Hunting guide killed by bear: client throws him a handgun

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Bow hunting guide is killed by a bear. His client shot an elk on Thursday but didn't find it immediately. The next day they found the elk and were going to pack it out.

Bears attacked injuring client and killing the guide. Client threw a pistol to the guide before client got away. Client has returned to Florida.

Missing outfitter Mark Uptain found deceased | This Just In | jhnewsandguide.com

We may ask why the client didn't use the pistol himself instead of throwing it to the guide.
 
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Alk8944 said:
"There is a lot in this story that doesn't make sense. Speculating will lead to judgments based on conjecture so I will withhold further comment until more details emerge."

Exactly the correct attitude, and one everyone should adopt!!!!!
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But where's the fun in that?;)

I'm puzzled why somebody would throw a gun rather than just going ahead and shoot the bear.
 
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I was about 40 yards away from a grizzly just two weeks ago. We were hiking in Glacier National park and passed many people carrying bear spray and I thought the chances of needing it would be extremely unlikely, and then a grizzly with 3 cubs appeared to the left of me. No one else was around and I was a bit nervous as she walked behind me and my wife and crossed our walking path. Then the bear started walking up a hill and a big group came up the trail and everyone started pulling out their phones to take photos and getting closer and closer to her within about 15 yards. I just shook my head.
 
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First of all, my condolences to the family.

Now a question for you large game hunters out west. I've never hunted large game in Grizzly territory and probably never will, but would it be prudent to have someone "stand watch" while quartering up a large carcass that has been sitting in heavy bear territory for probably at least 12 hours? Perhaps this was in heavy growth underbrush and it wouldn't of mattered. Not passing judgement, just curious.
 
It says in the linked article thag he was unable to shoot without risk of hitting the guide.

"Two large bears"? I could see one large and one or two small - mama and cubs. But "two large"?

I thought bears were solitary. When did they start running in packs?
 
The Fish & Game will give out another tag for special events that happen making a kill uneatable or not attainable in my state.............
just saying.

It is an option...............
 
brjr51 said:
First of all, my condolences to the family.

Now a question for you large game hunters out west. I've never hunted large game in Grizzly territory and probably never will, but would it be prudent to have someone "stand watch" while quartering up a large carcass that has been sitting in heavy bear territory for probably at least 12 hours? Perhaps this was in heavy growth underbrush and it wouldn't of mattered. Not passing judgement, just curious.
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Many of the guys I know that hunt that part of the state, myself included, have hunted in pairs for years. One has a rifle for game shooting, the other a 12 ga for security and "overwatch." Game and Fish now says the pistol the client/hunter tossed was a Glock and it appeared at first glance not to have been fired. There was also bear spray onsite, no indication yet whether it was deployed. It sounds like this was a very sudden, aggressive attack by a sow and an adult cub who may have been intending to take a dead elk from the victims. This is not uncommon as the sound of gunfire will often bring griz to kill sites like ringing a dinner bell. If they come that hard in heavy timber they can be on you before you have any chance to react. I'm thinking that's probably what happened here.
 
rkrcpa said:
Just for the record....If I'm ever being attacked by a bear, I'm probably going to be too preoccupied by the attack to play catch with you. Just shoot the bear, really, I won't hold it against you if you hit me by accident.
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"Shoot up here amongst us, because one of us needs some relief!"—Jerry Clower.
 
Bear had been Sprayed...Two Bears were killed for the attack.

Game and Fish: Killer grizzly was sprayed | This Just In | jhnewsandguide.com

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department on Monday released new details about the fatal mauling of hunting guide Mark Uptain last weekend, including that bear spray was deployed.

"An investigation found a discharged can of bear spray with the safety off near the body," Game and Fish officials said in a statement. "It was later determined that the sow (female bear) had been sprayed with bear spray."

The complete investigation is still ongoing, the notice said, and will continue with a forensic analysis to provide additional scientific evidence.

Game and Fish personnel killed the sow and yearling grizzly that were involved in the attack Sunday. A foothold snare that was left overnight near the conflict-causing elk carcass had subdued the younger bruin, and the yearling's mother remained nearby.

"The sow charged the team in an aggressive manner and was shot by Game and Fish personnel," the Game and Fish notice said. "The yearling bear was chemically immobilized and determined to be involved in the attack of the victims. The yearling bear was then euthanized."
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Comment from The Client:

Grizzlies suspected of killing guide are dead | Environmental | jhnewsandguide.com

Chubon, who was airlifted out of the Teton Wildness with leg, chest and arm injuries, reported to investigators that of the two grizzlies involved, only one was the aggressor. The Florida resident, who flew back home Saturday, told authorities that he was unable to fire a shot from a handgun he retrieved during the attack, but he threw the firearm to Uptain before departing the scene.

Late Saturday, Hovinga declined to discuss evidence collected at the scene, but he did say that bear-deterrent pepper spray was among the things the guide and client possessed. He said he "didn't know" if the handgun was with Uptain's remains. The gun was not recovered immediately around where the attack took place, at the site of an elk Chubon had struck with an arrow Thursday. The guide and client did not locate and start to retrieve the elk until early the next afternoon.
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Rpg said:
Bow hunting guide is killed by a bear. His client shot an elk on Thursday but didn't find it immediately. The next day they found the elk and were going to pack it out.

Bears attacked injuring client and killing the guide. Client threw a pistol to the guide before client got away. Client has returned to Florida.

Missing outfitter Mark Uptain found deceased | This Just In | jhnewsandguide.com

We may ask why the client didn't use the pistol himself instead of throwing it to the guide.
Click to expand...

Exactly why the client needed a guide!!!
 
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