Bear(s) attack guide and hunted. WY

[buckpasser]

The thing that stuck out most at me in the report was that the glock was not on the guide. More importantly it didn’t have a round chambered. I know a lot of folks use pistols for self defense with empty chambers and/or a safety that is “on”, but I disagree with the practice in the case of a holstered weapon. No time to dilly dally when the Pooh is hitting the fan. He might have survived had the hunter not had to “figure out” the unfamiliar weapon in an extremely stressful situation IMO. That’s a bad way to leave here. I’d also like to think I’d pack my own heat if my guide allowed it in that country.

 

[Raylander]

I've spent more than a few nights in Bob Marshall Wilderness in NW MT. I heard someone out there say, carrying a pistol in the back country is to protect the ones your with.. Meaning if you're being attacked- hope your buddy is a good shot.. It's the truth. Ive only seen one, a LONG way off, from the truck, in GNP. Even through the binos it looked angry

 

[twincedargap]

The thing that stuck out most at me in the report was that the glock was not on the guide. More importantly it didn’t have a round chambered. I know a lot of folks use pistols for self defense with empty chambers and/or a safety that is “on”, but I disagree with the practice in the case of a holstered weapon. No time to dilly dally when the Pooh is hitting the fan. He might have survived had the hunter not had to “figure out” the unfamiliar weapon in an extremely stressful situation IMO. That’s a bad way to leave here. I’d also like to think I’d pack my own heat if my guide allowed it in that country.

Think that’s why a revolver is normally favored for its simplicity and reliability in a stressful environment.

 

[oldguy]

A weapon without a round in the chamber is a club. And about as useful.

 

[wildcats]

A lot about this story makes me scratch my head. I've hunted quite a bit in WY and MT, lived in WY for 10+years. I have had no experience with a guide or anyone in my hunting camps carrying a semi auto as backup for back country hunting. It has always been some type of hog leg revolver. And never unloaded!
Placing no blame on anyone involved. My heart goes out to all of them and their loved ones....including the bear that were killed for being bear.
I have never been faced with a charging bruin. I did have a good friend and his brother face that situation after unknowlngly getting between her and her little one and it took the two of them with 300mags to stop her. She is now displayed in Cody WY by the reservoir there. Remaining calm in that situation is pretty hard to wrap your mind around. They both stated they reacted more than "thought".

 

[zedex]

Here on vancouver island, we have the highest density of black bear in the world and grizzlies, though few, reside here.
Though I am licensed to own a handgun here, we are not permitted to take them into the woods. If I could, I'd have a S&W 500 on me.
Blackies can be killed with a 270.... happens all the time. But why take chances? When I'm in the woods for any reason, my 45-70 is and extension of my left arm, hammer is down but there's all 430gr in the pipe and a full magazine behind it.
Bears, while fun to hunt, are nothing to toy with.

As for the Teton county incident, for NE, there are things that just don't stack up. Too many questions. But, one thing is certain : I would never go hunting with the Florida guy... even if only for rabbits

 

[Limbhanger2881]

I have hunted in the area where the guide was killed. Matter of fact I went in for 7 days 3 days after he was killed. I rode right by the spot that he was killed. The bears are no joke up there. We had bears in camp every night but also bears are not behind every tree. The guide messed up but also saved the hunters life. it is the small things that can get you killed in the wilderness. You can never leave your gun any where. You never know what is going to happen especially in the wilderness and Atlanta. Since moving back to GA this year I feel like I need to carry every where I go. Atlanta seems more dangerous than the back country

 

[NCHillbilly]

I have never understood why folks have a pistol for self-defense, but keep it in the truck, in their pack, or carry it without a round chambered. You might as well not even have it. If you ever actually need it for self-defense, you need it now, and you need it in your hand, and you need it to go bang right now without having to do anything to it.

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

Its bout like a parachute. If you don't have one when you need it, you probably wont need one ever again.

