# More Grizzly Attacks



## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

https://www.ktvq.com/news/montana-n...ues-into-2-grizzly-bear-attacks-in-sw-montana

I can't imagine how terrifying this would be.


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

Yeah, scary.


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## neverdrawn (Jan 3, 2009)

I think I know why they were purchasing new clothing. Primarily underwear.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Hard to imagine just how terrifying that would feel. I love watching grizzlies and being in grizzly country, but a huge part of that is the cold pit of terror that is constantly present in the base of my spine from the moment my boots leave the truck that lingers until my boots are back in the truck. 

In the account of the first attack, I noticed that they said they were spraying the bear directly in the face. Granted, at that close range I'm not sure how else you could hope to do it, but I have always been taught to spray at the ground just in front of the bear to create a better "cloud" for the bear to breathe in and get in its eyes. 

Good thing in both instances nobody got hurt, but if'n I was thinking about archery elk hunting near this Cottonwood creek, I might want to reconsider my plans for the time being!


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Scary! I wonder if the guys buying new clothing were heading back out hunting? Balls of steel if they were.


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## elkunited (Aug 16, 2019)

Nope. No grizzlies for me. Scary!


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

When I was up in Canada actually hunting them it was quite interesting. 

We would ride back to the cabin late in the evening since it didn't get dark until 11 or later and not see a single bear track. We would head back into the timber and our glassing spots the next day and there were fresh grizzly tracks on top of our horse tracks from the night before. One day all 4 of us left camp and when we came back that evening there were fresh bear tracks around the cabin along with claw marks on the trees where we tied the horses. 

In 10 days up there I only saw one grizzly and he was 600 yards away, but riding through those trees made me wonder just how many eyes were on us.


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## 7mm Reloaded (Aug 25, 2015)

Sounds like the bear spray worked pretty well all you non believers.:shock:


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

Harmless creatures.


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

7MM RELOADED said:


> Sounds like the bear spray worked pretty well all you non believers.:shock:


The ole gun vs bearspray debate. It's always an OR argument, never AND. I'm a big believer in the ole ounces = pounds = pain saying, but ah, If I ever find myself in brown bear country, I'll just carry both; I like having a Plan B. :mrgreen:


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## stillhunterman (Feb 15, 2009)

Ran across this very interesting article a while back. It sure gives one some things to ponder. Well worth the read if you venture into bear country.

"Fact #1: Bear spray is 98 percent effective.

Fact #2: Your odds of being injured by a bear while carrying a firearm are the same as if you're carrying no defense at all.

I've always taken the scientific studies that arrived at those two conclusions as gospel. And I've written articles repeating their findings while arriving at the invariable conclusion that bear spray is better than a firearm when it comes to defending against a bear attack. But you know what? I was wrong."

https://www.outsideonline.com/2401248/does-bear-spray-work


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

stillhunterman said:


> Ran across this very interesting article a while back. It sure gives one some things to ponder. Well worth the read if you venture into bear country.
> 
> "Fact #1: Bear spray is 98 percent effective.
> 
> ...


The charts in that link highlight two marbles that have been rolling around in my head due to another article someone linked a week or two back, but: In terms of animal encounters, Hunting is more dangerous than hiking, of that, hunting solo is more dangerous still.

Common safety practice with hiking is to talk, wear bear bells, make noise, let the animals know they are there. Hunting, is the exact opposite of that. That and people leave "footprints". The more people you have, the larger the footprint, I dunno, I'm probably not saying it correctly, but there's no denying the old adage "safety in numbers.".


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

stillhunterman said:


> Fact #2: Your odds of being injured by a bear while carrying a firearm are the same as if you're carrying no defense at all.
> 
> https://www.outsideonline.com/2401248/does-bear-spray-work


That's assuming I'm not Wyatt friggin' Earp.

I don't disagree with stats, but there are a bunch of gomers who carry who make a lot of gun stats skewed. The number of people who have never even shot their carry gun or carry round would alarm most people. "Having a gun" doesn't equip anyone to use it. Again, not arguing with stats, but I feel really good about my wilderness carry setup.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Random, you need to read the article. He’s saying that assumption/assertion is not correct. 

But then once you read it, it basically reads to me that they have no clue what works or what doesn’t work.


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

What the article tells me: don't get attacked by a grizzly bear!


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## Lone_Hunter (Oct 25, 2017)

RandomElk16 said:


> The number of people who have never even shot their carry gun or carry round would alarm most people. "Having a gun" doesn't equip anyone to use it.


I'm going to go off into the weeds just a little bit by saying two things:

1.) Marksmanship with a handgun is a perishable skill. Practice often, you'll get those "one ragged hole" targets. Don't practice often, and your grouping will be "minute of man".

2.) No matter how much you practice, how you shoot under stress is most important. For a minor eye opening exercise, go to any local indoor gun range. Set up a paper, or better yet, cardboard target. Send it all the way out, and then set the target to return all the way back to the firing line. When the target starts rushing back at you, grab your handgun off the bench and shoot as fast as you can, and score as many hits before it reach's you. If you want to up the challenge, send the target out to 12 yards instead of 25. Granted even this exercise isn't the most realistic, but you may be surprised at how much you miss none the less.

Knowing this, I still carry. I just have, what I think, is a more realistic expectation of how things will go down if I have to use it - and no I don't practice enough, though I used to. I used to burn through two hundred 9mm rounds a week. It made having a progressive press a necessity. Then I had a kid, now I don't practice at all. -O,-


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## stillhunterman (Feb 15, 2009)

I think very few people understand how fast an agitated/pissed off griz covers ground. Personally, I believe if a mountain griz is headed your way with just one thing in mind, to kill you, there is virtually nothing to do about it but kiss yer azz goodby.


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## Ray (May 10, 2018)

I'd carry both and do when I'm in MT. Funny thing is I read this article just the other day that was talking about the effectiveness of handguns vs bears, they have it at 97% success.

https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/de...s-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz60UZTUIbd


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## 7mm Reloaded (Aug 25, 2015)

fake news  kiddin I'll take my 12 gauge slug barrel nothing less if I ever go to griz country again and a "fire extinguisher full" of spray and extra undies !


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

Ray said:


> I'd carry both and do when I'm in MT. Funny thing is I read this article just the other day that was talking about the effectiveness of handguns vs bears, they have it at 97% success.
> 
> https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/de...s-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz60UZTUIbd


While interesting and certainly some research has been done, your article is hardly scientific nor all-inclusive. The OP's article is a lot more reliable as a source.


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