Dean Weingarten writes [via ammoland.com]:
On the morning of 24 September, 2017, David Buckallew, 63, and his son, Rory, 35, were hunting black bear. David was along as an observer. Only Rory carried a long gun, a Remington Model 700, semi-customized in the Wildcat 6.5mm-06 caliber rifle. Dave carried a Taurus Tracker stainless-steel (4-inch barrel) .44 magnum handgun in a Montana Holster shoulder rig made by Norm Schertenleib. Rory also carried a Glock Model 20 sidearm in 10mm Auto.
The morning was cool with a light frost in low spots at Kalispell, Montana. There was little wind. Sunrise was at 7:28 local. Before 9 a.m., the men had spotted a black bear and were attempting to get in position for a shot. They were moving through thick backcountry cover on the steep side slope east of the Hungry Horse Reservoir.
Then they heard it. A large animal was crashing through the undergrowth. It was moving along the side slope angling up the hill, above them. As it came directly above them, about 30 yards away, they could see bushes move. It changed direction and charged down the hill at them. Neither man knew what it was. It was coming directly at them. Both men fired a shot in front of the beast in an attempt to divert it or scare it off. David fired his .44 caliber pistol, Rory his Model 700 bolt-action Remington rifle. The animal was only 7 to 8 yards away, but the cover was so thick, they could not see it.
In a split second, the bear appeared as it slid to a stop only two feet from and just beyond Rory. The charging bear lunged at Rory, and Rory jammed the barrel of his rifle into its mouth. Then, as the bear jerked aside, he hit the bear’s head with the barrel.
The bear slapped the rifle aside, sending it spinning out of Rory’s hands. As the bear lunged for his face, Rory instinctively blocked with his right arm. The bear grabbed him by the elbow, its nose only inches from Rory’s.
Dave had closed to within six feet of Rory and the bear. Not wanting to hit Rory, hoping to get the bear to release his son, he shot the bear in the hip.
It worked. The bear dropped Rory and spun toward him. His next round was meant for the bear’s shoulder, but the situation was dynamic. The 240-grain slug went through the bear’s neck.
Seeing the bear charge at him, its mouth was within two feet of his .44 Taurus, he fired the last shot. The bullet went alongside the bear’s head, into its neck, and penetrated the chest cavity.
Dave says he doesn’t know if it was the three close-range hits with a .44 magnum, or the muzzle blast of the revolver into the bear’s face that turned the bear. The bear whirled downslope. It paused momentarily, 15 feet away, looking back. Then it crashed off into the brush.
Dave did not try another shot. He knew he was out of ammunition. He had been taught, 50 years ago, to carry a single-action revolver with an empty chamber under the hammer. In the five-shot double-action Taurus, that left him four rounds.
One had been fired to try to turn the downhill charge; the other three went into the bear.
Dave asked Rory “Did it get you?” Rory told him yes, and it hurt. Dave was relieved not to see any arterial spurting of blood, splintered bones, or a mass of torn meat.
He told Rory his Taurus was empty.
Most people in a deadly fight are not able to count their shots. Dave could, and did. Experienced shooters and hunters are often able to “call their shots”, and say where each shot went. Dave told me he informed the Fish, Wildlife and Park (FWP) officers where each shot had connected, and they told him he had been within a couple of inches for all three hits.
Rory handed his father the 10mm Auto Glock semi-auto to stand guard while he retrieved spare .44 magnum ammunition from Dave’s pack.
Dave drove back to Kalispell, as they came into cell-phone coverage, they called Rory’s wife, Kristine. They told her to call Urgent Care, so they could have Rory’s wounds treated. When they got back, Kristine told them Urgent Care said it would not treat a bear-attack victim. Rory would have to go to the hospital. Rory insisted on taking off his hunting shirt. He left it at the house so the hospital staff would not cut it off him in treatment.
At the Kalispell hospital, one of the staff specialized in treating bear-attack victims. He treated Rory. Fortunately, no bones were broken. Dave had shot the bear off of Rory before massive damage was done to his arm. There were a couple of scrapes on Rory’s shoulder from the bear’s claws. The claw scrapes did not require stitches.
Dave does not know who called FWP. It may have been someone at the hospital. As Rory was being treated, Dave accompanied the FWP officers back to the attack scene. The FWP helicopter, Two Bear Air, arrived. By this time it was afternoon. The sun had heated the slope, so infrared detectors on the helicopter could not find the bear.
The FWP officers told Dave if he had bear spray, he might have avoided having to shoot the bear. Dave noted the FWP officers were all armed with shotguns and had loaded pistols on their hips for bear protection. From mt.gov: “FWP would like to remind hunters and recreationists that carrying bear spray is another deterrent option” for bear defense.
Dave told me if he had spray and had sprayed the bear, he would have had to spray Rory as well. Then, if the bear turned on him, Rory would have been unable to help.
