The bear in question encountered Greg that night while he was outside smoking. Greg was carrying his Kimber Ultra Carry II in an IWB holster underneath a winter jacket. Greg carries that pistol with the hammer cocked and safety on in his front right jacket pocket. Greg has said that he carries no matter where he goes as long as it’s legal. Both Greg and his wife Vicki have Tennesse Concealed Carry Permits.

Black Bear Attack: Greg’s Kimber Ultra Carry II

Black Bear Attack

Greg had happened to be leaning on the railing on the second floor just outside his room with his back facing towards the hotel breezeway when he heard a rustling behind him. As he turned to look at what was making the noise, the black bear was about 20 feet away from Greg’s position. The bear had knocked over a trash can and did not notice Greg right away.

At this point, Greg’s dog had come out of his open hotel room to investigate the noise as well and immediately noticed the black bear. Greg’s dog barked and growled at the bear at which point the bear leaped over the downed garbage can and began charging directly at Greg.

At this point, Greg let out an audible “Oh Fuck!” and drew and fired his Kimber Ultra II in what Greg describes as a time-lapse.

“Everything went into like, time lapse.” “It seemed like it took forever!”

It seems that Greg had entered into the psychological state of tachypsychia, where time seems to be distorted. This state is common during violent or otherwise extremely stressful confrontations.

Citations for Defense?

With his ears ringing Greg unloaded the last three rounds at what Greg described as an extremely close range – three feet or less he said. He had spent an entire magazine’s worth of Federal HST’s and the bear ran off. The rounds likely did not penetrate far enough into the bear’s vitals for a kill and later investigations found blood trails leading away from the motel.

Black Bear Attack – Blood Trail

The Police were contacted and Greg was cited for reckless endangerment and unlawful discharge of a firearm. Greg’s firearm was impounded as evidence and Greg says with its modifications the pistol is worth about $1,800. Greg has contacted an attorney and will fight the charges.

If it wasn’t for Greg’s firearm, he would likely be severely injured or even dead. We’ve explored this topic before on TFBTV to see just how much firepower you’d need to defend yourself against bears. Check out the video by James Reeves on TFBTV if you’re planning on visiting bear country anytime soon.

Some of the information in this article was pulled from WBIR News,  Ammoland, and WATE News.