Soldotna mans brush with bear too close for comfort [drops grizzly with Ruger .454 -- MUST-SEE]

Peninsula Clarion ^ | 8/7/09 | Joseph Robertia

[NewJerseyJoe]

Last Sunday a fourth brown bear for the year was killed in a defense of life and property (DLP) shooting, and there is no mistaking that it was the former, not the latter, that was on the line for the man who shot it.

[NewJerseyJoe]

This is the official news article. But for the firsthand story (with the photos), you have to go here: http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=62636

Here is one photo, to whet your appetite:

[Redcitizen]

Thats a grizzly scene.

[Secret Agent Man]

Sounds like he bearly escaped death.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

.454

When only the best will do.....

[hemogoblin]

Looks from the pics like he hit it in the lower jaw maybe? I don’t think the article said.

[vox_freedom]

Nice weapon for a large brown bear.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Stand next to someone shooting a .454 with all the hearing protection you want and you’ll still never forget it. Loud doesn’t even come close to the sound those things make.

[BradtotheBone]

Heh, try shooting one, they have a hell of a recoil too!

[Plutarch]

...drops grizzly with Ruger .454

It would be more impressive if he took on the grizzly with a Ruger 1022.

[Ramius]

Thats a grizzly scene.

More of a Brownie scene. Like a grizzly scene, only bigger and meaner. :-)

[Jeff Chandler]

The pics show a shorter barrel than that, perhaps the Alaskan?

[Frank_2001]

That bear will make a pretty lousy rug;)

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

No doubt. Honestly, the report from the one being shot next to me at the range mildly freaked me out.

[Redcitizen]

Supporting the right to arm bears might not be a good idea. A onesided massacre was bruin but fortunately this guy had the right firearm for the job.

[Jeff Chandler]

Yes, the article indicates it was an Alaskan, although the gun in the pic looks longer?

[Parley Baer]

I have a .454 Casull and that is all the handgun I can handle if at that.

[null and void]

More of a Brownie scene. Like a grizzly scene, only bigger and meaner. :-)

Brownie?

Was it a Kodiak Moment?

[Beowulf9]

Maybe that bear heard through the bearline about tasty Timothy Treadwell.

[Miss Behave]

Wow! Great story, (happy ending,) and great pics. That is one brave guy with one rockin’ Ruger. I definately would’ve been Boo-Boo lunch due to extreme and paralizing fear. And he probably would,ve eaten me whole—my still-holstered LCP and all. ;-)

[Ramius]

Bears are already plenty well armed.

But just on general principles... a rifle is a far better sidearm in Alaska than a handgun. A big rifle.

[vox_freedom]

You are correct, and sorry for the long barrel pic of the .454 Casull. The pic below does look a bit longer than the one in your pic of the Alaskan though. Whatever, it was some good shootin' under a whole lotta stress.

[HiTech RedNeck]

“Grrrrrrrrrr”

[Jeff Chandler]

He wrote that the bear was moving so fast that he had to draw and snap shoot. I wouldn’t want to be the one charging that guy!

[HiTech RedNeck]

Was it a Kodiak Moment?

Ursus arctos... aren't these temperate area cousins of the polar bears?

[Jeff Chandler]

aren't these temperate area cousins of the polar bears?

Yes, and they overlap some territory. I've seen news articles about the presence of hybrids of the two.

Grizzlies are a subspecies of brown bear, and are the baddest animals on land.

[Ramius]

Was it a Kodiak Moment?

[Snicker] Reminds me of a former life... at the CG airstation in Kodiak there's a full standing mount Kodiak bear right in the entrance to the main HQ building. It certainly gets yer attention when you open the doors and go in...

[fightinJAG]

Wow.

[null and void]

I think so. Except unlike ursa maritimus they are more land/freshwater critters...

[roamer_1]

[...] Timothy Treadwell.

the Grizzly (Poop) Man... :D

[USNBandit]

It's coming right for us!

[wjcsux]

But just on general principles... a rifle is a far better sidearm in Alaska than a handgun. A big rifle.
Call me a coward but I would prefer to be carrying my .300 Weatherby Mag. in this situation.

[faucetman]

Look at the size of that thing, how could you miss?

[the_daug]

VoxEphem comments at the bottom of the story......It is clear that there's a very old, very scrawny, very dead bear involved--it's just not clear how the bear got dead. .....

Can you guess which way this guy is leaning?

[wjcsux]

I have been to the Kodiak Missile Launch Complex. They told us there was approximately 30k bears on the island. I hope they don’t run out of food.

[the_daug]

Hmmm ...I guess lead poison.

[IncPen]

Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?
I see a handgun, pointing at me!

[bobby.223]

“democrats piss me off”.....eric cartman, same episode.

[umgud]

Damn, I spent 10 days in Soldotna a couple summers ago. Stayed in a cabin on a little lake. You could see claw marks on some of the trees from the big bruins. Saw several of them on one of my fishing trips in the boonies.

[vetvetdoug]

I used to believe that a .45 1911 would stop anything until I read an article that one man emptied an 8 shot magazine point blank into a bear and still got mauled. .454 appears to be a necessity instead of a recommendation.

[Steve Van Doorn]

Another bear attacked a freeper that ended well:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1670661/posts
And a story I never will forget.

[Vinnie]

Looks from the pics like he hit it in the lower jaw maybe?

IIRC that is the aim point on a charging bear.
If you aim for the upper skull you miss the brain because of their structure. Or the bullet merely ricochets off the severely sloped skull.
Jaw shot goes straight to the brain, providing the bullet has the horsepower to get there.

[kanawa]

This fellow’s bear makes mine look like a cub!

[bert]

Brownie, Kodiack, grizzley

It has been determined that all three are in fact the same species.

Brown is the preferred name now.. ... especially in Alaska

Not to confuse the issue, but many Alaskan Black bears are colored brown

[Centurion2000]

Stand next to someone shooting a .454 with all the hearing protection you want and you’ll still never forget it. Loud doesn’t even come close to the sound those things make.

I love mine so much I even learned to reload for it.
Nothing like having a pistol with the ballistics performance of a Sharps Buffalo Rifle (405 gr bullet, 1100+ fps)