Surviving a Double Grizzly Attack - Yikes .....


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Horrible situation to be in, almost like the movie The Revenant with Leonardo Dicaprio... 

Thanks for sharing Rob

Dave

Edited by DolanDave
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Actually I think the opposite ... I think it was a great story ... both the man and the bear lived another day. Had the man shot the bear instead of using the bear spray it would probably be like killing 3 bears as the two cubs chance for survival without the sow would be slim ... especially if they were under a year old ... in other words born that year. So kudos to the guy for not shooting the bear AND for having the internal strength to survive the 2 attacks!!!

Mike F

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Wow..............unfortunate for the guy but being a true outdoors man. ...he seems to know what to do and not to do.

Tom H. 

 

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Hey Guys,

  I never experienced a Grizzy or Brown bear, but did experience an encounter with a huge Black bear at Moore's Creek.  I was several miles down river from Steve's Moore's Camp with several friends.  We all branched out for the day, but stayed in communication with 2-way radio's.  I was working some tailing piles right along Moore's Creek waterway.  As I was working through some thick Alder's, I finally got out into a small clearing.  As I looked up, not more than 50 yards away was a huge Black bear looking right at me.  I had not clue what to do, as I froze up.  I had a Ruger 9mm (pea shooter to a bear) as a weapon.  Before I could even think the Black bear bluff charged me!  It sure seems like he was closer, but I would guess 20 yards away.  I thought about running back up the tailing pile, but figured I would have a chance.  I even thought about diving into the water and hoping I could get across the other side, but heard Bear's are great swimmers also.  

After probably a minute, the Black bear grunted a few times and turned around slowly and walked away.  I managed to take that time and haul ass out of there and call on my 2-way about the bear.  After that experience it was hard to concentrate on detecting, as I kept thinking one was always around watching.  

Back at camp, several guys said I was lucky as if a Black bear was hungry he would have fought me to the death.  Black's can be very aggressive if they are hungry, Brown bears you can play dead and hope you can surive the beating and bites.  

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I've had many encounters with black bears in Az. while out fly fishing, especially along the Black River. In my opinion they are less likely to attack here because bears and cougars are hunted with dogs in this state and they also see men more often than they likely do in Alaska. I've been within 30 feet of black bears here and all of them couldn't get away from me fast enough. Not that I would ever become complacent and drop my guard during an encounter with such a capable killing machine. I just feel they act different because of their environment. Dennis

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Hey Dennis,

   I agree with you.  Over the years I have hunted around the National Forest in Prescott and even down South in some of the Forest regions.  I have seen a few smaller Black Bears, but they always seems to be taking off when they encounter you.  

In Alaska I always felt more at ease detecting with a partner and both guys armed.  If for some reason, one guy went down, hopefully the other guy armed could at least scare the bear away from you until both guys could re-group.  When you're detecting, I have found you focus and concentrate more looking downward where you're detecting and not so much watching your surroundings.  If you're wearing headphones, it's also much harder to hear something coming up on you. 

I guess I'm one of those guys that would rather have a firearm and equipment needed just in case, rather than after the fact wishing I had it. 

Just my thoughts.  

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That's why I use Rattlers exclusively for headphones. It's a no brainer for me. 

Out on the old weaver claims one day I heard rustling above me. Instinct told me to back away from the target I was digging. Then a rattle snake and a mouse landed where I was kneeling. They had a disagreement above and would have landed in my lap had both of my ears been covered. They wrestled for a moment then the snake let the mouse go and headed back up the embankment. The mouse looked at me briefly, then followed the snake back up the embankment. I then figured that snake must have been after the mouse's babies, as they both went into the same hole. Needless to say, I didn't stick around to see the outcome or dig that target. 

The Rattlers definitely paid for themselves that day, and a few other incidents as well. I don't like external speakers because the sound of loud targets might travel far enough to draw attention to me that I don't want. Dennis

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Rob, it's good you didn't run up the tailing pile...I have seen black bears in N. CA that could run straight up cliffs faster than a human can run on open flat ground...When I lived on my ranch there in the Klamath Mtns. I had a running battle with a 400+ lb. black bear who came around the house almost daily for about 3 years... I shot him with bird shot in the butt several times and it kept him away for a couple days then he would be back again ... On our last morning there as we were getting ready to move to AZ he came on our deck ... Dodie got up at first light to turn on the coffee and there he was about 4 feet from her looking through the floor length window into the kitchen at her...She froze and he stood there for about 30 seconds sniffing then smacked the deck with each paw, gave out a big whoof then ambled off the deck ... When we went out to check on things there were claw marks on the deck and on the wood railing right next to the kitchen back door ... I learned that a hunter finally got him and he weighed in at 450 lbs.  ... I gave him lots of respect but almost felt he was like a big pet you didn't dare pet! ... I saw them around the ranch and in the mtns above all the time but only had one situation where I felt a bit of fear from one that acted like it was sick ... Very skinny but aggressive ... He was on the dirt road and charged my truck ... I gunned it and got the hell out of Dodge!  Cheers, Unc

 

Edited by Uncle Ron
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Hey Uncle Ron,

    I think you are right, running would have been a huge mistake on my part.  I never realized how much it takes to stop a bear in general until I seen a video of a claim owner that had Black Bear that would tear a lot of stuff up.  They couldn't prevent the bear from damaging items, so they eventually took it their own hands to elliminate the bear with a Shotgun with Slugs.  They hit the bear with 4-5 slugs before it went down, eventually dying I believe.  I couldn't believe it, so I know you would have to have a high powered handgun (probably a minimum of a 44 Magnum with 6 shots or 50 Caliber).  I have seen several videos where guys with rifles can't hardly get a single shot off as the bear(s) normally come out of nowhere ...... 

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Rob ... Bears are known to run at speeds in excess of 30 mph for short distances. Just think ... 30 MPH is 44 feet per second. You spot a bear coming at you from 30 yards away and it is on you in about 2 seconds ... Can you recognize the danger, draw, aim, fire a .44 Magnum revolver and hit a vital organ stopping the bear in its tracks before the bear is on you in those precious 2 seconds? Most people will initially freeze and then try to react ... too late ... next option is to play dead when it knocks you to the ground so the bear won't try to maul you to death which of course it is very capable of doing!

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