Grizzly encounter

G

G BOBBY J

Inactive
My two hunting partners and I went out black bear hunting Saturday evening in Willow, Alaska. I was dropped off at my bait station first (we canoe in) at around 6 p.m. and we planned on meeting back up at 0100hrs on Sunday morning.

It was a calm evening not much action going on besides the squirrels and birds picking at my bait. Then I had a small 4 1/2 foot blackie come in at 2130hrs, which I let pass. He stuck around for five minutes checking the area out eating a few pieces of bread here and there and then decided he had enough and took off. The rest of the evening was uneventful and then at 0050hrs it happened...

I hunt about 50 yards off a lake and I heard what sounded like canoe oars brushing through the water. My first thoughts were my friends are coming to pick me up since it was getting close to 0100hrs. Next, I heard some branches snapping and something moving through the brush heading my way so I packed my gear, lowered my bow, and climbed down my ladder stand. Once on the ground I pulled my 44.mag and started to walk towards the lake to meet them halfway. Now, that sound of something moving through the woods it changed directions to my immediate left coming from the alder bushes. At this time I'm questioning if it's my buddies, so I whistle... No response back, I'm thinking OH SH$T this is not good!

I look to my left and 15 yards away from me I see a brown head and body pop out of the alders. :eek: I looked at it and screamed GET OUT OF HERE BEAR! He didn't budge; he lowered his head and bounded towards me! I raised my 44 and fired at his head. He stopped dead in his tracks; I'm thinking to myself did I hit it? But all the bear did was stop, it did not give any indication that it was struck but what it did do next was charge again. So I bladed my body and thought I need to get back in my tree stand which was 8 yards behind me. While retreating I fired two more rounds at it, he stopped again. I made it to my ladder and never climbed up it so fast in my life. Once at the top, I looked down and saw him eating a pile of skittles like nothing ever happened. I continued to shout at him for a few minutes while he ate and when he was done he slowly went back into the woods. When my friends finally did arrived we combed the area for any sign of blood. We found nothing...

I'm both relieved and a little concerned at the same time. Relieved because I didn't wound or kill the beast, but at the same time 15 yards away and I missed with three shots.:confused: Just an excuse to get some range time I guess...:D
 
Glad you are OK.To "See the elephant",or grizzly,is one of those things..

You might really enjoy reading Kannut's book "Bear Tales" now.

Absolutely no disrespect intended...

Are you sure you missed?It is easy to miss big with a handgun,but,did you get a sight picture?At the distance you describe,if you found your sights,you perhaps hit him.You were there,I wasn't,I'm just asking.

If your .44 had softpoints or hollowpoints in it,it would not penetrate far.Maybe 6 or 8 in..Entrance wound only,the loose hide and membrane will tamponade the entrance hole,it might not bleed.

Just a suggestion,you may want to report the whole thing to the game warden,so they can check on this bear.

Or,you might not want any human to meet him again.
 
I actually did call the state trooper once I could establish cell phone reception and briefed them on the incident.

I did go back out and hunt again that evening, but before we got into our stands we did a complete sweep of the area for the bear/blood.
 
Wow thats al I can say.

Whats up with the weird times is the daylight that screwed up right now compared to here or just a logistics problem of getting headed towards home earlier in the "night".

Evan
 
If theres no cloud cover, you will still see the sunset/sunrise on the horizon for the 5 hours or so that the sun is actually below said horizon.

G Bobby, to help prove the point of the adrenalin rush eradicating much of ones skills, what kind of groups do you get now, shooting at 15 yards with your .44mag? On a static range, ideal shooting conditions, whats the best group size?
 
well, i am glad nothing horrific happened to you. if the wost thing in life that happens to you is a grizzley scaring the skittles out of you, you are indeed a luck man! LOL!!! seriously though, you were indeed very lucky. as for your pistol shooting, yes, some range time is in order, but trying to duplicate the "fear factor" into your pistol practice is going to be tough. and that would be most likely what caused you to miss. 2&1/2 gallons of adrenaline released into your blood strean in 0.257 seconds is going to screw up anyone! at that point, it is pretty safe to say that squeezing the trigger went right out the proverbial window.good luck in your future bear hunts, and be careful out there!
 
Hey G Bobby J:

Wow, that is one great story there. Glad you made it out okay. The Griz is no animal to ever mess with or take lightly. They scare me to death. You never know if the one you run into is a Predatory Grizzly or not. While they weigh up to over 1,000+ pounds, they are extremely fast and quick. A ranger in Montana (Glacier Nat'l Park) told me last year that a Griz can cover a football field size distance in 6-7 seconds. You sure as hell ain't going to ever outrun one, that's for sure. When I am in their habitat, I always carry a high quality bear spray and my Model 29 (.44 mag). Even then, I am still very alert and always make a lot of noise or sing on the way out. Am thinking about getting a S&W .460 mag to replace the .44 mag.
 
After those last two post I am sure this is close to being closed, but all i can say is wow. I am not sure what kind of gun I would want against a grizzly, probably a .454, or better yet a long gun
 
WELL, A 44 MAGNUM IS SUPPOSED TO BE ADEQUET FOR BEAR PROTECTION. YOU WILL NOTICE THAT I DID SAY SUPPOSED. I HAVE READ STORIES OF GRIZZLEYS BEING SHOT TWICE AT LESS THAN 30 YARDS WITH A 375 H&H MAGNUM, AND THE SHOOTER STILL GOT MALLED. IT IS MY BELIEF THAT THE ONLY GUN THAT IS A 100% SURE 1 SHOT KILL ON BIG BEAR IS A BAZOOKA!:eek::D;)
 
I have a firend that shot a grizzly four times point blank with a 44 Mag because he was on top of the hunter he was guiding trying to kill him. The bear got off the man but still had the energy to travel seven miles through the snow and was never found.
 
Side Note.

My wife bought me a Glock 20 for my birthday a few months back and I have carried it while pre-season scouting and on atv rides. But, something inside told me to carry my .44Mag while bowhunting. I wonder if things would have gone different if I engaged the grizz with my 10mm?

By any means I'm not trying to bring up the 10mm for bear defense debate once again:)
 
Great story!

G Bobby...
That was a great story. I'm glad your hear to tell it to us. Now I wonder what's a good handgun or round to use on a grisly...
 
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G Bobby, I want you to know I had no intention of saying anything wrong to you but was teasing in my own way. I also wanted you to know how lucky you were and you may not be so lucky the next time if there is one, ( That's all no in between the lines. )
 
Would have scared more than just the "skittles" out of me. A more accurate word would rhyme with "skittles," though, and it would require those two rolls of TP and possibly a healthy dose of nitro.
 
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