How to shoot a bear without getting mauled


Sito

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I'm playing on PV and trying to pop a bear. I can creep up really close and get one shot before it charges me and mauls me half to death. It would be really convenient if it would hang around the PV farmhouse porch so I could pop him and run inside. How else can you kill a bear?

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4 hours ago, KinoUnko said:

climb up fallen trees, sit on cliff faces, shoot from really far away

You need to be careful with the cliffs as the bears are crazy fast and can somehow get up some of them. Their pathing isn't like ours and they have a lot more range. Most likely, that will work against you. Either that, or I've been incredibly unlucky with my choice of perches.

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Animals cannot duck.  If you must be crouched to fit under something, then the animals can no longer path to you and will just run away.

Animals cannot fall.  If you become airborne because you happened to walk off an edge, then animals can no longer path to you and will run away.  Likewise if you have dropped onto a surface that cannot be walked onto from where they are.

Animals also cannot open doors nor enter most man-made structures.

But if you don't want to abuse their simple nature too much, bears also cannot charge at what they cannot find.  If you shoot from far enough away, they cannot hear your shot so cannot tell where you are.  If you use the silent bow you can get even closer but shoot from behind so they don't see you either. 

If you want to be less subtle you can find a distress pistol and unload it in a bears face.  Bears always run away when the distress flare is launched and distress flares kill bears just about as well as arrows.

And if you don't mind being extra devious you can save the game just prior to shooting and if the bear doesnt die instantly, just exit/reload and try again.

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On 22.11.2017 at 2:15 AM, selfless said:

Animals cannot duck.  If you must be crouched to fit under something, then the animals can no longer path to you and will just run away.

Animals cannot fall.  If you become airborne because you happened to walk off an edge, then animals can no longer path to you and will run away.  Likewise if you have dropped onto a surface that cannot be walked onto from where they are.

Animals also cannot open doors nor enter most man-made structures.

But if you don't want to abuse their simple nature too much, bears also cannot charge at what they cannot find.  If you shoot from far enough away, they cannot hear your shot so cannot tell where you are.  If you use the silent bow you can get even closer but shoot from behind so they don't see you either. 

If you want to be less subtle you can find a distress pistol and unload it in a bears face.  Bears always run away when the distress flare is launched and distress flares kill bears just about as well as arrows.

And if you don't mind being extra devious you can save the game just prior to shooting and if the bear doesnt die instantly, just exit/reload and try again.

Ah, fountain of knowledge. Always worth the time reading your posts. +1.

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IMO there are basically two types of places where wildlife cannot reach you: unreachable spots and safe spots.

Unreachable spots are areas that keep wildlife away from you but allow you to touch them with ranged weapons. This includes fallen trees and certain outcrops that wildlife cannot path to. This allows you the ability to shoot them without the risk of getting attacked.

Safe spots are areas that separate you from the wildlife entirely. This includes cars and buildings with loading screens. It's a bit tricky using these to hunt since you don't have a means of shooting your prey from these spots. A good strategy for bear hunting instead, is to position yourself near these areas, take your shot, and run into the safe spot before the bear gets to you. I recommend using cars since they allow you to see your prey from within them. This makes it easy to judge when it's safe to get out and take another shot.

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I'm also a fan of cars. As an added bonus, if it's warm enough, you can just sleep for the 8 or so hours in the car so the bear's bleed out timer will run out. If you're lucky the bear will drop right where you shot it even without a critical hit. 

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Forgive me if I'm just jumping on Sito's thread but, how many shots does it usually take?

I'm at archery level 2 and I'm yet to shoot a bear on interloper. I've cleaned the wolves on Mystery Lake to ease the bear hunt. Do you veteran guys recommend using the fishing huts? And what about the hunter's blind on unnamed pond, could I shoot safely from there?

Cheers 

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37 minutes ago, Dan_ said:

Forgive me if I'm just jumping on Sito's thread but, how many shots does it usually take?

Blinds and huts should be safe.  Sometimes they aren't because pathing is not exactly a science here.  Coordinates slide a bit when the math happens and let weird things happen.

One shot is all it takes, if the bear starts bleeding and you can wait it out.  Sometimes animals don't bleed even when they are hit.  If you want to drop them in their tracks you have to depend on random chance (about 35% chance for head shots, less for others) or score 3 direct hits to the bears' heads or 10 shots to the body (!?!).  Better explain here: http://thelongdark.wikia.com/wiki/Hunting

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5 hours ago, AZHockeyNut said:

I learned the hard way not to shoot from a fishing hut. I did it in ML at the hut nearest his cave. He came right in and cornered me. It hurt a lot

Haha, happened to me exactly like that! Hit the head and he just kept charging me, grabbed me like I was a sandwich and tossed me around until I had 10% condition. I recovered to about 35% with the tea and quartered him the day after. 

As soon as I get back to full health, I'm going after the other bear, will try the blind this time. 

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I was so used to the one on CH and hiding in a hut there I totally didn't think he could do it. I was stunned. He took my flare gun, my only weapon. I managed to limp to it. Made my way to to cottage with him right behind me. Shot him and ran inside the hut. Woke up after some healing to a lump of bear meat. 

So I cut him up and cooked him to raise my skill level. 

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I'm not sure how good of a gear kit you have, but I would strongly advise to use your backup gear. After he got me at the fishing hut, my mitts and pants were under 30% condition. Wolf coat was still decent, though.

Shot the second bear from the blind, as soon as you climb up the ladders the bear runs away. I would try to lure him to the blind next to the cave to ML and fire at him from there, it's pretty safe. 

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I'm really fond of the porches in Coastal Village near the entrance to Desolation Point - if you get the right mix of houses the bear walks close enough to one you can nail it with a bow.  And the dock in Mystery Lake by the Lone Cabin.  And if the bear is going by the farmhouse the back porch is really spiffy for avoiding a mauling.  Oh, and theres a shed in Pleasant Valley the bear walks by, you can start a long running fire in the back area, go out when you hear the bear, shoot it and nip back into the area with the fire

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GelTaz claimed that shooting the bear in the left eye (its left) would drop it with one shot and I can confirm this. Be well-rested to eliminate sway, have your rifle in top condition and wait for the bear to get close....too close really. I verified this by doing it while near the safety of the veranda at the PV farmhouse. After I dropped the bear, I quit out (there is no save when killing an animal) and reloaded to try it again and indeed, repeatable 4 more times. The key is to 'interest' the bear but not have it charge. Let it see you at a distance and it will start moving your way, then crouch, only popping up to keep it coming. If it sees you, rears up and charges, the likelihood of a clean shot drops dramatically. Run.

 So, a slowly approaching bear can be dropped with a close-range, steady shot from a well-maintained rifle aimed at its left eye and this seems to be quite consistent.

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On 12/1/2017 at 2:20 AM, Carbon said:

GelTaz claimed that shooting the bear in the left eye (its left) would drop it with one shot and I can confirm this. Be well-rested to eliminate sway, have your rifle in top condition and wait for the bear to get close....too close really.

Only did this like 3 times (5 times in total but twice I missed the eye because I, well, suck) - each time I hit the eye, it dropped the bear instantly. I wonder why it works that way - I guess its one of those super tiny body areas that count as - super-spots. like with the deer and heart area. So, I can semi-confirm this? :D

Having top-condition is always a good idea when hunting - doesnt really matter with a bow (at least I never noticed a difference) but while using rifle, you definitedly want it in a top condition).

I usually hunt bears (as well as everything else) with a bow. Bears in particular I hunt by arcing shots from very far away. It is by far not a very efficient method as you are likely to use up a lot of arrows on just trying to judge distance (especially early on when you are inexperienced) and quite a bit of bow durability, but since those things are renewable, no big deal. All it takes is to land one hit and then just watch bear running around frantically, bleeding out. This is rather safe method, as long as you keep other wildlife in mind. This only really becomes a bit dangerous as the bear starts running around in panic, it might run into you - but I did this for a while and even though they ran by quite close, as long as I stayed crouched and didnt move, I was never attacked.

