Black Bear Charge and Stop, Rifle and Pistol in Montana, 1989

Alan Yates bear rugs, rifles, and handguns. S&W 65 by rear leg of bear rug on right.

The incident happened in November of 1989, near Bozeman, Montana. This correspondent interviewed Alan Yates this year. Alan says this and a few other incidents bear charges are burned into his memory. Alan was kind enough to write about what happened. Alan’s account has been lightly edited for space and clarity. This is Alan’s story:

I was hunting whitetail in the early morning. I had my sort-of-trusty 303 Enfield over my shoulder. As I slipped slowly and quietly along, with the wind in my favor, trying to make no noise in the dew-dampened tall grass, a sound caught my ear … “woof, woof, woof”.  What happened next occurred in about four seconds.

I spun towards the sound as my rifle came smoothly to my shoulder. The bear rounded a bush and charged into sight. I immediately saw a problem … the bear was much lower to the ground than my 6’5″ frame, and it’s head was bouncing/rolling with the charge.  I had no solid target. Without thinking, I dropped to one knee in the tall grass and began to time the bears head roll – to slip a bullet under its chin. Twice I almost pulled the trigger. I was running out of time and room. I decided it would have to be the last jump the bear made. Steadying myself, all thought left my mind, and the world slowed down. I watched the bear make the 2nd-to-last jump and waited …. the bear stopped dead still – staring straight at me, head slightly lowered, huffing. The bears eyes darted around and re-focused on me.

This began the standoff at three yards. The bear was staring intently at me. The tall grass was between us. My finger was on the trigger, my sights on its lower jaw. I had a problem: I had read about bullets “bouncing off of” a bears skull, and I couldn’t see the rest of the bear because of the tall grass. 

It dawned  on me – the agitated and angry bear wasn’t sure I was the target of its charge – probably because I had dropped to one knee mid-charge. Both of us were peering over the grass at each other. I knew the bear would eventually turn its head to one side or the other. I focused my rifle sights directly at the base of the throat and waited. And waited. My muscles cramped. My eyes watered. I didn’t dare blink, so I slowly squinted my eyes. I relaxed one muscle while holding my position with another, rotating muscles to relieve the pain. Adrenaline kicked in. And still I waited … How long? two minutes? Five? I don’t know. I never moved. To me it was life and death – the bear was one jump away.

Suddenly the bear snapped it’s head to my right. I fired instantly. In terror I jacked another round into the rifle. The bear had disappeared – gone! I stood slowly on shaking legs, rifle up and ready. Looking at the ground where the bear had stood, I saw something black. I took a tentative step forward and saw the bear had collapsed straight downward in its tracks, exactly as it had stood. I took 2 more steps and was standing beside the large bear. My rifle had slid from my fingers without me realizing it. Suddenly my legs gave out. With great effort, as I began to fall, I swung one leg around over the bear and landed squarely on its back in a sitting position as if I was riding a horse. I was in a near catatonic state of body and brain shutdown.

I wish this was the end of the story – it isn’t. This IS a completely true story. 

As I sat there staring stupidly down at the large bear between my legs, the world began to move around me. It took a moment for me to realize, the bear was beginning to stand up! Under me! My brain went into the most terrifying scramble of my life. I glanced desperately down for my rifle – gone. “Pistol” my mind screamed. I yanked for the 357 magnum on my hip. And yanked, and yanked … I yanked repeatedly in desperation – the bear was almost to a full standing position – with me seated firmly in the saddle. Suddenly I realized that this was all about to go really wrong for me. I stopped my mind – forcing myself to tear my eyes from  the bear, who was swinging its head slowly side-to-side, and looked down at my holster. The strap holding my gun was still locked solidly in place. My left hand shot across and yanked the strap loose. My right hand ripped the gun out of the holster and jammed the muzzle between my legs into the bears spine between its shoulder blades. I squeezed the trigger in a death grip. The gun roared … and the bear slammed back into the ground. The pistol slipped from my fingers. The bear never moved again.

About 10 mins later, my buddy came along. He spotted me sitting, and walked towards me. “I heard two shots. Did you get something?” He said. I couldn’t talk. I simply raised one hand slowly and pointed down between my legs. He walked over and his eyes went wide! He stood patiently by me. He picked up my pistol and slid it back into my holster. He found my rifle and placed it gently in my hands. (My rifle was one yard away, but I couldn’t see it).

After about 30 mins I was able to stand slowly and shakily. I told him the story. The tracks confirmed everything – he could see where the bear had charged, from over 100 yards away, and where I’d walked. He drove his car thru the farmers field right up to me, and we loaded the bear and drove home. The bear turned out to be a large sow. I had a beautiful rug made.

My 1st (rifle) bullet hit the tip of the bears right collarbone, turned 90 degrees upward, and exploded into the spine, shattering two neck vertebrae – apparently without breaking the spinal column. My 2nd bullet (158 gr hornady XTP/FP) from my 357, broke the spine, traveled straight down, breaking the sternum, and lodged in the skin by the ground. I still have that pistol bullet today. These 357 mag cartridges were my handloads. They were loaded extremely “hot”. (editor – Do not exceed recommended max loads when you reload ammunition) How the bear was able to stand up after the first shot is beyond me. I have no idea why the bear charged me. No evidence of cubs was found. She didn’t have my wind. I just don’t know.

This incident will be included in the database as combination defense. Both rifle and pistol were used. The pistol used was a Smith & Wesson model 65, with a four inch barrel. Alan had other experiences with charging bears which will be covered as time permits.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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