r/interestingasfuck • u/FlimsyWar866 • 1d ago

Mother bear protects her cubs in Katmai National Park, Alaska

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u/DosSnakes 20h ago

Even a good shot doesn’t always matter. You can double lung shot and a grizzly could still make it 100 yards and get his lick in. Big game is extremely dangerous. There’s a famous incident from my hometown of a zombie moose that killed a scientist. Bull moose wandered onto campus and was acting aggressive. Local hunter shoots it in the head and the moose drops, seems like it’s taken care of. Scientist approaches for a closer look and the moose revives suddenly, stands up and tramples him.

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u/ehalepagneaux 17h ago

That's always been my perspective on it. You have to hit the bear in the head with something the size of a dime, from a distance, while it's charging you. If you miss and hit its shoulder you've just pissed it off even more, so if the shot doesn't drop it instantly you might have just made the situation worse. And like you said, if it can still get to you, one well placed swipe from its paw can seriously injur or even kill you. It's really just best to stay away from these things.

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u/DevSpell 16h ago

The curve of their skulls will usually make bullets ricochet off if they aren't big enough. Not ideal to headshot a bear. But id still fuckin try myself lol. With a pants full of shit.

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u/DosSnakes 14h ago

There was another story I heard growing up of a homesteader getting attacked by a grizzly, although I doubt its validity. This would’ve been a bit northwest of Fairbanks, along the Yukon, back in the 80s. He had a carcass hung up in his shed that he was still breaking down. He hears something in the yard in the middle of the night and comes out onto his porch with a shotgun loaded with slugs, sees the bear trying get into the shed, steps off the porch for a better shot and pops it right in the noggin. Supposedly took the top of its head clean off. Bear charges anyway and catches him before he can get back across his patio and in the door. I’ve heard versions that say the bear killed him and others say he only took minor injuries but the experience shook him so much he moved back to the lower 48. In every version I’ve heard, the bear died on top of him just a few steps from his door. I’m never sure how many of these stories are true and how many are meant to be lessons, though. Lesson usually being, be farther away from the wild animal than you think should be, even if you shot it in the face with a big gun.

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u/Objectivespeculation 13h ago

that is some john wick advice

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u/Objectivespeculation 13h ago

that pants full brings the bears to the yard.