***Warning, this post contains pictures of a dead bear, please skip this thread if that bothers you***
This story was passed along to me by a trainer at out at Gunsite by another trainer. In any case, I figured you guys would like to hear of it.
This is the brief testimony of the attack victim or should I say near victim.
"Have I got a story for you guys!
King season is over, and since i had a day off before silvers start, i thought i would go for a walk! this occurred at 11:16 am this morning (Sunday), just 2/10 of a mile from my house, ON OUR ROAD while walking my dogs (trying to get in shape for hunting season, ironically!) for the record, this is in a residential area-not back in the woods, no bowhunting, no stealth occurring...
I heard a twig snap, and looked back...full on charge-a huge brownie, ears back, head low and motorin' full speed! Came with zero warning; no woof, no popping of the teeth, no standing up, nothing like what you think or see on TV! It charged from less than 20 yards and was on me in about one-second! Totally surreal-I just started shooting in the general direction, and praise God that my second shot (or was it my third?) Rolled him at 5 feet and he skidded to a stop 10 feet BEYOND where I was shooting from-I actually sidestepped him and fell over backwards on the last shot, and his momentum carried him to a stop past where I fired my first shot!
It was a prehistoric old boar-no teeth, no fat-weighed between 900-1000 lbs and took five men to DRAG it onto a tilt-bed trailer! Big bear-its paw measured out at about a 9 1/2 footer!
never-ever-thought "it" would happen to me! its always some other smuck, right? well, no bull- i am still high on adrenaline, with my gut in a knot. feels like i did 10000 crunches without stopping! almost puked for an hour after, had the burps and couldn't even stand up as the troopers conducted their investigation! totally wiped me out-cant even put that feeling into words, by far the most emotion i have ever felt at once!
No doubt that God was with me, as I brought my Ruger .454 Casull (and some "hot" 350 grain solids) just for the heck of it, and managed to draw and snap shoot (pointed, never even aimed!) from the hip! Total luck shot!
All I can say is Praise God for my safety and for choosing to leave the wife and kids at home on this walk! Got a charter tomorrow, so gonna TRY to get some sleep now!
talk to ya soon, -greg"
This was the response from the guy at Gunsite, who I don't personally know, but I know his friend.
All,
This has been going around for a week or more, so don't know if you have seen it. The person involved is Greg Brush, an Alaskan professional fishing guide. He was carrying a snubbie Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull with heavy loads. It's a brute of a gun to shoot, especially with these loads, but designed for exactly this specific purpose. This is one of those cases where the perfect tool was available when it was really needed. Mote that he had less than one second to act. These things happen FAST.
Here at Gunsite we preach about being armed all of the time. Be it a bear or a two legged predator, we need to be equipped to handle a life threatening emergency, anywhere and at any time. Mr. Brush lives in an environment where this is very obvious to him and he was able to save his life because he took this seriously.
People tend to want to play the odds rather than accept that they must be responsible for their personal safety. They rationalize that it won't happen today, or where they are or where they are going. After all, we know you don't need to be armed at work, at school, in the car, in a store, at church, on vacation, or a thousand other justifications.
Just yesterday, an elderly couple in Georgia were killed by a pack of dogs. Did you know that 30 or more people in the U.S. are killed by dogs every year, and that thousands more are seriously injured? You are probably more likely to face a life threatening dog attack than a bear attack or an attack from a gang banger, but how many people do you know who do not carry a firearm with them when hiking, biking, taking the dog for a walk, and so on? Personally, I have shot and killed attacking dogs on a number of occasions. But dogs are just one small example.
Anyway, I despair of trying to get people to get this, and never go anywhere they can't be armed. Even Gunsite staff and instructors go unarmed frequently, so I doubt we will ever get this across to our clients. As Jeff said, PRINCIPLE: You do not ever surrender your personal weapons anywhere, anytime. To do so is to place yourself in the physical power of others whose intentions can never be known to you in advance.
He also wrote once, in his newsletter: If you are reading this and your pistol is not within reach you have not learned the lessons we teach at Gunsite.
Rant off,
Ed
I've personally have some bad experiences with dogs and a black bear. My hunting friend had a very similar bear experience to mine about 2 years before me. If I didn't have a weapon, I don't know what I would have done had things gotten worse. Just a good reminder to be prepared folks, even if it minimally.
