Imagine a grizzly charges you from a five-yard distance with only a pistol to defend yourself. That's exactly what happened to two hunters in Alaska.
Speaking with Outdoor Life, Brett TerBeek says a grizzly bear charged him and his hunting partner, Andy. The two had been scouting for the best spots to hunt for moose in the upcoming season. But the hunters soon became potential prey. The first sign was the stench of death near them. They realized they had came upon a kill.
Both drew their pistols. That's when the hunters saw the grizzly. Yards away, it charged through the brush at the two. "Andy fired the first shot," says Brett, "and I remember seeing a perfect sight picture in the center of the bear's mass as I squeezed the trigger."
Fortunately, both hunters served in the military and have plenty of experience with firearms and pistols.
Grizzly Charges
"This all happened so fast, it takes way longer to tell the story," Brett says. "He was crashing through the brush directly at us and, afterward, branches were all broken and plowed over and we found at least two that our bullets struck. When he got to about five yards, he turned to his right to step into a more clear path towards us and we kept shooting. As he moved into that open lane, I knew I had at least one or two of the fifteen rounds left — I hadn't been counting — and I needed to save those until he got right on top of us."
The bear collapsed just a few short yards away. It was too close for comfort. Fortuately, the hunters weren't hurt by the grizzly. Bret doesn't believe that bear spray would have helped.
"It was all over in a matter of a few seconds," Brett said. "If we had been using bear spray, I don't think we would have been able to stop the boar before he got to us."
The hunters credit being able to be accurate and fire multiple shots for saving their lives from the grizzly.
"Being able to fire multiple quick, accurate shots is what stopped that bear," he told me.
