[FirearmFan]

Hey man, the Daily News fish wrapper got the facts a bit screwy... feel free to pass this on to folks who "get it".

Here's the actual factual from the one and only witness (me):
Concerning the incident of "bear shot in house June 2, 2006" in Anchorage, AK

Fact 1: I fired 10 rounds at the bear, 9 hit him, 4 where fatal wounds, the others where periphiel wounds

Fact 2: It was 2:30am and VERY DARK. I used a Surefire 6P flashlight to illuminate him in my hallway (held in my left hand at same level as my gun which was in my right hand at eye level, half point shooting, half front site aiming). Try to do better in these conditions with a bear at 4-7 feet away in your house. NINE rounds hit him!

Fact 3: He ate our "hard" candy (not "heart"??? as the person at ADN stated), we ate the chocolate - give us some credit!

Fact 4: Obviously .40 caliber 180 grn COR-BON hollowpoints at 1300 fps ARE enough to take down a bear right now! A lot of folks are saying "He got lucky" or "he should have used a bigger gun" or worst of all " he should have tried to scare it away with a warning shot"
Skill beats luck every time - I trained with local IDPA in Palmer and learned skills that saved my wife and myself from being mauled in our own bedroom!
I used the gun I had at hand - when do you carry a 12 gauge around your home in fear of bears INSIDE the house? (okay, I do --- now - just kidding, I like my Glock.)
Any moron trying to scare a bear away INSIDE their house at 4 to 7 feet is going to be one round down when the surprised bruin charges them. If they live, they better hope they didn't put the "warning shot" into something serious like a neighbor or a gas line in the house or the breaker box! KNOW YOUR TARGET!!!
Fact 5: I knew my target - I ID'd him with my surefire, instantly determined the CLOSE THREAT and fired to the cessation of hostilities - as per training!

Fact 6: Some reports are saying that I stood there with an empty gun... BULL! I ran to my upstairs office (the bear was downstairs with my gun safe) and looked for my spare mags - try finding yours in the dark in a rush of adrenaline and knowing you have a wounded BEAR IN YOUR DARK HOUSE. I keep several loaded magazines upstairs for different guns in my collection - JUST IN CASE (turned out that JUST IN CASE HAPPENED). I had forgotten that I had a Romanian AK47 in my office and several mags (I had been working on it). I grabbed it and a 30 round mag and then the phone. I quickly returned to the stairwell with a condition one AK47 and surefire light covering the stairwell. After that (contain and control the situation) I dialed 9-1-1 and reported my situation. Once the officers were on site we worked together to ensure everyones safety. They were cool - and scared. I don't blame them.

Fact 7: The bear was one foot away when I first saw him. He was approaching me from 4 to 7 feet away when fired on him.

Fact 8: We did not think there was a burglar in the house, rather I was sure that our cat was on the counter knocking things over. I'll never doubt my dog again!

Fact 9: It is fortunate that I used a .40 cal handgun with hollowpoints as opposed to a rifle or shotgun with slugs (my Benelli M1 is loaded normally with 3" slugs). Overpenetration would have been a serious problem. As it is, one of the ten rounds missed the bear or bounced off of him and penetrated my wall, ricocheted of a paving stone outside the home and put a skin deep hole in the door of my car! What would all those BIG guns have done? They all would have overpenetrated at that range!

Fact 10: We don't keep garbage around or cook outside our house. We go to Anchorage Refuse every Saturday. Our neighbors seem to think it's okay to put their garbage out on the curb for pick up and no wild animals will be tempted... I've watched black bears take the garbage right of my neighbors garbage can not more than an hour after it was set out! Odd practice, dumb at best.

Fact 11: It was claimed that the bear made entrance due to a faulty door latch. NOT! That door has been tested before - I saw a bear paw print on it two years ago about 5 feet up! This bear defeated the exterior door (swings inward) and an interior door (swings torward the bear) which were both latched securely.

Fact 12: The bear was aggressive. He was salivating heavily, leaving a saliva trail all over in front of our bedroom door - which is where I first encountered him. A salivating bear is a sign of agitation. NOT GOOD! I yelled at him and banged on the door after hitting his eyes with my surefire, he retreated only temporarily. Then he came back.

Fact 13: I didn't decline an interview with Anchorage Daily News, I had to work from 9am to 9pm. I have a real job and life goes on. Although, I wish I had talked to them - they got it about 50% wrong.

Lessons learned:
Keep a gun of at least .40 caliber or better in the room that you occupy. At all times - you don't know when you'll need it.
Listen to your dog and investigate: If we hadn't, the bear might have come into the bedroom!
Never say never!
TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN! Join the IDPA and TRAIN!
READ when you are not training - the proper mindset IS critical! I did not hesitate, because I had decided on this years ago - in training.
Keep spare mags in the same place as your firearm unless you have a kid issue... I don't. I got lazy and couldn't find my spare mags quickly!
USE REAL BULLETS for self defense - not target loads. I'm sure COR-BON had alot to do with the outcome.
Join the NRA - so we can keep our guns! (already a member - shame on those who aren't within the week)
You don't need to worry about hearing - your adrenaline shuts it off for you. Don't worry too much about recoil - I fired 10 .40 cals in 2-3 seconds and had NINE HITS. DO WORRY ABOUT YOUR BACKSTOP AND OVERPENETRATION!
Keep a phone nearby and know what to say. I learned all the right things to do and say in my CCW class from Wayne A. Ross.
There will be a million armchair quarterbacks who will criticize your decisions and actions. You were there, you did it right and it worked - forget them. They know NOTHING until they have danced the dance. There is always room for improvement, hence, I'm going back to the IDPA and training more!


From my buddy brian, the actual shooter in the event.


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Last edited by AK_Stick on 06-09-2006 at 08:26 PM