This story was passed along to me by a trainer at out at Gunsite by another trainer. In any case, I figured you guys would like to hear of it.
This is the brief testimony of the attack victim or should I say near victim.
"Have I got a story for you guys!
King season is over, and since i had a day off before silvers start, i thought i would go for a walk! this occurred at 11:16 am this morning (Sunday), just 2/10 of a mile from my house, ON OUR ROAD while walking my dogs (trying to get in shape for hunting season, ironically!) for the record, this is in a residential area-not back in the woods, no bowhunting, no stealth occurring...
I heard a twig snap, and looked back...full on charge-a huge brownie, ears back, head low and motorin' full speed! Came with zero warning; no woof, no popping of the teeth, no standing up, nothing like what you think or see on TV! It charged from less than 20 yards and was on me in about one-second! Totally surreal-I just started shooting in the general direction, and praise God that my second shot (or was it my third?) Rolled him at 5 feet and he skidded to a stop 10 feet BEYOND where I was shooting from-I actually sidestepped him and fell over backwards on the last shot, and his momentum carried him to a stop past where I fired my first shot!
It was a prehistoric old boar-no teeth, no fat-weighed between 900-1000 lbs and took five men to DRAG it onto a tilt-bed trailer! Big bear-its paw measured out at about a 9 1/2 footer!
never-ever-thought "it" would happen to me! its always some other smuck, right? well, no bull- i am still high on adrenaline, with my gut in a knot. feels like i did 10000 crunches without stopping! almost puked for an hour after, had the burps and couldn't even stand up as the troopers conducted their investigation! totally wiped me out-cant even put that feeling into words, by far the most emotion i have ever felt at once!
No doubt that God was with me, as I brought my Ruger .454 Casull (and some "hot" 350 grain solids) just for the heck of it, and managed to draw and snap shoot (pointed, never even aimed!) from the hip! Total luck shot!
All I can say is Praise God for my safety and for choosing to leave the wife and kids at home on this walk! Got a charter tomorrow, so gonna TRY to get some sleep now!
talk to ya soon, -greg"
This was the response from the guy at Gunsite, who I don't personally know, but I know his friend.
All,
This has been going around for a week or more, so don't know if you have seen it. The person involved is Greg Brush, an Alaskan professional fishing guide. He was carrying a snubbie Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull with heavy loads. It's a brute of a gun to shoot, especially with these loads, but designed for exactly this specific purpose. This is one of those cases where the perfect tool was available when it was really needed. Mote that he had less than one second to act. These things happen FAST.
Here at Gunsite we preach about being armed all of the time. Be it a bear or a two legged predator, we need to be equipped to handle a life threatening emergency, anywhere and at any time. Mr. Brush lives in an environment where this is very obvious to him and he was able to save his life because he took this seriously.
People tend to want to play the odds rather than accept that they must be responsible for their personal safety. They rationalize that it won't happen today, or where they are or where they are going. After all, we know you don't need to be armed at work, at school, in the car, in a store, at church, on vacation, or a thousand other justifications.
Just yesterday, an elderly couple in Georgia were killed by a pack of dogs. Did you know that 30 or more people in the U.S. are killed by dogs every year, and that thousands more are seriously injured? You are probably more likely to face a life threatening dog attack than a bear attack or an attack from a gang banger, but how many people do you know who do not carry a firearm with them when hiking, biking, taking the dog for a walk, and so on? Personally, I have shot and killed attacking dogs on a number of occasions. But dogs are just one small example.
Anyway, I despair of trying to get people to get this, and never go anywhere they can't be armed. Even Gunsite staff and instructors go unarmed frequently, so I doubt we will ever get this across to our clients. As Jeff said, PRINCIPLE: You do not ever surrender your personal weapons anywhere, anytime. To do so is to place yourself in the physical power of others whose intentions can never be known to you in advance.
He also wrote once, in his newsletter: If you are reading this and your pistol is not within reach you have not learned the lessons we teach at Gunsite.
Rant off,
Ed
I've personally have some bad experiences with dogs and a black bear. My hunting friend had a very similar bear experience to mine about 2 years before me. If I didn't have a weapon, I don't know what I would have done had things gotten worse. Just a good reminder to be prepared folks, even if it minimally.
). I just give them their space!! HOWEVER, I do like what Ed from Gunsite wrote!!!
