[Grant]

No guns necessary. Black bears want nothing to do with you, and the vast majority of sightings are food-inspired. And they don't eat people. Noises will usually scare them off. Bird feeders, garbage containers, etc., will attract. As we get into fall, they will be foraging more aggressively, trying to build up their fat reserves for the winter's nap. In spring, they'll be out and about looking to break that fast. They are not, however, anything like grizzlies. Most that you see will look like big dogs. The occasional big bear sighting is a treat.

I remember an incident -- probably 10+ years ago now -- in which a pair of good-sized bears ambled up driveway in Wolfeboro on a summer weekend afternoon. The homeowner, obviously alarmed and concerned for the safety of his tethered dog in the back yard, went inside, grabbed a gun, and shot and killed one of the bears. I recall the other getting away. Shame to have to resort to killing it, but I can't say I wouldn't react the same way if I perceived a threat to my dogs.

Having spent a lot of time backpacking and camping in bear country in New Hampshire, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, I've found that noise works best. That being said, a seasoned/conditioned/wily campground bear will return again and again in attempts to win its food prize. We had one in the Smokies that climbed a tree, latched onto our string hammock containing food sacks, snapped the line, crashed to the ground, and took off with a week's worth of backpacking rations for three people. The next day, we recovered 2/3 of the food (and saw the bear again...another story...), and enjoyed pita bread with bear tooth holes in them for the rest of the week. Oh yeah -- and one of the offending bruins also bit a hole through the metal body of my friend's camera as it took off with his full-loaded backpack in its mouth! They are good-natured troublemakers.