Deer Hunter attacked by Black Bear

[tully_mars]

This is pretty freaky. Funny thing is, I was in the store the other day looking for a new pistol to carry with me hunting. I had decided on a .357 mag Taurus Gaucho just for carrying out in the woods. Anyhow, one of the other shoppers in there thought I was crazy saying, "what do you need a handgun for if you are hunting. What about your rifle?". I had replied to him saying that sometimes my rifle would be stowed in its case and unloaded where the pistol on my side would not be.

The next day this happened in the local area....


http://www.wpmi.com/news/local/story...B-628FFDB28240

Like I have always believed, you must always be prepared. Now this fellow dispatched his attacker with a .22!

Be safe all this season.

Tully Mars

[Harley Quinn]

I can't say he is the smartest guy especially with his statement about bears.

But he is lucky. One thing I always did, if there are bigger game you should be carrying the rifle that will put the bigger down just in case.
A back up handgun is a must. Always have a sharp knife also. I carry two knives even when in the city.

Harley

[.45&TKD]

"I wish they was extinct," Scoggin said. "Who needs them. They ought to be in a zoo."

Politically incorrect!

[20cows]

Politcally correct? I suspect his motto goes something like, "The only good bear is a dead bear!" You and I might not agree with it, but apparently he has his reasons.

[bclark1]

i got a .44mag for bears, where i deer hunt they're pretty rare but not unheard of. i actually never carry the thing though, because i kind of feel like my odds are better with a 30-06. i can get my rifle up faster than i can draw if i'm still hunting or something, and although followup shots will be slow the first one will devastate if i can put it on-target. something actually growled at me a couple times last week in the woods, wasn't sure what it was so i circled wide but it was gone by the time i got there. no idea what i was hearing, dismissed it the first time but it came back loud when i kept walking in the same direction. i'd have just let it be but my family walks the woods out there too, and they don't carry, so i wanted to make sure it wasn't anything that'd pose a threat to them.

[TheeBadOne]

People tend to dismiss black bears. Goes to show that can be a dangerous thing to do.

[roy reali]

A goose hunter I know was attacked by a goose a few years ago.

He shot the bird and it hit the ground hard. He thought he had killed in flight. Just as he was getting ready to pick it up, it came back to life. Not only was it still alive, it wasn't in the best of moods. As the goose came at him, he used his shotgun to beat it back. He finally was able to fire a shot at its head.

He now approached downed geese with more caution.

[Art Eatman]

I reckon it neve rhurts to be doing a little "what if?" thinking when approaching any downed animal. I sorta have the attitude that even small cuts and bruises aren't proper entertainment.

A buddy of mine was quail hunting up the canyon of the Lefthand Shutup and came around a corner to find a mountain lion headed down-canyon. Around 30 feet or so. Of course, the lion being a lion, he turned around and headed back where he'd been.

Regardless, having only a chamber full of #8 doesn't inspire confidence.

I generally carry a Redhawk when I'm quail hunting in the back country...

, Art

[High Planes Drifter]

Where in the article does it say he shot the bear with a .22? I read the article but didnt see it.

[tully_mars]

» More From The Mobile Register


Man talks about bear attack
Sunday, November 27, 2005
By NADIA MOHANDESSI
Staff Reporter

Kenneth Scoggin said he wasn't scared when he was bitten by a bear Friday evening in the woods near Turnerville. He was terrified.

"I just knew I was a goner," Scoggin said Saturday afternoon from his hospital bed at Springhill Medical Center.

With his knee heavily bandaged and wrapped tightly in a brace and intravenous fluids and antibiotics dripping from several large clear hospital bags, Scoggin recounted his "bear nightmare."

Scoggin said he was wrapping up an afternoon of deer hunting near the Bush Coon Hunting Club when he heard a grunt behind him.

"By the time I saw her and she saw me, up the tree she came," he said.

Scoggin, who said he was at least 30 feet up a pine tree in a climbing tree stand, hung onto the seat of the stand, his safety harness unhooked. The black bear climbed up the tree, bit him on the right knee, he said, and wouldn't let go.

A climbing tree stand is a portable seat that can be used on any tree for hunting.

"She was hanging onto the meat, and I was hanging onto the seat," Scoggin said. "When that meat gave way, she fell to the ground, and I got my pistol around."

A large hunk of flesh was torn off of the top of his kneecap.

Scoggin said the bear started to climb the tree again when Scoggin shot it four or five times with a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol. The bear fell to the ground a second time, and Scoggin fired the final shot with his deer rifle, he said."

This is from the local paper.

http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/...er?nmet&coll=3

Tully Mars

[springmom]

I can't say he is the smartest guy especially with his statement about bears.

But he is lucky. One thing I always did, if there are bigger game you should be carrying the rifle that will put the bigger down just in case.
A back up handgun is a must. Always have a sharp knife also. I carry two knives even when in the city.

