Posted on 08/14/2018 12:15:14 PM PDT by george76
RATON, N.M. - A New Mexico man is sharing his story of survival after he was attacked by a bear while walking his dogs.
He killed the bear while its jaw was clamped around his leg, and the jaw stayed that way for a while.
...
When he saw me, he pinned his ears down and immediately made a big charge at me," said Petrini.
That's when the struggle began.
"Down the hill, we went again rolling and he had bit me a time or two but he was never able to get on my upper body, so my legs took most of it," said Petrini.
Petrini says he was armed with a pistol and shot the bear as he was being mauled.
"Somehow or another, he had bitten down on my calf muscle it had basically twisted it over his bottom jaw so he died with his teeth locked and so I wasn't able to get away from him," Petrini said.
Raton Fire Department, along with Game and Fish, responded to the scene, but moving the nearly 400-pound animal proved challenging so they eventually sawed the bear's head off, leaving it attached to Petrini's leg.
"When they cut the bear's head off then they were able to maneuver to where the could get it off my leg," Petrini said.
He was flown to UNM Hospital where they deal with injuries from bear attacks from time to time.
...
Petrini says he spent a week in the hospital. He got more than 200 stitches and suffered extensive nerve and tissue damage in his right leg.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbc4i.com ...
Apparently they ran off to find a phone and call 911.
LOL! Good one
Seems like he could get a job at IHop pretty easily
Cool . To this day the bears head is still attached to his leg.
Wyoming man [me!] explains how he survived a New Mexico bear attack:
It was easy, says I, I was in Wyoming, and the bear stayed in New Mexico. Oh yeah: I didn;t run into the bear on my bicycle, like the dead Flathead National Forest Montana Forest Ranger in 2016.
If you mean the guy, he likely didn't have a bear gun [Well, there's your problem RIGHT THERE!]
If you mean the bear, he would have by definition had a bear gun, if he had a gun with him, since he presumably had a right to bear bear arms.
I have contacted Bridger Petrini. He had a Glock model 20 (10 mm).
'Preciate your effort. I reckon that if your pick is to be a Glock, the 10mm would seem to be the best of those available, and a G20 or G40 would be the best bet.
That said, I can't see very many folks picking the 10mm cartridge for use in a rifle or carbine, even if one was available in that chambering. But then again, something like a handy little Winchester 92 levergun in 10mm...or the 10mm magnum...or the 7,5 BRNO? That might be an interesting development, especially if carried in conjunction with a handgun in the same chambering, as per the old .44-40 levergun-Colt single action combo.
Interestingly, I know two people partially eaten by bears, both of whose lives were saved by rifle fire from a companion/onlooker. Both had one or both hands occupied at the time, and told me that a rifle or shotgun would have been essentially useless to them...and one of them had two bears chewing on him. One out of state on the trail on horseback, the other in his back yard.
In the Smith/Herrero “study” on firearms effectiveness in surviving bear attacks, Handguns were effective 84% of the time.
Muzzie Doc?
I hate when a bear bites my leg, I have to kill it and his jaw locks in position and they have to saw the bear’s head off. I hate when that happens.
I'm a little more interested in incidents in my own neck of the woods, and regarding folks I know whose skill levels and equipment choices I can pretty easily access, or estimate right close.
The first rule, as usual, is the one that you'd expect to apply. Have a gun. With you, not just *near* you.
“A mother bear with cubs is not the most dangerous.”
I saw this:
National park campsite in northwestern PA.
Mother and two cubs rooting around for camp food.
Ranger kick mother in butt, mother runs screaming into the woods. Cubs watch mother, eventually they follow her, but they look pretty embarrassed.
Thanks
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