The old sow’s teeth were worn but capable of inflicting deadly damage.
Posted on 11/14/2022 5:18:09 AM PST by marktwain
The bear who attacked the Bates family was a sow about 20 years old, estimated at 350 lbs. It was starving, with nothing in the stomach but parasites.
The attack occurred as the Bates family, Weatherly Bates, her husband, their 12-year-old son, Rockwell, their 10-year-old daughter Vera, and two family dogs, on leashes, were hiking on the Glacier Moraine Trail in Kachemak Bay State park.
Weatherly Bates had a .40 caliber S&W in her backpack. The bear came at them at about 3 p.m., even though they yelled at it and bunched together.
“It did attack. It was a predatory bear That year we had a lot of problems. The bears were starving. There was, like, no berries. We were hiking and we noticed there was a bear spray cap on the ground. A couple of minutes later a bear came up behind us. I tried to yell and scare it away, but it kept coming. I did have a gun in my backpack, so I started backing up to my husband.”
Weatherly’s husband accessed the pistol from her backpack. Weatherly continues:
“I could tell this bear wasn’t stopping. Our dog got in between the bear and our son. She didn’t even bark at it. It tackled her and started biting her head. We let our other dog go, he was on a leash. He started biting the bear. We think that is what saved our female German Shepard.
My husband had to grab the bear and get it so he could dispatch it without shooting our dog. He shot it point blank in the spine. It took two shots before it let go. Then he shot it about five more times.”
Weatherly said about two weeks previously, a biologist had been waking in the park with her dogs.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
The old sow’s teeth were worn but capable of inflicting deadly damage.
Against a healthy bear this likely would not have happened. 40 S&W comes in 180 and 200 g hunting rounds and there are +P rounds which can deliver .357 Sig muzzle energies.
So much for the “.40 short and weak” insult.
CC
I an unsure as to what you mean.
The attack would not have happened?
The shooting would not have happened?
Please clarify.
Good work, a gun in the hand is better than one left in the car...
My compact .40 Glock 23 is my bedstand gun. With a light.
13 rds Gold Dot should be enough.
If I was hiking in bear country I would have a sidearm not a gun in my backpack. That all sounds kind of strange to me.
I used to have a full-blown 10mm. Wish I still had it.
.40 S&W is a 10mm “short”. Good round.
A healthy bear would likely have survived being shot with this caliber with healthy dense muscle tissue and a good layer of fat. These factors affect terminal ballistics.
I’d be carrying either my Kimber 1911 .45cal ACP or Colt Trooper .357mag, along with my .50cal AA Beowulf (AR platform) rifle.
Saw a North Woods Law show where a nuisance bear was taken out with a .22.
Note to Andrew Cuomo: You DO need at least 7 rounds to kill a BEEEEAAAHH.
My daily carry is a Ruger SR40 15+1. I never leave home without it.
I carry the heavier full size gun for precisely this reason. Living in an area, PNW, where it is a cooler climate and rains constantly from October until July. People here tend to layer their clothing and even after you live here long enough to learn how to walk between raindrops, most people still wear a raincoat of some form…even the bad ones who cause the need for personal protection.
Actually, the thugs, most of them here anyway, for the most part are from warmer climes attracted to the PNW because of the State having de facto hard drug legalization, are always bundled up tightly. My previous carry guns seemed not to have enough penetration for my personal preference.
That includes the ubiquitous .9mm most folks possess. Besides having legal drugs which attracts pesky 2 legged predators we have insane liberals who are in control of the state wildlife management agencies. Consequently we are starting to have 4 legged predators showing up in exurban, suburban and urban areas of this entire state.
Two weeks ago in the central part of the state at a Bavarian themed tourist town, right near a popular city park a 250# sow Bear attacked a woman walking down her driveway. She survived. My little beach town has had to relocate 3 sows and 6 cubs this past summer.
It’s becoming unsafe here for the residents to walk their little ankle biters down the street without worrying about being accosted by a Bear. Same with Cougars, the 4 legged kind. Last year a bicyclist was killed by a Cougar at a very popular bike trail.
Dean Weingarten has been publishing articles this past couple of years about Bear attacks. This article was his most recent, it also gave me comfort knowing my .40 is sufficient for stopping a charging 4 legged predator. I was contemplating going to a .10mm, but was not liking the idea of carrying around the extra weight on my belt.
The guy pressed the muzzle of the firearm against the bear’s spine. At that distance even a small caliber would be effective.
In New England the only animal that wants to kill me is a Democrat Governor.
Thanks for posting these MT.
They’re interesting and also dispel the “don’t use a pistol on a bear you’ll just piss it off” nonsense that was so prevalent not long ago.
Your mistaken. All liberals want you dead. It’s the Nazi party in 1930s Germany all over again.
You are not going to get that close to a healthy bear to get that type of shot. This bear was very sick and degraded.
Readiness is a braced pistol on a one-point sling.
Outdoors people always need to be prepared and aware.
I understand that.
By the time you are that close, the bear has mauled you with some pretty big claws.
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