Read the story.
Saw the bear 15 yards away.
Bears can run 35 MPH. He did not have time to draw.
There is the 7 ft. rule in dealing with a human. The average human can run 12 to 17 MPH, so the bear is three times as fast.
If my math is correct, he had 2.05 seconds to draw and shoot. A very fast shooter can draw and shoot in 1.5 seconds or less but that is with both feed on the ground, at the ready knowing the buzzer will sound and drawing and shooting at the sound of the buzzer....very different from being surprised while riding a bicycle on rough ground.
Plus to be effective with the pistol he would need to get off the bike. He had zero chance against that bear under those circumstances.
“If my math is correct, he had 2.05 seconds to draw and shoot.”
20 mph = 30 fps. 15 yard = 45 feet. That is 1.5 seconds.
Stated 10-15 yards. Speed probably 15-25 mph.
One to two seconds to react.
“Just prior to the bear making contact, the victim fell to the ground and onto his back, covered his head and believes he kicked at the bear”
Guess he was too busy shittin’ his pants at that point to pull his weapon.
We do know he had time to stop the bike, get off it so it was between him and the bear, then yell at the bear and get on the ground on his back with his hands covering his head and neck.
We do not know how much time this took.
We do not know how fast the bear was moving. Maybe as fast as 35 mph. Maybe this bear was moving that fast, maybe not. Bears can move anywhere form 0 to 35 mph. Not all of them move at top speed all the time.
From the actions he took, it appears he could have drawn and shot a pistol in the same amount of time.
As many have pointed out, we were not there. We do not know.
However, the experts point out playing dead before the bear makes contact, is a bad strategy. It makes you appear to be weak and or prey.