As an ex-Marine:
A camping trip to Low Gap Creek Campground turned into a harrowing experience for Chris Everhart and his three sons when they tangled with a 300-pound black bear.
But the encounter last weekend proved fatal for the bear.
The bear had taken the Everharts’ cooler and was heading back to the woods when 6-year-old Logan hurled a shovel at it.
Fearing what might happen next, the Norcross father and ex-Marine grabbed the closest thing he could find — a log.
“(I) threw it at it and it happened to hit the bear in the head,” Chris Everhart said. “I thought it just knocked it out but it actually ended up killing the bear.”
Everhart was given a ticket for failing to secure his camp site, said Ken Riddleberger, a region supervisor for game management with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Ah, the perfect ending.
(H/T to Peter Schramm, via Jonah)
Update: Just read the comments at Peter’s place. Seems a number of folks were angry at the six year old (!) for throwing the shovel and felt sorry for the bear.
Maybe they should, you know:
Tell it to the Marines?
LOL, I hope he skinned it out, and kept the hide.
I can believe the ticket part. We went camping years ago to Glacier National Park — the campground-Nazi made us put our 8-week old kitten on a leash. Poor thing looked like a cartoon animal when we put it on…head to the ground and fanny in the air.
Good for them for reacting and keeping themselves safe. Bears can and are very dangerous animals, especially those not afraid of people, like this one was.
Marines are never ex.
Hi Lex,
I know this is off-thread, sorry.
Couldn’t get on a few minutes ago. Got an error msg saying your site was using too much CPU:
If you are the webmaster, your account may have exceeded for one or more of the following reasons:
Your site has used more than 20% of the cpu.
Your account has too many processes running at the same time.
Your site was consuming too many resources. This happens on occassion to very busy sites that have inefficient scripts running.
Just wondering which one it was?
Could it be option 4: “Your site is too damn popular!”
Nose
I got the same error. Waited it out for about 5 minutes and then got in.
Must have Nose and me hitting it at the same time? Along with many, many others?
I agree with option 4: “Your site is too damn popluar!”
Thank goodness it’s good as well.
I got the same message twice, so there must have been lots of us trying at the same time. I almost sent the good Captain an e-mail asking if he’d paid the rent.
Poor bear. Kinda.
Poor dad most likely. To go through a much-to-close encounter with a bear only to have your youngest doing his best to deepen the situation! Ignorance is bliss indeed! And how much force does it take to kill a bear with a flying log! Semper Fi!
Ticket was quite unnecessary, most certainly.
Brings new meaning to the “log drill” we practiced in boot camp at MCRD (circa 1965)!
Kudos to the Marine and his son!
People go on about how dangerous Australia is, but I’ve never gone camping and had to worry about a 150 Kg bear trying to eat me.
Snake/jellyfish/spider/octopus try to sting me to death? Yes. Large predatory mammal, no.
I can’t let any of my 2LT friend hear about this or they’ll never shut up…This is some real-life Davey Crocket S**t!!
Failure to secure his campsite? Sounds like he secured it just fine, Marine-style.
my only problem with the story as written is that they call the father an ‘ex-Marine.’ If he’s no longer with the Corps, he’s a former Marine.
now john murtha… *THAT’S* an ex-Marine.
Living in an area where there are lots of little bears (300lb blacks are fairly large here, but not unheard of, still, we can’t compare to some other, scarier places) I can attest to the facts…if you DON’T keep your food put away, and be careful about the scent of food, you’ll have trouble, sooner or later, with a bear. East of here, a ways, recently, a young girl was dragged out of her tent while on a trip, but she managed to crawl out of her sleeping bag, and got away, while the bear got an empty bag. She was lucky AND dumb–she had food in her tent. You have to be careful, they’re just doing what comes naturally.
d
I’ve been up close and personal with a black bear.They’re nothing to fool with.One swipe of their claws and your raw hamberger.To kill one with a hunk of wood to the head is real Rambo stuff.
Casca – Once you skin ‘em they look a lot like a man…hard to eat after seeing that.
Just use a bear bag . . . yeesh.
I was backpacking a few years ago and a black bear cub wandered into my camp site. He was a cute little guy and I don’t think he even noticed me. My food was secured, but I was still scared out of my mind. Luckily I never saw the mom, but I have no doubt she was within 50 yards.
Good for the dad for defending his son and himself. Bears are indeed nothing to mess with – they may look slow and lumbering but they most certainly are not. I’ve seen what they can do to a large, metal bird feeder in my backyard – tore it apart like it was a paper sack.
Phil, I’m a grainfed porterhouse kinda guy.
