Hiker kills charging bear with AK-74

[Guest confidence]

Park Ranger thinks he should have been carrying something in a larger caliber, lol:

 

http://www.adn.com/2013/07/29/2997953/section-of-turnagain-arm-trail.html

Edited August 1, 2013 by confidence

[JAB]

I don't want to make light of the death of a bear.  I don't want to but this damned smartass nature of mine won't be stopped so:

 

The article says that the bear turned his rear toward the hiker.  The hiker then said, "Hey, bear," in an attempt to let the bear know he was there and not startle it.  At that point, the bear charged at the hiker.

 

Being as it had just turned its rear toward him, I wonder if the bear might have misheard, "Hey, bear," and though that the hiker was calling him a, "Gay bear."  Maybe the bear then went running toward the guy to exclaim that he (the bear) was NOT gay - just curious.  Would that make killing the bear a hate crime?

Edited August 1, 2013 by JAB

[peejman]

I'm staggered by the knowledge exhibited by Ms. Boots.  Perhaps she's simply got good google-fu, but the fact that this was included in the article is amazing to me...

 

The AK-74 rifle is an updated version of its cousin, the better-known AK-47 assault weapon. It fires a smaller caliber round than the AK-47 and remains popular in the countries of the former Soviet Union, where it was produced in the 1970s.

 

Perhaps I shouldn't be amazed, but I am.  After all, this seems to be the norm...

 

[NoBanStan]

Here's the liberal version of this story. (posted from reddit. today no less)

 

[peejman]

Here's the liberal version of this story. (posted from reddit. today no less)

 

 

 

 

You don't have to out run the bear, just out run your buddy.  The guy with the camera around his neck is dead meat.  :lol:

[gjohnsoniv]

I like in the comments there is a guy who calls BS because he says a 5.45 round couldn't stop a bear.

[gjohnsoniv]

You don't have to out run the bear, just out run your buddy.  The guy with the camera around his neck is dead meat.  :lol:

Looks like the bear is more intent on eating the fat redheaded guy.

[Mark A]

We were there a week before this happened. It's funny as the only wildlife we saw was from pretty far away...

 

I carried a G29 with Buffalo Bore hardcast ammo. I seriously thought about taking my 5.56 pistol as it fits nicely in my day pack.

 

 

Apparently we were a bit lucky with the weather as we had full sun for 3 of the 6 days we were there and only really cloudy 1 day.

 

It was better than I imagined it ever could be.

 

A cool thing was being around so many armed citizens all the time...

 

Mark

[Guest TankerHC]

"It’s legal to carry a gun in Chugach State Park, but guns can only be discharged in defense of life and property or legal hunting.  

Crockett says he believes Sunday’s incident met the defense criteria"

 

I dont know, it was only a 500-600 pound charging bear, not sure a gun was needed at all to be perfectly honest.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/07/29/2997953/section-of-turnagain-arm-trail.html#storylink=cpy

[Oh Shoot]

I like in the comments there is a guy who calls BS because he says a 5.45 round couldn't stop a bear.

 

Bela Twin killed the then world record grizzly in 1953 with a single shot .22LR, and apparently with one shot:

 

 

"On a spring day back in 1953, 63-year-old Bella Twin and her friend Dave Auger were hunting grouse and picking berries near Lesser Slave Lake in the Swan Hills of northern Alberta, Canada. As the story goes, they were walking an oil-exploration survey line when they ran into a humongous grizzly bear following the same line toward them. The two feared that if they ran, the grizzly would notice them and give chase, so they hid in a brush pile and hoped the big bruin would pass without any trouble.

Unfortunately for the bear, it was intent on getting its share of berries and came very near Twin and Auger. Frightened by the close encounter, Twin raised the rifle she was carrying and fired. Her aim was dead on. The grizzly was struck in the head and fell dead.

