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Polar Bear Attack Stopped with a .44 Magnum in Alaska
AmmoLand ^ | May 15, 2023 | Dean Weingarten

Posted on 05/18/2023 3:36:14 AM PDT by marktwain

Arey Island is a seven-mile-long barrier island in the Southern Beaufort Sea off the coast of the north slope of Alaska. It is a flat, barren island that is mostly privately owned.

During August of 2014 two United States Fish and Wildlife personnel were on duty on the west end of Arey Island, recorded as off the mouth of the Hula Hula and Okpilak Rivers, 8.5 miles WSW of Kaktovik. 70 deg 05’23.67″ N, 144 deg. 00’43.12″W. One of them defended themselves against a polar bear on August 16, at about 9 a.m. The incident was recorded as number 549 in the Freedom of information act (FOIA) response AmmoLand received. 

What happened is reconstructed from the sparse reporting in the FOIA response. 

The Fish and Wildlife personnel did not have any dogs with them. Their food was in a bear-resistant container outside of the tent. The Fish and Wildlife pair did not have bear spray with them. In Kaktovik, the temperature was recorded as 39 degrees F, with a 20 mph wind from the East. Earlier, at 5 am, the wind had been 30 mph. For those of you who have not slept in a tent, 20 to 30 mph winds are significant. A tent has to be strong and well anchored to remain in place with a 30 mph wind. If the wind was averaging 20 mph, there were almost certainly gusts to 30 mph. When the wind was averaging 30 mph, there were almost certainly gusts to 45 mph.

One of the Fish and Wildlife personnel was sleeping in a tent. They had a .44 magnum. A fat and healthy boar polar bear arrived on the scene and attempted to enter the tent. The sleeper woke up, detected the polar bear, and shot and

(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...


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KEYWORDS: 44; ak; banglist; bear
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When a polar beart is attempting to enter your tent, with 20 mph winds outside, it is not the time to be attempting to use bear spray.
1 posted on 05/18/2023 3:36:14 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: marktwain

image of Arey island by Eric Mckittrick 23 August, 2003 link to license cc 2.5

2 posted on 05/18/2023 3:37:42 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: marktwain

Screw bear spray. Its not reliable. A .44 magnum is very reliable. If you hit something with it, that something is going to stop attacking you.


3 posted on 05/18/2023 3:42:09 AM PDT by FLT-bird
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To: marktwain

All polar bear deaths are caused by global warming. But this one is especially convenient because they can also blame gun violence at the same time.


4 posted on 05/18/2023 3:42:54 AM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
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To: marktwain

Thank you! For your continued work on this project.

Polar bears are the only predator on Earth that looks at humans and instantly decides there be prey - other than other humans.


5 posted on 05/18/2023 3:50:28 AM PDT by mad_as_he$$
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To: marktwain

What’s a polar bear doing with a .44 magnum? I told you we should repeal the right to arm bears.


6 posted on 05/18/2023 4:05:10 AM PDT by lowbridge ("Let’s check with Senator Schumer before we run it" - NY Times)
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To: Telepathic Intruder
All polar bear deaths are caused by global warming. But this one is especially convenient because they can also blame gun violence at the same time.

I wonder if we need sensible polar bear control laws.

7 posted on 05/18/2023 4:11:58 AM PDT by Mark17 (Retired USAF air traffic controller. Father of USAF pilot. USAF aviation runs in the family )
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To: lowbridge

😆


8 posted on 05/18/2023 4:15:00 AM PDT by griswold3 (Truth, Beauty and Goodness )
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To: marktwain

“Do you feel lucky punk? Well do you?”


9 posted on 05/18/2023 4:21:42 AM PDT by Codeflier (My voting days are over. Let it burn...give the people what they want good and hard.)
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To: marktwain

Don’t spray bear spray into the wind! Of course you can shoot into the wind.


10 posted on 05/18/2023 4:34:19 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: marktwain

Maybe if humans would just stay the F out of a place like that a remote island in the arctic where Polar Bears live, then the need to ‘defend yourselves’ could be avoided?

If humans figure out time travel, I’m sure we will travel back to the Cretacous period just so we can ‘defend ourselves’ with an automatic shotgun, and write an article for ammoland about how we were in mortal peril and it was IMPOSSIBLE to avoid the dangerous situation we were in.


11 posted on 05/18/2023 4:53:08 AM PDT by KobraKai
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To: marktwain

“One of the Fish and Wildlife personnel was sleeping in a tent. They had a .44 magnum.”

One person is not “they”.

L


12 posted on 05/18/2023 4:54:26 AM PDT by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
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To: marktwain
The Soros’ elected DAs would take the side of the bear, and prosecute the shooter.
13 posted on 05/18/2023 5:00:53 AM PDT by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: marktwain
Once upon a time my dad was fishing with friends on Kodiak Island. While he & others were getting breakfast ready one guy went to the out house. In short order they heard quite the commotion out there. Looking out a window they saw a full grown Kodiak bear standing on it's hind legs leaning against the out house, rocking it back & forth with the guy inside. Seconds later the door cracked open, an arm & hand appeared with .357 mag & proceeded to unload several rounds in the air. The bear decided to look for someone else to terrorize & quickly left the area.

No word on whether or not the out house filled to overflowing rendering it unusable.

14 posted on 05/18/2023 5:11:37 AM PDT by Bounced2X (Boomer - I survived childhood with no bike helmet.)
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To: KobraKai

How do YOU determine where a person can and cannot go. We are the stewards of this planet. Sometimes we have to crop and harvest


15 posted on 05/18/2023 5:27:15 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you. )
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To: FLT-bird

.44 magnum...
When it absolutely, positively has to be put down, right now...


16 posted on 05/18/2023 5:43:35 AM PDT by joe fonebone (And the people said NO! The End)
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To: KobraKai

There is not apex predator for polar bears, until man appeared
Mess with us, and they die.
That’s why there are not polar bears in lots of populated places.
Take a look at a map, there is huge amounts of territory people don’t live in up north. Better yet, take a tour by plane.


17 posted on 05/18/2023 6:06:56 AM PDT by BereanBrain
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To: Lurker

“One person is not “they”.”

1. You don’t know his pronouns! :-)
2. Where was the second guy sleeping? Outside in the wind?


18 posted on 05/18/2023 6:07:19 AM PDT by Brooklyn Attitude (I went to bed on November 3rd 2020 and woke up in 1984.)
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To: MtnClimber

I think bear spray would be considered as “seasoning” by the bear.
May as well just spray it on ones self…


19 posted on 05/18/2023 6:37:46 AM PDT by telescope115 (My feet are on the ground, and my head is in the stars. A Man, and proud of it!)
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To: KobraKai

It’s early but your post might be the dumbest post for the day.


20 posted on 05/18/2023 6:53:47 AM PDT by 1FreeAmerican
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