Some may remember.........

[Jagermeister]

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The Province, Sunday, October 15th, 1995








GREG
MIDDLETON
On the Road





Hunters turned into grizzly prey


Two hunters became the hunted when they were attacked by grizzly bears.
"It must have happened very fast," Const. Jean Auger of Radi*um Hot Springs RCMP said yes*terday.
Shane Fumerton, 32, of Kelowna, and Bill Caspell, 41, of Abbotsford, were killed in the attack last week, soon after they had shot an elk.
"The bears must have sur*prised them as they were quar*tering the elk and preparing to pack the meat out," Auger said. "The antlers were found tied to one of the packs."
Searchers in a helicopter spotted the bears feeding on an elk just south of Radium Hot Springs on Wednesday. They also saw a garbage bag and hunting gear near the scene.
Caspell's body was found about 50 metres from the dead elk on Friday.
Fumerton's body was found 400 metres away.
"It's only speculation, but the men must have been getting the meat ready to take out and been caught away from their rifles," Auger said.
Both were experienced hunters.
A conservation officer was called in to shoot the bears, a mother and two yearling cubs.

In a grizzly attack last month, the bear punched a hole through the side of a float plane in an attempt to reach Harvey Hurtubise, 71, of Coquitlam and his fishing partner, John Hodg*son, from 100 Mile House.
"I'm still shaking," said Hur*tubise.



The two men were prepar*ing to leave remote McDougal Lake in Wells Gray Park in Hodgson's plane when they heard what Hodg*son called a "god-awful roar."
The bear was about 12 metres away and "instantly doing about 50 miles an hour," Hur*tubise said. "It just took a couple of hops and it was right there. I've never seen anything move so fast."
The bear dived at the plane, driving one paw with its five-centimetre (two-inch) claws right through the fuselage. Hanging on with one paw, it stuck its huge head into the cockpit and started clawing at Hodgson. He grabbed the only weapon he had, a jacket, and threw it over the bear's head.
The animal, momentarily con*fused, stumbled away and tore the jacket to shreds,
Then it charged again, this time coming under the plane toward Hurtubise.
"I thought it was going to eat us both for sure," Hurtubise said. "It just moved like hell. I've never seen anything that moved so fast."
He said the only thing that saved him were the struts on the floats: The bear was so big it couldn't get between them.
It left claw marks on the side of the plane as it made a grab at Hurtubise.
It was then that they saw it was a mother bear with an almost full-grown cub.
It took one more run at the plane, but stopped just short. Then it turned and took off.
The friends waited a couple of minutes, then quickly threw their gear aboard and took off.
Hurtubise said the attack probably only took two minutes and they didn't get a scratch.
"But that's the closest I want to come to a bear, for sure."

[ryanb]

I think about that first story every time I am quartering an animal in the wilderness.

[Backwoods]

Yes... Very close to home, I am from kelowna that was my best friend/hunting partners next door Neibour, terrible ending to that storey, was 12 years old when that happend and well never forget it.

[HarryToolips]

It's amazing how powerful and fast griz are....I'm always appalled at how hunters who are experienced can shoot an animal and not have their rifle near them, I know in this first story it's only speculation, but I have heard many other stories of experienced hunters shooting an animal, then not having a round chambered after... I personally always like to have it loaded safety on after shooting an animal...

[Bugle M In]

The 1st story happened very close to where I hunt up there.
I have spoken to the CO who was on the scene that day.
I'll never forget that incidence, and always keep it in my mind as well.
Hard to forget for sure.
I think the gun was jammed, so the one hunter tried to run.
They were in the subalpine, so no real trees to climb, and there was snow.
The first guy never had a chance.
I won't go into more details out of respect for the families.
Somewhere I still have the photo of the 2 of them celebrating their bull elk that they dropped
in a self timer portrait.

[Xenomorph]

It must have happened so, so many times in the past. Think of the time when people were fur trapping with the old 30-30s or less. Stories like these makes one not want to drop the guard while in their backyard. Because that's what it is, their backyard.

[Jagermeister]

