Update #4, Bear Defense with Handguns, 15 more cases, Total of 206, 98% effective

 
Grizzly bear shot in self defense at 10 feet by Jimmy Cox with a 10mm, Sept. 18, 2018, AK

The use of handguns to defend against bear attacks has been shown to be effective 98% of the time. This update details 16 more cases where a handgun was fired in defense against a bear or bears. In this study all cases where a handgun was fired in defense against a bear are included. This guards against selection bias. Every case is described so readers can draw their own conclusions. If researchers refuse to show the data used to write papers, it detracts from the validity of the conclusions. Extreme accuracy or speed with handguns does not appear to be required. 15 of the additions are handgun only cases. One is a combination case. The total number of cases has become awkward to publish. Links are included to the last full list, published on June 21, 2021 of 104 incidents, and the updates published since then.

The first update was published on April 11, 2022.  Eleven additional cases where handguns were fired in combination with other lethal instruments were published on March 16, 2022.  The combination cases are not included in the handgun only statistics. The second update was published on November 21, 2023. Total cases increased to 170.  The third update was published on May 8, 2024. Total cases increased to 190.

In this fourth update, there are now 175 handgun only cases. Four of the handgun only cases were judged to be failures. Combination cases, where handguns were fired in combination with other lethal instruments, are included for completeness, but are not used to determine handgun effectiveness. The number of all documented cases where a handgun was fired in defense against a bear or bears now numbers 206. The 16 additional cases are listed below in chronological order.

 August 19, 2020, Becharof Wildlife Refuge Alaska, grizzly, .45 Magnum Scott Haugen, David Stumpf, 8:30 a.m. 

I hit the rocks, laid flat, and hollered for Stumpf to shoot. He did, sending a round past me, right over the bear’s head. Less than 15 yards from me, the bear whirled and sprinted back into the brush. It happened so fast there was no anxiety. The encounter put us on full alert as we had three miles of water to fish over the next eight hours before the bushplane would return for us. Thoughts of what could have been kept our adrenaline pumping.

A week later a manager of Becharof National Wildlife Refuge issued a statement of caution for anglers to reconsider heading to this section of Featherly Creek. The sow and two cubs charged a guide and her clients and were overly aggressive toward them. The sow was thought to have also killed a boar while defending her cubs. A month prior this same sow ran multiple anglers from another creek, over 25 miles away. Though Stumpf and I never saw the cubs, they were close. The full story made us realize how lucky we had been.

March 28, 2024,Greenwood Lake,   New York, Black bear, Unknown handgun

State environmental police officers are searching Greenwood Lake for a large black bear that was shot after breaking into a home on Seventh Road overnight.

Residents of the Wah-Ta-Wah Park neighborhood, just east of the lake and up against a mountain, said bear encounters are common, but the break-in followed by a shooting was a first.  

Greenwood Lake police told News 12 that just after midnight Thursday, the bear attempted to enter the house through various doors and windows, before finally managing to open a window enough to crawl inside. 

Police said the owner was alerted to the break-in by his dog, and shot the bear once in the midsection with a legally owned handgun. 

 April 25, 2024  Great Falls MT grizzly, unknown handgun. 

GREAT FALLS – A man searching for antlers shot and killed a grizzly bear on April 25 during an encounter on private land northwest of Wolf Creek.

The man was walking along a ridge covered with low trees and brush with his two dogs at his side and the wind at his back while searching for shed antlers. After seeing a fresh grizzly bear track in a snow patch, he continued along his path and a few minutes later he first saw the bear standing near the top of the ridge about 20 yards away. The bear dropped to all four legs and charged the man, who drew his handgun and fired five shots from distances about 30 feet to 10 feet, grazing the bear with a one shot and hitting and killing it with another shot. The man was not injured in the encounter. He was not carrying bear spray.

 July 19, 2024, Columbia Falls, Montana Grizzly, unknown handgun:

KALISPELL — A man was hospitalized after an encounter with a grizzly bear on Thursday evening approximately 2 miles north of Columbia Falls in Flathead County.

A 72-year-old man was alone picking huckleberries on Flathead National Forest lands off the North Fork Road when he reported encountering a bear that charged and attacked him. The individual shot and killed the bear with a handgun.

FWP wardens and bear specialists responded to the incident and confirmed that an adult female grizzly bear was killed. FWP is working to verify if any cubs are present. FWP determined it to be a surprise defensive encounter. 

July 30, 2024, black bear Florida Marion County 9mm. 

According to Florida wildlife officials, the man — Jesse Tittle — let his dogs outside around 5 a.m. on July 30, and shortly thereafter, he heard his dogs, a 60-pound pit bull and a 25-pound pit bull-Papillon mix puppy, barking “aggressively” from a nearby yard.

The FWC said Tittle called his dogs, but the puppy did not return to him. The man grabbed his larger dog, but it pulled him toward the bear, and he ended up on the ground, officials said.

