PDA

View Full Version : Wyoming Dentist Uses GLOCK 10mm Pistol to Stop Grizzly Attack



M-Tecs
11-22-2022, 03:16 PM
https://www.ammoland.com/2022/11/wyoming-dentist-uses-glock-10mm-pistol-to-stop-grizzly-attack/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&fbclid=IwAR1PRolUhNux4eCGBvS-EKjK4bjmqzpMQcSMyG4xLXvY8m8tzCYItPJORgw#axzz7lOmQb Ope

Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2022/11/wyoming-dentist-uses-glock-10mm-pistol-to-stop-grizzly-attack/#ixzz7lOn8NH3O
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Follow us: @Ammoland on Twitter | Ammoland on Facebook

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- On October, 21, 2022, Wyoming dentist, Dr. Lee Francis, 65 years old, was hunting elk with his 40-year-old son, in the area near Rock Creek, in the Sawtooth Mountains, east of Bondurant, Wyoming.

In this video from KSAL-TV, he gives an interview and explains what happened. Dr. Francis is an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He successfully collected a large grizzly bear with a bow and arrow in 2013. Several attempts to contact Dr. Francis have been unsuccessful.

Dr. Francis had separated from his son when he unintentionally stepped in front of the entrance to a bear den. He saw the fresh dirt, had drawn his Glock 10mm, chambered a round, and was backing away when the bear charged at him out of the den from 10 feet away.

The best interview about the encounter appears to have been in an article at cowboystatedaily.com. The article says Dr. Francis used 130-grain hardcast bullets in his 10mm Glock.

“He came right at me, and he came on full blast,” the elder Francis said.

Counting the cartridge already in the chamber, he had 14 rounds loaded with 130 grain hard cast bullets in his Glock.

“I just remember shooting three or for times, right before he hit me,” he said. “Then I went down on my back.”…

Hard cast bullets will punch through a bruin’s body, instead of rapidly expanding and expending their energy in massive, shallow wounds
the way that hollow point bullets do, he said.

“Hollow points are meant for stopping people, not bears,” he said, adding that it was also fortunate for him that his weapon was loaded
with hard cast bullets.

“A hit from a hollow point would have probably just exploded my whole foot,” he said.

He also said he favors the high-capacity, semi-automatic Glock over magnum revolvers.

130-grain hardcast bullets for a 10mm would be unusual. Perhaps it is a typo or misreading of notes, where another weight of bullet was intended. Buffalo Bore has a 220-grain hardcast bullets loaded for bear in the 10mm.

Dr. Francis was attempting to fend off the bear with his feet when he accidentally wounded himself.
In the over 123 documented cases where pistols were fired in defense against bears, I recall only two where the person firing the pistol wounded themselves.

Coincidentally, both were with 10mm pistols. Both happened as the defender fell on their back and attempted to fend off the bear with their feet.

The first case was with Kim Woodman who had to shoot a grizzly sow at a bad breath distance in 2016. Kim was backing away from the bear when he tripped and went over backward. He continued to fire, and shot the tip-off of the middle toe of his left foot as he shot the bear and attempted to block it with his foot at the same time.

Police officers train to be able to back up without falling, and failing that, to avoid shooting their legs or feet if they fall backward.

Those techniques can be handy for people who carry pistols as a potential defense against bears. Here is one video on shooting while moving. Here is one for shooting from your back. The important thing to practice is not to point the muzzle at your own body, obviously a more difficult task in the middle of a fight for your life.

Jtarm
11-23-2022, 01:22 PM
He’s lucky he had the chance to chamber a round before the charge.

dverna
11-23-2022, 01:39 PM
I have never understood the wisdom of not having a round chambered.

130 gr seems like an error

nhithaca
11-23-2022, 04:37 PM
My guess the 130 is a typo; maybe should be 180 grain bullet. A more or less standard weight in the 10mm.