If you got attacked right away than you were not standing far enough.

But I like this method a lot as it is not relient on cheesing with the terrain like most people do it. And it is far more challenging - therefore more rewarding in my opinion. :D

Some general tips when hunting bears: Take off all your cloth-based clothing. Seriously. Only keep on leather goods - this gives you adequate protection againts the attack, they dont take such a huge hit to durability if mauled, and especially in the late game you will have more then enough leather for repairs - not to mention you will be able to boost your repair skill this way.

I dont reccomend taking all clothes off as you will be very exposed to both the elements, and the animal strenght. But dont waste the more valuable cloth based goods.

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10 hours ago, Frosty said:

downloadfile.thumb.jpeg.edcc9541bbed62cdaf831dc37960b77b.jpeg

Its not sticking out of its eyeball :D so you may have hit it properly but the shot didnt connect well. Happens sometimes with a bow, I´ve noticed. Shot the animals in a specific body part, the arrow ended up being burried in a different one. Might be a game lag issue, perhaps? That the animal and arrow met at a different moment then how it looks on the screen? Not sure.

Anyways, interesting screenshot. Takes skill to hit bear´s eyelid with an arrow :D

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have found that hunting bears from the blinds is 100% safe (as long as the weather co-operates).  Shoot the bear and when it starts it’s charge, crouch down.  The bear CANNOT get to you if you are crouched inside the blind.  Wait until you hear him start to move off then stand back up again.  The bear will see you and charge again, and again you crouch down.  In this manner you can keep the bear close to the blind until it bleeds out.  It’s time consuming, but it gives you a protected area to duck back into if necessary while you are harvesting the bear.  And, as an added bonus, you don’t have to try and find the carcass in the wilderness (although the circling crows do help to locate).

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On 12/22/2017 at 12:05 PM, Avelyan said:

I have found that hunting bears from the blinds is 100% safe (as long as the weather co-operates).  Shoot the bear and when it starts it’s charge, crouch down.  The bear CANNOT get to you if you are crouched inside the blind.  Wait until you hear him start to move off then stand back up again.  The bear will see you and charge again, and again you crouch down.  In this manner you can keep the bear close to the blind until it bleeds out.  It’s time consuming, but it gives you a protected area to duck back into if necessary while you are harvesting the bear.  And, as an added bonus, you don’t have to try and find the carcass in the wilderness (although the circling crows do help to locate).

Can you pass time while crouching?  In my experience, passing 1 hour lets it bleed out close by.

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  • 6 months later...

I have heard that the pass time/bleed out trick doesn't work since the Vigilant Flame update. I wonder if the blinds are still safe? Were they ever safe from wolves?

 I want a spare bear pelt to keep my sleeping bag in good condition and recently spotted Yogi at Unnamed Pond. I may try the "Blind & Crouch." tactic.

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I can confirm that bears heal when you go inside while they're bleeding.  Stay outside until the number of "Bears Killed" increases.  Then look for the bear/birds.  Also the porches of houses will protect you against bears (but not wolves anymore).

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3 hours ago, greggbert said:

I can confirm that bears heal when you go inside while they're bleeding.  Stay outside until the number of "Bears Killed" increases.  Then look for the bear/birds.  Also the porches of houses will protect you against bears (but not wolves anymore).

Fishing huts still work I think.

As for my own endeavors to bring down bear and moose, I prefer cars in PV, fallen trees in ML or any location, come to think of it. I prefer the bow over the rifle. I know this thread is about how to avoid getting mauled by a bear, but I want to add that the moose in DP (bridge) is a real pain to shoot and come away from it with all ribs in place...

I try to avoid shooting at bears and moose if there's no hiding spot (unless I'm drunk), I've been mauled and stomped at too many times.

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