Shane Fumerton's wife was on the trip but stayed down at the camp. When the fellows were a no show, she raised the alarm.
You notice in the story that it references bears. And a sow and her cubs were indeed feeding on the elk. These bears were killed.
The autopsy revealed that the bite marks on the victims were larger than the teeth of the sow that was shot.
There was a mine operating in the vicinity that a large old boar was continually making trouble. It is speculated that this was the killer bear. If I remember, the boar was eventually shot.
I believe Fumerton's rifle had a shell in the breech but the bolt was not closed. When the bear surprised them, he pulled the bolt back and picked up the second shell and jammed. By that time the bear was upon him and Caspell tried to make good his escape. In short order, Fumerton was mortally injured and the bear then took after Caspell.
I think that the grizzlies are conditioned to think of a rifle shot as a call to dinner. Smaller bears or sows may be somewhat timid and not approach if something, like hunters, are at the kill. But a nasty old boar doesn't give a rat's ass and will challenge anything, be it another bear or humans. Probably the only thing that would cause him to hesitate would be a full grown wolverine.
After this tragedy, I always had my rifle close at hand with one chambered and safety on. I kept it in my mind as I was gutting where the rifle was and that all that was needed was to disengage the safety. I always stayed vigilant checking my surrounding frequently. Your hunting partner should be equally vigilant and should have his rifle close at hand too and in the same state or readiness.
Remember the grizzly encounters in the Kootenays earlier this yearn nearly life ending. You don't get much time and you will unlikely get the second shot unless the first one made good.
I think in the old days, grizzly were most likely to depart the presence of man because they were shot on sight. They had a reason to fear man, that no longer exists because we don't shoot them unless it is imperative.
Shane Fumerton would be 52 this year and Bill Caspell 61. Their memory lives on, at least for me. It was 20 years ago, that is why I posted it now.

[hunter1947]

I remember this terrible tragedy not a nice read..

[Stone Sheep Steve]

For those who haven't read Gary Sheltons book, this story is covered extensively in his second book. Sad, erie story for sure

[bassplayer]

This pic is eerie as it's a pic of Shane Fumerton and Bill Caspell that are all smiles and not having a clue that in 2 hours that grizzlies will show up and kill them over this elk.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr171/bassplayer1972/2005-05-27_204320_ReAc5_zpsozkynz0b.jpg

[fearnodeer]

My heart goes out to the families of these two men.

[Ride]

Think about this all the time. Shane was a great guy who was married to my cousin..........

[BiG Boar]

Never heard this story before. Gives me a new realistic perspective.

[Jagermeister]

There was another incident of a grizzly attack in the PG area in the same time era. That could be out to Vanderhoof or Ft. St. James. The hunter survived this attack and killed the grizzly by repeatedly stabbing it in the neck. All the while, the grizzly was plucking at his stomach muscles trying to rip his guts out. This hunter vowed never to go hunting again. He described the breath of the grizzly as the most putrid thing he had ever smelled. Must have been pretty bad to remember that with the adrenaline rush one would have by a grizzly attack.

[Xenomorph]

There was another incident of a grizzly attack in the PG area in the same time era. That could be out to Vanderhoof or Ft. St. James. The hunter survived this attack and killed the grizzly by repeatedly stabbing it in the neck. All the while, the grizzly was plucking at his stomach muscles trying to rip his guts out. This hunter vowed never to go hunting again. He described the breath of the grizzly as the most putrid thing he had ever smelled. Must have been pretty bad to remember that with the adrenaline rush one would have by a grizzly attack.

Holy crap! Hope the guy is OK!

[Xenomorph]

This pic is eerie as it's a pic of Shane Fumerton and Bill Caspell that are all smiles and not having a clue that in 2 hours that grizzlies will show up and kill them over this elk.

http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr171/bassplayer1972/2005-05-27_204320_ReAc5_zpsozkynz0b.jpg


Look at the amount of snow on the ground too. You'd think they're the perfect conditions for them to hibernate already. Eerie indeed and many thanks to the family for allowing us to speak, talk about this and share. My condolences for their loss.

[mpotzold]

Shane Fumerton's wife was on the trip but stayed down at the camp. When the fellows were a no show, she raised the alarm.
You notice in the story that it references bears. And a sow and her cubs were indeed feeding on the elk. These bears were killed.
The autopsy revealed that the bite marks on the victims were larger than the teeth of the sow that was shot.
There was a mine operating in the vicinity that a large old boar was continually making trouble. It is speculated that this was the killer bear. If I remember, the boar was eventually shot.
I believe Fumerton's rifle had a shell in the breech but the bolt was not closed. When the bear surprised them, he pulled the bolt back and picked up the second shell and jammed. By that time the bear was upon him and Caspell tried to make good his escape. In short order, Fumerton was mortally injured and the bear then took after Caspell.
I think that the grizzlies are conditioned to think of a rifle shot as a call to dinner. Smaller bears or sows may be somewhat timid and not approach if something, like hunters, are at the kill. But a nasty old boar doesn't give a rat's ass and will challenge anything, be it another bear or humans. Probably the only thing that would cause him to hesitate would be a full grown wolverine.
After this tragedy, I always had my rifle close at hand with one chambered and safety on. I kept it in my mind as I was gutting where the rifle was and that all that was needed was to disengage the safety. I always stayed vigilant checking my surrounding frequently. Your hunting partner should be equally vigilant and should have his rifle close at hand too and in the same state or readiness.
Remember the grizzly encounters in the Kootenays earlier this yearn nearly life ending. You don't get much time and you will unlikely get the second shot unless the first one made good.
I think in the old days, grizzly were most likely to depart the presence of man because they were shot on sight. They had a reason to fear man, that no longer exists because we don't shoot them unless it is imperative.
Shane Fumerton would be 52 this year and Bill Caspell 61. Their memory lives on, at least for me. It was 20 years ago, that is why I posted it now.

