETHICS.
Google is your friend....

Where do you get the idea Google is your friend?

 

[Curley 50 cal]

Shooting a bear in the eyes does not sound like sportsmanship hunting to me. Get a 58 cal and do it right or stay home.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Shooting a bear in the eyes does not sound like sportsmanship hunting to me. Get a 58 cal and do it right or stay home.

Agreed, but again in 1721 or before, it's likely not sport hunting. More like personal survival or economic survival or both. The pelt and the bear grease would've been quite valuable. The bear might have been seen as a threat and competition to the hunter(s).

It's a good illustration of how thinking patterns have changed over time.

LD

 

[4575wcf]

There exists on page 276 of my Stackpole copy of Ned Roberts' Book "The Muzzle Loading Caplock Rifle" a picture of a flintlock rifle dated Jan 30, 1833 with an original hunting bag and horn. And an obvious small priming horn, and a patch knife. Unless the guy was carrying salt for his game, I would think this settles the priming horn short starter debate.

 

[shorthair]

Polonois was the one who actually killed the bear, he partially blinded it with the first shot and then reloaded with a round ball and killed him with the second shot.

That's what I meant when I said he shot him with the shot and....then killed him, sorry for the confusion.

The point being, has a bear been shot in the eyes and partially blinded and then killed with the second shot as discussed in the thread where people are discussing doing it with a double barrel pistol, yes.

Well if I had a load of shot and came to the point that I needed to get rid of before I could load a ball it seems like a good idea to send it in the direction of said bear. It might not kill the bear but I would have a much better chance with the ball. Or maybe just shoot someone I could outrun.

 

[SOLANCO]

There was an elderly gentleman here in Lancaster who liked to make sets of powder horns. The sets would include a large horn, a smaller horn which he said was for every day carry, an even smaller flask for priming, and a measure made from an antler tine. My set is his take on how an Indian from the Pacific Northwest might have made them.
I tend to agree with those who doubt the ordinary use of a separate vessel for priming powder. A horn and a flask both carrying the same powder? Does not live up to the KISS maxim.

 

[4575wcf]

Well one seems to exist. A rolling pin and a wood block makes priming powder. I guess I could research rolling pins and see how far back they go. I think we can just common sense this one. Fine priming powder works great. Probably it worked great on the matchlock, and the wheellock, before it worked great on flinters.

 

[ML48]

Did the bear actually eat her? I have only heard of it maybe one time with black bears, but strangely it was also a woman.

No...pulled her out of the tent and killed her...no details. I have to wonder, time after time, I hear the same stupid actions on the part of campers with not a bit of common sense. They think these wild creatures are some domesticated pets! Then they do the dumbest thing any camper can do....store food in their tent!!! That is exactly what that bear came back for....fooooooooddddddddd!

 

[B P Arn]

If there was an award for "Dumbest Thread Ever", this thread would win it.

 

[Erwan]

AMEN! I had a relative that was in the War Between The States from Mo. He is idolized by some in books and chastized by others? I feel like he falls somewhere in the middle? When he was with Shelby he served as his right hand man. He was a news paper editor by trade and he praised The James gang in the news paper after the war. He knew the James family before the war.This made him the subject in several books. There is so much writen about him that puts him on a pedestal and some that defame him that the truth is lost? just like you said. Everyone should read what you posted and maybe this will open some eyes?

Don't take what I wrote the wrong way, it's possible that by changing language I'm not good enough to make myself understood.....
What I just wanted to say is that the more a story is told, transmitted, verbally or not, with the best intentions in the world or not, it will always end up being distorted from one description to another even if nobody thinks anything bad about it: it's the work of time....
Do you know that for a simple guy like me who is not a historian, it is really very difficult to read in my own language a text written in the 18th century, so from there to rewrite it in French to make it more understandable when many words do not exist anymore, I believe that this story will have lost all its substance and will no longer be in its original and historical context, and the more this story will be told or written, the more it will lose its value and its historical authenticity: in a hundred years, it will be nothing more than a legend that some will believe and others will not, and we will not be able to do anything about it. This is the life and work of time...

 

[LME]

Don't take what I wrote the wrong way, it's possible that by changing language I'm not good enough to make myself understood.....
What I just wanted to say is that the more a story is told, transmitted, verbally or not, with the best intentions in the world or not, it will always end up being distorted from one description to another even if nobody thinks anything bad about it: it's the work of time....
Do you know that for a simple guy like me who is not a historian, it is really very difficult to read in my own language a text written in the 18th century, so from there to rewrite it in French to make it more understandable when many words do not exist anymore, I believe that this story will have lost all its substance and will no longer be in its original and historical context, and the more this story will be told or written, the more it will lose its value and its historical authenticity: in a hundred years, it will be nothing more than a legend that some will believe and others will not, and we will not be able to do anything about it. This is the life and work of time...

I didn't take what you said the wrong way? I agree with what you posted. You explained exactly how things get distorted with Time. It doesn't take a year for a story to get blown out of proportion. I have seen it happen from where I worked to getting to my house which was a total of fifteen minutes. You are correct friend and I totally agree with your statement! I do find it sad that we will never know for sure what actually transpired in the past?