Grizzly 'comes back from dead' to attack hunter who shot it

A hunter has been attacked by a grizzly bear he had shot and left for dead the day earlier.

Larry J Miller's life was saved by his wife Brinda, who shot the grizzly dead as it tried to tear her husband to pieces.

The animal jumped on Mr Miller as he returned to the scene of the shooting in the forests near Anchorage, Alaska.

Both Mr Miller and his wife believed there was no way the animal could have survived.

Mr Miller told the Anchorage Daily News: "The noise it made, like nothing you've ever heard - snapping, snapping, snapping. This happened in two seconds. He knew who I was. He could smell my guns or the caribou meat on me, something."

The bear hit him and he fell back and started kicking as the grizzly tried to bite his face and neck.

As he struggled to take the safety off of his rifle, the bear started biting him across his calf.

He yelled for his wife to shoot.

Mr Miller told the paper: "She stuck the gun over my face and fired. There was this horrible noise out of his throat. The next time he grabbed me between the ankle and calf and picked me up and shook me like I was a half-a-pound kid."

The bear finally slumped dead after Mrs Miller shot it in the chest three times.

Here is the article from the Anchorage Daily News

http://www.adn.com/front/story/1775792p-1891833c.html

You have to love a 100 pound woman that will shoot a griz, at point blank range, 3 times, with a 338.

You have to love a woman that shoots a 338,period.

My wife shoots a .338!

I love the quote from the mauled husband to the wife that just saved his bacon . . . "I told her, 'You did good, you did good,' " he said.
I'll say she "did good"!
Wonder if she's got a sister?

JohnTheGreek

What caliber was the bear shot with in the first place?

I'm guessing he didn't have much life insurance.

I'd probably have gotten "accidently shot" in that situation.

As PHC always said you always pay the insurance on dangerous game. A extra shell is cheap compared to one bite or horn.

Hmmm, read the news story, and something does not gell....

"My wife says, 'You gonna shoot it?' 'I don't know,' " he said. "We spent an hour looking at it."
The winds were strong, however, and Miller feared the bear would soon catch their scent, so he decided to shoot it, he said. In telling the story, he always referred to the bear as a "him," knowing, as they found out later, it was a sow.

The circumstances seem a little strange to say the least.......And the Russian bear dog was not much good either!

[ 09-16-2002, 02:30: Message edited by: Pete E ]

It is a good question with regards calibre. I assumed that it was a .458Win magat first, but it states in the original post that the original shot was taken from about 200yards away which seems a bit far for a typical .458Winmag shot. Added to that the original post states the couple were hunting caribou which to my mind would indicate them carrying something like the .338winmag also mentioned.

I still can't work out why this guy shot the bear in the first place? If it was 200 yards away and they watched it for an hour, it does not seem to have presented much of a danger to them. On the other hand, it does not sound like a typical way of taking a bear during a hunt either....My fiest thoughts is that the guy was trying to justify taking a pot shot the bear when he did not have the correct tags, but that is probably an unfair conclusion as we don't have the full facts.

A fair number of folks will go in the field after moose and caribou, and carry a bear tag, to allow them to take one in case a nice one presents itself. I would pressume this was the case.

Mr. Miller was in GMU 13. In that unit, residents do not need a bear tag. I've had fish and game tell me while hunting for moose out there that if I see a bear to shoot it. There is a bad predator problem in that area (bears and wolves). I know alot of people who carry atleast 1 bigbore with them while hunting caribou. Where there is bou you will usually find a griz.
As to why he took a 200yard shot on a bear, who knows. none of us were there. Good thing his wife kept her wits and took care of the bear.

JoelS,

Thanks for the info, and I agree, unless we ever get Mr Miller on here we will never know his motives or what factors in his mind.

From someone relatively local, would the .338Win mag be considered a "bear gun" or at least a good "dual purpose gun" up there?

I have always wondered why folks tend to think of African game as "more dangerous" than your big Browns. I have only ever seen one in a zoo, but was amazed at the sheer size and bulk when it decided to stand upright...very impressive indeed...

Peter

There was a hunter badly bitten by a bear he shot here in Sweden about two weeks ago. He was on the television when still in hospital, actually looking rather smug about it. Accoring to a friend, who once have met the guy, he is probably mostly proud of his new manly scars and look forward to all the schnapps he will be offered when he tells his story...

Figures, I knew I would read articles about the mauling. Heres a couple of letters to the editer in our paper

Sensationalized grizzly story was gory, unnecessary, sickening

I'm still shaking my head as to why Peter Porco and the Daily News felt the Sept. 14 sensationalized article about the maimed grizzly bear was newsworthy. The front-page headline read, "Injured grizzly attacks hunter."

After reading the article, however, readers find out the grizzly, a sow, was preyed upon because the hunter feared she might catch his scent. The sow was eating berries in an open patch, apparently oblivious to the hunters.

The whole story was unnecessary. It contained unbelievably gory details about the condition of the bear's body after it was injured and eventually put out of its misery. "They found 'meat the size of a tennis ball, and whole pieces of bone . . .' " "You ain't never seen so much blood in your life," and "(the bear was) breathing froth and spurting blood." This is acceptable journalism? I don't know about others, but it made me sick to my stomach.

-- Mary Morris

Anchorage

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Bear hunters could easily have headlined upcoming Darwin Awards

Larry Miller's tale of his recent "encounter" with a grizzly bear was one of the most disturbing and pathetic hunting stories I can recall hearing during my 24 years in Alaska ("Injured grizzly attacks hunter," Sept. 14). The bear in question was obviously content with the berry patch she was harvesting, but after an hour of observing it, Mr. Miller and his wife feared it would certainly pick up their scent, and then attack full on. Yeah, they did a great job ensuring themselves a safe departure back to civilization with their caribou meat, didn't they?

I wonder if the Millers realize just how close they were to headlining next year's version of the Darwin Awards? I doubt it! Next time (should they be so lucky), forget about the meat and simply head the other way -- those folks, as well as another innocent bear, will be better off for it.

-- Keith Johnson

Anchorage

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Senseless grizzly killing evokes disgust, anger and sadness

I am reminded almost daily of why I hate Alaska, and Sept. 14 was no exception. I read the headline "Injured grizzly attacks hunter" and for a brief moment felt sorry for the man. Then I read the article. He and his wife watched this bear eating berries for an hour before deciding they should shoot her so she wouldn't pick up their scent!

I am disgusted, angered and saddened. I am not "anti-hunting" by any means, but this is a cruel and disgusting story about torturing and killing and innocent, beautiful creature. Since moving here, I have seen very little respect for wildlife. If it continues at the current rate, there won't be any left by the time my children are grown.

Please, Alaska, wake up and realize just what it is you are throwing away!

-- Christy Wood

Elmendorf AFB

Pete, If I had to pick 1 rifle for everything up here it would be a 338.

Unit 13 is a 1 brown bear/year for resident hunters limit, as there's an overabundance of bears presently. Most of the state is 1 brownie/4 years, which may partially explain why he decided to shoot from that distance in the first place. Miller is quoted as saying, "I popped him, hit him right above his shoulders" which is, obviously, too damn high. The strong winds present certainly didn't help accurate placement, and shooting from 200 yards on a bear is a bit excessive, IMO

Lots of folks here in Alaska consider the .338WM the best all-around caliber, and arguing to the contrary is pretty difficult. The .35 Whelen/9.3x62 would be as good if ammo availability matched the .338s.

a 200 yard shoot whit that caliber are not the smartest thing you kan do.. too slow. .and if you got a good 338 whit you it is plain and simpley stupid.. if it issent an takkdraiver..