View Full Version : Elk Hunters Attacked by Bears in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Shooter45
09-16-2018, 07:24
Mark Uptain, 37, is owner of Blue Sky Restoration and the guide still missing.Chubon was able to run to his pack a few yards away and retrieve a pistol but was unable to safely fire a shot at the bear that had pounced upon Uptain. The attacking bear then spun, charged Chubon, grabbed his foot and dragged him to the ground. He sustained injuries to his leg, chest, and arm, but was able to throw the gun to Uptain and get loose before running from the scene to phone for help.
Initial reports indicate that the second bear did not engage either Chubon or Uptain.
An interagency helicopter was dispatched to the scene to assist with transport of the injured hunters. Chubon was taken to St. John’s Medical Center for treatment to his wounds. Search and Rescue personnel were unable to locate Uptain before the search was suspended for the evening.
An interagency team from the Teton County Sheriff’s Office, Teton County Search and Rescue, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Grand Teton National Park, and Bridger-Teton National Forest have resumed the search at 6:30am this morning. Game wardens will look for evidence that may indicate if the bears were grizzlies.
Undersheriff Matt Carr stated, “Search and Rescue is currently in the field, and we’re making every effort to locate and bring Mr. Uptain out from the backcountry.”
An incident command post and helicopter landing zone has been established near Turpin Meadow Ranch. Ground and air resources are being utilized for this search and updates will be provided as available. Other hunters in the area should be aware of the search and rescue operations and the recent bear activity.
https://buckrail.com/two-elk-hunters-attacked-by-bears-guide-still-missing/[/COLOR]
Jeez hope they find him and a couple dead bears next to him.
Seamonkey
09-16-2018, 08:30
oh snap!
Wonder why Chuban didn't shoot the bear when it attacked him and instead tossed the pistol to Uptain. Course I've never been charged by a bear... I assume I'd scream like a little girl and run away
The guide's body has been found. https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/this_just_in/article_fb78dcc0-94a9-5dab-804d-23991c46f90c.html
I also wondered why the hunter tossed the pistol and didn't shoot. But I have been charged twice by coastal Alaskan brown bears and the immediate reaction is to flee despite knowing that's often not the best thing.
Yesterday I read of several recent bear attacks in AK, MT, and WY. It's a reminder to be prepared and always watch your six. It's easy to become somewhat tunnel visioned while hunting, watching forward and to the sides but not behind. I have worked to train myself to frequently look back but it's not a natural instinct.
On Archery Talk there was a thread about whether folks carry a pistol when bow hunting, where legal to do so. All the east coast, tree stand, "never shoot beyond 20 yards" fags were all hemming and hawing about how it's unnecessary. All of us from out west told them to STFU. This is why.
All the east coast, tree stand, "never shoot beyond 20 yards" fags were all hemming and hawing about how it's unnecessary.
Like.
whitewalrus
09-16-2018, 13:04
On Archery Talk there was a thread about whether folks carry a pistol when bow hunting, where legal to do so. All the east coast, tree stand, "never shoot beyond 20 yards" fags were all hemming and hawing about how it's unnecessary. All of us from out west told them to STFU. This is why.
Would be nice to "hike" in a 1/10th of a mile and sit in a treestand instead of the hike you have to do out here.
Little Dutch
09-16-2018, 13:29
No joke. I was thinking yesterday how unprepared I am for my hike in this season.
The guide was, reportedly, 6 miles in as the crow flies. I don’t know that area, but it sounds like they were a long way in.
Bailey Guns
09-16-2018, 16:30
That sucks. Sometimes you're the hunter, sometimes you're the hunted.
-drove up to Turpin Reservoir (sp?) near Medicine Bow Peak yesterday afternoon with the wife. I realize it's nowhere near Jackson but we were far enough in the breeze that I felt the G43 to be peasant should things go iffy. I may amend behavior going forward.
I've been carrying my FN HiPower in a Hill People Gear chest pack when I've been out.. only complaint is it's noticably heavy on a long hike up the side of a mountain. Starting to think about my choice of carry and if there is something lighter out there.. hate to say it but maybe a Glock.
Jeffrey Lebowski
09-16-2018, 18:16
What’s up with this ad placement?
76115
Bailey Guns
09-16-2018, 20:10
Wow...
Zundfolge
09-16-2018, 20:59
Gotta love algorithmic ad placement.
Wolfshoon
09-16-2018, 21:20
What’s up with this ad placement?
76115
lol, I don't know, but the survivor should buy one just because.
Shooter45
09-16-2018, 22:06
Grizzlies suspected of killing guide are dead
The grizzly bears suspected of fatally mauling outfitter Mark Uptain were trapped and killed early Sunday near the elk carcass that caused conflict on Terrace Mountain.
“We killed two grizzly bears up there a little bit ago, and we have every reason to believe they are the offending bears,” Wyoming Game and Fish Department Jackson Regional Supervisor Brad Hovinga said around 10:45 a.m. Sunday. “They fit the description.”
