Up to now , I've heard of three techniques when leading Bear that are in frontal presentation , and closing at an average 34 MPH . / and / or up to 40 Ft. per Sec .

One is to swing - through , from above the head down between the ears , and fire as your bead passes the lower jaw , ( never stopping the descending swing ) .

The second is to snap-shoot , ( aim ) out in front of the center- line , at about 6 ft. in front .

The third is to aim a snap shot at the Bear's feet as they hit the ground .

It's easy , in some locations , to find a running boar , -- or running deer / --- cable-run outfit to practice on running game crossing your field of view ; --- but I've never seen a rig for practicing incoming charges , -- ??

Wonder what experienced folks say about this , -- or how they practice ?


--------------- MMCOUGAR .

We use one in practice when traiing for bear incounters. It is much like the target retrieval systems used in some indoor ranges. Works pretty swift. Not as fast as a charging bear but it gets the point across and teaches you how to lead with a rifle or shotgun loaded with slugs. These outfits run around the $100 range. Jim

MMCOUGAR,

I've shot two bears at very close range, one had been wounded and was head on. In discussions w/ persons having far more experience than me, I was always told that if you aim directly at the head you will miss it without lead. Most told me to aim at the dirt in front of a charging bear. As far as snap shooting is concered, It works for me w/ a shotgun shooting something on the wing but never w/ a rifle. If I slap the trigger of a rifle like you would w/ a shotgun, I'll generally pull my shot. Vice-Versa, if I pull the trigger of a shotgun like a rifle, I generally shoot behind the bird.

This is the technique I used and practiced. It worked well for me on the head on bear. From on foot, I drop to a low crouched position. My upper body is still straight like when standing but my feet are spaced a bit wider to facilitate the crouch. This puts the bullet path in direct line w/ the head of the oncoming bear. When I did this, my sight picture stayed the same much like aiming at a bullseye. I did normal pull and follow through w/ my trigger and the bear ran head first directly into the bullet.

I'm fairly athletic and have no problem getting low in this position. I can also move from this position very quickly. Some may find it hard to get into and out of.

I hope this is of some help to you.

Gary

Gary basically has repeated what a bear guide with 30 years experience told me. He said if at all possible drop to one knee and wait until the bear basically fills the scope and then shoot. That way you'll be very likely to get at least one bullet in the bear. This of course would take a cool head and often you can't get down on one knee but it might help.

We practiced a few time towing seine floats down the beach with a 3 wheeler and the resultant hit ratio on this 20 mph bouncing ball was pretty sad.

I guess the point is that the average guy is not a vey good shot on a charging anything and you better be sure your life is in real danger before you chance shooting.

Mark

I've been guiging brown and grizzley for 25 yrs and haven't been charged once. Am I doing something wrong?

Good one!

A few buddies of mine practice with a cheap remote contol car. You tie a ballon onto the antanae and then have a buddy drive it straight at you as fast as it will go. We did this with pistols starting at 25 yards. Start with your back turned and then when they yell go, turn draw your gun and try to hit the balloon. It is very difficult to say the least. I found the most consistant way to hit the balloon was to crouch just like Gary said. Try to get level with it and take the shot. I only tried it once with a rifle, my marlin guide gun with 2.5x scout scope and with ghost rings. It was much easier with the guide gun than the revolver but still was lucky to hit the balloon 3-5 times. Lots of fun and good practice.

Waterrat, I'd say you must be doing things right. Being charged by any animal usually means you first did a number of things wrong.
Hope your record remains intact for a long time.

I get to do some guiding for Brown bears in AK every other spring.
I used the 'get down on one knee' technique in spring of 2002 on a wounded bear. Even though I didn't know what I was doing, I sorta instictively got down when I saw him coming at us. My hunter had hit it in the guts. I waited til he was approx 15 feet and pulled the trigger, a 340 mag. I missed his head sorta. Put a hell of a crease right down the siptal (sp?) joint of his skull. It didn't kill him but changed his mind about coming closer. My hunter was able to finish it off as it changed directions. Sounds exciting and it was but the bear was not charging , i don't even believe it saw us. Thats not what I told my hunter 'cuz he had a great time telling the story of how he was 'Charged by a bear!' The taxidermist called me and told me he found that some of the hair adjacent to the bullet channel was singed.