Tragic bear attack in Wyoming

[Bigeclipse]

The screaming is usually out of panic and realization of what is going on rather than pain. Shock and the hormone cascade generally keep us from feeling the pain until the emergency is over.

That bear was eating him alive too, not just killing him. That six minutes had to be pure hell.

That's true. Yeah it is crazy and pray I never come face to face with a bear.

 

[CoachChris]

That's true. Yeah it is crazy and pray I never come face to face with a bear.

I've had about a dozen too close for comfort grizzly encounters. In 2 of them the bears made physical contact with me. None of them were "life threatening".
Attacks and maulings are the exception, not the norm.

 

[JMack]

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.

 

[CoachChris]

General question to all:

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

I carry both

 

[VLD Pilot]

Alright, for the 10mm lovers, just make sure you load them suckers hot. Basically just a .40 sw unless you push the envelope. This one barely managed to stop a black bear
https://www.alloutdoor.com/2018/09/...ent=2018-09-18&utm_campaign=Weekly+Newsletter

On a lighter note, Does anybody know how to tell the difference between a griz and a black bear by their droppings?

Black bear scat is smaller and usually filled with berry seeds and squirrel hair. Griz scat is usually filled with bells and smells like pepper spray.
https://web.eecs.umich.edu/~fessler/misc/funny/bears.txt

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.

 

[Alibiiv]

Both my son and I hunt black bear in Maine woods. We both carry Glock 20 (10mm in a belt holster) while we hunt. We both hunt with 35 Whelens, although plenty of rifle to black bear, my biggest concern is that I will encounter a sow with cubs on the way out in the dark! When something is up close and intimate with you, a rifle pretty much is useless. We have heard comments about carrying a pistol while we are hunting, it doesn't matter and we carry them anyway. We find the pistol to be our "seat belts" for hunting, no one ever thinks that they are going to need their seat belt until they need it. Although I consider the 10mm to be a minimal caliber for bear, it is the pistol that we are familiar with, shoot the most and find carrying the most comfortable. As HATRICK wrote in a previous post, "Carry the pistol!", don't leave it in a pack. This is a truly tragic hunting incident and our hearts to out to the family and also to the people who had to conduct the search and recovery of the guide's body.

 

[VLD Pilot]

An Alaskan Brown Bear Boar, in full blown Charge mode, was stopped and killed by a few taps from a 10mm earlier this year. Don't sell it short. It IS a 41 Mag for all intents and purposes. Having said that, I have a Ruger SBH 44 Mag with a 4 5/8" Barrel and of course my Brown Bear Spray; a S&W 4" in 500 S&W for when I'm in Alaska. Most of the Guides we saw in Alaska carried a 12 Ga or a big Smith or Ruger. 44 Mag, 454 Casul, 460 S&W and the .500 S&W. Also saw a few Marlin 45-70 or 50 Alaskan's too.

There's only one loaded round that the 10mm surpasses in power over the 41 mag. That's the Winchester 175 silver tip. The 10mm barely exceeds it in energy and velocity but I call that one of the lower power 41 mag loads. Corbon or buffalo bore 41 mag ammo exceed the 10mm by a long ways. I ONLY Carry a 10mm so I'm not minimizing that round. It, in my opinion is the "GO TOO" bear country cartridge in the Glock 20/40. Both offer the most firepower than all other dangerous game stoppers that fit in a humans hand. 16 rounds of 1350 fps/ 800 ft lbs(6" bbl) is just unbeatable. Yes there are more powerful cartridges BUT not offering 16 shots with very fast reload mag options. Let's face it, most or nobody will manage 16 rounds on a charging bear inside critical close quarters. Shot placement and several rounds on contact with be needed for a charging bear. God help most in that scenario but as said earlier, it Trump's no defense in bear country.

 

[Lasiter]

We have our share of bears in Alaska. The older I get, the more I prepare for them as I venture out on my hunts. For quite a few years now I've brought a shotgun to base hunting camp where I start out on backpack hunting trips. We will hunt ptarmigan around camp when the opportunity presents, for some added excitement.

The past 5 or so years I've also brought Brenneke slugs to base camp, for bear defense. Every now and then, we'll have to return to a kill site the following day to complete meat recovery. This is normally a caribou carcass. In those instances, I will carry my short barreled Rem 870 shotgun, loaded with Brenneke slugs.

Going forward, I'll be carrying what I consider the ultimate bear defense-of-life ammo. TSS buckshot.

This link leads to my post with further info on TSS buckshot. When returning to a kill site, the odds of bear encounters go way up. I want the odds for survival maximized in MY favor.