DK, somebody should shoot those beasts. That comes natural for some of us.
Up at our cabin in Green River Mountain Co. we have a huge problem with the Bears going through the trash, especially after we gut the trout.
Never had to brain one with a log, though it is always a good idea to have situational awareness.
A log is good, but I would think that a gun would be better. Lessons the chance of having to get up close and personal.
Hey, not all of us can be supermen.
Amazing, but it appears those people have relatives in the Rock Mountains too…read the following and scratch your head.
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=72599
Casca, bear season is just before Thanksgiving, and you’re welcome here anytime. I don’t hunt them myself (although the “boys” in my extended family do) because I like to eat what I kill, and the few times I’ve tried bear, it was just too greasy…give me good beef or speed beef anytime. I like tree chicken, too.
d
I went hunting with my dad when SNO was about 5 years old and DNO was about 2 (so that’s been a while) and he caught a bear (that’s western talk for killing one). It was a young one and was the tastiest meat we ever had. Husband was at sea and about March we realized we should save some for him so he could see for himself how good it was. Unfortunately, DNO had her grandpa wrapped around her littlest finger and when he’d ask her what she wanted for supper, she would reply, “Me want baah meat, Pa.”
Needless to say, Husband got to taste some of the ground bear meat, cause all the steaks were gone.
It helps when you butcher it yourself and take care of it promptly — so the processor’s scent doesn’t get added to the taste. Took a HUGE roast to the elk hunting camp and they all complained about all the tough, skanky bear meat they’d had in the past. We finished off a 30 pound roast in one night — none leftover for lunches. Our family likes bear meat. Haven’t had any since, though.
We have lots of black bears here in northern Wisconsin – enough that in the fall our county sometimes issues “bear warnings.” Visitors are warned that if they hit a bear with their car they should not get out of the car as they may get faced with one injured, cross and very dangerous bear.
In a story similar to this one, from a couple of years ago, we had a local boy scout taken by a black bear from his tent at camp. The Scoutmaster heard the noise and went after the bear with all he had at hand, which was a 5-cell mag-light. Guy beat the bear over the head and nose until it dropped the boy (it had been dragging the kid by the head). It let go more from surprise that someone would think they could take it on, instead of releasing the kid because it had been actually injured by the mag-light, the Scoutmaster said later!
The Scoutmaster said he didn’t think about the mis-match between himself and Mr. Bear – all he could think about was that the kid was a goner if he didn’t do something.
The only bear I’ve tried was neither young (nor old) or lean…it was dripping with fat. I am not fond of fatty pork, or sheep, either. So perhaps that’s the cause of my dislike.
We always process game immediately, at least, it must needs be gutted within minutes, and preferably skinned while still warm. Then, in cold weather it can hang (easier to cut up if stiff but NOT icy–dulls knives too fast) but in anything approaching warmer weather, processed immediately. The past few years, we’ve had a few deer (speed beef) processed into sausage, etc., but we still prefer canned, which was a staple growing up. Also, tree chicken (squirrel) rabbit, woodchuck (when young) woodcock, pheasant, grouse….ah, the memories. My mother has a sauce recipe which is spectacular.
I’ll never forget when my Daddy went in to his office job one day, and was asked by his “cityfolk” coworker, what kind of sandwich was that? Turkey? Nope, pheasant…and she asked in total puzzlement, isn’t that expensive? The serve it “under glass” in fine restaurants!
d
Don’t try that in Montana on a Griz! Not only will it take a much bigger “stick”, you’ll go to jail (endangered species act)…
Bear ribs are pretty tasty- prepared right. Especially, spring shot B. Bear out west that have been feeding on grass after hibernation (May season)!
BTW, I read more about this ex-Marine. He was a SupO on active duty. LOL.
b2
Oh, doorkeeper, we love canned venison. Haven’t thought about that in a long time. Sure makes a quick and tasty supper. The bear my dad got was probably a two-year-old — had left momma and on his own, so still young, since bears stay with mom for two years. That probably made it the most tasty.)
We sent the hide off to a furrier for to make into a rug — it ended up being a blond bear. Softest and prettiest thing to pet when laid on the floor. Caught the kids sleeping on it several times.
Great story Sir.
“rt” – you might not agree with Rep Murtha, but he was elected to the US House of Reps, and he did serve with honor and distiction.
have you had both those honors? Or are you just full of crap?
Attack the policy not the man. I am tired of this swift boating of honorable men.
Saw a shirt on a bud that served in the Corp the other day:
“Not So Mean, Not So Lean,
Semper Fi – Always A Marine!”
*Corps