Alaskan Brown Bear Almost gets the Hunters

[Guy Miner]

Well worth watching, despite the 49 minute length. Lots of lessons learned, and they're candid about the mistakes they made.

Grizzlies can be real tough, and this one was huge.

Guy

 

[ShadeTree]

Lots of things can happen, and it's easy to look in hindsight, but yeah, they goofed on multiple fronts.

I thought while I was watching that, that short of a rifle failure, the only thing that wouldn't let that bolt close would be something messed up from overpressure. Sure enough it ended up they were running it at the limit. Function, function, function when it comes to hunting rounds. I try to always remind myself of that.

Secondly the bullet obviously wasn't up to the task at that distance and must of penciled through for the bear to take 2 vital hits and cover that amount of ground and live that long, being fully alive and on the move yet when put down with the big pistol. Starting out at their stated 3200 that bullet would be down to 2450 at the bears distance of 475.

In hindsight maybe the AccuBond wasn't the best choice for that scenario. The good ole Partition would've faired better.

 

[35 Whelen]

Well when I was a snot nosed apprentice guide back in 1970's . Old Ward Gay who had guided Kodiak since 1930's told me . " Son never more than 100 yds and never less than 50yds". He knew exactly what he was talking about. Same thing holds true today.......... Fireing at bears are 400 yds is usually NOT going to end well.
Had he not had the handgun; it's likely that Bear would have mauled the pair of them
Those folks had someone watching over them that day, and they should be forever grateful, that he was!!!

 

[JD338]

Very lucky, could have been a lot worse.

JD338

 

[ShadeTree]

Good advice I'd say Whelen! Although I wouldn't mind a little more than 100 yd cushion to start out.

Just thinking it out, was the AccuBond the wrong bullet choice? At that distance, and on that size animal, I think the only answer can be yes. But how do you always know such things until it's tested?

Bottom line is had that rifle not been subjected to speeds over book, it wouldn't of blown a primer on what was the 3rd shot if I remember correctly from the video. No room for a hiccup bit them at a bad time. Wrong bullet or not at that distance, he could've easily dispatched the bear on subsequent shots on it's long trek to them, and the bullet would've hit with noticeably more authority as it got closer.

In my view the single most dominate mistake and cause of the whole process of bad events was running the rifle at it's limit on a hunt where you can't afford hiccups and failures.

 

[35 Whelen]

This is the exact reason that many guides won't allow "hand loads" on Brown Bear hunts........ Polar bear guides absolutely all said NO to handloads for this very reason! They ALL had problems with them.
Shade tree; If you were ever with me on a bear hunt, and listen to the impact of a 100yd shot on a bear. Then go back to 400yds, and hit one in same place; your ears will quickly tell you why Ward; and why all those old time guides, hated long shots so much............ Huge difference.
Those guys made A LOT of bad mistakes with that Bear, but luckily lived to tell about it. The biggest bit of BAD information here is that a Magnum rifles with hot handloads can make up for poor shooting and LONG distance.......... Never could never will. They had plenty of Magnum calibers in Wards day, he was no stranger to them. But in today's world of hunting shows, folks commonly think 400 yds on big bear, no problem. Well just watch the movie!

 

[NYDAN]

Amazing story! I am glad they made it out of there okay.

I don't understand why they were carrying a bow. Were they thinking they might shoot a bear with the bow? If so, why didn't the lady carry a rifle to back up the bow?

 

[Guy Miner]

Amazing story! I am glad they made it out of there okay.

I don't understand why they were carrying a bow. Were they thinking they might shoot a bear with the bow? If so, why didn't the lady carry a rifle to back up the bow?

Yes, they also bow hunt, and Trevor wanted to bow hunt the bear if possible.

But, I think it would have been smarter to take two rifles rather than the bow, rifle and one pistol.

When that handgun had fallen out of the holster... They must have been very frightened. It was their last line of defense. Thankfully it was a powerful 454 Casull and Trevor apparently handles it well.

Regards, Guy

 

[salmonchaser]

Ass hats

 

[Blkram]

Well worth watching, despite the 49 minute length. Lots of lessons learned, and they're candid about the mistakes they made.

Grizzlies can be real tough, and this one was huge.

Guy

Read the account of the incident when first published after it happened.
Yes, many mistakes made, and luckily lessons learned without injury.

Also why most guides back in the day would not allow their hunters to shoot at grizzlies and brown bears from more than 100 yards, or from downhill positions.

 

[RL338]

Lets see here , lets take a primer poppin’ load and go long range hunt one of the most dangerous animals on the continent. I’m just wondering how they lived this long and then make a video of their poor decisions.

 

[gbflyer]

My neighbors guide brown bear. Family has been in the biz for 50 years. They have a .375 minimum, soft nose bullet.

 

[salmonchaser]

They can be cantankerous bastards.

