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Clint Adams told Outdoor Life that he drove an ice axe into a charging brown bear during a mountain goat hunt on Alaska’s Baranof Island. The bear attacked the group’s guide, who fired his rifle, while another hunter fired a revolver; the party later lost sight of the animal and does not know whether it survived.
Clint Adams says he struck a charging brown bear with an ice axe during a mountain goat hunt on Alaska’s Baranof Island after the animal ran past him and attacked the party’s guide. The guide and another hunter fired their guns, and the bear eventually left; the group does not know whether it survived, according to Adams’s account published by Outdoor Life.
Adams was hiking with his friend Matt Ericksen, his girlfriend Melody Orozco and their guide on the first morning of the hunt. The party was climbing a steep, brush-covered ridge, about 400 yards from camp, when the guide shouted for them to run. Adams said the guide ran past him as the bear emerged from the brush.
Adams’s rifle was strapped to his pack, leaving the ice axe he had used to climb as the weapon immediately within reach. He told Outdoor Life that the bear ran close by, with its attention fixed on the guide. Adams swung the axe with both hands and said its point entered the bear’s head behind the ear. The animal then knocked the guide down, and Adams saw the axe still lodged in its head.
According to Adams, the guide fired a shot upward as the bear reared over him. Ericksen then fired three rounds from a .357 revolver, and the guide fired again as the bear charged once more. Ericksen fired two additional rounds. Adams said the group could not tell whether any of the shots hit the bear. The bear eventually ran off, and the hunters recovered the axe after it fell from the animal’s head.
A Split-Second Response on the Ridge
The account shows how quickly a bear encounter can leave members of a party with little time to reach equipment or coordinate a response. Adams said his rifle was secured to his pack when the bear passed him, while the axe he had been using to climb was in his hands. The guide and Ericksen had firearms available, but the sequence unfolded as the bear charged and knocked the guide down.
The event also involved a guide being attacked and several shots fired, yet the animal’s fate remains unresolved. Those details matter to readers weighing what the account establishes: Adams describes his own actions and what he saw, but the report does not establish whether the bear was injured by the axe or gunfire, or whether it later died. The account is a firsthand recollection reported by Outdoor Life, not a complete official incident investigation.
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How the Hunt Reached the Ridge
The party traveled from Sitka by boat and then crossed a lake in an inflatable raft fitted with an outboard motor. They began climbing the previous evening, covering about 1.5 miles before making camp in rainy conditions. The weather cleared the next morning, when they resumed the climb toward a spot where they could look for goats.
Adams said the hunters were using ice axes to gain purchase on the steep ground. He had hunted in Alaska before, but told Outdoor Life he had not previously experienced a bear encounter. Orozco was on her first hunting trip, and Adams acknowledged that the demanding multi-day goat hunt was a challenging first outing. The report says the guide reported the attack, but gives no further details about the report or any agency response.
“I just swung that ice axe as hard as I could, and I felt it sink in all the way to the handle.”
— Clint Adams, speaking to Outdoor Life
The Bear’s Fate Is Unknown
Adams told Outdoor Life that the party never saw the bear again and could not determine whether the guide’s shots or Ericksen’s revolver rounds hit it. The report does not establish whether the axe wound was fatal, whether the animal was later found, or whether wildlife officials reached a conclusion about its condition. It says the guide reported the incident, but does not identify the agency that received the report or provide an official account.
The supplied article identifies the attack as occurring on Oct. 15 but does not specify the year of that date. It was published on Oct. 2, 2026, and describes the event as having taken place “last month,” a timeline that does not align with the Oct. 15 date. The exact year and chronology therefore remain unclear from the source material.
No Follow-Up Is Detailed
Outdoor Life’s report provides Adams’s account but does not describe a planned investigation, a search for the bear or a further update from the guide or authorities. The guide’s report of the encounter may be a source of additional information, but the supplied material does not say what steps followed. Until further information is available, the bear’s condition and the official findings, if any, remain unknown.
Key Questions
Where did the bear attack happen?
Adams said the attack occurred on a steep ridge on Baranof Island in southeast Alaska, during a mountain goat hunt.
How did Adams use the ice axe?
He said the bear ran past him while focused on the guide. Adams swung the climbing axe with both hands and said its point entered the bear’s head behind the ear.
Was the guide injured?
The report says the bear knocked the guide down and reared over him. The supplied account does not give details about the guide’s injuries or recovery.
Did the bear die?
That is unknown. Adams said the group lost sight of the bear and could not determine whether any of the shots struck it. The report does not say the animal was later found.
When did the attack happen?
The report gives the date as Oct. 15 but does not state the year. Its description of the event as happening “last month” conflicts with the Oct. 2, 2026, publication date, so the chronology is unclear.
Source: rss
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