Pheasant hunter kills charging Grizzly

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20091014/NEWS01/910140301&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

This was about 40 miles from Conrad

"It would have got me," said Galen West, a 68-year-old retired dentist who now fishes commercially in the Gulf of Alaska.

West encountered the grizzly at about 11 a.m. on an overgrown game trail in thick brush while he was hunting on state land with his 12-year-old English setter 8 miles north of Choteau. Three other hunters in his party were in the vicinity at the time, walking through an area known as Eldorado Grove — a large island of cottonwoods, riparian shrub fields and open meadows surrounded by grass and farmland east of U.S. Highway 89.

With the best buffaloberry on the entire Rocky Mountain Front, it's a haven for grizzlies who often bed down during the day in thick brush, said Mike Madel, a grizzly bear management specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

A dozen grizzly day beds were found in the vicinity of the shooting, he said.

"Generally they will defend themselves — and defend their cubs," Madel said.

He advises hunters to avoid these dense areas in order to help reduce the chances of meeting a grizzly.

Hunters also should carry bear spray in case they do encounter bears, he said, noting the spray scares off the bears.

"This situation that happened yesterday could have been very different if the hunter had been carrying bear spray," Madel said.

However, West said he would not have had time to dig bear spray out even if he had it with him.

"There was no decision to make," West said. "I had one thing to do and that was defend myself."

West said that he heard a twig break, and then saw the bear standing on its hind legs about 20 feet away and making a "wolfy growl." The bear then dropped to all fours and charged him, he said.

He shot three times with his .20-gauge shotgun. The bear was struck between the eyes, just a little bit above them, said West, calling his shots "lucky."
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With the bear quickly approaching, there was no time to get the gun to his shoulder and aim, he said.
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"It was really surprising to me how close that was," said Rod Duty, a FWP game warden. "He's a pretty fortunate guy."

A necropsy will be performed on the bear, Duty said, adding that the shooting appears to be a straight forward case of self defense.

Montana grizzlies are protected as a threatened species.

The female West shot had three nursing cubs, which also will be recorded as mortalities if they are not captured because they probably won't survive on their own, Madel said.

In an attempt to capture the cubs, managers moved the dead female into a culvert trap, Madel said. The culvert was to remain overnight at the scene Tuesday.

The 9-year-old, 380- to 390-pound female had a radio collar, with her movements being tracked as part of a population study by FWP, Madel said.

West said that when he killed the bear it landed so close that he could have touched it with the barrel of his gun. The encounter was over in about 4 seconds, he said. He hopes his experience makes other hunters realize they "have to be damn careful" because of all the bears in the area.

West, who has friends in Montana, has hunted in the same spot for five years, he said. In Alaska, he spends a lot of time hunting at a cabin outside of Sitka. He always figured he would have a head-on encounter with a grizzly someday.

"I didn't expect it to happen here in Montana," he said.

Despite the close call, West and the members of his hunting party continued hunting Tuesday. They saw grizzly tracks from a sow and cubs in one area they hunted in.

"We left," West said.

With the bear quickly approaching, there was no time to get the gun to his shoulder and aim, he said.
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"It was really surprising to me how close that was," said Rod Duty, a FWP game warden. "He's a pretty fortunate guy."

A necropsy will be performed on the bear, Duty said, adding that the shooting appears to be a straight forward case of self defense.

Montana grizzlies are protected as a threatened species.

The female West shot had three nursing cubs, which also will be recorded as mortalities if they are not captured because they probably won't survive on their own, Madel said.

In an attempt to capture the cubs, managers moved the dead female into a culvert trap, Madel said. The culvert was to remain overnight at the scene Tuesday.

The 9-year-old, 380- to 390-pound female had a radio collar, with her movements being tracked as part of a population study by FWP, Madel said.

West said that when he killed the bear it landed so close that he could have touched it with the barrel of his gun. The encounter was over in about 4 seconds, he said. He hopes his experience makes other hunters realize they "have to be damn careful" because of all the bears in the area.

West, who has friends in Montana, has hunted in the same spot for five years, he said. In Alaska, he spends a lot of time hunting at a cabin outside of Sitka. He always figured he would have a head-on encounter with a grizzly someday.

"I didn't expect it to happen here in Montana," he said.

Despite the close call, West and the members of his hunting party continued hunting Tuesday. They saw grizzly tracks from a sow and cubs in one area they hunted in.

"We left," West said.