1-How big is the bear?
2-Nice hide?
3-The bear is eating at the truck or at the kill site;(how far of a drag is the truck?)

I think a conservation officer would be in the wrong to tag you for baiting in this situation but I do not know how the Co. hunting regs read.

If nothing elts you are looking at a great story to tell.
Eric

The bear is in the bed your truck.

[ This Message was edited by: therookie on 2003-09-30 09:11 ]

Not so hypothetical for me. It hasn't happened that way, but I do hunt elk alone and in an area where there are lots of bears.

First off, if the bear is in the truck or on the highway, having a bear tag doesn't matter. You can't "hunt" that close to the road regardless.

So, the question then becomes, is it a nuisance bear that you can shoot on that basis? Probably, but you may end up having to argue the point before an administrative hearing to avoid losing your hunting privileges.

Personally, I think the smart move would be to shoo the bear away, chase him, and shoot him once he gets far enough from the road to be legal. Of course, that's a lot easier said than done!

On the other hand, I always get a bear tag to go with my elk tag on the assumption that a bear is a lot more likely to challenge me at the site of the gut-pile than at the truck. In that case, I'll shoot him and not worry about it. I think I could make a very good argument that this doesn't constitute "baiting," for the simple reason that I did NOT place bait in an attempt to attract a bear.

Ha, this gets better and better.
First I get a whole roll of film in photos (got to be worth something).
The bear black or a cinnie?
How old is the Truck and what kind of shape is it in?