Montana man survives grizzly attack

Casper Star Tribune ^ | June 28, 2003 | n/a

[decimon]

LIVINGSTON, Mont. (AP) -- A retired Montana railroader turned mountain man knew the odds were good he'd have a close encounter with a grizzly bear someday while alone in the back country.

"It finally happened," Bob Johnson said Thursday from his hospital bed in Livingston. "She tried to kill me."

Johnson said he was attacked by the grizzly Wednesday in the Tom Miner Basin, north of Yellowstone National Park.

He said he couldn't remember how big the bear was. "How can you tell, when the SOB is trying to give you dental work?" he said.

Johnson, 55, remembers grabbing the bear by the nose with both hands as it tried to bite his face and throat. And he remembers taking an incredibly hard blow to the head. Doctors used 75 staples to reattach his scalp to his skull.

He also has a deep gash under his right arm, claw marks on his chest and back, bruises all over his body and some deep teeth punctures on his left forearm.

Johnson still hobbled several miles to his truck and drove to the B Bar Guest Ranch for help.

"He was not a pretty sight," said Aaron Davis, the chef at the ranch. "That scalp wound was downright gruesome."

Johnson said he was moving quietly through the woods, looking for petrified rock and believes he probably awakened the napping female grizzly with a cub.

He said he heard a sound, looked up and the bear was coming at him in full charge. The bear knocked him on his back and went for his face.

"I thought, I'm gonna fight until I die," he said.

Johnson, who lives in Clyde Park when he isn't in the backcountry, said family members want him to stay out of the mountains, but "I'll never do that.

"This was just bad luck."

[Lucy Lake]

Awww, that was just an old joke; almost everyone in Montana has some sort of firearm.

[kms61]

How many people in a high stress situation can take a "properly positioned" shot on a charging bear. I'd wager not even many experts. You're probably going to only get one shot. Better use something that will make it count. Wounding a bear is worse than not doing anything at all. If you're not a REALLY good shot, you might be better off not carrying a weapon....or staying out of the woods altogether.

[decimon]

You'd aim at the middle of the target.

What I'm imagining is aiming for the lower jaw to have a chance at hitting something vital. I'd think that a charging bear would be moving up and down a bit as it ran.

I think the key thing is to just get started pulling that trigger. ;)

Uh-huh. Easy to say what you would do while sitting at a keyboard but I know that I've messed up before and likely will mess up again.

[old school]

A "Bear Dog" is not going to run, it's going to fight! The dog is early warning. If the bear can smell you, the dog can smell the bear!

[old school]

Like the man said, practice, practice, practice! Or, don't go into the woods.

[Lucy Lake]

"Bear Kills, Eats Man in Alaska "

Asked to comment the bear said, "Well, kinda like chicken."

[decimon]

How many people in a high stress situation can take a "properly positioned" shot on a charging bear. I'd wager not even many experts. You're probably going to only get one shot. Better use something that will make it count. Wounding a bear is worse than not doing anything at all. If you're not a REALLY good shot, you might be better off not carrying a weapon....or staying out of the woods altogether.

It's been noted that police officers will more often than not miss a less challenging human target in a high stress situation. Safety in numbers might work. If the bear is going for you then you can at least hope that I'm shooting at it and not making an exit. :-)

[kms61]

99.9% of the people on this thread aren't gonna have a bear dog, though. Taking ol' Rover out in the woods is asking for trouble if there are grizz around.

Reading stories like this have the same attraction as listening to ghost stories. It gives us a chill, but the reality is most people will spend a liftetime in the outdoors without a hostile encounter. I've spent a fair amount of time in grizzly country, and have seen seventeen bears by my count, the closest at about fifty yards. An amazing experience sight.

Be prepared, be aware, but people shouldn't let stories like this panic them. Take the proper precautions and you should be fine.

[Finalapproach29er]

That's my motto! Blazing Saddles.

[SLB]

Really surprised at the lack of understanding in bear country. Make noise, lots of noise. Break sticks, throw rocks and whistle and talk. Then we have the pros taking them on with a handgun. Hope their wills are in order. Many guides in Alaska carry a 12 ga pump gun with slugs or something in the .458 Winchester category. The .44 mag or .454 is only a last resort after the magazine for the shotgun or rifle is empty. I have hunted elk and deer just South of Yellowstone and we always made sure we let the bear know we coming. Never had a problem and saw lots of sign. No, it did not smell like pepper. We even left elk hanging in trees for five or six days and did not have problems, just take the right precautions.

[AdamSelene235]

A .357 properly positioned would not drop a grizzly?

The 357 has taken cape buffalo with a head shot using steel core ammo (now illegal in the US).

I wouldn't use anything smaller than a 45/70. BFR makes a nice revolver chambered in that.

[AdamSelene235]

I meant Magnum Research makes BFR 45/70 revolver.

[BigFisherman]

I have a Karelian bear dog and carry a .416 Rigby when in griz country.

And a .44 mag on my hip.

[Lucy Lake]

An old saying:

"When shooting Griz with a handgun, save the last round for yourself."

[old school]

If you're not going hunting, you're not likely to be carrying a long gun. But, if you're fishing, you might want to carry something on your hip, and take a fearless dog with you. Bears like fish too!

[SLB]

Good ID, are you a fan of grizz? They seem to be about the ultimate hunter. I guess a full grown bull elk or moose can handle one, but that is about it.

[microgood]

No pun intended, a grisly story.

NO doubt. Ugh.

[spunkets]

" Sounds like the bear was too quickly on him."

That's why a handgun is best here, if you don't want to carry at ready your 338win mag, or whatever. Heavy bullets, FMJ 45s, or 158 gr 357s are fine. Some folks pick big guns. Empty the gun into his cerubellum(brain stem) and he drops instantly. It's best to have a look at a bear's head anatomy first though, there's no time for trial and error later.

[Squantos]

When I was stationed in Alaska my primary truck and house gun was a 12 gauge pump stuffed with slugs the first round being a # 9 bird shot. Dust their paws with a No 9 and either they will leave quick or they are slug bait.

I do now carry a .500 linebaugh ruger blackhawk bisley when I get back up there to fish. But as you state when out an about bear country ya have to be careful , make enough noise so the bear will stay out of "your" way. BTW no caliber ,sluggun, rifle or handgun, is "enough" when you realize you ain't at the top of the food chain anymore...

My old 870 was real clean and serviceable "inside" but it had about 12 coats of rustolieum paint on the exterior. Real ugly gun but real comfort when needed.

Stay Safe !

[spunkets]

" They seem to be about the ultimate hunter. "

Polar bears and tigers activly stalk and eat people.