It is a reasonable assumption. Tom Sommers was attacked through a cloud of bear pepper spray, three weeks earlier, near the Idaho/Montana/Wyoming border. The bear had him by the head when his friend Dan sprayed the bear again from two feet away. Sommers was blinded by the spray and the blood. When he fired his powerful handgun, he could not see the bear. He missed. Whether it was the spray or the gunshot, the wild animal left the scene and did not attack Sommers again.
David Buckallew said “I will depend on my .44 magnum” and suitable ammo.
The bear never vocalized during the attack. Dave said you could hear the loud breath of the bear, but there were no warning growls, or other sounds from the bear.
FWP found the dead bear the next day. It was a 12-year-old dry sow. It was not lactating and did not have young cubs. It was about 250 lbs, and in good shape. At 250 lbs, it was a reasonable weight for an adult sow grizzly in bear country. The bear did not have any tags, or previous history of aggressive encounters with humans. Unprovoked grizzly attacks have been noted throughout the history of grizzly bears. The current fad is to always assign a human motivation.
Dave and Rory never heard or saw any other bear near them. There is no evidence that any cub, or yearling grizzly, was nearby. The sow’s body was found about 50 yards from the attack location.
In the fall, bears feel a tremendous urge to eat and put on weight for the winter hibernation. Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were killed in an unprovoked grizzly attack in Alaska on October 6, 2003. They did not have a .44 magnum for self defense in grizzly country. Neither survived.
©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included. Link to Gun Watch
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
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Counter Assault: Bear Spray is Better Than A Gun
Alaskan Grizzly Bear Attack Demonstrates Effectiveness of .44 Magnum
Alaskan Hunter Becomes the Hunted, Kills Large Brown Bear That Had Stalked Him
Alaskan Hiker Stops Charging Brown Bear with 10mm Handgun
Gun Review: Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk Hunter in .44 Magnum
Taurus Adds .454 Casull to Raging Hunter Series
Colt Brings Back the Python .357 Revolver
Gun Review – Smith & Wesson 629 .44 Magnum Revolver
Gun Review: Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum Revolver
Grizzly Bear Kills Yellowstone Hiker
As we have seen in comment section its not about guns its about the issue of self defense. it is false Theology that has caused a question like this to even be asked. I Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as My Saviour and of course i carry a gun. What most pacifist to often forget is That Jesus Said “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink” Mat 6:25, and if they were to apply there position of self defense to this they would never go to work, pick up a fork to eat, etc. Yes we Should Trust God, but we still have the Human Responsibility to act of what the Lord has given us in his Inspired Word.
Several things jump out…
You were bear hunting and when a bear charged you you both fired warning shots at it? I think you mean to say you missed
You left the chamber under the hammer empty? Isn’t this a modern revolver with a firing pin block?
I just reread and noticed they couldn’t see what it was at that point. My question then becomes why were you firing “a shot in front of the beast” when you don’t even know what it is? Could be some idiot hiker.
Also what happened to comment editing?
The right to keep and bear arms is the right not to be killed is an inherent, natural right – don’t need no made up boogeyman in the sky to verify that which is mine by virtue of nature.
Some Story! Hope Rory is ok and recovers 100%.
As to the use of Bear Spay vs having a firearm handy, you need to put that proposition in the following context. Let’s assume that the Bear spay is as effective as a Skunk’s spray.
Let’s also assume the Dry Sow Grizzly was hungry and trying to put on some weight before winter. When bears get hungry they will eat most anything, including a skunk if necessary. So how effective is a skunk’s spay going to be against a hungry bear?
ANS.: About as effective as it would be against an 18 wheeler bearing down on the skunk crossing the road.
Moral to this story: Carrry the 44 Magnum and a Colt 1911 as backup.
Here in CT if you bow hunt state law prohibits you from carrying ANY sidearm. (The law figures you might cheat and use it instead of the bow). Problem is, CT now has a real, healthy population of black bear and Coyotes too. What do you do if you bow hunt a 10 Pointer, hit it with an arrow or bolt and track it only to find the bear is at it when you show up to dress it? Somehow I doubt that carrying a can of bear spray will provide you much comfort.
Since all the proposed changes to NJ’s gun laws are hideous, committing to NOT changing the gun laws is actually a good thing. Especially when we consider that Guadagno is not just a New Jerseyite, but a woman to boot.
Granted that I’m not in New Jersey; but from my West Coast perspective, the GOP candidate seems to be saying that she wouldn’t sign any new gun-control laws — as signing new gun-control laws would constitute “changing” the gun laws.
Additionally, her statement that she would support allowing out-of-staters who have valid carry permits from other states to carry in New Jersey seems like a great long-term strategy, in this sense: Let the people get used to the idea that out-of-staters are coming into NJ and — BEHOLD! — the streets aren’t running red with blood. Once the voters get used to that idea, they might become more amenable to voting for having the ability to carry for themselves.
Good on them! I can’t believe(well yeah I CAN) they were lectured about Bear spray.
“…his but out bag…”
Don’t you mean BUG out bag? 🙂
didnt they release this already
So they took off 2 inches from the barrel, are using a different flash hider, added 4.8oz to the weight (in the barrel?), and dropped the MSRP by $570 from the older model.
