DOUBLE bear attack story.....

[rwsmith]

A man in Montana was out in the woods when he encountered a grizzly and her cubs. She charged and he hit her square in the face with the bear spray. No effect. He went to the ground and covered himself while the bear mauled him. Finally, it decided that was enough and left him lying there. He managed to get up and make his way back up the trail toward his truck, and guess who shows up again? Down to the ground, vicious mauling, the bear even STOOD on him to crush him. He said every bite felt like a sledge hammer blow. Again, the bear figured he had enough and left. So he made it to his truck and drove 17 miles with only one arm working.

He said he had a gun in a holster, but the bear tore that off in the first attack. I guess he should have gone for it first rather than the bear spray.

He posted a pic of his bloody face and head before he got any treatment. That is one lucky dude.

 

[Absalom]

......
He said he had a gun in a holster, but the bear tore that off in the first attack. I guess he should have gone for it first rather than the bear spray.
......

I have actually not been able to find a single verifiable (emphasis on verifiable) case of someone stopping a charging grizzly with a handgun. Zip. Doesn't happen. Or at least nobody has pulled it off yet. Bear spray at least works more often than not. So while I used to carry a Marlin .45-70 in grizzly habitat, I always carried bear spray too, and if I'd been limited to a handgun, the spray would have been my first response.

When the bear spray doesn't work, it also is worth trying to find out what kind of spray they used. I'm aware of at least one case where the ineffective "bear spray" turned out to have been ordinary anti-people pepper spray; no wonder the bear wasn't impressed.

 

[rwsmith]

I don't know if this is 'verifiable'....

The article is a bit ambiguous as it states that he killed a grizzly bear, but all that's described at the stream were brown bear. Maybe the grizzly came out of the woods or something.

Alaska Fishing Guide Kills Grizzly Bear with 9mm as It Charges Couple - Breitbart

Here's another:

Grizzly Bear Shot and Killed By Hikers In Denali National Park and Preserve | National Parks Traveler

And another:


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/alaska-grizzly-shot-death-attacking-house-article-1.1869656

This one was two guns:

What happens when hunters and grizzlies collide - Wyoming Wildlife Advocates

 

[Steely85]

I have actually not been able to find a single verifiable (emphasis on verifiable) case of someone stopping a charging grizzly with a handgun. Zip. Doesn't happen. Or at least nobody has pulled it off yet. Bear spray at least works more often than not. So while I used to carry a Marlin .45-70 in grizzly habitat, I always carried bear spray too, and if I'd been limited to a handgun, the spray would have been my first response.

When the bear spray doesn't work, it also is worth trying to find out what kind of spray they used. I'm aware of at least one case where the ineffective "bear spray" turned out to have been ordinary anti-people pepper spray; no wonder the bear wasn't impressed.

Here's a couple of hints for you.

1) Try as you will, you can not kill a bear with spray.

2) You can kill a bear with a gun

3) There are more than a few cases of bears being stopped/changed course with a gun. Just because your google foo didn't find it, don't make it gospel.

4) I'd rather have a rifle

 

[Tom S.]

My bear spray is a 500 S&W.

 

[vonn]

Hope I never have to find out if bear spray works! I think if you survive to tell about a grizzly encounter you have been living right.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

If I was in bear country, I would carry a firearm, the largest bore I could shoot accurately. I would also use said firearm.

 

[Roadtrash]

Yeah I think if you "spray" the bear with a little .500 S&W it would change his mind at least a little. May have to "spray" him more than once but whatever it takes.

 

[keith44spl]

Having spent a bit of time in the back country,
many miles a horseback from town.

I have a very serious respect for bears of all kinds.

Back before chemical sprays to detour bears were commonly
thought to be a defense against same......

I've always carried a heavy caliber sidearm & a short heavy
caliber rifle as personal defense against being chewed up in the wilds.

But, when it comes right down to the nut cuttin'.....
Sometimes ya got to go with whatcha got.

I think he (MT Game Warden Lou Kis) had a S&W model 66.

(Photo No. 14 of 22)

Grizzly Attack Caught on Camera | Field & Stream

 

[Watchdog]

I can see this easily dissolving into another bear gun thread pretty soon.

What's sort of funny to me is that a lot of people seem to believe they'll have time to draw and fire a large caliber handgun to stop a charging grizzly. Or that they'll be able to unsling a rifle, shoulder it, and fire before the bear gets to them.

An adult grizzly can weigh 700-1000 pounds, stand eight feet tall, and charge at a speed of 35 miles per hour when they get going. And a lot of times, they don't even have to really "get going"...they're on you before you can even react.

There's a reason grizzlies are called Ursus arctos horribilis, and it isn't just because some naturalist liked the sound of the words.

