Bear Hunting with Dodge Neon

[richhodg66]

My son who's in the Marine Corps loaned a car of mine to a buddy who proceeded to kill a black bear with it. Car is toast now, but it looks like he'll be OK. Seems it rolled three times before coming to rest, seatbelts save lives.

I grew up in central S.C. and we didn't have them there at the time though I knew there were a few in the Appalachins. I didn't realize they got this big in the south. Not much in the pic to use for scale, but of that stripe on the road is the standard 5-6" wide, seems to be a good sized critter to a guy who isn't that familiar with them.

[waksupi]

Bears are solid as a bowling ball. One of the worst things to run into. Bummer about the car, and kid!

[bdicki]

There are very big bears in North Carolina, I think because they don't have to hibernate as long as northern bears, if at all.

[44man]

Hunting that way is cheating anyway!
Glad to hear the boy will be OK.

[Bagdadjoe]

A large slow heavy bullet with a large meplat works every time. I've taken several deer with a 14,000,000gr plastic tipped Dodge bullet at 88 fps. Bullet placement doesn't matter all that much, it smacks them down right there. I've yet to have one get up and run. Bullet doesn't expand...just a little dimpling on the nose...about $1600 worth.

[Garyshome]

Less damage hitting a tree.

[USAFrox]

A large slow heavy bullet with a large meplat works every time. I've taken several deer with a 14,000,000gr plastic tipped Dodge bullet at 88 fps. Bullet placement doesn't matter all that much, it smacks them down right there. I've yet to have one get up and run. Bullet doesn't expand...just a little dimpling on the nose...about $1600 worth.

Now I don't care who you are, that's funny stuff right there.

[Smoke4320]

A large slow heavy bullet with a large meplat works every time. I've taken several deer with a 14,000,000gr plastic tipped Dodge bullet at 88 fps. Bullet placement doesn't matter all that much, it smacks them down right there. I've yet to have one get up and run. Bullet doesn't expand...just a little dimpling on the nose...about $1600 worth.

They don't call it a ram for nothing !!!

[starmac]

They expand nice on buffalo.

[7s&8s]

Now I don't care who you are, that's funny stuff right there.

Seconded... I'm still chuckling... I really hate using that technique when driving in deer country at night...

Best Regards,
Tom

[CastingFool]

look at it this way, he didn't have to spend money on a bear tag! sorry about the car.

[richhodg66]

I truly hope someone salvaged that bear. I'm not gonna have to make a special trip over there to deal with the car, but if I had been around, I would have had it butchered out and processed. Seems like an awful shame to waste.

I've been real lucky where I live that neither I or the wife have hit a deer yet, come awful close a few times a year, just never connected. I did hit a turkey a few years ago that was just taking flight high enough that I hit it with the leading edge of the hood at about 65 MPH and that was not a cheap repair bill.

[markshere2]

I've hit a few deer. Then I installed a kangaroo guard on the front of my little suzuki samurai.

Worked great - I never even saw a kangaroo!

Banged a few more deer, but saved the tinwork on that little noisemaker.

[DougGuy]

One of our guys at work hit a 300 pounder one morning on the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp in a little Toyota pickup. It didn't roll the truck, but I swear that bear made a TUNNEL from the front bumper all the way out the back end! It looked like you dropped the truck from about 20' and landed it lengthwise straddling a great big log!

[dh2]

it must be bear vs. automobile season here in the Caralinas I hit one 20 Oct with a Mack truck. I was better protected than your case, wild life officer said it was his 5 night of work that week and 5th bear killer by motor vehicle that week. I am glad you main loss was only the car.

[dougader]

Dad got a deer once with a 1960 Rambler. His horns drove clear through the left rear passenger door but the rest of the car was fine.

[Bad Water Bill]

A co worker pulled into work and said come see my new car.

He was quite shook up as we went out to his car.

WOW 4 tines snapped off on each side of the steering wheel and still in place.

Don was doing 65 on the interstate just outside of Chiraq when the buck jumped out of a ditch and hit his car for a perfect BULLSEYE.