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/bear-defense-shotgun.206409/page-4

Many years ago I had an instructor at a Gunsite shotgun course who had spent time in Alaska as a surveyor. His bear tool was a 12GA shotgun with slugs. I don't remember his distance numbers, but he said that if a bear got as close as X yards, he felt he had to shoot. At that close distance the slug was very effective. Beyond that distance the slug was iffy, but he didn't need to do more than watch the bear. Today's ammunition would be an improvement. Carrying any long gun, even with a good sling, is a sort of burden. But it's important to know you have something that will work.
As a handgunner, I like the idea of carrying a large caliber handgun in a good holster, but I would prefer the shotgun with slugs over buck shot or pistol bullets.

 

[VLD Pilot]

spray is just a waste of time in my oppinion.carry a gun and hope you get off a few shoots.RIP for the hunter

I had a canister of bear spray some years ago on a bear hunt ( call it a lapse in judgement). Unfortunately I encountered a Sow and Cubs while i was In a treestand with archery equipment. All was fine until the Sow detected my scent and huffed sending those Cubs up my tree. When they reached my height in the tree, I of course kicked my stand to turn them around. Bad move. The Sow then headed up my tree in defense of her Cubs. I deployed the canister and fired down the tree at her. Instantly she retreated with Cubs in tow. That was quite intense even without contact. I had about half the canister still as I walked out shortly after the encounter. No further incident occurred other than the reflection on what could have happened with no deterrent. I guess the take back from this incident is, bear spray can be a deterent. No gaurantees regardless.

 

[wyrrllc]

I live and hunt in Wyoming, the last time I was in that country with a buddy packing an elk out we were charged by a bear. With pepper spray in my left have and a 44mag in my right. The bore bear was in the trail thirty yards in front of us ckacking his teeth and stomping the ground. Then here he came, as fast as lightning he was there as I sprayed the pepper spray into his face. He took off, the wind blew spray into my face. Needless to say the pepper spray saved my life and the handgun was worthless as I was shaking so bad if fright I couldn't have hit him proper. Got my eyes cleaned out changed my shorts and continued home to never return.

 

[nmbarta]

Some are better than others, none of them are great, any one of them is better than nothing.
I carry a glock 22 in 10mm at all times when I'm archery hunting here in MT. It is in a holster that is fixed to my pack. When we stop for a call set and I remove my pack, I set with the pistol up right next to me.
The fact is, without a hit to the central nervous system, your not going drop even a small black bear with any pistol.
Obviously most of this is based on opinion, but I don't think that there are too many situations where a 41-500 of you choice is going to make a huge difference. Just like long range hunting, it's all about shot placement.
The 10mm came before the 40 s&w and was designed for law enforcement, but they had too many problems getting the officers to qualify on target due to recoil, so they neutered the 10mm and came up with the 40 s&w. More power is only good if you can actually shoot it, and the fact is, most can't. For those of you that can quickly draw a four pound revolver that kicks like a mule and fire it accurately, your lucky, I wish a could.
The 10mm is no slouch, and is a good option for those that can't handle the recoil of a big revolver and want to carry a sidearm that doesn't weigh four pounds.

 

[VLD Pilot]

Some are better than others, none of them are great, any one of them is better than nothing.
I carry a glock 22 in 10mm at all times when I'm archery hunting here in MT. It is in a holster that is fixed to my pack. When we stop for a call set and I remove my pack, I set with the pistol up right next to me.
The fact is, without a hit to the central nervous system, your not going drop even a small black bear with any pistol.
Obviously most of this is based on opinion, but I don't think that there are too many situations where a 41-500 of you choice is going to make a huge difference. Just like long range hunting, it's all about shot placement.
The 10mm came before the 40 s&w and was designed for law enforcement, but they had too many problems getting the officers to qualify on target due to recoil, so they neutered the 10mm and came up with the 40 s&w. More power is only good if you can actually shoot it, and the fact is, most can't. For those of you that can quickly draw a four pound revolver that kicks like a mule and fire it accurately, your lucky, I wish a could.
The 10mm is no slouch, and is a good option for those that can't handle the recoil of a big revolver and want to carry a sidearm that doesn't weigh four pounds.

I own a Glock 22 but it is a 40 cal. It is a 10mm caliber but not the 10mm cartridge. The Glock 20/29/40 are all 10mm cartridge auto loaders. Either you had a typo or you own the 40 cal Glock. Still no slouch with the right loads.

 

[nmbarta]

my bad, I have both.
I carry the the glock 20 10mm in bear country.

 

[Radhimself]

I don't care if you have a deed, a toothbrush, or a tire iron you cant poach animals. The advocating of such especially in the situation we are in now is pathetic.

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