Tragic bear attack in Wyoming

[WildRose]

OK, I try to hold my tongue, but what WildBillG says is ludicrous and I see too many espouse the same point. Tell me, how do you think hunting will give bears respect of man? The purpose of hunting is to kill the animal. It's not like the bears are all sitting on a ridge posting on Facebook, Twitter, etc. if they see their buddy get killed. Bears in Canada and Alaska have been hunted forever and still kill/maul every year! It's just nonsensical.

Any animal that is pursued by man learns to respect and fear man. This has been proven the world over. Even Elephants and Cape Buffalo will shy away from places they know they are likely to be shot.

 

[WildRose]

I wonder about the guide and hunter. They should have known leaving an animal overnight is just asking for trouble.They both should have come back with rifles with enough caliber and bullet weight and one should been on guard while the other took care of the elk. The guide should have known better, than to leave him and his customer in possible danger

The first duty of a guide/outfitter is to first and foremost always consider the safety of the hunter and the group.

This was just a dumb, dumb, move.

 

[WildRose]

During archery season, the guides I have been with carry shotguns and/or large caliber pistols and pepper spray. I also carry a large caliber pistol (glock in 10 MM or 44 cal revolver). However, attacks can happen so fast that making a shot can be very difficult. It is unbelievable how fast a large Griz can move.

At least if you're carrying you can ball up and fire while you're being attacked.

I'd rather have a fighting chance than none at all anytime.

I carry a 30oz titanium Taurus 5 shot 41 or 44 magnum anytime I may find such a need arising.

 

[WildRose]

When I go elk hunting, I know the odds of me seeing an elk are not that great. If I want to see an elk, all I have to do is go to Rocky Mountain National Park. In fact, sometimes I will see them in the town of Estes Park. Sometimes they are in people's front yards or just walking across the streets with a long line of cars full of tourists watching and taking pictures. They do not care about the people around them. That is an area where they can't be hunted and they know it. I'm not an expert in bear psychology, but it's hard to imagine bear are incapable of noticing the same thing.

Visit yellowstone sometime and see just how wild the bears are.

 

[WildRose]

Spray in a tentwould be seasoning for the bears meal. IMHO

Steve

The demonstrations I've seen on Grizz show maybe 30% effectiveness at interrupting an attack and only about 10% that I've seen actually stopped the attack.

Those are not odds I'd bet my life on.

 

[WildRose]

If a grizzly comes into your tent your "tent" is no longer a "tent". It's shredded taffeta

In 78 we were at boy scout camp newer Cloudcroft NM.

Five of us spent the night away from camp in a Tee Pee set up for ceremonies for the AO.

About 2 am we had a black bear crawl half way in the door, sniff around and lay down not departing until daylight.

An absolutely terrifying experience none of us will ever forget.

We finally figured out that one of the boys had dumped a pot of hot chocolate near the tee pee which is what attracted him to begin with.

We never did figure out why he didn't come on in and make a meal of at least one of us.

 

[WildRose]

The outfitter I go with every year has dogs in camp. If you are not running into bears during the day when hunting then the dogs are running them off at night around camp. So far, none have made into tents.

At least they'll let you know if one is near.

 

[Pdvdh]

Here's THE mother of all big game guide clusters.
A man from the 48 states was hunting brown bear with his guide on the west side of Cook Inlet, Alaska.
The client took a shot at a brown bear from a rested, sitting position. The shot reportedly hit the bear, and the bear heads for the alders at the far side of the opening. The assistant guide was standing behind the client. As the bear heads out for the brush, the guide shoulders his rifle and shoots to anchor the wounded and escaping bear. As fate would have it, the client rose to a standing position to get a better shot and took the guide's bullet to the back of his skull! Instant death of the client. So much for the guide tending to the well being of the client...

I kid you not! This happened about 6yrs ago. The assistant guide was from my home town, on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.

 

[WildRose]

Here's THE mother of all big game guide clusters.
A man from the 48 states was hunting brown bear with his guide on the west side of Cook Inlet, Alaska.
The client took a shot at a brown bear from a rested, sitting position. The shot reportedly hit the bear, and the bear heads for the alders at the far side of the opening. The assistant guide was standing behind the client. As the bear heads out for the brush, the guide shoulders his rifle and shoots to anchor the wounded and escaping bear. As fate would have it, the client rose to a standing position to get a better shot and took the the his guide's bullet to the back of his skull! Instant death of the client. So much for the guide tending to the well being of the client...

I kid you not! This happened about 6yrs ago. The assistant guide was from my home town, on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.

I feel for the guide. I had a client step between me and a charging boar in a similar circumstance about 15 years ago. I'f I'd not had both eyes open I would have taken the top of his head off too.

People get excited or scared and forget the most basic rules of safety and common sense.

 

[Pdvdh]

I feel for the guide.

The most blatant error here was the guide shouldering a rifle while standing behind his client. Always, ALWAYS to the side. Never behind. Side by side.

 

[Buckfever34]

Here's THE mother of all big game guide clusters.
A man from the 48 states was hunting brown bear with his guide on the west side of Cook Inlet, Alaska.
The client took a shot at a brown bear from a rested, sitting position. The shot reportedly hit the bear, and the bear heads for the alders at the far side of the opening. The assistant guide was standing behind the client. As the bear heads out for the brush, the guide shoulders his rifle and shoots to anchor the wounded and escaping bear. As fate would have it, the client rose to a standing position to get a better shot and took the the his guide's bullet to the back of his skull! Instant death of the client. So much for the guide tending to the well being of the client...

I kid you not! This happened about 6yrs ago. The assistant guide was from my home town, on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.

I remember that story. I believe the hunter's name was Gary Kern.

 

[WildRose]

I remember that story. I believe the hunter's name was Gary Kern.

You are correct and Phorwath has the details pretty accurate from what I remember reading about the situation.

What a tragedy.

 

[HARPERC]

Communication beginning to end is required. What's each persons role, don't end up on opposite sides of a down bear etc.

It won't make you a friend, but I've insisted the rifle behind me be unloaded depending on my assessment of who was behind me.

Client assessment might shed light on the decisions made by the guide, like why the gun was with the pack?......but...........I get the difficulty of deciding shoot or don't with a bear on top of someone, tossing a gun to that person is a little strange to me. He had already been tossed himself, so who knows???

They've paid the price, prayers for the family.

 

[milkie62]

I will be with that outfitter in 2020. Guess I will have my 10mm Glock with me. One more thing to add to the list of equipment.