Posted on 07/25/2011 4:55:29 PM PDT by Titus-Maximus
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - As the grizzly furiously thrashed him about in the Alaska wilderness, all Sam Gottsegen could think about was what he would miss: college, traveling, life.
"I thought: `I'm going to die,'" the 17-year-old Denver resident said. "I thought, `This just can't be happening to me.'"
Then the bear left, only to return a moment later to continue mailing him and his other teenage friends. When the minute-long attack ended, four teens, including Gottsegen, were injured. Three others were unhurt.
The attack Saturday night in the Talkeetna Mountains north of Anchorage came as the group was nearing the end of a 30-day course to learn how to survive in the backcountry. The teens were at the stage of the course where they could try out their skills without adults around.
Authorities believe the bear was aggressive because it was with its cub. Gottsegen said no one ever saw a cub.
The group was hiking through bushes that got so thick they decided to wade through a river, walking in single file. Around a bend in the river, Joshua Berg, 17, of New City, N.Y., began yelling "Bear! Bear!"
The bear took him down first. The animal made angry, snarling noises as it attacked, Gottsegen told The Associated Press from his hospital bed in Anchorage, recounting the attack.
It was so sudden. There was no time to pull out their bear deterrent spray and no one had a gun. Berg, badly wounded, called for someone to set off the personal locator beacon they carried for emergencies.
Gottsegen said everyone scattered and he ran, even though the students had been told to play dead.
His instincts wouldn't let him, though.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
:-)
I recall the Contender had barrel options for larger shells...but thst’s a bit of a stretch.
Not sure, but I believe that most grizzly attacks are because they deem you a threat, or are trying to figure out what you are. Playing dead removes the threat. OTOH, black bears in Alaska WILL attack you just to attack you and kill you. You might as well try to fight as they’ll just keep chewing on you if you play dead.
I’m no expert though - just what I heard. And it seems that everyone up there is an “expert” with varying stories and recommendations. The few times I’ve been up there working in the woods I have a big canister of bear spray on a chest harness and a 12-gauge with Bernakke sabot slugs over my shoulder. And try to make enough noise.
Although one guy said he has known grizzlies that hear the noise and come to investigate. (Another “expert”!)
Black bears - fight back
Grizzly or brown bear - play dead and there is a good chance they’ll lose interest.
Polar bear - you wont need to play dead.
“Then the bear left, only to return a moment later to continue mailing him and his other teenage friends.”
Where did the bear mail them?
.50AE also works pretty well, has nearly 45-70 muzzle energy.
Even more from one of the six .50AE Enfield Carbines sold last year.
AMT Auto-mag V would be my handgun of choice, but a bit hard to find now.
Thanks for that photo (post 51). It’s hilarious.
Photoshop?
What is pictured might be good for novelty value, but junk for bears.
It has less BARREl length than BULLET length, velocity would be minimal!
A .50 BMG carbine might make some sense, but would necessarily be heavy.
I’ll take a ping if you don’t mind....
Best $1.80 I ever spent! LoL!
Whoa...Scotty went native!
If you are talking .45 Colt, and you have a Ruger, get a box of Corbon +P magnums or the equivelent.
Grizzly or brown bear - play dead and there is a good chance they’ll lose interest.
Polar bear - you wont need to play dead. LoL!
I think I will fight back no matter what.....
To All: Better check the wind before you deploy that bear spray!
Always play the wind! Always! Survival/hunting 101.....
The 50AE pushes out around 1600 lb-ft at the muzzle, about half of a decent load for the .45-70. It's not even close in terms of energy.
If you HAVE to have a pistol, go with the S&W 500 - that has something closer to the lower end of a .45-70 - up around 2500 lb-ft of energy. But you still have the same problem as with the 50AE - trying to contain and CONTROL (you have seconds, after all, to get a few hits on target) that much power in your hands.
No thanks - give me a Marlin 1895 with the barrel cut down to 16.5", and 5 rounds of hot-loaded .45-70 with 420 grain hard-cast bullet at 2000 fps, for a solid 3700 lb-ft of energy with enough bullet weight and integrity to punch deep.
Somebody might get hurt!!
Of course you don't sound too smart so I expect you are one of those types who think bears should have the right to kill humans at will if that human happens to be in the woods.
Photoshop?
Yes
Ok, I knew I would get great advice, and a laugh too. I am bringing the .45 buying a 50, and bringing my mossberg 12 gauge with slugs.
My wife says he looks like royalty waiting for supper.
A .45 Auto is definitely not enough gun for a big bear, although it is much better than no gun! There was a story within the past year of a fellow emptying his .45 into an attacking bear then being mauled until someone else shot it.
I would rather have the extra weight of a Marlin Guide model in a 45-70 loaded hot, or a custom .458 with a 22” barrel and a 1 in 22 twist rate so I could load 45-70 to 50-110 type loads in a bolt gun.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.