Posted on 03/11/2018 12:59:31 PM PDT by marktwain
Zeb Cadzow and Paul Herbert are experienced hunters who live north of the Arctic Circle in Fort Yukon, Alaska.
In late March of 2008, residents of Fort Yukon, Alaska become concerned because a bear was not exhibiting any fear of humans near their town. Peter John originally saw the bear eating lynx carcasses near a cabin on the edge of town.
People did not believe the white bear was a polar bear. Polar bears had never been seen in the area. They thought it was an albino grizzly or a grizzly bear covered with frost.
The hunters, who depend for their lives on their rifles, did not carry .357 magnums or .30-06 model Winchester Model 70s. They carried AR-15s.
Many hunters who depend on rifles for survival in the far north carry high-velocity, small caliber rifles. They can carry much more ammunition, they are easy to shoot, and are flat shooting. They offer excellent accuracy. The magazine capacity is a plus.
The two experienced hunters, on tracking a large bear that showed no fear of people, choose the AR-15 in .223. From shootersforum.com:
“There’s usually grizzly around this time of year,” he said. “You want to get rid of it because it’s hungry.”
The men tracked the bear three miles out of town to the Porcupine River, where it moved onto a river island.
At that point, most of the hunters returned to Fort Yukon
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
“Once they charge it is too late to call the police.”
Yes it’s a bear to deal with the credit card company to have the charges reversed.
I read a lot of bear attack stories in my teens about Alaskan and Canadian guides, hunters and backwoods homesteaders. Quite a few stories of big Alaskan Browns hit right in the brain pan with calibers like .375 H&H, .458 Winchester and .300 Weatherby Magnum that got back up and ran flat out for several hundred yards.
One very memorable story was about a hunter alone on a coastal BC island who put at least 11 rounds of .375 H&H in the chest and gut of a big bear that proceeded to maul him and disappear into the woods.
I read a lot of bear attack stories in my teens about Alaskan and Canadian guides, hunters and backwoods homesteaders. Quite a few stories of big Alaskan Browns hit right in the brain pan with calibers like .375 H&H, .458 Winchester and .300 Weatherby Magnum that got back up and ran flat out for several hundred yards.
A bears skull is shaped such that a shot slightly above the eyes, with the nose pointed at you, will miss the brain altogether. bears are not bullet-proof, but they have a lot of stamina and stored oxygen capacity. Hit them in the gut, even with large, powerfull calibers, and they will likely remain active for hours, even days. Hit them in the lungs, it can take several minutes or longer for them to die. Only hit one lung, and they may survive the shot.
Destroy the heart, and probably not longer than a couple of minutes at most.
Quite a few big bears have been stopped with pistols.
Is there a valid reason for you to excerpt from your own site?
Not my site. It is Ammoland.
That would be my first choice of a semi-auto rifle in that case, and I'd be sure I heard that clip "ping".
Fair enough. I’d hate to spend two minutes with a really POd Brown bear though.
I have read the advice to break down the shoulder bones, to keep anchor the bear. Spine shots also anchor them.
http://gunwatch.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/panama-dr-smythe-and-grizzly-attack.html
“to keep anchor” should be “to anchor”
I apologize to you, then. I was wrong.
Bella Twin
Shot Placement!
No problem.
It was a nice true story, though
I am guessing that these hunters were hunters for food and probably didn't own another rifle, because they cannot afford another rifle. I do not know them nor do I live their lifestyle, so I cannot comment. Having said that, I read an article that did talk about how popular the AR15 is up North. It is relatively inexpensive, easy to fix, accurate and very reliable.
Yeah, the caliber sucks, and I wouldn't even use it against the 100lb swamp deer in my area. But then again, Karamoja Bell (arguably one of the finest elephant hunters in history) liked to use the .256 Gibbs (and the .303, and the 7x57 and .... almost any another small bore round made at the turn of the 20th century) for killing elephants. And Bell was known for one shot kills.
First off you’re replying to a 6 year old post.
AR 10 in 308 might be a better choice.
Bell hunted elephants for ivory…not necessarily for self protection.
A charging Bear, Moose or elephant needs to be put down quickly. The most powerful rifle round I currently own is 30-06. I would choose that. If I could go hotter it would in the .400 to .500 range, though a 12 gauge sabot round is nothing to sneeze at.
Ha, ha. A four year old post! Well, that explains a lot about my life.
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