AK: Hiker Stops Charging Brown Bear at 6 Feet with 10mm Pistol

Gun Watch ^ | 6 August, 2016 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

The 10mm is becoming increasingly popular as a wilderness defense gun in Alaska.  Fully loaded it is as light, and a bit more powerful than a loaded, small frame .357 magnum.

The Glock 20 holds 15 rounds versus five or six for a .44 or .41 magnum revolver.  In this case near Homer, Alaska, on the Kenai peninsula, it did the job in stopping a charging brown bear sow. It happened on 29 July, 2016, a Monday afternoon about 4 p.m.  From homernews.com:

A Homer man shot and killed a charging sow brown bear at Humpy Creek last Friday. Kim Woodman, 57, shot the bear five times with a 10mm handgun before the bear fell about 6 feet from him. While backing away from the sow, Woodman fell and accidentally shot himself in the left foot. 

(snip)

Blackwell said Woodman surprised a brown bear with two cubs while hiking about 4 p.m. July 29 off the trail along the southwest fork of Humpy Creek in Kachemak Bay State Park. The bears were probably feeding on pink salmon in the creek. Woodman filled out a defense of life and property report, and Park Ranger Jason Okuly and Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Jason Herreman went to the scene and found the dead sow bear. They reported the sow had two gunshot wounds, one below the right eye and one in the chest.

Woodman had another defensive bear shooting 24 years ago, in 1992. In that case he was hunting moose. In 1992 he fired his rifle at close range when the bear was stalking him.

Falling down while backing away from the danger you are shooting at is a significant problem.  Backing away from an attacking animal or person is natural and can be effective.  But without eyes in the back of your head, falling down is a serious danger.

It is possible the bullet that struck his foot stopped the bear.  We may never know for certain.  Woodman is shunning publicity.  Maybe we will see an official report after it is published.  The superintendent of State Parks for the area said "it was fairly close".   The investigating officers confirmed the six foot distance.

The recent video of the well trained Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Deputy shooting his armed adversary shows him backing away while doing so.

To clarify, consider this.  You are backing away as an 800 lb bear is charging you at close range.  You are firing your 10mm handgun.  You trip, but you stay focused on the threat, firing as you go down.  As you press the trigger, you foot flies up into the line of fire as your back goes down to the ground.  The bear is 10 feet away.  It is easy for me to see how it could happen. It is not uncommon for people involved in self defense situations to inadvertently wound themselves or others.   The action is often fast and chaotic.


©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.  Link to Gun Watch

[MileHi]

Some carry Ruger .45-70 revolvers.

Never heard of that.

[Hugin]

I don’t know what he used, but in bear country I would load Corbon 200 gr Round Nose Penetrators in a 10mm.

“RNPN:

A Round Nosed Penetrator is a bullet with a thick jacket and a very hard lead core. This non-expanding bullet is used in handguns for deep penetration on large and heavy dangerous game. This non-expanding bullet will retain 100% of its weight.”

https://corbon.com/Corbon-Hunter.html

That said, since he hit it just below the eye, pretty much any large caliber pistol round would have killed it. Contrary to the common belief bear skulls are not bullet proof. They do have several inches of fat and fur above their skulls, making it very deceptive as to were the brain is. It’s basically right behind the nose and eyes. Many people shoot the tissue above the skull, thus stories of bullets bouncing off of bear skulls. Aim for the nose not the “forehead”.

[kanawa]

Thanks for the ping, some good info in this thread.

[FreedomPoster]

Both of those sound like the right idea to me, both the preferred sort of bullet, and the aim area.

[Tijeras_Slim]

It’s the Super Duper Blackhawk. ;)

[MileHi]

LOL Well there is the BFR:

https://www.magnumresearch.com/Firearms/Magnum-Research-4570-Revolver-75-inch-Barrel.asp

Why? I don’t know.

[gettinolder]

Great post, thank you! Scouting yesterday for my fall bear hunt I found a good set of tracks...

[Redcitizen]

A spear don’t count. Using a knife is what really counts. Hat tip to Kanawa.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1670661/posts

[Big Red Badger]

Right in da Nose,,,

Thanks.

Lots of Bears here in
San Diego!

Snort.

[dangerdoc]

I carried 45 super before moving onto the 10mm. 45 Super ballistic are very similar to 10mm and it is pretty easy to get a 45 auto pistol converted. I carried 255 grain rounds which moved at about 1100 fps. I was comfortable with them against black bear, I was uncomfortable they would make their way to one of my unmodified 45s, and started carrying the 10mm instead.