Posted on 09/21/2011 4:58:40 AM PDT by thackney
A moose hunter attacked by a grizzly bear north of the Denali Highway survived the severe mauling Monday after hiking to his camp, traveling by boat downriver to a wilderness lodge then getting an airlift via Alaska Air National Guard helicopter to an Anchorage hospital.
Donald "Skip" Sanford, 65, was hunting about five miles upriver from the Maclaren River Lodge when the bear attacked, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Sanford had been hunting with his son John, 12, his friend Monty Dyson, 47, and Dyson's son Chad, 22, Dyson said.
Dyson relayed Sanford's story Tuesday by radio phone from the lodge, which sits on the highway 42 miles east of Cantwell.
Sanford walked away from camp Monday about 2 or 3 p.m. to find a hand-held radio he lost earlier, Dyson said.
Sanford was on a game trail when he saw the bear stand up, Dyson said. Sanford backed up, but the bear seemed to circle around him, Dyson said.
Sanford told rescuers he first saw the grizzly about 75 yards away from him, said Joe Snyder, one of the many people at the lodge who helped treat Sanford and get him out of the wilderness. The bear quickly closed the gap between them, Snyder said.
"He turned around and the bear was about 20 yards away, and it was coming at him pretty fast with its head down," Snyder said.
...
Sanford -- a "tougher-than-nails" ex-Marine and a Vietnam veteran, Snyder said -- had just enough time to fire one shot from his .30-06 rifle before the bear grabbed him. The bear's claws dug into Sanford's back, near his kidneys, Snyder said. It bit his head, tearing an ear and leaving deep wounds with its canine teeth at the base of Sanford's skull, Snyder said.
...
(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...
Maybe concerns that the grizzly is protected by the Federal Endangered Species Act and they are aggressive in prosecuting it recently stalled his reaction. See http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/prosecution-for-fatal-grizzly-shooting-sparks-debate
Such a law is evil when aggressively prosecuted, for this very reason.
Not well, I'm guessing. And you won't have much time either. The poor old guy in the article only had time to get off one shot.
I've never seen a bear attack in real life, but I was looking at some on YouTube a couple of weeks ago, and the videos I saw show they don't necessarily charge at you in a straight line (which, of course, would make for an easier shot if they did charge straight at you), but seemed to prefer to arc in fast like the most extreme curve ball you've ever seen. So they're bouncing violently up and down, arc-ing in, and moving real fast. And your life depends on hitting them. Yikes!
Carry a heavy-caliber sidearm. At least you have a chance.
Oh, man, that sounds like just the ticket!
“In this story, the hunter had a .30-06, totally inadequate for grizzly.”
The 30-06 has killed plenty of griz. but is not a good “stopper” in the case of an attack. With the right bullets and shot placement it is adequate, but there is little margin for error. I personally wouldn’t risk it.
On the list:
Updated FR Excerpt and Link Only or Deny Posting List due to Copyright Complaints
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1111944/posts
It States:
These sites must be excerpted and linked only:
and adn.com is included here.
Farther down it states:
Also, do not post images from Corbis or Getty.
I have also read elsewhere by either Jim Robinson or Admin Moderator that AP photos are not allowed.
But do you mean that no images are allowed from any source on the excerpt list? That seems to be a change from past policy.
IIRC, Timothy Treadwell made it through 13 seasons with the bears. He always left when the bears began hibernating. In the 13th year he started to leave but returned. That was when a bear got him and his girlfriend.
Sounds like the story of mountain man Hugh Glass. Incredible story of survival after being mauled by a griz, and left for dead by his buddies.
Lucky Grizzly Survives Encounter with Marine
Obviously we have a card carrying PETA pussy who has already sought out this thread as sport hunting threatens his teddy bear collection.
What a puss.
If sport hunting offends you, why the h$!! don’t you go back to DU and mix with the pussies there.
Also remember the guys who came in and picked him up!
Later, an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter with two pararescuemen landed at the lodge, according to the Air Guard. The rescuers hopped out and helped put more bandages on Sanford while the helicopter took off and refueled in the air with an HC-130 that had also been dispatched, the Guard said.
People & Power - Blood and dust
A superb documentary about Medevac teams in Afghanistan
From an usual source.
A long and intense video.Some of America’s best in action.
Twenty four minutes and well worth the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNC_4lZ07gU
What the heck are you talking about?
Thanks for asking for clarification.
You post about a hunter who survives a bear attack, and quickly we get fellow Freepers(?) showing sympathy for the bear.
Doing a quick review of comments related to recent hunter vs bear posts some of these “Freepers” are fairly rabid with their feelings towards bear hunters.
I believe I’ll go pick up a brown bear tag in case I run into one (brown bear) this fall while hunting.
There, I feel better.
Thanks for the post.
.45-70, .458 Winchester or 12 gauge are the rounds most guides carry.
I would never go into the bush with grizz’s in the area without a .45-70.
My bear hunting buddy tells me that most guides won’t go out with you for grizz with .30-06. Too dangerous: The round is simply too small.
He has taken a grizz in Allaska with his .30-06 but it took three perfectly placed heart lung shots to bring him down. A very tough animal.
.45-70 is minimum.
If you read the Chronicles of the Lewis and Clark expedition, one grizzly took 9 close range shots to the chest from Kentucky long rifles to bring down.
One trip my buddy took was a pretty good hunt but when they came back they were told that 5 bear hunters had been killed in the short time they were out.
These are very nasty animals who see you as dinner.
I’ll be lookin’ for a .45-70 lever action soon. (B4 heading out on the trails of Jellystone)
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