Forensic tests will provide certainty that the killer grizzlies are now dead, he said.
The successful overnight capture was unexpected.
Before boarding a helicopter hours before, Game and Fish carnivore supervisor Dan Thompson remarked that it was a “low probability” that the bears would have remained in the area because of the bustling activity the day before. Twenty searchers had swept through the broken-timbered slopes of the Teton Wilderness peak that day before coming upon Uptain’s remains around 1:15 p.m. Saturday.
After Uptain’s body was retrieved, Teton County Coroner Brent Blue performed an autopsy, concluding Sunday that head and chest trauma were the cause of death.
Pending completion of an investigation, wildlife managers are not releasing all the details about what they believe occurred when Uptain and his bow-hunting client, Corey Chubon, were aggressively attacked by the pair of bruins Friday afternoon.
Hovinga surmised that the bears involved were a sow and its grown cub.
“The behavior exhibited by these bears is abnormal behavior for a family group,” he said. “It’s not typically how we would see family groups behave.”
Chubon, who was airlifted out of the Teton Wildness with leg, chest and arm injuries, reported to investigators that of the two grizzlies involved, only one was the aggressor. The Florida resident, who flew back home Saturday, told authorities that he was unable to fire a shot from a handgun he retrieved during the attack, but he threw the firearm to Uptain before departing the scene.
Late Saturday, Hovinga declined to discuss evidence collected at the scene, but he did say that bear-deterrent pepper spray was among the things the guide and client possessed. He said he “didn’t know” if the handgun was with Uptain’s remains. The gun was not recovered immediately around where the attack took place, at the site of an elk Chubon had struck with an arrow Thursday. The guide and client did not locate and start to retrieve the elk until early the next afternoon.
The elk carcass was “undisturbed” when it was located by Uptain and Chubon, which suggests that the bear was not necessarily food guarding — a common behavior that often leads to conflicts with humans, especially hunters.
What’s uncommon is for hunter-grizzly conflicts to turn fatal for the people.
Uptain, a father of five and small-business owner, was guiding for Martin Outfitters.
In a recent interview with the Jackson Hole News&Guide about his business, Blue Sky Services and Restoration, he said he spent his free time with his wife, Sarah, and their kids, serving on the board of elders at First Baptist Church, riding horses, hunting, fishing, biking and playing chess.
Shortly after Uptain’s death was confirmed, Rauli Perry, a family friend, created a GoFundMe page in his name. Launched Saturday evening, as of Sunday afternoon it had raised nearly $25,000 of its $50,000 goal.
“Even more than the outdoors Mark loved his beautiful wife Sarah and their five amazing kids,” wrote Perry, who has been friends with Sarah Uptain since they were in second grade. “Please give what you can or share to help this family in their time of need. I know I can’t take away the pain, but if we can help support Sarah to be able to focus on the kids and not worry about finances.”
https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/environmental/article_7bb8d117-4a3d-5843-b1eb-0780d6e4f670.html
Still not following the logic in throwing a pistol to someone being attacked rather than throwing a bullet at the attacker.
If I'm ever being attacked, I'd hope my partner does not start throwing firearms at me.
ETA: It is just plain stupid to go into bear country without a suitable firearm and knowing how to use it.
Sounds like the guy had the flight response vs fight response..
Hard to say how anyone would respond in a situation like that until you are in it
I also didn't see anywhere who's handgun it was.. it's possible the client isn't familiar with handguns and his best course of action was to get it to the guide.
Shooter45
09-18-2018, 12:24
"Game and Fish officials say they are certain they got the bears involved. Uptain was able to deploy bear spray during his struggle and the larger sow grizzly had traces of it on her when captured."
https://buckrail.com/game-fish-we-got-the-right-bears-one-was-sprayed-more-details-of-the-encounter/
"An investigation found a discharged can of bear spray with the safety off near the body. It was later determined that the sow (female bear) had been sprayed with bear spray."
"On Sunday, a team of five Game and Fish personnel traveled to the site to check the foot snares. Upon reaching the site, it was determined a yearling grizzly bear was captured in the snare and an adult grizzly sow was in the vicinity. The sow charged the team in an aggressive manner and was shot by Game and Fish personnel. The yearling bear was chemically immobilized and determined to be involved in the attack of the victims. The yearling bear was then euthanized. All evidence collected leads Game and Fish investigators to believe these two bears were responsible for the fatal attack. Based on these findings, Game and Fish has discontinued all trapping operations in this area."
https://elknetwork.com/investigation-continues-into-deadly-wyoming-grizzly-attack/
buckshotbarlow
09-27-2018, 17:32
does this help?76210
An excellent analysis following the coroners report points to reasons why the hunter tossed the handgun to the guide under attack. The Glock was unloaded and the magazine might not have been fully engaged. It sure points to the importance of having a rifle or any firearm as well as pepper spray at hand when hunting in bear country.