“I noticed that it was a bear. I called the dogs, and only the big dog came. Me and him kind of wrestled around here, and I was trying to hold him down. He wanted to go back because he wasn’t coming back,” Tittle told News 6.

Tittle said he saw the bear near his pup, so he attempted to fire a “warning shot” to scare the animals but struck the bear, according to the FWC, which said the animal tried to climb a tree but fell to the ground.

August 20, 2024, Alaska, Resurrection trail, 10mm Brown bear 

Tyler explained what happened in more detail in a video interview with alaskasnewssource.com.

Two things happened at nearly the same time. Tyler’s Father yelled bear, bear, bear! and the grizzly bear let out a roar/growl as it charged at him. The father, Chris, turned slightly away to protect his head and neck as he continued to yell “hey, hey, hey!”. The bear momentarily braked, then veered toward Tyler. Tyler estimated it was four seconds from the time the bear roared until the bear hit him.

The bear was rapidly approaching as Tyler struggled to unlock the holster and draw. Tyler cleared the 10mm from the holster just before the bear hit him and bowled him over. Tyler fired his first shot while falling backward. His legs were probably raised to fend off the bear.  The bullet intersected his quadriceps muscle, the big muscle on the front of the leg between the knee and the hip. The bullet entered, traveled under the skin for about three inches, and exited a relatively shallow wound. It may have continued on, penetrating the bear.

Sept 2, 2024 Idaho, Island Park Caribou-Trghee national forest, grizzly, unknown handguns 

On the morning of Sunday, Sept. 1, an archery hunter was attacked by an adult male grizzly bear west of Henrys Lake in Island Park. The man was hunting elk with a friend on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest near the Divide Creek Road when the attack occurred. 

During the surprise encounter, one of the hunters was knocked down and bitten by the bear. Both men were able to utilize their sidearms to shoot the bear, deterring the attack and killing the bear.  

The hunters were able to call 911 and the injured individual was transported by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. 

Fish and Game responded to the scene after coordinating with Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Emergency Medical Service teams. Conservation Officers conducted a thorough investigation and determined that the hunters acted in self-defense during a surprise encounter with the bear from a very close distance.

September 6, 2024, Siren Wisconsin, Black Bear, Combination Rifle and 10mm hunting.

Ryan saw the bear, very close, under an oak tree, only 6-10 feet away. His eyes met the bear’s, and the bear leaped at him. He fired eight shots, a mag dump, very fast. He says he managed to miss all eight shots. The bear bit his leg, and then Ryan pistol-whipped the bear with his empty handgun. The bear let go of his leg and attacked his arm and face. Owen, seeing the bear on top of his father, shot the bear again, stopping the attack. It all happened very fast. From the nypost.com:

 It was dark when they again came across the wounded bear staring at them from under an oak tree, the dad said.

“He was in a stance like a cat about to pounce,’’ Beierman told the Star Tribune. “The next thing I know, he was on me. He charged and knocked me down,” he said.

“The bear was fighting for its life, and I was fighting for mine.”

September 13, 2024, Tepee Creek, North of West Yellowstone, Montana, Grizzly bear unknown handguns.

WEST YELLOWSTONE – A grizzly bear was killed Monday in an encounter with bowhunters in Tepee Creek, north of West Yellowstone.

The two hunters reported being charged by a sow grizzly bear with two yearling cubs. Using handguns, the hunters shot and killed the sow. The yearling bears also charged at the hunters, who shot at and injured one of the yearlings. The hunters were not injured.

Bear specialists, game wardens and a helicopter pilot with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, as well as law enforcement staff with the Custer Gallatin National Forest, visited the site on Wednesday.  They confirmed the mortality of the adult bear, an older female. Officials found evidence of a yearling bear being injured, but they did not locate the yearling bears.

September 13, 2024, Montana Grizzly bear 10mm Glock 20, From Cowboy State Daily.com:

Mercado started to relax, thinking the bears would just go their own way.

“Then she stopped, turned sideways and ‘woofed’ at us a couple of times,” he said. “And then she just came for us at 20, maybe 30 mph. She came right at us like a bat out of Hell.”

For the second time during that hunting trip, things had gotten gravely serious.

“I just told my boy, ‘Shoot, shoot shoot!’” Mercado said.

Barkley fired about a half-dozen shots in rapid succession “and I could see the bullets kicking dirt up around the bear,” Mercado said.

He was just about to cut loose with his bear spray when “she skidded, stopped and took off back the other way toward her cubs,” he said.

The bears scrambled up a steep slope and were gone.

September 26, 2024, Wyoming, upper Green River Basin, Grizzly, 10mm Glock

But before long, he saw the grizzly and her cubs coming down the hillside adjacent to him. So he drew his handgun “and tried to stay as absolutely still and quiet as he could,” Quintrell said.

That didn’t work.

As the bears passed about 10 yards in front of him, the female caught his scent and immediately charged. Clement, who was backed up against the rock and had nowhere to go, opened fire.

