They use their bodies “like a sled,” Schneider said. For comparison’s sake, Usain Bolt – the fastest human recorded – ran 27.78 mph when he set a record in the 100-meter run in 2009.īears are even faster going downhill on snow. An average member of the species can run 30 mph when threatened. Schneider couldn’t figure out what happened with his gun, and the bear, despite the three bullets, had zeroed in on them and was rapidly approaching.īears are fast. Meanwhile, the bear started to move toward him. Schneider examined his weapon to figure out what happened. Oh well, he figured, he’d fired three good shots on the bear. He tried to fire again, but his gun had jammed. 338 ultra mag (a large magnum cartridge good for long-distance shooting) pierced the bear’s lung, the second high left on the animal’s shoulder and the third through the bear’s neck. He found his spot, 470 yards away, totally exposed on an open expanse of snow. “We were going after a big one,” he said. They closed in on the bear they’d spotted from the beach 8 miles below. You see bears like you see deer down here.” “It’s not like what we’re used to in areas like North Idaho and Washington. Already, Schneider and Grenda had passed by several large animals. Unlike in the Lower 48, they are common animals. In southern Alaska, these coastal brown bears grow big eating salmon. That’s where they saw their bear, one of many that had just come out of hibernation. By 8 p.m., they’d traveled about 8 miles, crossing numerous streams, each carrying 50-pound backpacks. Over the course of the final 2 miles they gained 2,000 feet of elevation, climbing through cliff bands, eventually topping out onto an alpine snow field. on May 13 and spent the next 14 hours hiking uphill, picking their way through thickets of alders and devil’s club. When the skies cleared, they glassed the steep hillsides above them, eventually spotting a large brown bear they decided to stalk.

They’d been dropped off by Grenda’s husband along the beach on May 8, set up camp and promptly spent the next two days waiting out bad weather.

on May 13 and Schneider and his sister Tana Grenda were on their fourth day hunting coastal brown bears on the southern side of the Alaskan peninsula. He slowed his breathing, each breath condensing in the chill of the Alaskan evening. He’s killed animals from farther, after all. Trevor Schneider peered through his scope, a 1,000-pound brown bear made small by 1,410 feet of distance.įor Schneider, of Bonners Ferry, it was a reasonable shot.

Brother bear and sistwr