10mm-glock-fully-functional-in-fatal-grizzly-attack (https://www.wyofile.com/10mm-glock-fully-functional-in-fatal-grizzly-attack/)
Gee, thanks for your input OSHA. You can tell from OSHA's remarks that someone looked up bear attacks, listed the two reasons they found, and wrote their report from there.
I will say that this is not the first instance of bow hunters not being familiar with their fire arms. Remmi Warren apparently has a video where he's holding a gun ready with a bear near by, and the gun is not in battery because he tried to load it with the wrong ammo. Then, when him and Steven Rinella and crew were attacked by a brown bear in Alaska, he had his gun store in his pack and away from his person. The moral of the story is that you've got to be ready and a beer may have claimed your kill whether you realize it or not. When the Meat Eater crew was attacked, it was the same way as described here. Went back for an elk the next day and didn't think anything of it. A big boar came charging right in with no warning.
kidicarus13
11-24-2018, 14:36
I never carry a round in the chamber, too dangerous.
I don't think I could rack a slide while a bear is mauling my face off and laying on top of me like it belongs in Fort Carson Housing (read: heavy). Keep your booger hook off the boom switch until you want it to go bang. Easy.
When field dressing elk in the timber I'm always alone and mindful of the possible approach of a bear. I keep my rifle within easy reach and with a round in the chamber. In 34 years hunting the FlatTops I've taken thirty elk, and ten of those elk carcasses were chewed on by bears before I got them all packed out. In 2013, I killed a cow a half mile up the mountain from camp. It was a pretty easy hike, about a 45 minute turnaround, but I was in a hurry to get it to a local cooler so I could continue to hunt bull elk and bear the next day.
On my third and last trip back to the meat bags I noticed the hide that I'd laid out for the birds was down the hill and crumpled, and bear tracks were all around. Suddenly I realized that I probably chased off the bear as I approached. Worse, I was unarmed. I left the rifle in camp to save weight and meant to carry the Glock but forgot to strap it on. It was a nervous few minutes packing up the last meat bags. Black bears aren't grizzlies but you never know when you'll run in to the occasional bad actor.
GilpinGuy
11-25-2018, 10:04
Gee, thanks for your input OSHA. You can tell from OSHA's remarks that someone looked up bear attacks, listed the two reasons they found, and wrote their report from there.
Yeah, government has to stick its nose into it, like it had any control over this situation in the first place, though it thinks it should have. Asshats.
Man, have a gun at the ready at all times in the forest. Even if you're "just taking an afternoon hike". City folk (not necessarily these dudes) think nature is all love and peace and harmony. Not so.
DireWolf
11-25-2018, 10:36
I never carry a round in the chamber, too dangerous.Not sure if the above comment was made in jest, but if not, might recommend doing some research on and rethinking this issue.
Don't have any of the links handy at the moment, but plenty of research available which outlines/demonstrates why carrying a handgun with empty chamber is not a good idea.
Short version: barring the most extreme "good luck", in nearly any defensive scenario (involving either man or beast), the odds are significantly against one being able to successfully chamber and fire a round before it's too late. In other words, it almost negates the value of having a sidearm in the first place.
Safety while carrying in "Condition 0" (e.g. loaded chamber on platform with no safety other than trigger/FP mechanisms; Glock, etc.) is more a matter of using a proper holster and training (e.g. - fast draw without ND to the leg, etc., especially if using a retention/locking holster)
DireWolf
11-25-2018, 12:55
ah, must have missed that with my 'serious hat' on this morning ;)
Gee, thanks for your input OSHA. You can tell from OSHA's remarks that someone looked up bear attacks, listed the two reasons they found, and wrote their report from there.
I will say that this is not the first instance of bow hunters not being familiar with their fire arms. Remmi Warren apparently has a video where he's holding a gun ready with a bear near by, and the gun is not in battery because he tried to load it with the wrong ammo. Then, when him and Steven Rinella and crew were attacked by a brown bear in Alaska, he had his gun store in his pack and away from his person. The moral of the story is that you've got to be ready and a beer may have claimed your kill whether you realize it or not. When the Meat Eater crew was attacked, it was the same way as described here. Went back for an elk the next day and didn't think anything of it. A big boar came charging right in with no warning.
That wasn’t Remi Warren, it was Adam Greentree. Adam is from Australia and a friend gave him the gun to use, being an Aussie he had no experience with the gun. The gun had the right ammo He just didn’t kmow how to use it.
Ahhh. I hear Rogan talking about it occasionally, and haven't seen the video itself. That makes sense. Remi definitely had his in his pack during that bear attack though. Thanks for the correction.
Both stories highlight the issue that you must know your equipment inside and out and you must have it on you to do any good.
Wife sent me this article yesterday. Guy coming back from checking his trap line is charged by a grizzly, which he kills. He makes it back to his cabin to find that the grizzly had just killed his wife and daughter.
https://m.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2175500/hunter-shoots-grizzly-bear-canada-only-find-it-had
Just read that one as well. What a terrible situation.
BushMasterBoy
11-30-2018, 17:47
What a grisly end.
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