Bear Turns Tables on Virginia Muzzleloader Hunter
Always reload your gun and approach the down animal with caution recognizing the possibility the animal is not dead. Mr. Hensley failed to do this and he was attacked by a bear he shot.
The attack occurred about 9:30 a.m. on Friday on a private tract of land near Harriston, outside of Grottoes, while Hensley and three friends were hunting.
Hensley was attacked after shooting the bear, said Deputy W. Breeden of the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office.
After shooting the animal, Hensley approached the bear, thinking it was dead.
The bear injured Hensley on several areas of his body, but hospital officials would not release specific details about his injuries.
No other injuries were reported in the incident.
The three friends staved off the bear, according to reports of the incident.
“Since they only have one shot a piece they said they had to beat the bear with their rifles,” said Nathan Combs, of Waynesboro, who was near the scene on Friday.
Luckily for him there were others there to help him and he is now on the road to recovery.
The condition of a Grottoes hunter was upgraded to “good” over the weekend after he was mauled by a 600-pound black bear on Friday.
Cool story brotha. Wish you could have got one, after all the head ache. T.
[...] News reports I read and relied on to make that blog post were inaccurate. The news reports suggested that he approached a bear with an unloaded weapon and his friends did so as well. Early reports said that Thurman Hensley thought the 600-pound bear was dead when he approached it. That assertion, coupled with the public appearance that Hensley’s wounds weren’t too serious — he was listed in good condition during most of his hospital stay — probably contributed to the lighthearted approach some took regarding the attack. As in, did you hear about the dumb hunter who, armed only with a single-shot gun, got attacked when he approached a huge bear he thought was dead? It’s not funny, of course. And not true, either. [...]
Pingback by Moose Droppings » My Earlier Post about a Bear Hunter Attacked is Misleading — December 3, 2006 @ 11:48 pm
[...] reports of a bear hunting getting attacked by a bear he thought was dead flew around the net and I included the story on the blog as well. This was not actually true and I did post a correction when initial news reports were shown [...]
Pingback by Moose Droppings » A Virginia Bear Hunter Survives an Attack by a 600lb Black Bear — March 8, 2007 @ 7:08 pm