Tragic bear attack in Wyoming

[Radhimself]

My dad was almost six foot tall. More than a decade after the grizz had been declared extinct in colorado we have a picture of him standing with his back to a tree, arms/hands fully extended and he still could not reach a horizontal bear marking.

A few years later a grizz killed an entire family and ate three of them just a few miles away.

In the famous case of a guide who killed and was severely mauled by a grizz in Colorado the necropsy showed the old sow had given birth at least five times in her life and was over 12 years old. I can't remember the rest of the details, it was back in the eighties or early nineties.

We have had Grizzlies killed in my area (B.C Interior) that are well over 30 years old and summer weight over 900lbs...

 

[Bigaldepr]

I was camping with a group of guys this summer in the national park near Mt. Evans, CO. We were sitting around the campfire and when we went to turn in every tent was trashed. We gathered the sleeping gear around the campfire and the bear still twice came up and raided the kitchen tent. Fired a warning shot from .357 magnum but the bear was not phased, just wonder off. Seems he didn't like the light in his eyes.

 

[Radhimself]

My "Go To" Bear Spray is made by S&W. 4" Barrel with a 50 Caliber hole in it. Sprays 375 gr Barnes X Pistol Bullets as fast as you can pull the trigger. These Bullets out of this Gun have shot through a Bull Bison's shoulders and exited. It takes a lot of meat & bones to stop them! I carry it in a chest holster and it can be deployed in seconds. At least as fast as pepper spray

I honestly wish we could carry in Canada... So until then the best i can do is have a Clip full of handloads in my M305 (chink M14)... were only allowed 5 rounds in a clip here too, which is fantastic

 

[Deleted member 103481]

If its a choice between ending a charging bears life, or my life ending slowly and painfully as i listen to my bones being broken and feeling the claws and jaws close on me... Im taking a life, plain and simple. Sorry, but your granola fueled ideals are something this world does NOT need

You have no clue what I am talking about. As I have stated in a response since that posting/interaction has been removed. I in no way shape or form consider defending ones life to be anything but totally acceptable. Perhaps your reading comprehension of this thread is something the world does NOT need.

 

[Hand Skills]

I honestly wish we could carry in Canada... So until then the best i can do is have a Clip full of handloads in my M305 (chink M14)... were only allowed 5 rounds in a clip here too, which is fantastic

Here you go;

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/fs-fd/wild-sauvage-eng.htm

I know a few guys who carry. Fairly straightforward to get an ATC.

National park regulations are another story though...

• 20 (1) No person shall be in possession of a firearm in a park unless the firearm is not loaded and is transported in a case or is wrapped and tied securely in such a manner that no part of the firearm is exposed

 

[Barrelnut]

^^^ That's some crazy stuff right there. ^^^

 

[WildRose]

General question to all:

When you are hunting in bear country with a rifle do you still carry a sidearm? Or spray?

On fly in hunts how do you carry spray, the few I've been on the pilot asks if there is bear spray in any baggage and asks to leave it at base camp.

Side arm always.

No way I'd ever bet my life on a spray can made in Mexico or China.

 

[WildRose]

I agree with the hot load comment but the 40 is nothing compared to the 10mm even with medium weight 10mm loads. Yes, yes, yes buy heavy bonded or hard cast bullets for the 10mm in 180 grain plus weight. My 10mm always carries Buffalo Bore or Underwood 220 hard cast loads. I carry this combo in all bear country. If all you have is a 40, it will work also with hard cast loads. You just may need to load them yourself.

.40 S&W +P or ++P get pretty close ballistically.

Increased recoil makes it harder to manage for target shooting but up close and personal in an emergency you'd never notice anyhow.

When I go to bear country whatever I'm carrying will be loaded as hot and heavy as I can find.

I admit there's some real appeal to 16+1 in my XDM Comp's over the wheel guns but there's a lot more power in each load from the wheel guns and they never jam.

 

[Hubby45]

Sad deal. My prayers for the family and friends of Mark Uptain.
I pack heavy in bear country every time I'm out. This is a good reminder of why.

 

[Buck Buster]

Is this confirmed?? If so then wow, just wow...

Ironically on another (non-hunting-focused) shooting forum, I blocked some guy who was intent on defending the value of the 9mm as a grizz defense tool...