 

[Skeet 028]

Most of the bear attacks here have been ended by firearms(one by a bow) but usually the bear is on you like right now. They don't usually charge 50 yards before the mauling. Bear spray may work on close encounters with no charge..I do carry it with me..But if you have time to get the spray in operation..the bear probably isn't attacking. Two fellows I know killed bears with handguns but were attacked before they could get said guns out... all from close range. One killed the grizz with 3 shots from a Blackhawk 41 mag and the other was 2 or 3 shots from a 44. My preferred bear gun would be a 10 shot riot gun with slugs...but I do carry my ol 4 inch M-57. One fellow was hiking sans a firearm but was reported to have bear spray and was killed by the bear.

BTW... to clear things up..a Brown bear IS a grizzly... just live in an area different from an interior grizzly. Where I lived in Alaska I would say the average grizzly may have been 400 pounds... maybe less. Here in Wyoming I really don't know how big. I doubt bear spray or a gun will stop a real up close and personal attack. My neighbor put a 45-70 round into the dirt in front of a big bear at about 30 yards. Bear was popping his jaws and growling but not attacking. His horses thought they were in danger though. He said it was a chance encounter though

 

[keith44spl]

I can see this easily disolving into another bear gun thread pretty soon.

What's sort of funny to me is that a lot of people seem to believe they'll have time to draw and fire a large caliber handgun to stop a charging grizzly. Or that they'll be able to unsling a rifle, shoulder it, and fire before the bear gets to them.

An adult grizzly can weigh 700-1000 pounds, stand eight feet tall, and charge at a speed of 35 miles per hour when they get going. And a lot of times, they don't even have to really "get going"...they're on you before you can even react.

There's a reason grizzlies are called Ursus arctos horribilis, and it isn't just because some naturalist liked the sound of the words.

Well now thar Watchdog,

I've personally killed a bear that was tryin run up my britches leg,
with a 348 Winchester rifle...And lived to tell the tale.


Su Amigo,
Dave

 

[Steely85]

I can see this easily disolving into another bear gun thread pretty soon.

What's sort of funny to me is that a lot of people seem to believe they'll have time to draw and fire a large caliber handgun to stop a charging grizzly. Or that they'll be able to unsling a rifle, shoulder it, and fire before the bear gets to them.

An adult grizzly can weigh 700-1000 pounds, stand eight feet tall, and charge at a speed of 35 miles per hour when they get going. And a lot of times, they don't even have to really "get going"...they're on you before you can even react.

There's a reason grizzlies are called Ursus arctos horribilis, and it isn't just because some naturalist liked the sound of the words.

The guy in the recent attack saw the grizzly sow and cubs across a field. He yelled at the bear numerous times and she started to walk away.

She then turned and started towards him. He kept yelling and finally pull his handy, dandy bear spray and then got half ate.

Seems he had PLENTY of time/distance to get a firearm into action.

Just because some attacks come fast and close, don't mean you shouldn't be armed.

 

[woodsltc]

Well, I'm dissolving into saying that I would have felt better having at least a .44 mag on my hip.

Don

 

[rwsmith]

I don't need a big gun...

Well, I'm dissolving into saying that I would have felt better having at least a .44 mag on my hip.

Don

I don't have a big gun because I'm not likely to run into something here that my .357 can't take care of. But if I lived in Grizzlie or Brown bear country you can bet that I'd have a big gun when I went out.

Birds of prey can kill you, one man was killed by a LOON of all things. I'm not sure a handgun would be good in a bird attack, though.

Probably the second worst thing you can come across is a mountain lion. Then there are bobcats and coyotes. Moose can be dang dangerous along with horned animals, even small deer. And wild boar/hogs. Here alligators can be tough customers. Wolverines and Wolves ain't no fun either.

Buffalo can usually be avoided, but if one gets after you, well...

Getting caught by a bull in a field can be hazardous to your health.

Dog attacks are likely anywhere. Any rabid animal could attack without provocation. Foxes can inflict damage.

Then come the crawly things. You can run across snakes, arthropods or insects anywhere, too.


I think that most any of these could be handled with a .357, except for the big bears. And don't forget that polar bears live in Alaska, too.

 

[Steely85]

The 1st worse thing you're likely to encounter comes at you on 2 legs. I ain't counting on spray for that either.

 

[joeintexas]

The only time I had a bear turn and come towards me I was quite a distance away and able to run back to my very close truck. Of course I had a real advantage.....I was running on clean ground!!

 

[Ed Fowler]

I feel that man had a lot of courage, knowledge and knew what he had to do to survive. I salute him!

 

[Absalom]

Here's a couple of hints for you.

1) Try as you will, you can not kill a bear with spray.

2) You can kill a bear with a gun

3) There are more than a few cases of bears being stopped/changed course with a gun. Just because your google foo didn't find it, don't make it gospel.

4) I'd rather have a rifle

Here is a hint for you:

If you go through the trouble of numbering your points, at least one should actually address the quote you're supposedly responding to. You're scoring zero out of four.

 

[Steely85]

Here is a hint for you:

If you go through the trouble of numbering your points, at least one should actually address the quote you're supposedly responding to. You're scoring zero out of four.

No need to apologize, it was obvious that you didn't have much of a clue.