Bear! One spotted in my area.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

264Magnum

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
Messages
11,809
Reaction score
14
Location
The Gray Area
I saw a bear get shot with a .357 mag a few times, it had to be finished off with a .45/70. We found the .357 bullets lodged in the fat just under the hide, they didn't go deep enough to make it bleed, let alone fatally injure it.

Edit: I do not know the specific load or bullet used, just that they were hollow point .357 magnums.
 
Last edited:

dennishoddy

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
87,259
Reaction score
68,789
Location
Ponca City Ok
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.co...-hikers-denali-national-park-and-preserve5943

Grizzly Bear Shot and Killed By Hikers In Denali National Park and Preserve



Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on May 31, 2010 - 8:17am


A grizzly bear that emerged from a thicket and charged two backpackers in the backcountry of Denali National Park and Preserve was shot and killed by one of the two who was carrying a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, according to park officials.

The killing Friday is believed to be the first instance of a hiker killing a grizzly in the park's wilderness. The killing occurred in the original Mount McKinley National Park portion of the Denali, which was expanded by two-thirds in 1980.

Until February, when Congress changed the rules, it was illegal to carry a loaded firearm in that portion of Denali. While the rule change now allows hikers to carry firearms in all areas of Denali, it still is illegal to discharge them, park officials said.

Park officials did not speculate whether the killing was justified. This is believed to be the first instance of a visitor to a national park killing an animal with a firearm since the gun regulations were changed.

According to a release from the park, the two backpackers, a man and woman, were hiking in dense brush along the edge of Tattler Creek, which is at the west end of Igloo Canyon roughly 35 miles from the park headquarters.

"The man, who was in the lead, drew a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol when they heard a noise coming from the brush. When the bear emerged from the thicket and ran toward the other hiker, he fired approximately nine rounds in its general direction. The bear stopped, turned, and walked back into the brush, where it quickly disappeared from view," said the release.

The two then headed roughly 1.5 miles back to a road, where they encountered a park employee, who called in the incident and took the two backpackers to the Toklat Road Camp. A ranger there did a short preliminary interview with them at approximately 10:00 p.m. Because of the concern that a wounded bear was in the area, four backcountry units were immediately closed, and bus drivers were instructed to not drop off day hikers in the Igloo Canyon on Saturday.

"Early Saturday morning rangers and wildlife technicians flew to Toklat via helicopter to conduct a secondary interview with the two backpackers. Afterwards they flew over Tattler Creek and all of side tributaries, very low at times, to determine if there was an active, wounded bear," the park release said. "No bears were seen during the overflight, and late in the afternoon three rangers hiked into the site. The bear was found dead in a willow thicket approximately 100 feet from the pistol casings at approximately 6:00 p.m.

"The bear’s body was transported via helicopter to a landing site on the park road and brought back to headquarters on Sunday, where park wildlife biologists are assisting with the investigation of the bear carcass. The backcountry units have been reopened."

The case is still under investigation, and the names of the backpackers are not being released at this time. Park wildlife biologists and rangers are trying to determine if there was a justification for shooting the animal.

The estimated grizzly bear population in the park north of the Alaska Range north is 300-350 animals.
 

carleb

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Aug 8, 2007
Messages
717
Reaction score
6
Location
Vinita, OK
No harm in packing some protection, but I think your likelihood of encountering a bear is about 1/100th as much as encountering a hostile person, or hostile dog. Honestly, I spent 10 years in Colorado and Wyoming and a LOT of it in backcountry as part of my job and I never saw a bear. Lots of tracks, scat and cow carcasses that were being hit by bears, but never eye to eye with a live one. Having a dog along surely does up the odds, but they are still pretty low. Most of the time when I was off the grid, I didn't even carry a firearm. Surely I would today, but then I didn't even see a need for it and it was normally in the way when doing cow work.

Edit: I think I saw a mountain lion on two occasions, but wasn't sure. Never got a real clear, up close look. I would tend to be much more scared of them than a black bear. They have a recent history of eating folks, but black bear not so much.
 

Spata

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Mar 6, 2007
Messages
8,217
Reaction score
15
Location
tilling subprep's cornfield
Not a bad idea, but I could just tie the other end around me and my wife,... Odie would do the rest....

SneEt1lqpGnGYO-1nrX95yQOEXO4Eh-V1sIJEJQBvXM=w701-h524-no

Just strap a saddle on that beast and ride it outta there
 

24T_missilejock

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Oct 4, 2013
Messages
279
Reaction score
0
Location
OKC
Edit: I think I saw a mountain lion on two occasions, but wasn't sure. Never got a real clear, up close look. I would tend to be much more scared of them than a black bear. They have a recent history of eating folks, but black bear not so much.

I watched this the other day............It was monster week, and I was very bored. Don't judge me!
A mountain lion snacked on some chicks face, and killed another guy right before she became human jerky.

Man-eating Zombie Cats!
http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/monster-week/videos/man-eating-specials.htm
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom