For all you guys that said a handgun is not for Grizzly.

[Seven For Sure]

I'd rather have a handgun and a shotty with a slug or two followed by 000 but I could see where a handgun would have it's advantages other than power.

Bear stories and the internet always make me skeptical. This may or may not have happened as told. I honestly have no opinion which would lead me to either side. One thing for sure, that's a big, beautiful bear that had seen and done a lot to make it that old. Too bad the two had the bad luck of crossing paths that day.

 

[AStone]

Man, there are some hard core doubters around here.

Did anyone notice that he actually signed his real name, complete with contact info?

Just call him up and ask, "Hey, are you for real?"

Greg & Sherri Brush
EZ Limit Guide Service
PO Box 4278
Soldotna, AK 99669
907-262-6169

 

[MCgunner]

EZ limit? ROFL! I like it.

 

[Andrewski]

""A woman many years ago shot one of the biggest grizzleys taken with a 22 rifle also. "

Huh???"

This isn't incredible at all. Finnish poachers have long used .22lr to take moose. Yes, Thelma, moose. The trick is to have a bit of knowledge about the anatomy of your prey.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

No, the trick isn't knowing the anatomy, but being able to hit critically vital structures such as the CNS, or being prepared for a long chase. Knowing the anatomy helps, but it doesn't matter what knowledge you have if you can't hit the correct structures.

The issue here isn't one of whether or not a 454 can kill a brown bear or a .22 for that matter, but the fact that the stop was accomplished quickly.

 

[PT1911]

I dont doubt that the guy killed the bear only that it happened the way it was stated. I seriously doubt the guy would have had time to turn (to a snapping twig, not an alarming sound by any stretch) see and register a grizzly in full charge, draw, and shoot a moving bear before it was on him.... I cannot see any variation of the scenario in which the guy would have had sufficient time to do this.. add to the equation that he had dogs that did not recognize the situation before he did... just doesnt mesh. were the dogs on a leash, that would slow the draw down even farther. I just dont like the sound of it..


all that said, I dont doubt that a bear can be killed with a handgun.... I would rather a 12 gauge slug but as the saying says... better than a sharp stick.

 

[GLOOB]

Whoever is doing the doubting, what's the big deal?

He noticed a 1000 pound animal charging him, and he had time to get off 3 shots.

If your life depended on it, I imagine the average shooter could pull that off in about under 4 seconds, even with a .454 Casull. I bet it sounded like a machine gun going off.

He thinks the shot that did it could have been the third one, where the bear was ~5 feets away. I also imagine that most people who live in the woods carrying a gun can hit a beer can from the hip at 10 feet, 9 times out of ten. At least I could, when I lived by the woods.

The only remarkable thing is that the bear dropped dead, immediately (and that he didn't soil his shorts). It it hadn't, then he'd just be another "man mauled by bear" story. There are enough of those, already, to support 1 story where the guy came out unscathed.

The newspaper article said the guy's dog was 50 feet ahead of him, at the time. So it didn't notice the bear. And the bear was probably downwind.

The bear was thin, chronically malnourished, hungry, and somewhat accustomed to human contact. So that part adds up.

As for "not grunting, woofing," etc. That seems completely reasonable to expect, to me. Usually, a bear does not decide to attack a person with the intention of eating him. It's often defending its cubs or territory. And it will often give warnings. I'd think this guy had seen plenty of bears doing things like that before. As for a snapping twig getting his attention, why not? On a still day in open country, you could hear that from several hundred feet away. And if a 1000 pound animal is doing the snapping, it could be one helluva big twig making a sound that's hard to ignore. We're talking full grown Kodiak, not a mountain lion jumping out of a tree.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I dont doubt that the guy killed the bear only that it happened the way it was stated. I seriously doubt the guy would have had time to turn (to a snapping twig, not an alarming sound by any stretch) see and register a grizzly in full charge, draw, and shoot a moving bear before it was on him.... I cannot see any variation of the scenario in which the guy would have had sufficient time to do this.

