A good bear story with a happy ending

[lowangle al]

https://shouldersofgiants.com/2016/07/24/ultimate-bear-story/


I had worked for Gene when I first joined the cement masons union. He worked until he retired at about 83. I had heard the story from a fourth guy on the trip, but it wasn't as good as this first hand version. Gene had to surrender the bear to the state because he didn't have a tag. He was able to buy it back at the states annual auction. His son Carl and the fourth guy Tom let everyone at the auction know who Gene was and asked them not to bid on it and I don't think anyone did. The only thing I ever heard Gene say about the attack was that he owed his life to his many years as a concrete guy.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Wow!

 

[snapper]

An acquaintance of mine survived a grizzly attack years ago and this story seems to mirror his. I can't imagine what goes through a person's mind when being confronted with something like this. Just so glad they're alive.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Big Al]

That is one tough guy. I wouldn't sell the knife either.

 

[VernAK]

Gene and his brother Ed were quite the characters......good, hard working old guys.

 

[alsg]

Not sure I'd call a story which ended with a dead bear and a severely injured man a "good bear story" even if the man ultimately made a complete recovery. But it is an amazing story.

 

[ppine]

Hunters get in a lot of bear scrapes sneaking around in the bush and the dark. Then they knock down a game animal and the rifle shot is like a dinner bell for smart bears. My uncle used to tell stories of hunting moose and then taking turns staying up at night with a big fire going watching the eyes out in the dark.

I worked in bush Alaska back around 1980 in SE on the Mainland. We did a lot of stream surveys on salmon streams. Black bears and the big coastal browns were around. We saw them everyday. At first it was upsetting, but we got used to it. Learn the ways of bears and how to act around them. Make plenty of noise in the brush and around moving water. Avoid eye contact. Give way.

My first trip up there, I was working solo one day. It was better to work in pairs. I ran into a fresh set of tracks that I measured as 13 inches tall by 10 inches wide, like a dinner plate. The helicopter had probably scared him off. I was surrounded by thick alders that I could not see into. I looked down at the Ruger .44 mag pistol on my hip and just about wet my pants. After that I carried a rifle.

 

[Canotrouge]

We live in bear country up here, big bears too, just the other day my 11 years old daughter and her 12 years old cousin were MTB in the back trails and as they cam out of the bush on to the road, a black bear was just there about 20 feet or less of them, my wife and a friend were not far apart from the girls but not close either..... The bear did what he had to do and the girls didi the same, no buddy got hurt and everyone's confidence went up a notch!! That is a good bear story lol!!

That said, regarding Gene's story, I always wonder how I would react and act if a bear would attack me... Fighting it is always my first thought!!

 

[lowangle al]

The experts say to fight a black bear but play dead with a grizzly. Gene was either very lucky or he had an amazing left jab.

 

[ppine]

My cousin was charged by a grizz not that far out of Anchorage a few years ago. He killed the bear with a large caliber pistol The smart thing to do is avoid close encounters. Make noise, Don't be out in low light conditions. Hang your food. Watch your step out there. If you need a firearm you were either really unlucky or you screwed up.

 

[Canotrouge]

The experts say to fight a black bear but play dead with a grizzly. Gene was either very lucky or he had an amazing left jab.

I don't want to take anything away form his experience, but for some reasons I have a really hard time to believe the entire story, no doubts he fought that bear, but some of the details are a bit odd...
Here is an other good story! https://globalnews.ca/video/5720989/campbell-river-man-survives-grizzly-attack-in-b-c-backcountry