Too stupid to draw his weapon. Hard to sympathize.
Well did say “Hey bear”. The bear just wanted to know what he wanted.
Well it looks like the bear didn't return the respect.
Idiot.
To hell with the bear! First encounter was close but he had time to deploy bear spray, he had time to shoot.
Shoot the bear!
"She suddenly stopped and just stood on top of me. I will never forgot that brief moment. Dead silence except for the sound of her heavy breathing and sniffing. I could feel and her breath on the back of my neck, just inches away. I could feel her front claws digging into my lower back below my backpack where she stood. I could smell the terrible pungent odor she emitted. For thirty seconds she stood there crushing me. My chest was smashed into the ground and forehead in the dirt. When would the next onslaught of biting began. I didn’t move."
Protecting her cubs.
I've read repeatedly that bear spray is more effective than a firearm at stopping a bear's charge. I guess not.
Why bother having a gun? This would be THE crowning moment that you should be thankful you brought it. Dumbass. Must be a liberal.
So not only was this armed guy stupid for the first attack, he was stupid for the second attack as well.
Happened in October.
Why it is being reported AGAIN by this (the Alaska magazine) site is quite odd.
Note: I am not blaming you w1n1 for posting it here, it’s just odd that the magazine re-posted it.
Happened about 40 miles from me...
I hate when bears don’t respect my choice not to use firearms.
Would be curious to know more about the gun he didn’t use.
You can always tell when bears meet hikers. Examine the bear scat and if it contains those little hiker warning bells, there has been a bear incident.
I dunno, my idea of hiking isn’t going into territory where I am 99% sure I am running into a griz. In this case he takes to the trail making noise as if that is some kind of bear antiseptic. Bear+Young=oh shyt!!!
Wanna see some Elk, watch Marlin Perkins or Nat Geo but stay the hell out the woods without the full preparation to make a rug out of that bear.
“he had a firearm that he chose not to use in respect for the bear”
He’s lucky he didn’t win a Darwin award for that stroke of genius.
If you are using a pistol for bear protection you’re supposed to file the front sight off. Hurts less when the bear shoves it up your rear.
Why didn’t he draw his weapon and shoot the bear? Turns out he has a website dedicated to the bear attack, in which he does explain his thinking. I’m only going to excerpt his answer and provide a link if anyone wants to read the rest of it. He has a photo of the large scoped revolver he carries, as well as a couple gruesome photos of his wounds, and other info related to the attack.
“Why didn’t you shoot the bear? | Todd Orr - Bear Attack Survivor”
Common question… Why didn’t you shoot the bear?
Todd Orr. 10/8/16
Update to Grizzly attack story on 10/1.
Common question…
Why didn’t you shoot the bear?
Answer…
1. I am a hunter and an outdoorsman and I do not shoot a bear just to kill it.
2. It is illegal to shoot a Grizzly bear unless you can prove you were defending your life.
3. I certainly wouldn’t care to shoot a sow with young, defenseless cubs that would likely not survive the winter without their mother, unless necessary to protect my life.
4. Bear spray has been proven to be more effective than a pistol at stopping a bear charge.
5. The quickness of the charge and uncommon behavior did not trigger the thought of using the gun before the bear spray.
6. Shooting a Grizzly charging at up to 40mph with a pistol and with accuracy is nearly impossible.
7. I carried a large, heavy, scoped handgun made for hunting and not an easy quick-draw, self defense type pistol.
8. Shooting a charging bear at close range while aiming through a handgun scope is nearly impossible.
Details:
“When I first saw the Grizzly and her two cubs of the year, they were approximately 70-80 yards away, and ran immediately into the timber upon seeing me. I felt quite comfortable that the situation was over at that time, due to my experience with other bears and known typical behavior of a sow with cubs. She would likely continue west, putting distance between us. I planned to continue up the mountain moving eastward and away from her.
“But suddenly she appeared without the cubs and about 20 yards closer to my left and was at a full charge from the trees. I pulled my bear spray out at that time, yelled a number of times so she was aware I was human, and slowly backed away.
“Again it would be common behavior for a sow to retreat to her cubs, stop and smell for my scent, woof, snap her jaws, or change direction and run past me. Attacks are very rare.
“A Grizzly can run up to 40mph. When I saw her charge from the trees, she was closer than before, so approximately 50-60 yards. At full speed, she could be on me in as little as just 3 seconds.
“Bear spray has proven to be more affective than a pistol at stopping a charge, so my first instinct was to pull the bear spray. Unfortunately, she did not behave as 99% of bears in that situation do, and she continued her full charge attack. So I had about 3 seconds to notice the charge, pull bear spray from its holster, remove the safety clip, point and assess the situation.
“No time for plan B and pull a heavy, long barreled and scoped hunting pistol from a shoulder holster, cock the hammer, locate her within the scope and somehow expect accurate hits on a charging bear.
“The thought never crossed my mind to even make that attempt because I knew there just was no time to do so.
“I used bear spray when I thought she was at about the max distance my spray would reach, and kept the trigger down until she burst through the fog and was literally on me. At that time I went to the ground and was protecting the back of my neck a face from the claws and teeth.
“At no time during that first attack, did I feel comfortable exposing my neck or face or losing the position I was in, in order to attempt to pull the pistol, turn to face the attack and shoot. In my opinion, it would have certainly invited a frontal assault on my face throat and soft stomach area. Even reaching for the pistol would have exposed the back of my neck and spine, or reduced the stability of my position and possible allowed the bear to roll me over and gain a frontal assault.
“During the entire attack, I used every ounce of strength and determination I had to keep my face down, hands and forearms protecting the back of my neck, elbows locked down protecting the sides of my face, and knees and legs tucked under me to lock along my elbows and protect from as many angles as possible with minimal exposure of my body. Only one bite on my right side along the ribs and just above my hip, rolled me to the side for a split second where I viewed the side of the bears face, but I was instantly back in my almost a “ball” position before she could get to me.
“Then the first attack was over and she was gone…”
Read more at: http://www.thetoddorr.com
I suppose I would have drawn and carried the pistol until I made it back to the truck. Out of respect for the lesson learned...
As to the criticism over he had a firearm that he chose not to use in respect for the bear., that appears to be a lead in by the reporter, not a quote. He suffered two attacks, both within 30 feet, which is maybe 4 seconds warning. At best a one shot opportunity to the nervous system, or a really angry bear. True, the proximity of the first was due to his choice of using spray first. I carry spray, and would probably use it first. Which could be a mistake as it might have been here. The second attack appears to be a complete surprise, and the article implies he went for his pistol, which had been torn off his pack. Glad he's alive.