All the hardware I was packing did not make it easy to cover ground at a quick pace and I was a bit upset about packing all of it anyway. I packed a 30-06 with 180 grain shot, and a Dirty Harry .44 Mag. My father-in-law Chad who was with the boys on top, told me to grab an extra handful of his hot .44 Mag reloads. When I told him I thought everything I was carrying was overkill, he told me to humor him and take some extra bullets, so I did.

As we came over a ridge I heard what sounded like a pack of wild dogs fighting over some food. I radioed to Matt to see if he knew what was going on. He replied he did not know but was almost to the dogs to find out. About one minute later his shaky,
nervous-sounding voice came over the radio..."Bear in a tree, bear in a tree, bear in a tree, get down here quick".

I never ran through such thick brush so fast in my life. Since I was the only one with a permit, I was the only one carrying a gun. When I got down to where Matt was, he had backed into the oak brush about 30 yards from the base of the tree. Two dogs were sitting with him in the bushes and three dogs were trying their hardest to get up the tree. He pointed up toward the tree and there it was, about 70 feet high. At first all I could see were paws dangling from a branch and the end of a snout looking down at the dogs. This was the first time I had ever seen a bear in the wild. I was a bit discouraged though, the bear did not look too big.

We then started looking for cubs to make sure it was not a sow. When we determined there were no cubs with this bear, I started moving around the tree to get a better view and to improve my chance of a well-placed shot. After going only about 10 feet the bear started getting very antsy and moving around with short jerking moves. I then realized the one thing I did not want was for this bear to come out of the tree so I returned to the spot Matt was sitting with the two dogs.

The bear had moved enough to give me a decent view of his neck and shoulder. I started thinking back to what I was instructed about shooting a bear in a tree, "Keep shooting until the bear falls out and then take your pistol and finish him". I took a couple deep breaths, placed the crosshairs right where the neck met the shoulder and let the first round go. I pumped another shot into the chamber and let number two go, then three and four. After the fourth shot the bear started falling out of the tree. I then realized this was not a small bear.

While he was falling, I handed my rifle to Matt, who asked me how many shots I had left, I told him one, not realizing I had been hiking without one in the chamber for safety reasons. I then drew my .44 Mag waiting for the bear to hit the ground so I could finish him if he was not dead.

When the bear hit the ground I could feel the ground shake from the impact of this potential trophy. Instantly the bear jumped up on all fours, totally ignoring the three barking dogs. He looked around until he made eye contact with us, turned his body
45 degrees, dropped his head and started charging. I then heard the 'click' from the empty rifle I handed Matt followed by a four-letter expletive.

Since I only had 30 yards between me and the bear I took quick aim with the pistol and let one fly. The bear threw his head back giving me a good shot at his throat so I took another shot hitting him square in the neck. Nothing! Not slowing down, the bear kept coming full speed. Within a few seconds the bear had closed the gap to 10 feet. I realized in that split second that I only had time for one more good shot before he was on me.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a multi-colored flash. It was one of the dogs that had been sitting with us in the bushes. He came in from the right side and took the bear head-on just as I was about to take the last desperate shot. The bear reared back, grabbed the dog and started rolling with it. The dog yelped and rolled away from the bear, giving me a broadside shot. Bang. Bang. I got two more shots off. The bear changed his mind about coming after us and decided to go after the dogs. Bang. Bang. Two more shots and the bear fell.

I quickly reloaded the pistol with the extra bullets I was forced to take. To my amazement the bear jumped back up and started thrashing the dogs again. I got two more shots off and then had to stop shooting for fear of hitting one of the dogs. The bear finally decided he had enough after three more shots. As soon as he took his last breath the five dogs dropped where they were standing with exhaustion. I replayed the whole event in my head and started to shake uncontrollably. Reality instantly set in on the danger I had just faced, and that a courageous dog and the extra bullets I carried had just saved my life.