This appeared in today's Sunday edition.

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/062605/loc_20050626010.shtml

Berner's Bay is just a short boat ride from the end of the road in Juneau.

My thoughts were:

1. If this was the only time the guy had been charged in 23 years of field work, how would he know the difference between a false charge and the "real" thing? I'm not blaming him one bit, my motto is "shoot first, ask questions later." Our field surveyors had to watch a video about bear behaviour and posturing. I sat in on a bit of it. It showed some false charges.

2. It shows that the .338 can get the job done. Wondering what factory load they were shooting?

3. His partner's safety stuck. Now here's one folks don't talk about much. Reliability of the safety. There is a photo with the guy and his gun. I can't tell what the make is, and I've never had a safety stick. I know the 3-postion can be trouble if crud gets lodged in it.

4. 20-year old bear. Damn grumpy old bear!!! Like a lot of guys over on the Political Forum.

MM

MuskegMan,
Pretty tough to jamb a safety, I'd say the guy freaked and his partner was of cool mind to back him up. Nonetheless, an old bruin like that may have had a quirksome thought of going out in "style"-with a flash and take out one of them smelly two-legged critters. Suppose the big ole boy was just dreaming huh? Got up from his nap and dream and wanted to make it a reality. Too bad for the bear-seriously.

I don't understand all this silly-a--s pap about false charges. When one of the big guys skids to a stop 10 feet from the guy who's just put 2 bullets in him, -- not even an issue.

How in the hell can anyone be expected read a charging bears mind and figure out is he really going to keep coming. Are you going to psychoanylize the damn thing and stake your very life on mulling it over "Gee, what does this teddy bear really mean to do, should I shoot him or wow what if he only wants his ears scratched"

One of these bears at full throttle starts for you from 30 to 40 yards you got may have time to shoulder your rifle and fire, couple of seconds.

Youreally ain't got time to run a lot of Hippy-Colony psycho- babble through your head.

If you ever get a good look at any one who's been up close and cuddly with one of these big fuzzies, you would understand.

A very close friend of mine Olaf Ericksen, was charged by two grizzlies while mining up the Haines Highway in the Yukon, and killed both. the first bear came from 30 yrds, he hit him in the mouth and blew out the whole spinal column at six feet. The carcass landed on his leg and broke it in 13 places just twitching around,

six months in the hospital, gangrene problem and crippled for life.

O yes, he killed the other bear from a sitting position with his leg under the dead bear, as it had decided to come for him too.
Wayne

That stuck safety sounds like it is correlated to the excitment of the moment. I bet the safety works just fine right now. And you are right...it sounds like the .338 did a good job stopping the bear.

That stuck safety sounds mighty like some Model 70s. When the safe is on in the rear position and the bolt gets lifted a bit, the safety will slide to the middle position, but not "off." If the safe is in the middle position and the bolt gets lifted a little bit, it won't slide to "off" either. I prefer a 3-pos safety over a 2-pos, but I also have the habit of sliding my palm over and down on the bolt handle while headed for the safety, too.

Rupert: I do agree with you that it sounds like a M70 3 position safety...I do not care for this type of safey (too many moving parts for me). I like a 2-position safety (it's either on or off)....but that preference is probably mostly from habit. Being charged by a bear I am sure would rattle any of us, but having a safety that basically disables the gun from functioning sounds bad.

Can anyone there in Juneau find out how big the skull measured?

rwj, I can call Neil in the morning, or drop by in the morning.

The office is half a block from where I have to load my purse seine onto the boat tomorrow. I haven't read the paper yet, but I will get it soon, not much of a paper, mostly liberal A-wipe, but I keep up with Alley Oop, dilbert and the Grizzwells. Wayne

Wayne: That sounds good..thank you.

Nothing more in the paper, but the photo is a little clearer. The bear isn't all that big, but is big for that area. There isn't much for salmon there most of the season, very few pinks or chums early, and the coho run which is significant, is in the fall. No deer to speak of, so no Bambi feast in the spring for them to grow on.

The bear s belly looks to be rubbed almost completely bare on the right side, old and scabby, and not a real he-man rug to snuzzle the old woman on wunce in a while. any way I'll have to ask in the morning.

By the way guys, my old friend I mentioned earlier used a 358 Norma, He was partial to the Swede gun because he was a Laplander, and when he was 13 or so, he helped fight a rearguard battle against the Russians as they fled west with their deer, from the Russian pastures across Finland, to neutral Sweden, couldn't go to Norway because of the Germans. he said we had good rifles and could should shoot, the Russians didn't and couldn't.

I think it was about 1960 he had the bad luck with the bear.
Wayne

RWJ The skull measured 26 10/16" on the bear, the guy I talked to didn't know about the hide. That don't mean much to a biologist, I guess. Like I said there's probably not the groceries in that area, over the season to grow really big ones. Wayne

quote:

Originally posted by walex:

Like I said there's probably not the groceries in that area, over the season to grow really big ones.

Wayne

I thought that one shot in Echo Cove was pretty damn big myself. Pretty much the same "groceries" there as in Berner's wouldn't you say?

Big Bear Shot at Echo Cove

MM

The echo cove bear was 23 13/16" so nowhere as big. as least in the head bone department.

there just isn't the food recource in most mainland areas that there is in areas like the ABC Islands, the pink and summer chum salmon runs are pretty minicule compared to some of the big Island systems where the early chums come in June, then pinks and later summer chums and the cohos and fall chum runs until late. Berners Bay only has the fall coho run that is of major importance. and that comes in the fall, making a shorter period of time to feed and fatten up.

Elementary, since the advent of modern refrigeration and transportation system, We Americans have a much longer period of the year to get fresh meat and veggies and fatten up and grow much bigger than our daddies, who had to dig into the root cellar and canned goods for half the year.

Anyway any bear coming full speed must look like the biggest bear in the world when he's close enough to pile up ten feet short of the gun barrel. To the guy behind the gun any way. Wayne

Wayne: You are right, that is a huge bear...the one I shot this May on Chichagof measured 23 14/16" (and I was pleased with that)..a 26"+ bear is large by any standard. I bet he is an old bear.

Thank you for the information.