 

[35 Whelen]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet but was first bad mistakes he made was shooting at it when it was barely out of the hole, it could have easily wound up back in there wounded... That could have been huge problem either way ,dead or alive. The sad truth is like lots of folks, he was so shook up when it finally showed up 15/20 yds away, he MISSED it completely!!!! That did turn him ( huge stroke of luck) the following shots as bear exited he was able to hit it , BUT had that Bear rushed him in his excited state after the first shot, I think he could have easily gotten severely mauled and likely never made it outta there. How he should have done the stalk( or way I was taught from highly experienced bear guides) ,would have been to sneak cross the gully,( while bear was IN the hole) then climb up to slightly higher than the hole ( the bears, would almost never come out; and look UP hill) say 100 yds to right of him and wait for him to appear; and wait for him to take 5-6 steps, AWAY from that hole. THEN and only then hammer him. Advantages then would be, you could place the bullet MUCH more accurately, with MUCH more energy. Because of the much higher velocity you could expect MUCH better expansion on the bullet. So in closing: from our point of view, having lots of experience hunting bears still in the hole, on spring hunts. Trevor did about EVERYTHING he could have wrong!!! The fact the gun jamed was unfortunate but is of course NOT the guns fault.......
He and his wife seam to be lovely people, she would obviously follow him into fire. But he nearly got them both killed. Again jm2cw.
E

 

[ShadeTree]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet but was first bad mistakes he made was shooting at it when it was barely out of the hole, it could have easily wound up back in there wounded... That could have been huge problem either way ,dead or alive. The sad truth is like lots of folks, he was so shook up when it finally showed up 15/20 yds away, he MISSED it completely!!!! That did turn him ( huge stroke of luck) the following shots as bear exited he was able to hit it , BUT had that Bear rushed him in his excited state after the first shot, I think he could have easily gotten severely mauled and likely never made it outta there. How he should have done the stalk( or way I was taught from highly experienced bear guides) ,would have been to sneak cross the gully,( while bear was IN the hole) then climb up to slightly higher than the hole ( the bears, would almost never come out; and look UP hill) say 100 yds to right of him and wait for him to appear; and wait for him to take 5-6 steps, AWAY from that hole. THEN and only then hammer him. Advantages then would be, you could place the bullet MUCH more accurately, with MUCH more energy. Because of the much higher velocity you could expect MUCH better expansion on the bullet. So in closing: from our point of view, having lots of experience hunting bears still in the hole, on spring hunts. Trevor did about EVERYTHING he could have wrong!!! The fact the gun jamed was unfortunate but is of course NOT the guns fault.......
He and his wife seam to be lovely people, she would obviously follow him into fire. But he nearly got them both killed. Again jm2cw.
E

Maybe in the absence of experience regarding such matters (raises hand) the first order of business in preparation for such a endeavor should be the decision not to embark on a self guided hunt for brown bear.

 

[JD338]

I thought AK law is to have a licensed guide for Brown bear. Maybe residents are not required to.
475 yards is a long shot, especially on dangerous game. I think a 250 gr PT would have been a better choice for his 338 RUM.
He's a very lucky rookie.

JD338

 

[Guy Miner]

I thought AK law is to have a licensed guide for Brown bear. Maybe residents are not required to.
475 yards is a long shot, especially on dangerous game. I think a 250 gr PT would have been a better choice for his 338 RUM.
He's a very lucky rookie.

JD338

Alaska residents are not required to use a guide.

Something I'm impressed with is their obvious fitness level. Lots of hiking, climbing, running, carrying heavy packs later, spending the night under a tarp in awful weather... They went through a lot and made it happen.

Also, they very much admitted their mistakes and owned them. Am glad they made it out okay.

Guy

 

[8MMX57JS]

I thought AK law is to have a licensed guide for Brown bear. Maybe residents are not required to.
475 yards is a long shot, especially on dangerous game. I think a 250 gr PT would have been a better choice for his 338 RUM.
He's a very lucky rookie.

JD338

The 250gr Nosler PT out of my 338 win mag @ 2650fps penciled through a large black bear neck at only 200 yards. Had to finish him with follow ups. At 475 yards i would be hard pressed to use one.

Another factor to keep into account is the reloads. How many times fired was the brass on? 3-4X on max loads could easily loosen the primer pocket. I'm a firm beliver in using new brass for dedicated big game hunts. I keep the several times fired for range practice or local deer hunt.

 

[walkinhorseman]

I've liked the comments in this thread that I am in concert with. Additional comments:
Social media has spawned a "look at me" community of contributors who are more interested in their own notoriety and commercialism than ethics and respect for the animal.
Magnumitis is an affliction that permeates the psychy of the American hunter. I submit that there is a very small subset of hunters equipped with the skill to employe the technology. Velocity extends the effective range of a hunting rifle but doesn't replace the proper selection of caliber and bullet placement for an ethical kill. What has happened to old fashioned woodsmanship and stalking skills, coupled with the ability (ethics) to NOT take a risky shot?
I was a Project Engineer for a 4 year project in Switzerland at one time. The customer team had a team member who was a licensed hunter and game keeper. I learned a lot about the Swiss and German hunting model and licensing requirements. I have often thought that the US Hunter should be subjected to the same restrictions.

 

[noslerpartition]

Hard to imagine an AccuBond not doing more going through the shoulder, but obviously it happened.
Glad they learned a hard lesson and are still able to tell the story.