That is what I was thinking too. He should have been blowing 44 magnum holes in that bear. One of my former co workers told me, that when he was stationed at Elmendorf, most of them carried 44 magnums when they were out hiking, in case they came up on big animals, and not just bears. A big moose or elk could also do GBI to them.
Ruger Alaskan .44 magnum, I’m thinking. That bear would be a rug.
I hunted in back woods of northern Michigan (lower peninsula) during the early 70s from the time I was legal until I graduated high school. During the years of my childhood I had seen two bear in the lower peninsula and we never worried about bear attacks. Even as children we played in the woods all day long with no worries.
I returned for a couple of years in the early 80s to finish my college degree and the reports of bear were getting a little more frequent so I purchased a S&W Model 29 (44 Mag revolver) and started carrying during my hunts.
There are now bear all around the area where I lived and it is a very good idea to carry even if you are just going for a walk. Children up there can’t play in the woods anymore.