Bear charge vs self defense shooting article

I still remember the quick kill training I learned in AIT from back in 1969. Though I haven't practiced it since I stopped carrying for a living I still remember the drill. I used it once on a charging ground hog :lol:
 
Good read. After reading the first part of the article I can remember on a number of occasions seeing knife wounds and saying to myself "there's a lot to be said about being shot as opposed to being worked over with a knife" (Bleeding being a major part).
 
Fascinating. I missed this article when it was first published. I do believe the author is correct, however. I am also aware that the second guessing applied by lawyers who have never been outside of Vancouver or Victoria will ensure a massive headache for the one compelled to shoot said grizzly.
 
I like this kind of article and training!!!! (y)

There is SO MUCH MORE to shooting skill than making itty-bitty groups from a benchrest. :mrgreen:

I suspect it's my history in the Marines and years of SWAT & Patrol duty that have led me to truly appreciate the necessity for fast gun-handling. Certainly enjoy fast & furious short-range shooting, with pretty much anything!

Took one black bear at about 15 feet a few years ago - had been wounded by another hunter and was not looking for a fight - was trying to hide - but I have no doubt that he would have been more than a match for me had I engaged him in a wrestling match...

Other than that, what have I shot up close and in a hurry? Wild boar long ago. Jackrabbits and cottontail with my .357 revolver. A handful of deer at rather close range with rifle, handgun & traditional muzzle loader. It's actually much like jump shooting ducks on ponds & small waterways, or hunting upland game with the shotgun. Lots of quick shooting! Love it!

Thankfully, in cop work, I never had to shoot a suspect, but I surely did have my duty weapon out a few times - sometimes at crazy close distances.

There are a handful of "shoots" around the country in which the rifleman engages a "charging" target, some of these matches are limited to medium and big bore rifles only, with the 9.3's and .375's being the smallest allowed. To keep within the spirit of hunting with dangerous game rifles. Always looked like great fun to me.

Reminds me of an article Finn Aagaard did long ago, in which he tested the reaction time and accuracy from a rifle with iron sights to one with a low-powered scope. Interestingly, he found that faster and more accurate results were obtained by use of the low-powered scope... I suppose this sort of thing led eventually to the proliferation of the various red-dot sighting systems in use today.

10 yards with the .375 Number One not long ago:


So - want some fun with your hunting rifle? Head to the range. The SHORT range. The pistol bay if allowed - and do some "quick kill" drills. It's even better if you can face one way, then respond to a moving target off to your side... So many different drills can be done. I teach many of them in my AR-15 classes... Even more fun with a powerful rifle!

Regards, Guy
 
Interesting article. For CCW, we have the 21 foot rule for a bad guy armed with a knife.

JD338
 
Yes, the famous Tueller Drill!

And 21 feet is only an approximation...

Figure if the bad guy is a QUICK 17 year old... and the defender is a slow 50 year old... Might be more like 30 feet...

Guy
 
Very interesting read. When guiding in the BWCA, any bear within 50 yards got condition red+. Cocked, locked and aimed... and those were just blackies. Had to bark one once. A sow with a cub intent on using the same portage trail we were on. She advanced in "ready to hurt you mode" until I blasted the ground just ahead and right of her with the .41 mag at 40 yards. Fortunately the cub ran up a big white pine and she followed half way up. We took a different route after I calmed down the clients and gave them a lecture about wildlife photo opportunity vs. deadly encounter.
 
That is a great read and is scary on track. I only have on condition color. If I feel concerned at all, the gun is immediately brought to ready, with the safety off and my finger on the trigger. I do not point any weapon at any animal with the safety off. I have had 4 instances in my life where I felt in danger from a wild animal. 3 Cougars and a bear. 2 of which I measured the distance in yards the other two in feet. Three showed aggressive behavior, the sow bluff charged then stood in front of me clacking her teeth together. After a polite discussion regarding the merits of a 300 Mag, at very close range, she moved off. The big cougar at 17 feet was protecting a dead calf elk. It came from behind a tree in pounce position. In hindsight I probably should have shot, but the gun was up and ready, and after a second or two it ran off. The latest event was last September, again with an a animal in crouch position, and well inside of 10 yards. This one growled and I pulled the trigger. I don't even remember bringing the rifle to my shoulder, but I had no doubt as to the intent of the animal. I do not believe that I would have been able to respond as quickly with a holstered pistol. I also seldom carry a rifle "slung" over my shoulder, they are worthless in that position. I need more practice :grin:
 
Bill, it is humbling how much reaction time has slowed as age has advanced. I no longer carry my rifle slung over my shoulder for just that reason. Things move quickly--astonishingly quickly--when an animal decides to move. Thanks for your input.
 
Ah yes, slings...I remember taking my baby bro out for his first deer hunt. We lived in the Willamette unit and any deer was legal. I told him to be ready as we crossed from one field to the next and sure enough a nice fat doe was on the other side of the field. I told him to shoot! Seconds passed by and I looked over at him and he was just getting the rifle off his shoulder and the sling got messed up in his army jacket.

The doe got away, and I chewed his butt about slings and such all the way back to the house.
To this day, some 30 years later, he takes his sling off when he is hunting.

D
 
Another thought crossed my mind. When you are faced with an issue that requires an immediate response , a weapon without a loaded chamber is about as useful as an empty can of beer.
 
Never carry a hunting rifle with an empty chamber unless you want to give your query a sporting chance. :roll: :lol:
I mastered a technique where I sling the rifle forward on my left shoulder so all I have to do is roll my wrist to bring the rifle to my shoulder and also have the sling supporting my off hand. Not for everyone but it works for me when I get tired carrying it cross armed.
 
I was charged by a bear once. Started his charge from a measured 12 feet. My gun was unloaded leaning against the wall beside me. I stopped his charge at 1' from the end of my muzzle. Took him right above the eye with a 400gr nosler from my 416 rem.
anyone who thinks they have to carry a loaded gun to save time in a emergency situation with a bear charge does not know their rifle to this day, I do not remember loading my gun...

BLKnumber2.jpg
 
It is amazing what we can do under pressure and not remember how we did something. Sometimes I've wondered how I got a tractor trailer in and out of jams and avoided wrecking it.
 
I've always carried condition 1 in all aspects of my life (Marine and hunter) but I understand what your saying Jake. I've spent 100' of hours on the square bay firing drill after drill under stress. I haven't done as much the past couple of years but as a few mentioned, the only way to know how you'll do is to practice. Most gunfights happen fast, even if they are planned.

Cool topic.
 
If I was going to be involved in someone shooting back,
I would probably be more ready. But with charging bears, my gun is always unloaded prior
To needing it hot.
 
Fourtyonesix":2djllska said:
If I was going to be involved in someone shooting back,
I would probably be more ready. But with charging bears, my gun is always unloaded prior
To needing it hot.
Click to expand...

Makes sense to me. Everyone has the technique that works best for them. I've never hunted big bears so I'll listen to the pro's.

I guess my question is why not have a round chambered Jake? Is it for complete safety reasons, weather, etc?
 
Absolute safety reasons!!! Odds of a gun accident are so much higher than my odds of getting mauled by a bear. No one ever got shot from empty gun. Best to eliminate the possibility I think. Never seen a reason to have one loaded all the time. I do not allow clients to carry loaded either.
 
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