![](https://www.ammoland.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Grizzly-Shot-10mm-Jimmy-Cox-18-September-2018-600-600x521.jpg)
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- On 19 September 2018, Jimmy Cox used his Glock model 20 10mm to stop the charging grizzly bear pictured, at 10 feet. The incident leading to the dramatic events occurred the previous evening.
On the evening of 18 September 2018, Anthony Reyna was happy and excited. He and his friend, Gary, were hunting moose on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson north of and sharing a boundary with Anchorage, Alaska. Tony had drawn a moose tag for a bow hunt. He was using a 60 lb PSE ThunderBolt compound bow. He has owned the bow since he was a teenager. Tony and Gary set up and started moose calling about 6 p.m. After 40 minutes, they heard a bull moving in. They saw his antlers at 30 yards. Suddenly, a second bull appeared at 15 yards! It was not as big, but Tony was hunting for meat.
Tony was able to take a shot as the bull moved 20 yards out. The bull turned at the last moment; the arrow glanced off a rib. It did not spook the bull, but the bull moved off 200 yards. Tony stalked it to 24 yards and put an arrow through both lungs. This time the bull ran. As they tracked the bull, the blood trail ran out with the daylight. It wasn’t safe to search in the dark. They decided to come back the next morning.
At 08:30 the next morning, Tony was back with his friends Jimmy Cox and Ron Sheldon. It was cool, cloudy, and calm. They found the end of the blood trail. Jimmy Cox had the lead with a Glock 20 10mm in a Blackhawk Serpa holster on his right hip. Jimmy is right-handed. The three friends are experienced combat veterans. They decided to do a grid search in the direction the blood trail was leading. Ron went up a hill to help guide the search from an elevated perspective.
The area is heavily wooded in black spruce and birch, some aspen, with plenty of undergrowth and downed trees.
Tony and Jimmy head out. They hear crows about 50 yards away. Jimmy says: “That’s where your moose is”.
As they approached the area where they heard the crows, the birds kick up. Less than a second later, they hear the roar, directly ahead. From 10 yards away, a large grizzly is charging them full out.
Jimmy is in the lead, about five feet ahead of Tony. He has time for a startled “F*ck Bear!” as he draws the Glock from the Serpa. He has trained and practiced. The draw is smooth and fast from a retention holster. As the bear bounds over the downed spruce, Jimmy double taps, two shots, one to the chest, one to the head. The bear crashes down, 10 feet from Jimmy, dead right there (DRT). It is over in a couple of seconds.
The bear is a big grizzly bear. The friends call Fish and Game on base to report the self-defense killing. Mark, with Fish and Game, shows up. He has no issues with the shooting. He estimates the bear at 800-850 lbs. It squares at 7 1/2 feet.
They are instructed to go to Anchorage the next day to fill out the required paperwork, the Defense of Life and Property (DLP) report. They were already busy with the hard work of skinning the bear and dressing out the moose. The moose had been buried by the bear and had its ear and genitals ripped off.
The meat was judged salvageable. Fortunately, a co-worker was able to get his truck within 100 yards of the scene, minimizing pack-out time. Tony was able to get back home, get the meat through initial processing and stored by 9:30 p.m. It had been a long 30 hours.
Jimmy’s Glock was loaded with 200 grain HSN bear loads. The first shot took the bear in the chest. It penetrated the right lung, through the chest cavity, and broke the spine. As the bear dropped, the second round caught it in the head. Neither round exited the bears body. The friends could not follow the second round wound channel, because the head, skin, and paws had to be turned in. Because the bear dropped nearly instantaneously, Tony believes the second bullet hit the brain or top of the spinal column.
Tony credits training and practice drawing to developing the muscle memory to make the needed shots. He says they give you the confidence you need when you need it. He says Jimmy was the right man in the right place. Tony says the 10mm Glock is getting hard to find in Alaska, as they are sought after as bear defense guns.
Another poster, LJ Miller, on facebook, suggested it was the same bear he had problems with one year before, in the same area, September of 2017. He and his partner went to some trouble to avoid shooting the grizzly, which harassed them while they were packing out a quartered moose. It is fortunate Jimmy was there, was well practiced with his Glock, and in the lead. It could easily have been a tragedy.
This use of a pistol to defend against bear attack was not reported in the news. Without diligent searching, no one but the participants would know about it. If you know of a defensive pistol use against bears, please contact us. We include every use where a pistol can be reasonably documented as being fired in defense against a bear, in our database. An email sent to Ammoland will be forwarded to me.
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.
This is one of those times when two seconds is forever, it’s also one of those times when two seconds is the rest of your life. Good training, muscle memory, realizing their lives were in jeopardy, clearing the holster and double tapping two kill shots. That’s a lot going on in two seconds. Had he not realized the threat, had he not cleared the holster, had he not placed his shots well, someone was going to get mauled. No time to call 911 here and it would not matter about response time if it was more than a min. The… Read more »
Our instructor, whom I considered one of the finest in the world and, who, coincidentally, teaches around the world, told us the fight isn’t over until you either “curl up in a ball or die. Don’t do the former, keep on fighting until you can’t.” I’ve considered those words to live by, literally.
