Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- Zeb Cadzow and Paul Herbert are experienced hunters who live north of the Arctic Circle in Fort Yukon, Alaska.
In late March of 2008, residents of Fort Yukon, Alaska become concerned because a bear was not exhibiting any fear of humans near their town. Peter John originally saw the bear eating lynx carcasses near a cabin on the edge of town.
People did not believe the white bear was a polar bear. Polar bears had never been seen in the area. They thought it was an albino grizzly or a grizzly bear covered with frost.
The hunters, who depend for their lives on their rifles, did not carry .357 magnums or .30-06 model Winchester Model 70s. They carried AR-15s.
Many hunters who depend on rifles for survival in the far north carry high-velocity, small caliber rifles. They can carry much more ammunition, they are easy to shoot, and are flat shooting. They offer excellent accuracy. The magazine capacity is a plus.
The two experienced hunters, on tracking a large bear that showed no fear of people, choose the AR-15 in .223. From shootersforum.com:
“There’s usually grizzly around this time of year,” he said. “You want to get rid of it because it’s hungry.”
The men tracked the bear three miles out of town to the Porcupine River, where it moved onto a river island.
At that point, most of the hunters returned to Fort Yukon for a sled dog race, leaving Cadzow, 30, and Paul Herbert, 60, to continue the hunt.
“We assumed we were chasing a grizzly bear,” Herbert said.
Cadzow concurred, thinking the white description meant it was an albino bear or a grizzly covered in frost.
While Herbert waited at one end of the island, Cadzow, on foot, went into the brush tracking the bear.
Suddenly, the bear came out from under a brush pile about 10 yards away. It charged straight at Cadzow, who was carrying an AR-15, a rifle similar to the U.S. Army’s M-16.
National Geographic Wild included the incident in a 2015 video. Not surprisingly, they mis-characterized the rifle. They said the rifle was an M-16. Then they dubbed in a shot of automatic rifle fire to make it seem the bear was stopped with a burst from the rifle. The incident is recounted at about 19:00 to 21:30 in the video.
The .223 is more capable than many realize. One .223 round has more energy than most .44 magnum rounds. From alaskareport.com
According to a story in the Fairbanks News-Miner, the polar bear charged straight at Cadzow who didn’t have time to lift and sight his rifle.
“I shot from the hip, seven or eight times,” he said. “If I had gotten it to my shoulder, it (bear) would have been on top of me. It happened so quick, by the time it was down, it was about 10 feet from my feet,” according to the News-Miner.
The bear was in good condition. It was not starving.
When facing dangerous opponents, be they men or bears, there is much to be said for rapid, controllable fire at close range. The AR-15 offers those characteristics and 30 round magazines.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
@What I Know……I think we all know that, that’s really not the discussion pardner. Which is the way these discussions always go, which is why they keep coming up. The author is just offering an incident where a cool head and a good rifle were used effectively, no more. No one is writing, Or Reading!, An article in support of bear hunting with an incapable caliber. Your opinion is respected, but for us to pay it mind, stay on topic. @ Shannon or whomever, if hunting and firearm possession is so repulsive to you, why waste your time on websites… Read more »
After several years experimenting with different loads, my personal conclusion is pretty firm. I have no problem carrying a 556 for protection, or whitetail hunting or wild hogs. With good sights and certain 69 gr bullet I’ve come to trust, it’s more than capable of doing the job. I’m amazed at scoffers who constantly belittle this setup. I’m not saying I would go Elk or bear hunting without my 300 Winchester, I’m just saying it’s a very formidable weapon and I have no problem with it for wilderness protection. Let the contradiction begin.
THANK YOU – you guys who KNOW whaazzup with this bear in Alaska. It’s VERY interesting to read about it – and your experiences and your opinions of what it takes to stop one. The vast majority of us readers have no idea ! For all of the rest of us that that don’t – sit back and learn some facts about Alaska wildlife – there’s stuff up there you have never seen except in the San Diego Zoo – and THAT ain’t ‘real’.
Hey Shannon guess how sick you would be if the bear found you. For those who have not been in Alaska, I have lived, worked and hunted in the state and there are dangers in every area. These animals live in the wilderness (i.e.ENTIRE STATE) and rely on their ability to kill in order to eat. The food they prefer is anything, any body, live or dead. Yes a .358 or English double in .700 would be great but not practical. A high capacity semi auto is as one comment mentioned capable of a “shotgun effect” with .556 ammo. Heck… Read more »
I agree with what I know, Although the situation ended up fine for the people with an AR 15 in .223, Why not carry an A.R. 10 in .308? Twenty and even thirty round magazines of the heavier, bigger, harder hitting cartridge with manageable recoil There are even lightweight A.R. 10 type rifles if you have to lug your rifle up and down the mountains in Alaska Even a lightweight A.R. 10 rifle will have less recoil than typical hunting rifles Hunters and wilderness people do not carry combat loads of 210 rounds of ammo Two mags on the belt… Read more »
Polar bears are extremely dangerous. Everything on the ice is food. They are the top predator in the arctic on the land and the ice. They fear nothing and will hunt anything that walks, swims, or flys. You do not generaly hunt a polar bear. You let him hunt you. When a polar bear makes a kill they eat it all immedately and do not stop eating untill the kill is gone. Several years ago in Canada in the arctic a cook that was working in a remote camp was throwing out some hot water or something out the back… Read more »
Looks like a small bear which is lucky for the shooter
Several points here starting with carrying the gun and ammo through Alaska I would prefer an AR15 opposed to a heavier gun and ammo. With the likes of a 30.06 if you missed or grazed the bear with the first shot you may be in deep doo doo.
Well, certainly a ‘standard hunting rifle’ of 30.06 caliber, or similar, would NOT have been as good at this fully automatic machine gun . ( KIDDING !!). I too would rather have 20-40 rds of rapid fire than trying to bolt action my 2nd shot at a charging bear. Somebody said “shotguning the bear” with .223 rds……sounds good to me at 10-15 yds and closing…..
Everyone is talking the gun! What about the round used? Incident when I was the Navy, 1973. I was a small arms petty officer and got Naval Ammunition Reports (NAR) . The incident was US Marine standing his post some remote area in Alaska. The NAR reported that Marines at these locations were being issued a different ammo, don’t remember the Mil Spec for the ammo, basically .308 hardball to .308 soft nose.. The post this Marine was standing was over run, the guard shack was demolished, blood trail lead back into the wilderness, body not recovered. Investigation found that… Read more »