I tried googling this but couldn't find it. Anyone remember a grizzly attack on two bowhunters and their guide and one of the hunters shot the bear with a bow and killed it and had charges pressed? I think it was Montana in about the 80s.

I can't find that one you're talking about but had two friends kill one in self-defense in late 1980's. One was seriously mauled and the other shoot it, they were up elk hunting when this occurred. The law wasn't good for them at that time and the fines were steep.

Both were very lucky to live to tell the story. They had a very detailed story of their ordeal.

Sounds like getting mauled prior to killing a grizzly isn't good enough. I guess a human's life isn't as important as an animals. Pretty sad what this country has denigrated to.

At age 74, I cannot recall what I had for breakfast. But for some reason I recall that this incident was in Colorado. A guide named Wiseman killed the bear. That was enough to get Google to cough up some details!

https://www.outdoorlife.com/survival/ed-wiseman-colorado-bear-attack/

Pete

It's a similar story but I don't think the right one. In the story I'm thinking of the hunters were facing serious charges and a federal court ended up ruling you had the right to self defense. It was a bizarre case full of govt screw-up the state or feds had previously trapped the bear which had almost no teeth left and a mangled paw.

Ok, your in the middle of nowhere, you have to kill a grizzly to save yourself or someone else, why on earth would you report it?

Story likely came out in the ER.

Well, if you go to the Doc on your death bed and most likely needed to be air lifted not too easy to make up a story. DNR will find out and with all the blood and mauling scene I can tell you it is very evident what has happened. A blind man could tell.

If I remember right they only has minor injuries. Someone in govt had trapped the bear and its foot was mangled from a foot snare snafu and it was missing nearly all it's teeth. The bear was sponsored by a mine or something and was bringing in a lot of money to the study program so they didn't follow protocol on dispatching a bear in that condition and instead released it to keep on starving.

I did some nuisance work for a guy who got mauled. Think hos story was in sports afield nov 86? Hunting pheasants and got pounced. Shot three times before she hit him. He hit her good with the last shot. He tried to get back up and she hit him again. Bit his head and heard crunching. He said everything was mud and blood. And when he crawled to some ladies doors she was P Oed at him.

Ill never forget telling him O was going to the front for bears. I could tell he was gonna tell me about griz. I was all cued up to say I know how to be in griz country, but before I could get the words out he started rolling up his sleeve. Spooky….

I believe what you are referring to happened in British Columbia, with a outfitter.
Bob Fontana? He was a nice guy to be around!

I don't think so but I'm not sure. I believe it was a collared bear in the lower 48.

I found it, Joe Skipp. This is his story written by him, there is much more detailed versions out there and a podcast.

(Joe Skipp)- OK....might be kinda long...Sept of 1985 my buddy and I were bowhunting Elk in the Cabinet Mtns of Montana with Guide Billy Hill (Trout Creek). First day of our hunt we had 2 close encounters with bulls, the day looked promising. The 3rd bull we encountered stopped bugling, he was only 30 yds in front of me but I couldn't see him. We took a break for some lunch and the bull bugled again far down the Mtn. Seemed strange cause the wind was always in our favor. As the 3 of us moved down the Mtn through very thick cover (single file...guide, me and "Charlie".) There was crashing behind us and whatever it was, ran past us. As we stood there the crashing now came right at us. I heard a loud "woof" and Billy yelled Grizzly...get on him Joe. Bill anticipated the bear getting Charlie who was about 15 yds behind us. HOWEVER, at the sound of Bill's voice, the Grizzly was now bearing down on me (Bill was 5 yds directly behind me).

At 5 yds the bear swung his head and our eyes met and to this day, I'll never forget looking into those coal black eyes. I stood my ground and put an arrow in behind his hump. The distance I shot him was 4 feet. We didn't know Charlie loosed an arrow as the bear ran by and clipped the vitals. The Grizzly chased Bill down the hill but lost mobility to turn. Loss of blood and my Zwickey in his vertabrae. When we regrouped, we could hear the "death moan". The bear had a broken jaw and was radio collared. We headed off the Mtn and turned ourselves in to the local game warden. That night Charlie and I were questioned by Federal Agents, the next day they arrested us for the illegal killing of a Federally Protected Animal.

I spent 10 hrs in the Thompson Falls jail until Billy bailed me out. January 1986 we were on trial at the State level for this offense. The trial lasted 7 days, jury deliberated for 8 hrs before coming back with a not guilty verdict. This was one of the most scariest times of my life...four years later, Bill Hill sued the State of Montana for malicious prosecution
and was awarded over $100,000 in damages. Our Grizzly incident made all the papers across the country, North American Hunting Club, Outdoor Life etc...There is quite a bit more to tell of the events during the trial but I'd need a book for that.

Heres the Youtube. It's worth the watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwh18wQeM9Y

If I ever got set up like that and was convicted, I would spend the rest of my days converting every game department building into a drive thru until my truck stopped running or they caught me.
Sometimes that kind of manning up becomes necessary. Sure, $100,000 in your bank account sounds nice, but not one penny of it comes out of pockets of those who perpetrated that kind of injustice. I'll bet no one got fired, suspended or even given a good talkin too.

Crazy that i do not remember this as i was there in that country many times when that happened .

Thanks, and I'm sure at the time I heard of this attack but also there were others as well and the law wasn't on the defender side in any of the attacks I knew of.
The grizzly was more important than a human trying to protect his life. Unreal but that is how they treated my two friends with a very similar story.

An elk outfitter I hunted with had a griz attack one of his guys and the bear was killed. They call in the fish and game and everything was ok. Two years pass and he gets a letter in the mail saying he better lawyer up they are coming after him.

So, did law come after him??

Wow wow wow