Face to Face with a Grizzly: Surviving and Preventing a Bear Attack

By PJ DelHomme

On September 25, 2016, Neil Rico, a member of Laborers’ Local 252, nearly lost his life while hunting elk in the backcountry near Livingston, Montana. The 29-year-old bowhunter from Onalaska, Washington, found himself face-to-face with a very unhappy grizzly bear.

“I heard some huffing and breathing in the woods,” Rico recalls. “At 20 yards away, the sow lunged at me.” In a split second, Rico was on his back, his arm raised in an attempt to protect himself. The bear’s jaws clamped down, and Rico heard the crunch of bone. He says it shook him like a dog when it’s playing with a toy.

“I was lying on my back looking at her,” Rico told the Spokesman-Review. “I thought, ‘For sure, this is it. I’m gonna die right here. This bear is gonna rip my guts out, and I’m gonna lay here and watch.'”

The bear had other plans, and eventually walked away, leaving Rico battered but alive. It was then that he realized a crucial mistake: he had placed his .44 magnum in his backpack instead of keeping it readily accessible. “That’s about what cost me my life,” he reflected.

His hunting partners heard his screams and ran his way. Rico went to the local emergency room where the game warden paid him a visit. He wanted to take his hunting clothes for a DNA hair sample, Rico said. Instead, Rico told him he could have as much of the bear’s hair as he wanted because it was all over the puncture wounds on his hands.

Neil Rico’s injuries from the bear attack.

Rico left the hospital the next day and went back to work as a shotcrete foreman just eight days later. He’s been with Local 252 for nearly 20 years, and once his coworkers heard the story, it wasn’t long before the nicknames started to spread. It took Rico about a year to get enough strength to pull his bow and head back into the woods after elk.

Rico’s bear encounter hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his passion for hunting.
In fact, check out his hunt for Coues deer down in Mexico with Brotherhood Outdoors.

Bear Spray or Bullets?

Rico’s experience highlights the importance of being prepared for bear encounters wherever bears call home. While many debate the merits of firearms versus bear spray for protection, recent studies suggest that bear spray can be an effective option.

According to research published in the Journal of Wildlife Management by BYU associate professor Tom Smith and colleagues, bear spray stopped aggressive bear encounters more than 90 percent of the time, with 98 percent of people involved remaining uninjured. In contrast, while firearms were also effective in stopping bear charges, one in four incidents involving guns led to human injury or death.

The .460 caliber that Rico uses is on the left.

For hunters like Rico, who often mimic prey behavior, the risk of bear encounters is particularly high. Experts recommend carrying bear spray or a sidearm on your hip or chest for quick access. If confronted by a bear, remain calm, avoid eye contact, and slowly back away while speaking in a calm voice. If the bear charges, deploy the spray in 1-2 second bursts, aiming at the ground in front of the approaching animal. Also, if the wind is blowing in your face, know that bear spray is going to spray you as much as it’s going to get the bear. Always know the wind direction.

Since his attack, Rico has adjusted his approach to hunting in bear country. He now carries a Glock 10mm with Buffalo Bore ammo on his belt and a .460 on his pack. However, he acknowledges the value of bear spray, especially for those less proficient with firearms. “My thought with bear spray is that if you’re not good with a pistol, then it’s better than nothing,” he says. “I want to have a lethal and non-lethal option for defending myself. Although, when I was on the ground with a bear on top of me, bear spray wasn’t going to be my first choice.”

Rico only took two years off from hunting before he was right back in bear country doing what he loves. He did have some vivid nightmares for about a year, but those went away. He recently went black bear hunting with his son in eastern Washington, and he’s heading to the Blue Mountains to hunt elk with his rifle this fall. As for words of wisdom for his fellow hunters, he had this to say.

“The main piece of advice is not to go alone,” Rico cautions. “Go with someone who will back you up and not run away.”

Whether you choose a sidearm, bear spray, or both, make sure that you know how to use them effectively. If you don’t practice often with a handgun, practice with an inert can of bear spray. See if you can unholster a can or a pistol in less than two seconds because that’s all the time you’ll have. Keep your head on a swivel out there and be safe. Chances are you’ll never come across an angry bear. But if you do, it pays to be ready.

PJ DelHomme writes and edits content from western Montana. He runs Crazy Canyon Media and Crazy Canyon Journal.