In an unfortunate incident, a Canadian was mauled by a bear, and then shot by his friend who was trying to shoot the bear:
Fernie grizzly bear attack victim Wilf Lloyd remains in Calgary hospital

Other reports are that Mr. Lloyd may lose his leg as a result: Grizzly attack victim may need leg amputation

SMH.

We should cut the victim's partner a little slack. Tricky business, shooting a bear at close range in a high stress situation. Especially with a hunting rifle zeroed for, say, 100 yards or greater. It would take some deliberate practice to know where the round would strike at close range.

At the risk of muddying this thread, here's a firsthand account of a grizzly attack in the same area last year. No chest beating here. It's highly instructive of how real people react in such situations.

The 2013 story:
http://fernie.com/blog/2013/07/fernie-men-tell-story-of-grizzly-attack/

Indeed we should. I meant no attack on the partner. I was just reporting the story as it appeared in the press.

If I remember correctly, there was a similar story (with even more tragic results) reported on ETS a few years ago. Blue on blue is always a potential issue with firearms.

Speaking generally, and not of this specific incident, I think it's really important for people who own firearms for defensive purposes to train and practice regularly. It's important to train and practice under conditions of stress. Competition can help with some of those skills, and there are classes that can help with others.

No argument there, but how many of us practice for CQB situations with our scoped bolt guns?

Handguns and MBRs or carbines? Sure. But I've only done long range stuff with a hunting rifle.

Sounds like a good excuse to take Thunder Ranch's Urban Precision Rifle class!

Nothing was done wrong. Unfortunate and unexpected things happen and you make do with what you have.

Even retrospectively, it is unreasonable to expect to practice/train for use of a firearm defensively for a situation where you are firing a rifle at short distance (likely yards) at a moving target (bear) while trying NOT to shoot yet another moving target (person) in close proximity and under extreme stress.

Training for defensive use of firearms can be done in a way that safely simulates some degree of stress. I've done some Three Gun stages with moving shoots and no-shoots in proximity to each other. If I hit one of the no-shoots I'd have to tape it up, lose points, and get razzed by my friends. That's very different from having the consequence of dying, or shooting a friend, to be sure. Without a doubt, competition stress is different from bear-attack stress. But it's way better than nothing.

So what drills would you use for training for bear defense? Let's assume a scenario similar to the one the guy encountered.

Is it "reasonable" to practice those drills? Well, some people train self-defensive pistols techniques that assume you've been shot in one arm and your gun has malfunctioned. You need to transfer the gun to the hand that still works, clear the gun one-handed, etc. Now add some moving targets (assumed to be armed), some moving "no shoot" targets, low light, etc.

Not talking about the current situation, since I don't know if the shooter had practiced at close range or not. That being said, hunting shots are usually under 100 m and often less in the area he was hunting. A hunter should know where his rifle shoots at all probable distances. Ir is particularly important when hunting bear or in bear territory - obviously.

Respectfully,

Jerry

Maybe we should even cut a liberal amount of slack. The choice seems to have been shoot and risk the partners health or wait for the outcome of the attack. I doubt that the victim would have been better off with just waiting.
The amount of practice required for such a situation may not be affordable for the average hunter. I would expect it from a hunting guide though.


The usual scoped hunting rifle is going to strike a little low. At 10m it´s about the distance between your barrel and the center of your scope. At 25m the difference can be neglected. I tried that with my 7x64. It´s not that hard to compensate for that. Taking proper aim under much stress and in a hurry is quite a different subject though.

Poor guy! This is why I carry bear spray, but with the acknowledgement that my adrenal fight-or-flight response is so overwhelming, that I seriously doubt I could even discharge it properly, much less a firearm. One time when I was faced with a serious physical threat, I somehow leaped over an 8 foot fence and ran two miles without even getting tired -- however my hands were shaking like someone who'd downed a gallon of expresso. Ugh.


--M