This is Why You Carry Guns in the Weminuche Wilderness
BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 5 months ago
Because it’s the roughest, most dangerous place in the lower 48.
F&S.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, July 11, a black bear attacked a man who was working as a sheep herder in the San Juan National Forest of southwestern Colorado, about 23 miles northeast of Durango. According to a Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) press release issued yesterday evening, the man survived and was treated for head wounds and other severe lacerations. The bear was tracked down and killed by a federal agent less than 24 hours after the attack.
The 35-year-old herder was working for a permit holder of a sheep grazing allotment in the nearly 500,000-acre Weminuche Wilderness Area when the bear attacked him. It bit him on the head and left additional wounds on his left arm and hand, CPW said. It also left deep cuts on his left hip and scratches on his back.
The herder told CPW agents that he was awoken by the sounds of the bear preying on his sheep around 1 a.m. He fired a .30-30 rifle in response to the attack before the bruin charged and mauled him. “This is an unfortunate incident and we are thankful the victim was able to contact help to get emergency services deployed and that he was able to be extracted to receive necessary medical care,” CPW Area Wildlife Manager Adrian Archuleta said in the press release.
In the aftermath of the attack, the man managed to crawl to his tent and call his cousin for help. An airlift was summoned to the scene, and he was transported to the Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango.
See F&S for the rest of the story.
I’m assuming that he missed with his .30-30. I would think that round would easily put down most black bears.
It’s good that he had the means to call for help – that area is rugged and is several hours from cell phone connectivity.
When I was there we all three carried firearms, and I carried a 1911 with a 10-round magazine and 22# spring with 450 SMC cartridges (230 gr. at 1130 FPS), along with additional ammunition and magazines.
I also carried a satellite texting phone capable of reaching 911. Any rescue out of where we were would have required a helicopter because the hike for foot-borne rescuers would have been two or more days. This is extremely rugged terrain and isolated area, and the sheep herder is blessed to be alive.
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On July 14, 2023 at 11:46 am, Glenn said:
Why is it that the bear had to be killed after the attack? Why is it that alligators have to be killed after the attack? I do not understand the reasoning
On July 14, 2023 at 11:58 am, Don't mind me. said:
@Glenn:
Because once they get a taste, they keep coming back.
On July 14, 2023 at 12:17 pm, Herschel Smith said:
Exodus 21:28-29.
On July 14, 2023 at 2:13 pm, PGF said:
I would mention the precondition to Exodus, in the covenant which God made with every living thing after the flood: Genesis 9:1-17 and specifically verses 3 and 5.
On July 15, 2023 at 2:34 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
Re: “I’m assuming that he missed with his .30-30. I would think that round would easily put down most black bears.”
Sometimes, the fastest reload is a back-up weapon. Any combat-experienced infantryman would tell you that, and plenty of hunters, too. Things sometimes move too fast for a reload, and an angry back bear is quite fast. That 30-30 was fine, but it wasn’t enough. He needed a back-up of some kind on his body, which probably means a large-bore handgun of some kind.
To reiterate our host’s point, that man is lucky to be alive today.
On July 16, 2023 at 10:14 am, Bill Buppert said:
GB61,
Respectfully, this is one of those rare cases where you are wrong. A reload is ALWAYS faster than going to another weapon, and absent reloads of course you go to another weapon. But infantrymen in the West rarely carry a pistol in addition to their other weapons in line units [you will even find that top-of-the-world units like CAG (the Unit) preach the reload method]. The first thing my sons and I do before whatever our range activities with rifle are (on the line) is a series of malf drills to include tactical reloads (from Tap-Rack-Bang to magazine changes).
Think about this from a practical perspective, you are driving your rifle and experience a pause that is either a malf or the tactical need to reload, your weapon is pointed downrange and in-hand; to go to an alternate weapon means you completely transition out and have to reengage with whatever you are using as backup.
Not faster.
I urge you to test my thesis out at the range.
We’ll call this a gentleman’s disagreement.
On July 16, 2023 at 10:39 am, Don't mind me. said:
“Because it’s the roughest, most dangerous place in the lower 48”
Debatable.
Upper Rockies/Griz country seems rougher to me.
On July 16, 2023 at 1:28 pm, Dale said:
@Glenn
Simple…they are predators. They hunt and eat to survive. Once they have a taste they will always come back for more. Crocs, ‘gators, bears, lions, tigers, whatever…. If it comes after a human in ANY way shape or form, they need to be put down permanently….Just like an egg sucking dog on a farm, a piglet/chicken/lamb killing dog, dog & cat killin’ coyotes, dogs that bite kids…a bullet is the only answer….
On July 16, 2023 at 9:15 pm, Latigo Morgan said:
SW Colorado – my playground. No where I’d rather be. I start to get itchy for it every year around this time, too.