Given hunter stories, eye witness accounts, etc., truth be known the bear was probably at 30 or 40 yards and just looked like he was only 20 yards away just like a .22 lr revolver barrel looks like a .50 cal to the person being threatened at the end of it. The twig that snapped was probably the sound of a large branch of dead wood snapping as the bear stepped on it. As for the timing aspect, the bear probably was not charging at 30-35 mph or whatever their top speed is supposed to be. It probably lumbered in a gallop of 10-20 mph, fairly casually. Why? Because its intended prey was not moving fast and he probably didn't expect his prey to move fast. Just like the sow in the video above that charges the guys in the boat. She doesn't hit the water at full speed either. They don't tend to attack at a speed much greater than they perceive needing. So the bear likely wasn't moving all that fast. Plus, this was an old, undernourished bear. His top speed probably wasn't nearly as fast as it would have been if healthy.

 

[gbran]

I went to a Fred Meyers store (like a Wal-Mart w/food, misc.) in Soldotna AK. They had a large gun section and where my local gun stores have a few big bores, this place had a huge selection of big bore revolvers, lots of shotties and big bore lever actions.

It was pretty obvious the locals had a taste for guns with really big bullets.

 

[RoostRider]

I swear if I lived up there I'd carry my scattergun to the john with me.

My sister assures me that they have 'dem indoor outhouses' now... I gotta get up there soon to visit and confirm.... hmmmm, maybe a Griz hunt is in order....

 

[Lost Sheep]

Logo, are you there?

So......everybody is just going to believe this tale?

No skeptics?

Google search reveals nothing to corroborate this.

Zilch.

That's suspicious, since stories like this always make the news.

I'll believe it when I see some corroborative evidence.

Right now it's more likely that a guy with a gun found a bear that died of old age and decided to take some pictures and become an instant internet hero.

Everybody,

Please forgive my first post being a confrontation.

Logos, do you have an alternate theory?

Alaska Fish & Game take DLP shootings very seriously, as do the State Troopers, and they passed on this. The shooter is a reputable woodsman (Fishing Guide who uses boats) who has no incentive to puff up his rep and every incentive to not cook up a story that (when revealed to be exagerated) would hurt him.

Google reveals two new stories very quickly, though they were published after your accusatory posts.

Please also note that it would require a very strange motive for a guy to WANT to take credit for killing a road-killed bear that he stumbled across. If you kill a bear in self-defense in Alaska, you are responsible for preserving the skull and hide, disposing of the carcass and you don't even get to keep the cape when you're done! You have to turn the everything salvageable over to the State of Alaska. Where's the motive?

In this case, he apparantly is paying a taxidermist to do the skinning, which will cost him money, but he did have to work the next day.

PT1911, I have read some of your other posts in the past and you have always seemed a reasonable, thoughtful guy. Please keep in mind that under the influence of surprize and adrenaline, the ability to estimate time and distance is impaired (sometimes called "telescoping") and memory becomes iffy as well. Anyhow, when walking down an Alaskan road, a snapping twig or branch IS an alarming sound, or at least worth turning your head for. A bear on the hunt would come up from downwind. I am not surprized a dog would miss it.

I apologize for the vehemence of this post, but I believe every word of the story of this shoot. I detect no self-aggrandizement on the part of Mr. Brush. I have met people who have encountered bears and this story rings true.

Lost Sheep.

 

[Oro]

Thanks, Lost Sheep. I hate the posters who try to poke holes in a post without a shred of evidence. Thanks for bringing facts back on the table.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I have grizzly in my yard and I live in Anchorage, which is Gotham city compared to Soldotna. The whole story was in the Friday edition of the Anchorage daily news. It's true, not urban legend. My neighbor just[2 weeks ago] shot and killed a BB in SD on his property.

 

[Drgong]

It kinda like a self defense round, I cannot recommend a .22lr (but it beats a stick) but a .22 can easily stop someone, the issue is, will it stop them IN TIME.

I walk as I need the exercise, and I got freaked out by running into a bear (less then 30 feet away when we both saw each other.) Thus, I am buying a .44 special, as a nine, 38 special, or Nagant might very well kill a brown/black bear, but not till after it made me a snack.

 

[MCgunner]

Me, I'd carry my .357 magnum IWB if I thought I might have to use it on a black bear. I never was a big .44 special fan unless you pump it up like Elmer Keith did. .