Bella’s bear was no ordinary griz. Its skull scored 26 5/16, placing it at the top of the list of Boone and Crockett world’s records where it stayed for many years. The bear currently ranks number 30 among the all-time records and still stands as the longest-reigning provincial big-game record in Alberta.

In the half century since Twin killed her record grizzly, many differing accounts of the incident have been given. However, all of them agree on one thing: little Bella Twin killed that 1,000-pound-plus griz with the humblest of all rifles—a single-shot, bolt-action, .22-caliber rimfire. With just one long-rifle cartridge, this petite Cree Indian grandmother finished off one of the biggest grizzlies ever documented and earned remembrance as one of the world’s truly legendary hunters."

 

Some accounts say she after the bear fell, though apparently dead from the single shot, she used the other 6 or 7 rounds she had with her to make sure.

 

- OS

[gjohnsoniv]

Bela Twin killed the then world record grizzly in 1953 with a single shot .22LR, and apparently with one shot:

 

 

"On a spring day back in 1953, 63-year-old Bella Twin and her friend Dave Auger were hunting grouse and picking berries near Lesser Slave Lake in the Swan Hills of northern Alberta, Canada. As the story goes, they were walking an oil-exploration survey line when they ran into a humongous grizzly bear following the same line toward them. The two feared that if they ran, the grizzly would notice them and give chase, so they hid in a brush pile and hoped the big bruin would pass without any trouble.

Unfortunately for the bear, it was intent on getting its share of berries and came very near Twin and Auger. Frightened by the close encounter, Twin raised the rifle she was carrying and fired. Her aim was dead on. The grizzly was struck in the head and fell dead.

Bella’s bear was no ordinary griz. Its skull scored 26 5/16, placing it at the top of the list of Boone and Crockett world’s records where it stayed for many years. The bear currently ranks number 30 among the all-time records and still stands as the longest-reigning provincial big-game record in Alberta.

In the half century since Twin killed her record grizzly, many differing accounts of the incident have been given. However, all of them agree on one thing: little Bella Twin killed that 1,000-pound-plus griz with the humblest of all rifles—a single-shot, bolt-action, .22-caliber rimfire. With just one long-rifle cartridge, this petite Cree Indian grandmother finished off one of the biggest grizzlies ever documented and earned remembrance as one of the world’s truly legendary hunters."

 

Some accounts say she after the bear fell, though apparently dead from the single shot, she used the other 6 or 7 rounds she had with her to make sure.

 

- OS

Proof that placement is more important then size and power.

Edited August 2, 2013 by gjohnsoniv

[Guest Lester Weevils]

My fuzzy eyes and dim brain keep reading this thread title as "Hitler kills charging bear with ak 74"

[Oh Shoot]

My fuzzy eyes and dim brain keep reading this thread title as "Hitler kills charging bear with ak 74"

 

Naw, it's actually "Putin".

 

- OS

[TSprint1]

I have a friend, Inupiat Eskimo, that was raised in Point Barrow, Alaska and now works in the Prudhoe Bay Oil Fields.  We were discussing this guy last week and he told me that when he was a kid his village elders consistently hunted and killed Polar bears on the ice pressure ridges north of Barrow with a .22-250.  He also said that many of his relatives still subsistence hunt with a .22-250.  With that said most, but not all, of the folks that I'm associated up there saddle up with a .300 win mag on the low end and most usually with either a .338 win mag or .45-70.  We just got back from a month in Alaska, annual trip, and I must say that in all of the years we've been going up there I have not seen one EBR.  I'm sure they are there  but I haven't seen one and we do a lot of traveling and interacting with folks while there.  On a side note you can walk in to just about any Kroger owned Fred Meyer's grocery/general merchandise store and walk out with a rifle, pistol and shotgun.  I was struck with the availability of just about any ammo except .22.  Nobody that I talked to has seen a round of .22 in a looong time. 

[Transplanted Hoosier]

According to the whitehouse, the hiker was stalking the unarmed bear prior to the shooting and Alaska needs to reconsider its "stand your ground" law.