After the bear sank her teeth into his leg, Clement’s pistol jammed, but he somehow maintained the presence of mind to clear the jam and continue firing, Quintrell said his friend told him.

Quintrell said that Clement probably fired about 10 times, and he saw at least four bullet wounds on the bear’s carcass, including the evidently fatal head shot.

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service game warden had been informed of the attack and the bear’s death, Quintrell said.

October 3, 2024,  Meeteetse area of Wyoming, Grizzly bear, 10mm Glock

Just switched from empty chamber to carrying a round in the chamber.  

“It sounded like the forest was falling apart, there were branches breaking,” he said. 

His father hoped that it might be the bull elk, but Kalkowski wasn’t sure about that. 

“I had a gut feeling that it wasn’t good. I wasn’t sure it was a bear, but I knew it was not good,” he said. 

So he went for his pistol, and had only just gotten it clear of the holster when the bear came bursting out of the timber.

He began firing immediately. 

“She folded into a soccer-ball shape and rolled right to my feet,” he said. 

The bear kept rolling, ending up on a log.  

“I thought she was done for, but my dad said, ‘Put the rest of your clip (magazine) into her,’” he said. 

So he emptied the rest of the Glock’s 15-round magazine into the bear, which rolled off the log and back into the nearly impossibly-dense timber. 

The incident unfolded in a matter of seconds, Kalkowski said.

October 5, 2024 Hidden Lakes, Gallatin County, MT, Grizzly, unknown handgun

On 10/5/24 at 2:08 pm, Gallatin County Dispatch received a 911 call from a hunter just south of the Hidden Lakes complex who reported he was charged by a Grizzly bear and then was forced to climb a tree to find safety.  The hunter reported being charged by a sow grizzly bear with two cubs.  The hunter defended themself by shooting the bear with a pistol before climbing a tree.  The wounded bear remained in the area causing the hunter stay in the tree to wait for help.

A MT Fish Wildlife and Parks helicopter was dispatched to assist the hunter.  Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue teams in Big Sky mobilized and staged at key locations to respond to the hunter’s location if needed.  MT FWP personnel landed near the treed hunter and dispatched the wounded Grizzly.  The hunter was not injured during this encounter and was transported by helicopter to safety.

May 21, 2025,  Choteau, Mt, Grizzly 10mm, .45 ACP 

At 30 yards, the bear put her ears back and charged. Justin and John drew their pistols and started firing. John was on Justin’s right, about 10 feet away. He was armed with a 1911-style .45 ACP. Justin had a Glock 20 chambered in 10 mm. John fired five shots, Justin fired three shots.

 Justin said, “the bear looked as big as an elephant coming toward us.”

Justin believed bear spray would have been useless because of the variable wind. Justin was using a mix of Federal full metal jacketed and hollow point rounds in the Glock, while John was using his .45 ACP.

At about 20 yards, the bear, obviously hit, veered to Justin’s side and out of sight, moving north.  North was toward the property boundary.  Mary Sexton owned the property on the other side. They called Mary to alert her to the possibility of a wounded grizzly coming her way. They re-mounted the side-by-side four-wheeler and headed toward Truchot Hill, hoping they would be able to spot the bear from the top of the hill. On the way, they stopped at Sheriff VanSetten’s home and let him know what was going on. They called the local Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) Wildlife Management Specialist, Chad White, and informed him of the encounter.

June 24, 2025,  Black Bear, Ft. Walton Beach Florida, unknown pistol. 

On June 24, Robinson watched from inside his home as a bear walked along a back wall, the report states.

“The bear did not seem right,” records show he told an investigating wildlife official. “It was not afraid of me and was walking around during the daylight.”

He grabbed a pistol, he said, to protect himself and his wife. From behind a cracked door, he yelled at the bear to go away. Robinson said it knocked over his griddle and walked toward him. The bear, a male, weighed roughly 180 pounds and was estimated to be between 2 and 4 years old, according to wildlife officials.

“I felt extremely threatened and thought the bear was going to come through the door,” records show he told an investigating wildlife officer. “So I then began shooting the bear.”

Robinson shot it 12 times, records show. He stopped firing when the bear turned away from him, and he watched as it walked a few dozen feet before dropping to the ground.

September 29, 2025, Big Sky Montana, Grizzly, unknown handguns:

 Two hunters were hunting in the vicinity of a known elk carcass when they saw a grizzly bear on Sept 29. To make their presence known, the hunters yelled at the bear. The bear reportedly came toward the hunters, and they each fired once with handguns. Both the bear and the hunters left the site without further incident.

In all of the 206 cases, a handgun was fired in defense against a bear. This follows the same protocol as the famous “Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska“, which only scored incidents where bear spray was actually sprayed at bears. In our handgun study, only one incident involved a game warden shooting a bear in defense of self (June 26, 1987). In the Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray paper, 21 of 72 incidents involved park personnel spraying bears.

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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