The story was the main reason that I bought a 375 Win. H&H CRF (controlled round feed).One can depend on it even if forced to shoot upside down if charged by a grizz.

The story was that Bill Caspell was using a Push Feed rifle & in panic the rifle was doublefed.



A Classic Push Feed Jam, The Double Feed, http://www.morrisonarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IMG_6787-1024x768.jpg (http://www.morrisonarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IMG_6787.jpg)

[Xenomorph]

The story was the main reason that I bought a 375 Win. H&H CRF (controlled round feed).One can depend on it even if forced to shoot upside down if charged by a grizz.

The story was that Bill Caspell was using a Push Feed rifle & in panic the rifle was doublefed.



A Classic Push Feed Jam, The Double Feed, http://www.morrisonarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IMG_6787-1024x768.jpg (http://www.morrisonarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IMG_6787.jpg)






Mauser action or Winchester?

[Jagermeister]

Look at the amount of snow on the ground too. You'd think they're the perfect conditions for them to hibernate already. Eerie indeed and many thanks to the family for allowing us to speak, talk about this and share. My condolences for their loss.
Perfect conditions for a black bear to hibernate. Grizzlies are not true huber store like black bears. They will come out several times for a walkabout while once the black is asleep, he is asleep for the duration of the winter. Early October Grizzlies only have one thing in mind and that is a large pre-snooze repast. This is the time of the year when they're most aggressive.
This is the first time I have seen the photo of the two with their elk

[hunter1947]

I was not there to say what happened but this thread is a good reminder to all that all of us should have our rifles loaded and with us at all times have your partner stand guard with their rifle looking at all times while the other is cleaning the animal etc,,be aware of your surroundings at all times ..

Try not to pack out game animals during darkness the last few years now I have cleaned the animal and left it there till the next morning to get out,,I know I have packed out game animals all hours of the night many of times guess I was lucky that I did not have a bear encounter...

[GOLDEN TOP SNIPER]

im always looking over my shoulder with the rifle loaded very close to my hand when im gutting out something in the deep back country . I assume , something heard my shot and they think GUTPILE .. so yes it was bad luck for those two .

[mpotzold]

Mauser action or Winchester?


Mine is a WIN.375 H&H M 70 SAFARI EXPRESS with a pre-’64 type Mauser-type claw extractor.

[OutWest]

For those who haven't read Gary Sheltons book, this story is covered extensively in his second book. Sad, erie story for sure

Certainly a good read for any hunter.

One of my hunting parters worked and had hunted with Shane. Sad story and one that we think about any time we are in grizz country.

[budismyhorse]

While gutting a whitetail recently I remarked how "involved" I got using a knife and doing a good job. You lose all respect for time and definitely are not paying much attention to what is coming up behind you.

with this horrible story in mind, having a partner, loaded rifle at the ready and a can of bear spray on your hip gives you the best chance to survive. They are like seatbelts....you will be glad you hade one if you ever need it.

[markomoose]

This is the one tragic hunting story I have never got out of my head.Read Gary Sheltons book and remember it in the news.I'm super aware of my surroundings when gutting an animal.Be safe people. Mark

[mpotzold]

Because of this tragic story we now take extra precautions when gutting/field dressing a moose or deer.
One person stands on guard with a chambered rifle or shotgun with slugs.

If shot late in the afternoon & left overnight(happens occasionally) the area is circled with flagging about 2 feet of the ground.
Next morning the area is approached cautiously with all the guns chambered.

Better be safe than sorry!

[mpotzold]

20 YEARS AGO!
Remember this story about a week after Bill, Shane attack.

Attacked by grizzly on October 17, 1995 45 miles NE of Cranbrook- “An elk hunter, Dale Graham, 56, was crossing a beaver dam while hunting. Although carrying a rifle, he was knocked down, seriously injured, but managed to respond by stabbing the bear repeatedly in the head and neck with a small knife. Luckily, he survived the attack, killing(??) the bear.”

What are the chances? Same last name!:shock:
Alberta 2013-Fraser Graham, also a hunter, was attacked by a grizzly sustaining several bites before stabbing it in the throat & killing it with a knife.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Interestingly, 1995 was a very dry year and had a high number of bear attacks. Just like this year.