Old 18″ M&P10:
https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/mp-10-optic-ready
New 16″ M&P10:
https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/mp-10-sport-optics-ready
Did they cheapen up the components or are they getting aggressive on price? You don’t save $570 by taking 2″ off the barrel and using a shorter A2 style flash hider.
While not in the bible, “God helps those who help themselves” is a common belief/refrain. And since God gave us free will, we must suffer men freely choosing to do evil because God values free will over our own safety.
We humbly choose to arm ourselves because God is not going to perform a miracle to rescue little unimportant us or our families. He gave us the wherewithal to try to defend ourselves and that’s it.
I understand all this. Yet I don’t understand the Christians who pray often for a specific outcome. “Please deliver us to our destination safely” or “Please let us win this football game or at least free from injury”.
Please help me understand this kind of prayer. I understand prayer as a way to focus one’s thoughts on a matter (meditation actually) and to hear an inner voice (yours or god’s YMMV). I don’t understand the specific outcome request. As if God is going to prevent the car accident only because you called his attention. Does he do that?
If he doesn’t interfere with the world, would you act in your life any differently if he existed or not?
God gave man a brain. I’m sure God expects us to use them..
The Gun Act of 1968 that made it so a person with a felony could not own a gun is illegal in itself. Every time I hear this BS I get P off. They may be able to make a law to pass a background check which has been proven pointless because of the LA shooting. There is nothing in the Constitution that says they can change a RIGHT, or RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS or SHALL NOT INFRINGE. With the millions of gun laws already on the books, it has not stopped any killings. Now if you look at a drivers license, that is a privilege and they can INFRINGE on that, but a law should make sense as well. If you drink and drive, they take your license. To many tickets they take your license, but what happened in NY with the Home Depot truck, Are they now going to have background checks to own or rent a vehicle? In the right situation like a concert, and with the right vehicle, he could have killed just as many people. Same with a small or large Airplane but we all know 911. Might be harder to use a plane, but some use gas and one match in a club or theater. Now not only people with a felony cant own a gun but even people with some misdemeanor’s cant own a firearm. So it is not only people with a felony and I am sure they will be adding to this list as time goes on, so people that may have a misdemeanor should start fighting for people with non violent felonies. If it were not for a plea bargain, there would be millions more people with a felony charge. The only reason that they do not is because they saved the State money and took a plea to reduce there charge, but they may have done the same thing as someone with a felony that exercised their Constitutional Right to go to trial. In North Carolina vs. Pearce the Supreme Court said, you cannot receive a harsher sentence for appealing a sentence or conviction because it is a Constitutional Right and if they could give a harsher sentence, people would be afraid to appeal, calling it the chilling effect. This is the same, if you want to exercise your right and go to trial instead of taking a plea, than you should not be punished harsher or no one would go to trial, they would all take a plea bargain, no matter if you are guilty or not.
It is also against your right to be grouped as in all people with a felony or all people with red, or yellow, black skin, or all of a religion. The justices of the Supreme Court need to go by what the Second Amendment says, not what they think or fell it says. It was written back when people had to own a gun to eat or protect them selves. Having a grocery store does not change what they intended it to mean. Your personal feelings should not enter in your judgement. The only reason Alcohol (which is a drug) and is responsible for more deaths than guns, I think should be a law against, but politicians would never do that since they all drink.
Female actors get Weinsteined or Tobacked. Young male actors get Spaceyed. 2A advocates get Weissered.
#MeToo
“We will take pragmatic action to make it harder for criminals to get, and use, handguns and assault weapons.”
And that works nowhere.
Austria 2016: one man banned from owning firearms + one illegal assault rifle = 3 dead (including shooter) + 11 injured
Munich 2016: one man + illegal handgun = 10 dead (including shooter) + 36 injured
There was another shooting in Germany this year, where the shooter used an M16 (illegal.)
A few years back there was a murder in Austria where the killers used a handgun and a hand grenade. The case was connected to organized crime, fuel smuggling and tax evasion. Both the handgun and the grenade were illegal.
Speaking of 2016.
Japan 2016: one man + a bag of knives = 19 dead + 26 injured.
Note how the knife attacker got more kills than both shooters in Europe in the same year combined.
nothing when i search podcasts from my iphone
Must have been FMJ Ball range ammo. I doubt that he would have survived four 9mm Hollow Point +P rounds…..even in the A$$. ????
I wonder how much a DHS badge is worth on the black market?
Agent short of money? Just sell it.
That picture of the two Lithuanians looks like it came from a phrenology textbook circa 1890.
typical indiana politics, kick the can down the road to avoid addressing the issue at hand. there has been talk of eliminating the costly and unnecessary permit for concealed carry for some time but so far it has only come to “we will talk about it”. you have to remember that indiana has politicians that passed a 10 a gallon gas tax increase effective in july that they claimed had broad public support but i have not come into contact with anyone that has claimed to support it!!
Not bad. I have a duffel with a plate carrier, an MP5K clone “pistol” and five loaded magazines these days. The AK just wasn’t fitting as neatly.