You bet. Keep fighting till it’s over. Your instructor is a wise man.. It aint over till it’s over. Arm up, carry on.
Wow looked up the ballistics of the load he used. Not all that impressive on paper. But it got the job done. 200 grain bullet at 1050 FPS. about the same as a 44 special. And not a hot one either.
I’d opine that about any ‘spine’ shot would down almost anything. The fact this boy was ‘centered’ up while fogging off those two rounds, is a key factor in NOT going hand to Claw/Teeth with that BIG BOY! BTW, Buffalo Bore has a new 190 DG (Dangerous Game) loading out that brings those FPE numbers closer to 600! Skill, and NOT nutting up when one of those DG types is about to git-ya, is still the better factor than employing some ‘hand cannon.’ Favorite ‘true;)’ story remains of the Indian woman that killed a record, at the time, sized grizzly… Read more »
Here is the Bella Twin Record Grizzly with a .22 reference:
https://www.ammoland.com/2017/06/bella-twin-the-22-used-to-take-the-1953-world-record-grizzly-and-more/
When I consider a bear bounding over that spruce, the front end of the bear comes up first.
Skill is important, but with a charging grizzly at 10 yds, there is a ‘pucker factor’ to consider, and I don’t care how big your balls are (usually imaginary anyways), you’re your reaction-shooting is going to be at least 50% luck. In this case, it says the first round hit the bears spine, which would effectively stop motor movement. And although hitting the brain will kill the animal almost instantly, it doesn’t necessarily stop an animal in full charge, as evidenced by decades of stories where bear, lions, tigers, elephants, etc. have continued the charge and even mauled the shooter… Read more »
Bear meat is delicious! And the young man did well, too! Practice, practice, practice. Oh, and Ft. Richardson has an unrivaled Museum of Natural History.
He couldn’t have got the same results with Bear Spray!
That`s for sure! Hard cast over spray anytime!
Jimmy, your fast draw and accuracy under pressure saved the day. Thank God and Glock for you and your friends being unharmed. Thanks Dean.
Maybe not as much moose meat but bearbeque is good too. All this 10mm stuff has me thinking bout a glock 40!
Wow, seeing that pix, Reminds me of a guy I read about that hunted Wolverine’s, , when he shot one he would leave and come back ina week, if it was still there he figured it was dead, LMAO
I forget the girls name, But she was just a teenager and she took one down with only a single shot 22
1953 not a teenager
https://www.ammoland.com/2017/06/bella-twin-the-22-used-to-take-the-1953-world-record-grizzly-and-more/#axzz62DNQ1T00
As the Eskimo that was questioned about shooting polar bears with a 22 said,”Sure beat a sharp stick!”
That really doesn’t seem like the article I read, I dont recall it being a record Grizzly, and I dont recall multiple shots..but it was some time ago, so maybe I’m mistaken..In any event, It sure is incredible for sure
Unjacketed bullet through a Glock polygonal bore barrel?
I own three Glocks, 19, 23 & 17. While I don’t shoot unjacketed bullets it appears, from looking on various forums, that you can, you just have to take care in cleaning.
I have personally run 50 rounds of hardcast (my cast bullets) thru my Glock 22 in one session. When I inspected the barrel, there was NO leading. I do not make a practice of this, but it will work in a pinch!
Sounds like you need to become educated about the subject. I have fired well over 30,000 rounds through factory Glock 9mm, 357 Sig, 40 S&W, 10mm, and 45 ACP barrels and not had any leading with the proper bullets (lead alloy/hardness, size, and proper lube). On the other hand, not having the proper setup can result in heavy leading in just a few rounds. Educate yourself and open up a whole new world.
Read: Buffalo Bore | Hard Cast Bullets in Polygonal Barrels https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=59 Having said that, there are many that simply buy hard cast cartridges and never check their reliability, accuracy or speed. Feeding and keyholing issues with 220 grain 10mm are not uncommon in a Glock 20. 200 grain seem to work better, sometimes. Advertised speed is often not actual speed. My 200 grain Underwood hardcast clocks in at 1136 fps (573 ft-lbs), while 200 grain Underwood JHP is 1221 fps (665 ft-lbs) and 180 gr Underwood TMJ is at 1290 fps (665 ft-lbs). Lastly, how many people know that the… Read more »
@CF. Concur. Show up at a Glock match with cast lead bullets and they will show you the door. Have seen several “after” articles of the polygonal barrels and blown up pistols over the years.
If there is a Glock match in your area, it is worth going because they have a Glock armorer there who will break down your weapon and replace that RSA for free. Worth the price of admission for sure.
I’ve only shot two matches over the years, but both times they had so many prizes that I got my entry fee back both times.
What’s a “Glock match”?
Trainings and matches typically have prohibitions on ALL hand loads, for completely different reasons. I am talking about factory hard cast loads here. It would make absolutely zero sense to even bring them to trainings and matches.
The “articles of the polygonal barrels and blown up pistols” you are referring to are outright nonsense. The typical GlockTalk gossip! I guess clicking on the link I provided was too much for you?
A Glock OEM RSA costs $8 or $17.
Very hard jacketed bullet!