 

[gunnie]

http://www.angelfire.com/on2/LandOwner/images/GRIZLEY2.JPG

this tiny 63 year old native woman killed the bear on the wall behind her with the 22lr single shot rifle she is holding. it was the largest taken for a long, long time. does that mean the 22 is just fine for stopping bear?

http://catfishgumbo.blogspot.com/2007/10/grandmas-griz.html

david killed goliath with a stone thrown from a sling. think i can find one with a rail on it for my surefire? i mean, 45 auto ammo prices are getting ridiculous!!!

gunnie

 

[MCgunner]

this tiny 63 year old native woman killed the bear on the wall behind her with the 22lr single shot rifle she is holding. it was the largest taken for a long, long time. does that mean the 22 is just fine for stopping bear?

I read about that woman, was a little girl at the time. Her and another girl were hiding behind a bush when the bear walked within a few yards and she plugged him in the head. Think the story was in an old "Outdoor Life" I read probably a dozen years ago.

david killed goliath with a stone thrown from a sling. think i can find one with a rail on it for my surefire? i mean, 45 auto ammo prices are getting ridiculous!!!

Besides, it's bigger and slower, right?

 

[gunnie]

Besides, it's bigger and slower, right?

roger that!!!



gunnie

 

[Tequila Mockingbird]

I don't think there's any doubt that the guy actually shot the bear...

But...that's a pretty decrepit looking bear. Obviously old, undernourished and probably sick. The outcome might have been different had the bear been a healthy 5 to 10 year old.

 

[AStone]

Lost Sheep, please forgive our manners.

Welcome to THR.

Your post is not confrontational, but rational, a well-articulated representation of critical thinking skills,
a critical examination of the evidence before drawing conclusions, a skill sometimes sometimes lost on gun forums.

Hang out. We need more good thinkers and writers here.

Nem

 

[Cosmoline]

Of course it's real. It's been in the papers here. Many brown bear have been hunted and killed in DLP with handguns. And there are a great many DLP shootings up here that go unnoticed ion the gun forums or in the main stream media. Most, in fact. If you want to keep abreast of these things I'd suggest checking on the Anchorage Daily News database. There are a great many bear here, and run-ins are not unusual.

But there have been a number of faux bear attack stories circulating on the net (esp. the "giant killer bear" one) so it's good to be skeptical.

Personally I find the big bore handguns to be bricks on the hip and much prefer a backpack scabbard with a levergun in it. I was just out on the trails this morning with this rig.

 

[PT1911]

I can only go from what the story says... bear in full charge steps on a stick 20 yards away and (behind a guy) he turns, recognizes the threat, draws the gun, and puts 2 or 3 shots down range killing the bear just a few feet from him. the timeline just doesnt work with the way that is described.... a bear in full charge is going to cover 20 yards in all of a second. for the man do have done everything stated in that time frame is truely remarkable... unless he is ole jerry of course.

I am not saying a guy wasnt walking his dogs and ended up shooting a griz with his handgun in the process... only the way it is stated does not add up.

 

[MCgunner]

Damn, Cos, I wanna go "out on the trails". I need a break from working. Maybe I'll go out on the water, catch some fish.

But there have been a number of faux bear attack stories circulating on the net (esp. the "giant killer bear" one) so it's good to be skeptical.

Not unlike the 1000 lb hog stories that circulate. Nothing like photoshop to create a net sensation.

 

[nulfisin]

Pepper Spray!

No, this won't "drop" a bear. The studies (summarized in either Outdoor Life or Field & Stream) show that it will REPEL a bear better than any gun you may be packing. Making the bear back off is the obvious goal anyways.

Yes, pack your gun. Just understand that it's quite possibly not the best tool.

 

[jfh]

I accept from Brush says.

Yes, his account is written in a dramatic style.

Yes, I agree, the scenario playing out from 20 yards is hard to believe.

Keep in mind that this is an adrenalin-charged account, and at the time it was written by him, he was still decompressing.

Sometimes, the best analytical skills do include just accepting the prima facie evidence, and not doing critiques.

Jim H.