Kosh75287
11-23-2022, 04:46 PM
I have never understood the wisdom of not having a round chambered. 130 gr. seems like an error.

I couldn't agree more. Empty chambers just give your aggressor a "head start". The 130 gr. weight also seems suspect to me. I guess it COULD be some weird heavy-clad FMJ, designed to achieve maximal velocity(thus penetration), but I've never heard of a projectile like that being made for 10mm.

justindad
11-24-2022, 03:34 PM
“I just remember shooting three or for times, right before he hit me,” he said. “Then I went down on my back.”…



He also said he favors the high-capacity, semi-automatic Glock over magnum revolvers.


If I’m ever in grizzly country, I’ll be taking a .454 Casull loaded with hard cast boolits.

Chena
11-24-2022, 03:54 PM
M-Tec, where does your data on bear defense shootings come from?

Der Gebirgsjager
11-24-2022, 03:59 PM
And yet another bear stopped with a 10mm semi-auto. That seems to be the optimum bear country handgun, capable of firing lots of bullets fast.

DG

M-Tecs
11-24-2022, 04:08 PM
M-Tec, where does your data on bear defense shootings come from?

https://www.ammoland.com/2022/04/update-of-pistol-defenses-against-bears-123-cases-98-effective/#axzz7lagxppoh

dverna
11-24-2022, 05:34 PM
And yet another bear stopped with a 10mm semi-auto. That seems to be the optimum bear country handgun, capable of firing lots of bullets fast.

DG

The semi-professional Black Bear hunters I know mostly carry 10 mm pistols when guiding hunts.

Three44s
11-28-2022, 11:49 AM
In that case, if what I had was a “Ten”, I would use it but I prefer round shooters. Bigger ones.

This whole thing about autoloaders is the dry chamber business plus being restricted to bullet shape.

It’s a free country and those that trade power for more rounds can do so but it’s not my cup of tea.

For me, it’s either a 44mag or the 480 Ruger in a DA Revolver format.

I know lots of folks are not as lucky as I am in being able to shoot at home. It took a lot of rounds down range over an extended period but profiency with an autoloader may require even more?

Three44s

Der Gebirgsjager
11-28-2022, 12:12 PM
Three44s--I used to think as you presently do, but you have to ask yourself with something like a .480 what are you chances of getting off a 2nd or 3rd accurate shot? That's a lot of recoil to recover from and get back on target. Brother Bar comes a-runnin' quickly. As for the "dry chamber", not if it's my hide that's strolling through bear country!

DG

Three44s
11-28-2022, 12:44 PM
Three44s--I used to think as you presently do, but you have to ask yourself with something like a .480 what are you chances of getting off a 2nd or 3rd accurate shot? That's a lot of recoil to recover from and get back on target. Brother Bar comes a-runnin' quickly. As for the "dry chamber", not if it's my hide that's strolling through bear country!

DG

For my first 41 years of life, I was in the category of believing the gun writers that wrote of the tremendous recoil of big bore revolvers, the 44 mag being the most prevalent of that era.

But a circumstance developed where I felt I was going to be facing a possible grizzly. That placed me on the horns of a dilemma. I did a lot of research and since I am a rancher and could well face a bear while horseback, a handgun was the only solution. A long gun on a quickly departing horse while I pull myself together after being dumped sounded like a poor outcome in the making.

I had a Smith 4506 at the time but I discounted it on several points. One was operating it, the other was suitable bullet shape and overall power.

It was traded for my current 7.5” Redhawk SS Hunter in 44 mag.

Now granted the factory stuff I started with was a bear cat but the Ruger wooden factory handles did not help either. A pair of Uncle Mikes rubber grips helped a lot.

The biggest change was hand loading and lots of informal range time. I used a Smith in 22lr and downloaded .44s. As I grew accustomed to the big gun my eye focused on the 629 Smith Mountain Gun. The big Ruger is more of a hunting arm, the Smith of that flavor more of a defensive weapon.