Harley

I was up in the Sam Houston National Forest (again!!! ) today and was surprised to see bear tracks along the same trails that the deer use. There's a power line area that I was hunting, and looked down and... oh my. Bears.

Bears are NOT ok to kill around here, although what you're supposed to do in this fellow's situation I don't know. I did make a mental note to go take youngest son's .30-06 to the range to see if I can handle shooting it. Might maybe rethink the .243....

Of course, I had my XD-40 with me, and I expect, but don't know for certain, that a .40 slug would do more than irritate the bear.

Springmom, who also heard a cougar three times this week

[tully_mars]

Killing a black bear in Alabama is also illegal. Currently the Alabama Department of Natural Resources in investigating this event. However, it seems if all is true in this that he had no choice. After all, the bear did put him in the hospital.

Tully Mars

[AdamGrier_atc]

What a story. Although, I cant say his comment about bears belonging in a zoo is very smart!!!!

Adam

[mete]

There are lots of bears around here but officials take dim view of bears take outside of hunting.There are many people who get hysterical when seeing a bear even at a distance and think 'it's attacking me' and start shooting. I've met a number of bears at very close range [10-15'] but they tend to ignore me.The bad ones are rare though problem bears are ones usually that people have been feeding ,that's the biggest problem.

[DucksOnThePond]

I am from this area and the guy is currently facing indictment for hunting over a pile of corn (illegal in Alabama). local thought is that the guy shot the bear, thought he killed it and approached it and got bit. kinda like the story about the goose. probably shot the bear with his deer rifle first and shot it up with the 22 after it bit him and died.

[Boe]

^^

I would assume that with a little investigation of the "crime scene", officials could easily tell whether or not the bear attacked him or not.

-boe

[FirstFreedom]

yep, and they could also tell from his mangled leg. Yeah, the climbing up 30 feet may or may not be a tall tale...hmm.

[BIGR]

I always carry a large caliber handgun when big game hunting, even when I carry the 300 mag. And if I am bird hunting yea I will also have a sidearm. Never can tell what might happen back in those thick woods, miles from the nearest road.

[C Philip]

Would you guys think a 9mm semi automatic handgun would be ok to carry as a side arm while hunting? With 16+1 rounds, I think that would be enough to stop a black bear. Would you say use JHP or use FMJ? I'm thinking the FMJ might be better just for more penetration.

[22-rimfire]

Since the guy in the article used a 22 auto pistol, I would think your 9mm would be okay if you already have it (and yes, FMJ's). If I were buying a gun for this purpose, I would go with a 4" 357 mag revolver as the most versatile choice. Use what you have. The main reason for the handgun is to scare the animal away as black bear attacks aren't real common.

[tully_mars]

I am beginning to think after all of our analysis that Ducks on the Pond may be on to something. I remember when I first saw it on the news in the area, a .22 and a bear? But, you know a .22 kills more people than any other round and enough of them will do anyone in so I was willing to go along with it.

Anyhow, anything is possible....

Tully mars

[tully_mars]

Bear Attack Victim faces Misdemeanor Charge
Associated Press
Dec 4, 2005

http://www.wkrg.com/servlet/Satellit...=1128768530073

SARALAND, Ala. (AP) - Alabama's black bear population is fewer than 50 and living in a swampy southwest corner of the state.

The bears risk more run-ins with people as homes and developments expand into their territory.

The latest, most painful example: Deer hunter Kenneth Scoggin of Chunchula said he shot and killed a 165-pound female bear on November 25th after it ripped the skin off his knee -- an extremely rare attack.

While in a tree stand in thick woods, the 67-year-old Scoggin says the bear grunted, then scaled the tree about 30 feet and bit his knee.

To escape, he says he shot at the bear with a .22-caliber pistol and then killed it with rifle shots.

Near dark, he hobbled back to his 4-wheeler, then drove to his truck, where he used a cell phone to summon help.

Scoggin had surgery for the injury during a three-day stay at a Mobile hospital and expects a full recovery.

Conservation officials weighed the bear and planned an autopsy. Wildlife experts were puzzled over why the bear bit the hunter because they usually shy away from people. Wildlife biologist Will Underwood of Auburn University says he doesn't know of another attack like that in Alabama.

State conservation officials probed the bear shooting and determined that Scoggin was attacked by the bear while descending the tree.

Allan Andress, chief of enforcement for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in Montgomery, says the bear was not hit by the pistol shots, but was killed by three rifle shots.

Bears are a game animal with special protection under Alabama law that calls for forfeiting a hunting license for three years; a fine of up to five thousand dollars; and a possible one-year jail term.

But there's no penalty for killing one in self-defense. Andress says there are no plans to pursue prosecution of Scoggin for killing the bear. However, he says evidence indicated Scoggin was hunting very near two piles of corn. Andress says Scoggin has been charged with hunting deer by aid of bait, a misdemeanor.

Andress says the bear had been there frequently. He says the corn pile was a "contributing factor to this attack."

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)