An adult female grizzly attacked a Montana man looking for shed antlers earlier this week. The man defended himself and killed the bear in self defense. The bear had no history of conflict with humans.
Thank goodness the man in question was well-armed. This situation could have gone much worse and serves as yet another reminder for those of us who live and recreate in grizzly country just how fast a tranquil day of enjoying creation can go sideways due to the unpredictability of grizzly bears.
There are lots of guidelines for being “Bear Aware” and I’ve covered them at length in past blogs and Eastmans’ articles. This man’s case, and many others, point to the advantage of having a firearm on your person and readily available at all times in bear country.
However, any firearm is only as good as the person wielding it. I don’t care if you carry a shotgun, rifle or handgun if you aren’t proficient with it then it may as well be a club.
Practice, Practice, Practice! Especially with your handguns. A grizzly charge is not the time to discover your pistol skills are rusty.
I’m no expert marksman with a handgun but I run both dryfire and live-fire drills as often as I can. As the protector of my family I owe it to them to be as dangerous as possible without even thinking. Lethality with my weapons must be a controlled reflex.
With that said, being aware of your surroundings and NOT putting yourself and those in your charge in harm’s way is the most important skill in grizzly country. In short, stay away from limited-visibility areas like thick cover or choppy terrain where bears can hide in plain sight.
Be safe and have fun out there folks.
