Posted on 07/08/2008 12:55:40 PM PDT by george76
An aggressive black bear was shot and killed in a remote section of Denali National Park by park staffers on July 4...
The black bear had threatened the life and safety of three park employees ...
Three seasonal National Park Service technicians were conducting a botany field study along the remote river when a sub-adult black bear approached their camp ...
The three tried to scare it away by yelling, waving their arms and throwing objects at the bear. After being chased off into dense brush, the bear circled back to the camp three or four times. At one point, the animal destroyed a tent. On its final approach to the camp, the bear charged the three researchers, hissing and pouncing at the ground.
An attempt to divert the bear with pepper spray was ineffective.
One of the researchers, who was authorized to carry and use firearms in the park, shot the bear when it charged within 20 feet of the team. The bear was hit in its mid-section with a 12-gauge shotgun slug. Despite considerable blood loss, the wounded bear moved into dense vegetation and out of view.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsminer.com ...
If it doesn't incapacitate a plump 40ish (at that time) matron with a desk job, it is definitely NOT going to incapacitate a thug OR a bear. All it did was make my eyes burn and make me VERY embarassed.
Only from very insular ones, who do not like spicy foreign foods.
Followup shots to the neck and head, however, would be a really good idea.
I have to disagree about 12 ga. when the chips are down. I want a nice big Nosler with serious muzzle energy behind it, and I want a bunch of them in that bear in quick succession.
OH!
You mean, you're supposed to spray the BEAR; not yourself?!?
I thought the idea was to make you taste terrible when it tried to eat you. *<];-)
At least that was what my mom had. My dad was going to buy the .375 H&H, but mom turned up pregnant with me instead.
The operative word is “seasonal” Park employees. They’re part-timers...
What I have READ (if I have any choice, you won't catch me close enough to bear, esp. a polar bear, to actually shoot it...) is that you aim for the shoulders. The object is to shatter the shoulder blade and stop its charge. Apparently a bear will keep coming on a bit before he figures out he's dead.
The guy who wrote this shot 3 Grizzlies in AK, one right after another, when they attacked him. Seems it was the end of the hibernation period and they though he and his wife looked like a easy meal...
He used a big game rifle, though.
“1. Undergunned. 12 gauge is a great tool for aggressive humans. It ain’t enough for aggressive black bears. “
By all accounts a 12 G w slugs is plenty for a black bear, and is even acceptable for Griz at close range. The failure in this case was due to poor marksmanship. A hit in the same spot from a 375 H&H would likely have the same result. Not following up on the wounded bear was unforgivable.
spray yourself? why would you spray yourself with seasoning? i guess it might work if it was a vegan bear..
Sounds like that would do the trick. I just know that my Father in Law said his folks carried 12 gauges with slugs.
Maybe they WERE undergunned...
I do have a question about shot placement though... “
______________________
It was a lousy shot.
Because spraying the bear is just going to cause it to lose whatever it had left of its gruntle.
A partially disgruntled bear is bad enough, but a totally disgruntled one is worse.
That's a tough environmentalist quandry, plants or bear.
I guess the plant won.
-PJ
That is scary. I’m glad he ran away rather than at you!
Tasty chicken-fried bearsteak and gravy. Yummm!
They were probably all stoned and paniced when the bear got frisky. Why didn’t they jump into their truck and leave the area? ...to continue their botany field trip.
Also the angle of the shot was towards the heart from the shoulder. Hard to get that angle on a 7 foot tall bear when you are on the ground! Tree stand highly recommended for shooting large bears!!!!
“I have to disagree about 12 ga. when the chips are down. I want a nice big Nosler with serious muzzle energy behind it, and I want a bunch of them in that bear in quick succession.”
A 375 H&H has ~4660 ft #s of energy with a 300 gr bullet. A 12 g magnum slug at 75 caliber, 437 gr bullet with <3500 ft #s. That’s pretty serious and most people have a 12 G in their closets rather than having to buy a $3000 rifle.
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