Watch a Missouri Bowhunter Get THIS Close to a Curious Black Bear

Would I like to see a bear in the wild? Sure. Would I like to get as close as this Missouri bowhunter did to a curious black bear? Not a chance.

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This fun Missouri bowhunting moment was shared by the Hit the mark YouTube channel. Somehow I missed it when they first dropped it last September. Here's how they described this close encounter of the bear kind:

HTM Team members, Ryan & Scott, did NOT expect to see this while hunting whitetail in the early season!

Notice how this bear's nose was busy constantly surveying what's edible.

This looked like a fairly young black bear. The Missouri Department of Conservation says these bears can get as large as 900 pounds. You don't want them to decide that you look like tasty prey although most bears do live mostly on berries and vegetation.

I'm not trying to be a critic as this guy is obviously an experienced hunter, but it's normally not a good idea to be silent when you encounter a bear. You don't want to surprise a predator like this. Bear safety tips advise speaking in a loud and firm voice to let the bear know you're there while they're some distance away. Letting this big guy/girl get that close and then saying "Boo" isn't a good idea either.

Fortunately, the bear just sniffed around a bit before going back to being a bear. You never know when it can go completely wrong though. If this young bear's mom was nearby and she viewed the hunter as a threat, bad things can happen.

All's well that ends well in the Missouri woods in this case.