Hunters will be allowed more leniency in Grizzly Attacks if new legislation passes

[ZeroJunk]

I don't know whether the new law is redundant and won't until it's available to read. While it is true that killing of a grizzly in self defense has been justified the problem was with the burden of proof. Guilty until proven innocent.

I listened to the story of the attack I mentioned from everybody involved and they felt fortunate that they had taken photos of the blood and wounds for later use in court or they would have been charged.

[Alaska444]

Thanks Art, you are right, it is the unwritten law of hunters to kill a bear that you have wounded so that it won't injure someone else. With bears, you usually weight for a bit before going after them hoping that the initial wound caused enough bleeding to either kill the bear or weaken him enough to diminish the danger. That's a pretty common technique even deer hunting. Not sure what all of the details are, but simply a tragic event as you said pretty much outside of the intents of the Federal regulation changes to the ESA.

[Alaska444]

More questions surround Montana fatal grizzly encounter:

Hunter culpable in death of partner, grizzly

A few questions remain:

Where these poachers who were purposely after a grizzly in a remote area in order to sell its claws, hide and gall bladder on the black market?
Are these the kind of guys who would have shot, shoveled and shut up if the bear hadn't had a chance to defend itself against its attackers?
Or was this just the case of an irresponsible hunter who marred the image of sportsmen by pulling the trigger on protected game he hadn't positively identified?
Maybe more investigation will answer these questions.

But any way you look at it, a hunter and a grizzly bear died in this incident.

And there's only one clear victim.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdo...rtner-grizzly/

[Edward429451]

The only charges against Hill were by the government.

Which begs the question...What Caliber for a Charging Government?

[Art Eatman]

The pertinent point from Post #1 is "...defending his family from three large grizzlies in his yard."

Hunting incidents and problems are off-topic. Forget those anecdotes and comments, or see the thread end.

[Alaska444]

Returning to the topic of self defense, is it possible for a mistaken identity of a grizzly that then ended in an attack when tracking the wounded bear an instance of self defense?

Most mistaken identity cases are eventually forgiven. This case did end up a self defense shooting even though the first shot was in error. I will be interested to see how the state and Feds rule in this case since all of the shots into this bear in the second encounter were actually defensive shots. I am quite interested in what caliber rifles that they used in this hunt. Obviously, the grizzly took several hits before it went down. that just highlights how dangerous these bears really are and how luck Jeremy Hill was to be able to kill it with a .243.

A 39-year-old hunter killed by a wounded grizzly bear yelled out to draw the 400-pound male bear toward him in an effort to keep it from attacking his young hunting partner, the man's family said.

"They both shot it and it kept coming," Steve Stevenson's mom, Janet Price, said on Saturday. "Steve yelled at it to try and distract it, and it swung around and took him down. It's what my son would have done automatically, for anybody."

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office in Montana said Stevenson, of Winnemucca, Nev., died Friday after 20-year-old Ty Bell wounded what he thought was a black bear and the two men tracked it into thick cover along the Idaho-Montana border where it attacked at about 10 a.m. Friday.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/w...ntana-14541945

[stevelyn]

It is already legal to kill grizzlies in self defense and in defense of others. More laws won't make it any more legal.

That may be true, but it still doesn't stop the fedpukes from trying to prosecute under ESA for it.

[Alaska444]

The father of the man that shot the grizzly bear speaks out about the incident. It does appear to be a tragic accident and bear that might of turned the table by playing dead on the hunters.

http://www.kxly.com/news/29225688/detail.html

Still waiting to see how the state and Feds look at this case. With the father and son coming from the same area as the last grizzly incident, Boundary county residence are already fed up with the Feds.

Not sure if this will help the new legislative effort or not, but I am sure that folks in Bonners Ferry have had enough of grizzlies this summer.

[Double Naught Spy]

"He's a very truthful kid, he's got hunter ethic, true hunter ethic, a trait which not many people have," he said.

Gimme a break. Mr. True Hunter ethic shot the wrong type of animal because he didn't properly identify his target, didn't properly shoot his target, and as a result his buddy is dead. Funny how nobody's kid ever did anything wrong.

[ZeroJunk]

One could argue that anybody who gets mauled or killed by a grizzzly made a mistake. The young man made a mistake. It happens , except on forums of course.

The question is whether or not the authorities automatically assume that the intent was to poach the bear.

Seems to me the burden of proof should be on the prosecution.

[Art Eatman]

I was hoping this thread would stay with the issues of self-defense in a non-hunting situation, which seems to be the context of the law.

So much for that idea...