Posted on 02/23/2022 4:02:27 AM PST by marktwain
This article is part of a continuing series of defensive bear shootings discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request by AmmoLand. It appears these events were not reported in other media.
On September 13, 2011, two bowhunters were hunting for elk in a wild part of Wyoming, on the boundary of the Shoshone National Forest and the Bridger Teton National Forest. The location was on the Continental Divide between the Salt Creek and the South Fork of the Fish Creek drainages, about an hour north of DuNoir Junction, southwest of Dubois, Wyoming, near the boundary of Fremont County and Sublette County, at an elevation of about 9442 feet, according to the map contour lines. It is in the middle of the west edge of Wyoming.
The weather was cool in the morning and warm and dry in the afternoon. Temperatures varied from 35 to 70 degrees F in nearby Big Piney-Mableton at about 6,000-foot elevation.
Two hunters were involved. Their identity is deleted in the FOIA document. They will be referred to as Hunter One and Hunter Two. Hunter One had a holstered .38 Special revolver as well as his archery equipment.
At about 10:00 a.m., the two hunters were crossing a large area of downed timber, with numerous blowdowns. This type of terrain is very difficult to traverse, because you are constantly climbing up, over, and down large tree trunks. The pictures give an indication of the complexity. It is not a walk in the park.
Hunter One was “about to cross a big piece of downed timber” when he saw a large bear jump up and toward him. He ran up a downed tree, and the bear was “spooked” and ran north into the timber. Hunter One waited until the bear was out of sight;
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
Amongst the caliber debates, I cannot help but think of the 14 year old Indian girl in northern Canada the killed a world record sized Grizzly Bear with her single shot .22 back around 1952.
Good article. It has been difficult to find .38 Special ammunition in stores this past year.
Here is an article with more detail than any other I have seen.
“You are close, but she was 63 years old”
Damn! Missed by only 49 years.
getting more like Dimjo every day.
Are the bullets made with depleted uranium?
You did much better than most. Most of your recollection was correct.
It is an incredible story.
And human bears as well...
“Handguns have proven to be 97% effective in defending against attacking bears.”
...said all the survivors...
However, it is very likely far more cases where attacking bears were killed by people armed with pistols are never reported. There are significant incentives for people armed with modern pistols not to report defensive encounters where they killed the offending bear with a pistol.
Before 1960, it was considered unremarkable; after 1975, it was legally risky.
The venerable old .38 Special has been getting a bad rap for about fifty years, and its disparagement is undeserved. It was the official police caliber for about 75 years, before the auto-loaders became popular. Maybe I’m an anachronism (well, I AM in my 70s!), but I like the tried-and-true wheel guns of yore.
Please find the non survivors.
Stories abound about handguns not working but they are just that.
If you can find documented cases of handgun failures,
I sure would like to see them.
Wow - like 14 year-old David scoring a direct hit with a single rock against the massive warrior Goliath and dropping him.
Many of the .38 Special revolvers are wonderful examples of the gunmaker's art.
Hmmm... I can only say that the .38 was found to be somewhat lacking in those days when the Army strayed away from the .45 colt.. A determined “Moro” warrior with a machete was apparently more than a match for the Army’s new .38cal. Hence the birth of the 1911 .45ACP.
But, with when your back is against the wall, a big stick is better than nothing... :)
Gotta believe the .38 Spl was brought to dispatch a wounded elk, and not for bear defense.
Thanks, great story. You do great work.
That was not the .38 Special, which was fielded in 1902. It was the .38 Long Colt, a significantly weaker cartridge.
Another factor, seldom considered, is the Army also found the .30-40 Krag was lacking in "stopping power". The Moros were often drugged up, and it took a central nervous system hit to stop them.
The .38 Long Colt had a 150 grain bullet at 770 fps. The .38 Special standard load was 158 grain bullet at 855 fps.
Scary, I’ve backpacked for a week in this same backcountry area of Wyoming (twice). Armed, of course. Fortunately we never encountered or noted signs of any bears. They are there...
“Many of the .38 Special revolvers are wonderful examples of the gunmaker’s art.”
Yes.
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