Events like this really stick with me as I relate them back to my own experiences. Last season I was lucky enough to get a bull elk in the back country. Problem was my new hunting partner was not up to the task and ended up being much more a liability than an asset. We got back to camp 3-4 miles from the truck and he was intent to stay the night there...in a narrow pass grizz funnel, with a backpack full of bloody elk meat, and my clothes tainted with elk blood. I had no choice but to pass out in the tent for a few hours from sheer exhaustion from doing the work for both of us, but when I came to, I insisted we leave enough stuff behind that we could get us and the meat back to the truck and out of there. No way I was spending the night in grizz country smelling of elk blood...

I think that was a very, very smart move ! Too bad your buddy didn't properly condition himself for a hunt like that ! I agree I wouldn't be caught dead on a grizz highway with bloody clothing on and fresh meat in my packs ! Your still lucky they didn't catch you snoozing !

 

[HARPERC]

mark....set....go 1 Mississipi 2.....................................

Set a dead bear line, and stick with it, too many people letting too many bears too close in my opinion.

 

[Educated Redneck]

So when I'm in grizz country and especially with a downed animal, I very well know the predators are going to whip my butt and waaaaay before I even have time to react. So many stories start with "I couldn't even react, he was on me before I knew it...". It's a known fact the solo hunter will lose every time and it's shear luck when we people survive. My policy is to always hunt with a partner and make sure he/she is ALWAYS armed with both spray and a firearm and it is ALWAYS physically on them (not in a pack or pack hipbelt). Further, I think this is a big take home message that may not have been mentioned; I depend on my partner to save my life and vice versa, I have to save his/hers. It's my opinion, short of a claw to the neck or major artery in one big swipe, many bear attack victims do not die instantly. They usually last many seconds if not sometimes minutes. They get mauled and thrown around as bears are not always efficient killers like a cat might be. They kill us with stupidly with brute strength and multiple bite wounds and usually not very quickly. If I'm being mauled, it's highly unlikely I can do anything to deter it. Even the strongest men do not have a chance. I depend on my partner to not flee the scene, rather, run at the bear as fast as possible and spray as much lead into any vitals exposed from a low stance as to minimize hitting me. I know I'm cooked in a bear fight, but my partner has full free range to react quickly and put a lot of damage to that critter while he's busy with one victim at a time. I may not be right, but that's one of many bear safe practices we prep for. Pardon me, but the idea the hunter flung a weapon (innuendoed good luck) and "ran for his life" is criminal in my opinion. He'd be in jail if that happened in military combat. Uptain's body was found many many yards from that attack which possibly indicates he attempted to crawl for safety. My point is not to shame the hunter for abandoning in a fight or flight reaction, rather all reading this and in addition to many bear safe practices, above all practices should be DO NOT HUNT ALONE and DO NOT ABANDON YOUR PARTNER. Had Chuban laid down some shots with his pistol and/or provided first aid afterwards, Uptain would probably be with his kids recovering right now. Hope not to rant, simply opening a conversation about what I think could help us all in the rare case this were to happen to one of us. Like being a pilot, everybody studies and learns from plane crashes. Unfortunate, but helpful if anything positive can become of it. Have a verbal plan before you head out what to do if you encounter a bear and have a plan with your partner if one of you is attacked. Running for help is NOT an option. Prayers.

 

[WildRose]

Perfect shot will not be available when the bear is fighting for keeps, and shaking you like a rag doll.
Bear spray is wasted weight and volume. Instead, pack a revolver as backup to a long gun. Do the rest of us a favor and remove threatening bears from the gene pool, so they don't teach their young aggressive behavior toward humans. Amen.

Good point. The forest service and various game agencies simply tranquilizing and moving problem bears is a big part of the problem. Once they've lost their fear of man they need to be removed from the gene pool especially the sows who will raise their young with the same lack of fear.

 

[WildRose]

1) Can't carry a long gun when archery hunting.
2) The statement "Shoot it in the face..." was a euphemism.
3) I'm sure there have been plenty of poor Alaskans that wished they had a can of spray when their revolvers were empty.
4) They're bears. They're threatening by nature.

Spraying an already enraged and wounded bear would accomplish exactly nothing but keeping your feet planted while he gains on you.