Tahoe man kills 500 lb. bear in self-defense(CA)

theunion.com ^ | 30 November, 2010 | Matthew Renda

[marktwain]

TAHOE CITY — Wildlife officials confirmed this week that a Lake Tahoe man was legally acting in self defense when he used a shotgun to kill a 500-pound bear after the bruin allegedly attacked him 10 days ago inside his Lake Forest restaurant.

On the morning of Friday, Nov. 20, at 8 a.m., William Hunter, co-owner of Bacchi's Inn Restaurant, encountered the large bruin sleeping on the floor of the dining room.

H.H. Hunter, William's wife and restaurant co-owner, said the bear had repeatedly broken into the restaurant, causing more than $800 damage in broken windows over the course of the previous week.

H.H. Hunter said it was lucky her husband had a loaded shotgun he kept at the store due to the recent break-ins. When her husband shouted at the bear to ward him off the premises, the bear allegedly became aggressive and charged William, who was forced to discharge his weapon, killing the bruin.

“He so hated to kill the bear,” said H.H. Hunter. “It was a case of either him or the bear.”

Jason Holley, wildlife biologist supervisor for the North Central Region for the California Department of Fish and Game, confirmed the Hunters were well within their legal rights when shooting the bear.

“The business owner was defending himself,” said Holley. “I'm sure seeing an angry 500-pound wild animal was an intimidating sight.”

[marktwain]

A 500 lb bear is much bigger than most African lions.

[catman67]

Castle Doctrine applies!!

[Sacajaweau]

My feeling is that you can kill a bear unless it is running away. There is no second guessing in my book.

[thethirddegree]

Wow, I did not know that. I’m also surprised that a shotgun was enough to stop the bear.

[Jack Hydrazine]

If he had slugs in the shotgun that should take care of the problem pretty fast.

[cavador]

Where's Goldilocks when you need her?

[ops33]

Just what I was wondering.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

He’s braver than me. If I saw a sleeping bear in my business establishment, I’d set a new speed record running in the opposite direction.

[R. Scott]

Is bear stew on the menu now?

[jetson]

There are quite a number of bears in the tahoe region. They do get agressive during heavy snows and food gets short. I’ve seen the damage when they break in and tear up a kitchen.

[G Larry]

“...after the bruin allegedly attacked him...”

“Allegedly”???
REALLY???

Are they afraid of the bear’s attorney????

[Graybeard58]

When her husband shouted at the bear to ward him off the premises

That's the part I don't get. Shoot him where he is, don't wake him up and give him any opportunities to kill you.

[central_va]

William Hunter, co-owner of Bacchi's Inn Restaurant, encountered the large bruin sleeping on the floor of the dining room.

I hate when that happens.

[Grampa Dave]

Rifled slugs will stop about any critter:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=456671

Ballistic gelatin test results : 12 gauge 3” magnum 1.25 ounce rifled slug

---

---

Brass Fetcher Ballistic Testing

Test # 12 gauge 11

Cartridge : 12 gauge Federal Power-Shok 3” magnum 1.25 ounce rifled slug

Test Parameters : Nominal 10% ballistic gelatin block. No barriers present. (15.5x9.5x9.5)” gelatin block

Block calibration velocity : 577.1 ft/sec
Block calibration penetration : 3.3 inch
Block calibration temperature : 41.2 degrees Fahrenheit

Block core temperature : 38.0 degrees Fahrenheit

Bullet impact velocity : 1570 ft/sec

Deepest penetration depth : 15.3 inch

Maximum crack diameter : 8.1 inch

Maximum crack diameter location : 5.4 inch

Cavitation depth : 0-11.7 inch

Weapon - New England Firearms 12 gauge Pardner; 24.0” barrel length, Skeet I choke

Distance from weapon muzzle to impact face of gelatin block : 10.0 feet
Test site conditions : 60 degrees Fahrenheit, 55% relative humidity
Time out of refrigeration prior to shot impact : 4 minutes

Projectile 1 recovered length = 1.520”, recovered width = 0.941”
Projectile 2 recovered length = 0.994”, recovered width = 0.687”

Enjoy. The pictures are pretty large - it would be best if you right clicked on them and saved them to your computer. Then open them up with your regular image viewing software.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=456671

[ConservativeChris]

Read a story when I was younger about a guy bird hunting with a .410 shotgun (tiny little thing as far as shotguns go). He was walking with his weapon slung on his shoulder, barrel up,a bear attacked him from behind, trying to bite his head, the bear inadvertently got the barrel too, and when they fell down, the weapon discharged in the bears mouth, instantly killing the bear and pinning the guy for a while.

BTW I would NEVER suggest for anyone to try this, this was God saying it's not his time!

[Mouton]

I would be surprised if it were buck shot. Bird shot, NO WAY.

[tom h]

"Wildlife officials confirmed this week that a Lake Tahoe man was legally acting in self defense when he used a shotgun to kill a 500-pound bear after the bruin allegedly attacked him 10 days ago inside his Lake Forest restaurant. "

"ALLEGEDLY" !!! I can't believe how stupid the media is. They are so accustomed to not prejudging anything, especially if a gun was used in self-defense, that they can't believe a shopkeeper?

What are they going to do, wait for an inquest? Sheesh.

[Hatteras]

Good thing his name wasn’t Fisher.

[Mouton]

Then again, were it loaded with slugs, it would kind of remove the defense of worrying about intruders. So, if his defense was he was worried about intruders, he probably had it loaded with Buck Shot. If he was awaiting the bear, it was rifle slugs IMO. In either case, it is a happy ending.

[riverrunner]

Bird shot at very close range lets say under 20 feet is very deadly could easly turn a bears head into mush.