I'm at college, but my mom called and said that her birdfeeder has been hit twice in the last two nights by a bear.  I told her what my solution to the problem would be (jokingly, I might add), but she didn't think that my idea would be the best as far as legalities go. [:)]

So, if you have any advice on how to discourage bears from raiding bird feeders (without involving a .338 mag or equivalent), I'd appreciate a word or two.  Thanks!

Take the bird feeder in.

Paste the bird feeder in honey...

Hang it from a rope (The feeder, not the bear), just as you would food in the wild to prevent bears from snagging your groceries.

have your mom chase the bears with a broom! that will scare them away.

Call the bear a dirty name.

I've been told it's a pretty futile effort trying to stop a bear once it has found a consistant food source like a bird feeder, but my mom is pretty proud of this feeder that she made last summer and since it has suffered repairable damage so far she was hoping for some sort of neat trick of some sort.  Getsome--great idea, she has some in trees already, but this one is right by the house and she would like to keep it there.  Oh, and so much for my trusty 100 lb. Chesapeake Bay Retreiver for keeping the bear away.  Geez--time to find a real dog

Anyway, maybe when I'm out turkey hunting next week I'll have a chance to get even...any idea what a load of 3" magnum #4 lead will do to a bear's eyes/nose?  I'm hoping to not have to find out...  The last time I saw one up close was last fall when I was out squirrel hunting and all I had was my Browning Buckmark .22, so I'll be a little better armed this time around.  Seriously though, I don't anticipate any sort of trouble but it's always good to be prepared.  Perhaps my Glock 21 with some semi-wadcutters as a backup?  I guess this is off the topic of the birdfeeder now...

[img]http://home.earthlink.net/~thegardenweasel/bear.jpg[/img]

Hang up a feeder and a smart CT bear will
take it down.

Black bear meat is kinda tuff, but if you cook it slow in a crock pot with BBQ sause it's very tasty. I would NEVER suggest you break the law, but......

Dont take the feeder inside.if he smells it you might need a carpenter.Let it go empty and leave it that way for a few weeks.Change the feed she putting something out he really likes.There was a bear in Yellowstone who made his living poping the winshields out of cars.to get to peoples lunches.he didnt even break the winshield.Pretty good at it too,over 150 before they caught him.

ARMALITE FAN,

Thanks for the advice!  I will pass it along and see what happens.

Deerslayer,

I only joke about shooting the bear because my mom happens to be a State Trooper (let the flames begin... [:)] )and it's fun to joke about obviously illegal behavior once in a while.  Anyway, I already recommended to her that she take a few pot shots at it with her issued M-16A1, but you can probably guess what she had to say about that.  

Oh, and I can also say that the black bear meat I've eaten has been better than expected.