 

[livinoutdoors]

Im no grizzly bear expert but most semi auto calibers are not gonna cut it . Carry the biggest revolver you can aim and hit stuff with so you can get to your large caliber rifle that you leaned up on a tree when you shouldnt have.

 

[Limbhanger2881]

Im no grizzly bear expert but most semi auto calibers are not gonna cut it . Carry the biggest revolver you can aim and hit stuff with so you can get to your large caliber rifle that you leaned up on a tree when you shouldnt have.

Actually a semi will kill a bear. I personally know of some grizzlies in Alaska being killed with a .45. I personally carry a 10mm in Wyoming. I am 100 percent confident that it will kill a bear. I have killed around a dozen Beef Bulls weighing over 2500lb with a 10mm and dropped them in their tracks.

However, the realistic chance of killing a grizzly that is charging you with any piston is slim unless you are very confident in a hairy situation and have fast reflex. The point of aim is about the size of a soft ball on a moving target with a head moving all sorts of direction.

IMO, bear spray is the most realistic effective way to deter a grizzly charge.

 

[Big7]

I don’t understand any scenario where throwing a pistol to a guy getting mauled makes sense. If your close enough to throw it, your close enough to fire it.

His statement indicated he could not get the pistol to fire. He was trying to get it to the person that actually knew how to use the weapon.

Two, possibly three worse case scenarios were at play here IMO. Bow hunting in Grizzly territory. That's just foolish. It appears that the only back-up was a Glock. As reliable as a Glock is, one gun, even if it is 10MM is not enough to dispatch a adrenaline pumped Grizzly. It could be correctly argued that it is in the right hands. Pepper spray on any charging bear is a joke. So, there's that.

I don't know that the Glock was a 10MM. Just using that as best case scenario.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Im no grizzly bear expert but most semi auto calibers are not gonna cut it . Carry the biggest revolver you can aim and hit stuff with so you can get to your large caliber rifle that you leaned up on a tree when you shouldnt have.

I think I would much rather have a semi like a 1911 converted to .460 Rowland (about equal to a .44 mag) or some such than a big, haevy bulky revolver. Much easier to carry and maneuver, plus a couple more rounds, which could be a life-or-death difference.

 

[livinoutdoors]

Well i did say most! Semi auto calibers aint gonna cut it. Truth be told tend to agree with the folks that say any! Handgun is bout useless on a mad grizzly. Rifle does seem like it could be hard to swing round in time, and i wouldnt be able to sleep at night if all i had was pepper sauce.. im mean spray in brown bear country. Again i aint nobody that knows but sounds like carry what you can shoot like a champ and hope you have a john wayne moment when the time comes.

 

[jbogg]

His statement indicated he could not get the pistol to fire. He was trying to get it to the person that actually knew how to use the weapon.

Two, possibly three worse case scenarios were at play here IMO. Bow hunting in Grizzly territory. That's just foolish. It appears that the only back-up was a Glock. As reliable as a Glock is, one gun, even if it is 10MM is not enough to dispatch a adrenaline pumped Grizzly. It could be correctly argued that it is in the right hands. Pepper spray on any charging bear is a joke. So, there's that.

I don't know that the Glock was a 10MM. Just using that as best case scenario.

Seems like I have read somewhere that the client in advertantly dumped the magazine in his effort to get the gun to fire before tossing the weapon to the guide. It sounded like his mistakenly believed a safety was on and pushed what he thought was the safety but ended up ejecting the clip without realizing it. It’s all speculation, but I believe the pistol was found a good ways from the full clip on the ground. Whatever happened it is a sad deal for all involved.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Well i did say most! Semi auto calibers aint gonna cut it. Truth be told tend to agree with the folks that say any! Handgun is bout useless on a mad grizzly. Rifle does seem like it could be hard to swing round in time, and i wouldnt be able to sleep at night if all i had was pepper sauce.. im mean spray in brown bear country. Again i aint nobody that knows but sounds like carry what you can shoot like a champ and hope you have a john wayne moment when the time comes.

I don't want to test any of them with a bear gnawing on my leg.

 

[crackerdave]

Interesting story!