[NRA]

Proof that placement is more important then size and power.

I keep trying to tell my wife size does not matter

[Sam1]

Proof that placement is more important then size and power.

I would rather have 100 .308 rounds in a shotugun than a single .22 to take out a bear any day of the week

[TN-popo]

 
. Edited August 2, 2013 by TN-popo

[TN-popo]

 

I would rather have 100 .308 rounds in a shotugun than a single .22 to take out a bear any day of the week

 
Thank you, Captain Obvious. :)

BTW, are shotuguns chambered in .308? Edited August 2, 2013 by TN-popo

[whitewolf001]

I would rather have 100 .308 rounds in a shotugun than a single .22 to take out a bear any day of the week

 

[Guest confidence]

According to the whitehouse, the hiker was stalking the unarmed bear prior to the shooting and Alaska needs to reconsider its "stand your ground" law.

 

How dare you say that? Why you're just as racist as the park rangers!: http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/68503-gsm-national-park-recommends-you-stand-your-ground/

[gjohnsoniv]

I keep trying to tell my wife size does not matter

Lol.

 

I would rather have 100 .308 rounds in a shotugun than a single .22 to take out a bear any day of the week

Do you not trust your marksmanship skills? Also where can I find one of these rifle shotguns to which you refer.

[Romad7]

Here you go, those look like at least .308 sized projectiles;-)

A tank is just a big rifle, right? Anyway, this is my weapon of choice when dealing with a charging bear.

http://youtu.be/Cgn1nhUEgo8 Edited August 2, 2013 by Romad7

[K191145]

From the article.

The man fired the AK-74 he was carrying, Crockett said. The bear stopped after the first volley of shots, and then charged again.

If you carry that small of a caliber for bear defense then I recon you had better have a large capacity or rounds in a semi-auto weapon.
I don't know much about bear defense but if I were to choose a decent all around gun for defense against big animals and maybe to hunt with I would choose a semi-auto at least in .308/7.62x51. Maybe in some AR platform but I would probably like a scoped M1A Scout or SOCOM. I know there's better hunting calibers for big game but in bear and moose country I would want a semi-auto with at least a 10+ round capacity and i'm not aware of many semi-auto's in larger or faster calibers than the .308. Remington makes a semi-auto in 30-06 but the difference is not that much plus I would want it to be managable for quick follow up shots.
As far as "shot Placement", I can be decently accurate whith a long gun when shooting at paper targets at the range,I'm not sure about how accurate i would be if a charging bear wanted to kill and eat me.

[whitewolf001]

From the article.


If you carry that small of a caliber for bear defense then I recon you had better have a large capacity or rounds in a semi-auto weapon.
I don't know much about bear defense but if I were to choose a decent all around gun for defense against big animals and maybe to hunt with I would choose a semi-auto at least in .308/7.62x51. Maybe in some AR platform but I would probably like a scoped M1A Scout or SOCOM. I know there's better hunting calibers for big game but in bear and moose country I would want a semi-auto with at least a 10+ round capacity and i'm not aware of many semi-auto's in larger or faster calibers than the .308. Remington makes a semi-auto in 30-06 but the difference is not that much plus I would want it to be managable for quick follow up shots.
As far as "shot Placement", I can be decently accurate whith a long gun when shooting at paper targets at the range,I'm not sure about how accurate i would be if a charging bear wanted to kill and eat me.

 

You dump enough rounds into something and it will go down. It didn't say how many he had used so that is left to speculation. He was using a 5.45 and he killed a bear with it, we know that and if he was using a AK74 he more than likely had a 30round mag or maybe even possibly an RPK mag, did he perform a mag change, who knows. Bear is dead and 5.45 brought it down. If he was using the Russian surplus stuff we've been getting that is 7N6 ammo, which is capable of penetrating 6mm of steel at 300m. The rounds performance speaks for itself.

Edited August 2, 2013 by whitewolf001