My ultimate project came along as a SRH in .44 mag with a 9.5” barrel. My plan was to get it shortened. I never did and though I loved it I traded it for the same but in 480 Ruger.

In my practice sessions I only shoot full house at the end of the run. I do shot a lot of mild to upper mid-range. However the preponderance of rounds are .22 Lr.

A friend brought over his Smith 329 and his bear loads and though it was wearing factory wood grips it was not bad, nothing like it is claimed to be.

My only regret is that I did not take up big bore revolvers as soon as I came of age! It took a lot of productive range time to erase the years of negative BS from the gun magazines.

Three44s

Markwell
11-28-2022, 05:20 PM
Both my son (as a guide) and my wife and I (as cooks) worked in the Grizzly country west of Bondurant for several years. We all had .44 mags handy most of the time when in camp and afield. Thankfully, we never needed them. However, as we've aged we've found that putting multiple shots on target with the S&W Model 29s shooting heavy loads DA became nigh on impossible. Hence we switched to the 10mm autoloader with 200gr. hard cast RNFP-GC bullets running a bit over 1200fps. Multiple shots that hit are better than those that don't hit, or even get fired IOHO.

Der Gebirgsjager
11-28-2022, 05:23 PM
You're a wise man, 44. Stress and recoil can be offset by practice. Lots of regular practice. My theory is that 10mm is about the max I can do well with anymore, so the first shot would be hastily aimed, and the subsequent shots (assuming any!) would be fired so rapidly that the bear would have time getting through the lead curtain unscathed. Kind of like getting 25 ft. through a snow storm without having a few flakes land on you! :Fire:

DG

Three44s
11-28-2022, 10:21 PM
As I age I can definitely draw down on my bear loads as need be with my big revolvers. In fact in deference to my Smith MG, I run the RCBS 250K and the Speer 270 gr Gold Dot as my heaviest slugs in it. The Rugers are fed the full range of slugs though.

It’s good we have choices, it’s personal defense and personal choice.

Best regards

Three44s

GooseGestapo
12-09-2022, 07:31 PM
Where did the notion come from he had an empty chamber?

Clearly states that he had 13+ 1 IN CHAMBER for 14 total rounds.
Obviously 130gr was a misread of 180gr Hard Cast bullets.
Obviously he was well armed.

Not all grizzlies are 1,000+pound bruisers (Kodiac Browns).
Most inland grizzlies run 400-800lbs. Still nothing to trifle with.

I know right where he was hunting as I’ve elk hunted in that same vicinity.
I’m speculating he wasn’t so “accidentally” in front of the den, but scouting for his next bear hunt...

scattershot
12-09-2022, 07:59 PM
My first question is, if he was hunting elk, didn’t he have a rifle?

RJM52
12-10-2022, 11:21 PM
Where did the notion come from he had an empty chamber?

Clearly states that he had 13+ 1 IN CHAMBER for 14 total rounds.
Obviously 130gr was a misread of 180gr Hard Cast bullets.
Obviously he was well armed.

Not all grizzlies are 1,000+pound bruisers (Kodiac Browns).
Most inland grizzlies run 400-800lbs. Still nothing to trifle with.

I know right where he was hunting as I’ve elk hunted in that same vicinity.
I’m speculating he wasn’t so “accidentally” in front of the den, but scouting for his next bear hunt...


"Dr. Francis had separated from his son when he unintentionally stepped in front of the entrance to a bear den. He saw the fresh dirt, had drawn his Glock 10mm, CHAMBERED A ROUND, and was backing away when the bear charged at him out of the den from 10 feet away."

States quite clearly..."chambered a round"....a lot of non-gun carriers carry Condition III.

G20/G40...15 is the magazine capacity...if it had been topped-off it would had 16...15+1.

The size of a grizzly isn't the major problem...it's their attitude.

Bob