Bear hunting with a switch?

[k0ua]

Well not exactly a switch, but this 11 year old took down a charging bear with birdshot from his pump shotgun.
The bear had already knocked down two grown men and came at the boy, but thinking quickly, and using what he had had at hand, he managed to put the bruin down.

"Shoot what ya brung" I guess. Better than nothing.

Alaska boy, 11, shoots bear charging fishing party | Fox News

 

[Mace Canute]

That's a quick witted youngster and standing your ground in the face of a charging bear without freezing or panicking takes some intestinal fortitude. I'm very impressed.

 

[mddorange]

When I was living in Alaska, they always told us that shooting a bear with a shotgun, pistol, or small rifle would only make the bear madder and normally mean certain death. This young man had divine guidence.

He had to already be a well trained hunter.

 

[oosik]

I'm also very impressed. The young man was able to contain his fright and do the only thing he could - that might end in success. He obviously had been well trained.

He definitely lives under the graces of God - 99 times out of 100 - the outcome would have been completely different.

I lived in Alaska from 1960 to 1982 and received the same advice as mddorange.

It seems totally ridiculous but we were told to be LOUD when hiking out and about. Meaning - do not surprise a bear, let them know you are coming. If we were in bear country during the fall salmon runs - we would beat on an aluminum pot with a stick, as walking down the trail.

In all my years in Alaska, I had one encounter with a bear, black bear, and its scared me enough that I simply froze to the spot. Fortunately, the bear recognized I was no danger and walked right past me on the trail.

Until you have had a face to face encounter with a bear - it is hard to explain how truly fortunate that young man is.

 

[k0ua]

If you can get close enough, birdshot will be just like a slug as the shot will still be in the cup and act as a single mass. The key is that getting close enough business. A lot of us would either be frozen or start running the other direction. The kid does have some guts. I don't think any of us will know exactly what we will do when faced with something like that until it happens. Hopefully it doesn't happen to me.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

That looks like a 20 ga. in the photo! Imagine taking on a bear with a 20 gauge and #8 shot! I have heard stories of killing bears with a 12 gauge shotgun slugs, but you gotta hand it to this kid. No doubt in my mind he laid it all on the line. Brave, cool kid.

 

[k0ua]

When in doubt keep shucking. Just keep those rounds coming.

 

[oosik]

The summers I worked for Alaska Dept of Fish & Game we were given 12 gage shotguns for protection. Double OO buckshot followed by slug, the OO, slug etc.

At anything under 50 feet or so, a solid hit in the chest will usually bring a bear down.

 

[mddorange]

In all my years in Alaska, I had one encounter with a bear, black bear, and its scared me enough that I simply froze to the spot. Fortunately, the bear recognized I was no danger and walked right past me on the trail.

Until you have had a face to face encounter with a bear - it is hard to explain how truly fortunate that young man is.

Where we lived there were a pair of black bears living in the park three blocks from our house. Only half of the park was cleared and there was a bike path through the wooded part where the bears were. One early evening I was walking by that park and spotted one of the bears about 100 feet away raiding a trash can. When he spotted me he stood up and like Oosik I froze. Then I very slowly moved to where there were trees between me and him. When I got to the house, I called the police to report it and he said: "yes, we know, just stay away or make a lot of noise." I told our kids that they had better not go to that park again. When they shot off fireworks in that park for the 4th of July, the two bears got scared and ran right through all the spectators.

When we went hunting or fishing we always had the guy who used a compound bow with us as he could bring down even a brown bear with one shot. and the bear would not even get a hundred feet away before dropping.

 

[Mace Canute]

That looks like a 20 ga. in the photo! Imagine taking on a bear with a 20 gauge and #8 shot! I have heard stories of killing bears with a 12 gauge shotgun slugs, but you gotta hand it to this kid. No doubt in my mind he laid it all on the line. Brave, cool kid.

Bella Twin did it with a single shot 22.

What .22 Rifle did Bella Twin use to Kill a World Record Grizzly in 1953?