Posted on 10/02/2015 6:34:24 AM PDT by SJackson
On Sept. 23, Matthew Nellessen of Friendship, Wisc., an avid deer hunter and former U.S. Army sergeant who served with the 961st Engineers in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, was scouting a potential hunting area in the Colburn Wildlife Management Area of Adams County when he locked eyes with a wolf only 30 yards away. Acting on instinct he gained from military service, Nellessen immediately pulled his sidearm, a Walther PK .380, and chambered a round.
That’s when things went from bad to worse. As he racked the slide, Nellessen noticed two more wolves approaching from the left.
“It all happened so fast,” said Nellessen. "It was maybe 3-4 seconds and the wolves were on me.”
The first wolf came in from the right, mouth open, fangs ready to rip into Nellesen's leg. A swift kick from the man’s boot landed square on the wolf's face and deflected the bite.
“That first wolf missed my leg by 8-10 inches,” he said.
The other two wolves weren’t far behind. As the next wolf leapt toward Nellessen, the man jumped back and was able to fire a single round into the animal. Nellessen was unsure of the lethality of the hit, but two wolves immediately retreated for the bush at the sound of the gunshot and the third limped away “like a gut-shot deer," said Nellessen.
Though shaken, Nellessen, realizing he had not been injured in the ordeal, made a hasty, yet calculated retreat to his truck, he said, "clearing every bush and tree along the way with my .380.” Reaching a point roughly 600 yards from the truck, Nellessen breathed a small sigh of relief, phoned his wife and informed her of the ordeal.
“I thought, if the wolves were still following me,” said Nellessen, “I ought to give her an idea of where I’m at.”
Once home, he called the Wisconsin DNR.
The following day, with biologists from the Wisconsin DNR and U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services in tow, Nellessen returned to the scene of the attack, hoping to find a dead wolf. At press time no wolf had been found, but Nellessen said the group did find lots of wolf sign, and a blood trail that ended after roughly 150 yards.
Nellessen is an avid outdoorsman.
Despite his encounter, Nellesen said, "I don’t blame the wolves.” He surmised that the perfect wind for scouting also turned out to be the perfect wind for unintentionally bumping into the wolves in what he described as "their living room.”
Nellessen attributes his ability to survive the encounter to his military experience and the small sidearm he carried with him that day.
“I’d be dead without my military experience,” he said. “A single bullet saved my life … a .380 FMJ.”
Phone calls and emails to the Wisconsin DNR confirm: "The Wisconsin DNR along with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are currently investigating a report of a wolf interaction on or about that date. That’s all we can say since there is an ongoing investigation.”
Matthew Nellessen, who says he is now "In the market for a bigger gun,” renewed his NRA membership four days ago.
His first mistake was not having one in the pipe. He was just carrying an expensive paperweight.
Don’t go in the deep woods unarmed. Anywhere. You’re made of meat. Nice that our conservation efforts have been rewarded with increase risk to life.
Possible, though a blood trail was found. And knowing the local DNR, they’ll be doing DNA. As to the description of the “action”, could be. Attacks on humans are pretty rare, and there’s plenty of food around now. But they happen.
If there was a gun i would want its something with the 5.7 or as they call it the 5nSeven, basically a small rifle round in a pistol. Plus 22 rounds.
“Color me skeptical.”
Same here.
More than likely he shot a wolf then made up the story as a CYA because it’s probably illegal to shoot wolves.
I'll second that.
Not many wolves here in DuPage County, but plenty of coyotes. If anything like the coyotes, I find it unlikely.
I see them often in on winter evenings, when out with my dogs.
Including one that ran up about TEN FEET, from my two ferocious(?) Australian Shepherds, and I.
The dogs and I did not like this, he turned and ran off.
I asked our veterinarian about this, he said not to worry, with a little dog be concerned.
He walks his dogs in the forest preserve next to his house each evening, no problems.
A guy I knew at a sportsmen's club owned a Walther. He had occasional jamming problems when he used hollow points. Occasional meaning perhaps 1% or 2% of the time. So maybe that's why the person in the article used FMJ rounds.
I'll note that the guy I knew was lazy in cleaning his firearms. That probably played a part as well.
Very scary story!
Wolf attacks on people are extraordinarily rare.
At 30 yds?
Save your ammo.
And that is why we get this 'story'.
He took a shot, then realized he could lose everything!
“a Walther PK .380”
The Walther PPK is a .380, or 9mm Kurtz (short) while the Walther PP (`Poleitzi Pistol’) is a .32.
The PPK is a double action/single action. The first shot is a long trip, so maybe he was OK carrying with a round in the chamber in the wild. But even a `mouse gun’ will blow out your femoral artery. Having said that,
Dear Glock & similar DA pistoleros/tough guys (I own a Gl 19), fair warning: If you `accidentally’ shoot me or someone I love, say in line at a pharmacy because you had to have one `up the pipe’—accidental discharge, whatever—you’d better kill me.
I dunno about that. He only needed one round. I bet the very loud report of a .357 would scare most of a "pack" away. And if 6 rounds of .357 can't do the job against any given bear then you were probably dead from the word go regardless of what you were carrying.
Why would he call the DNR to report it?
A .380 FMJ will do its job if you do yours. I have a couple .380s, and am getting another one, because I do like the caliber. It’s a suitable round for up-close and personal work. I’ll be 65 on my next birthday, so I’m not as strong as I used to be. Thus, now I pretty much limit my handguns to calibers that begin with a 3 (which includes the metric variety, such as 9mm, which, caliber-wise, is the same as a .380, but with more “oomph”).
I had a roommate who used to live in the Santa Cruz mountains.
One evening he was sitting on his porch quietly admiring the view when a coyote hopped up on the porch, sat down next to his chair and used this slightly higher perch to look out over the same view.
Then the coyote looked up and realized he was there!
It got this horrified ‘OH CRAP!’ look.
He said he never saw one move so fast...
The .380 round is the same as a 9mm but lower powered. Some might say it’s underpowered. On the other hand it’s easier to aim and shoot multiple rounds. It’s a balance between power and control.
Judge with Winchester PDX, backed up with Bond derringer with Winchester PDX.
I would never, ever, trust my life to a firearm with that kind of failure rate. I wouldn't carry any gun that I hadn't already fired at least 500 rounds through without a hiccup.
Shot it but didn’t kill it.
Someone report a shot wolf and it might come back to him, so create a CYA story.
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