Two hunters who shot 530-pound grizzly 24 times share their stunning story of survival

Riley Hill describes really a grizzly carnivore spot his arm, flinging him from side-to-side while his friend Braxton Meyers changeable nan carnivore many times successful nan caput and spine. Watch their exclusive question and reply pinch EastIdahoNews.com successful nan video subordinate above.

ISLAND PARK — Dangling from nan jaws of a 530-pound grizzly, 20-year-old Riley Hill’s assemblage flung from side-to-side arsenic his hunting buddy Braxton Meyers fired information aft information into nan bear’s hulking frame. The grizzly’s ferocious teeth sunk heavy into his arm, puncturing nan tegument to nan bone, arsenic he screamed and fought backmost during nan longest 30 seconds of his life.

“It was lifting maine disconnected nan crushed and past slamming maine backmost connected nan ground.” Hill said. “… It was for illustration playing tug of warfare pinch your dog, but he was playing it pinch my limb and ripping it apart.”

Moments earlier, nan carnivore had charged retired of nowhere, dramatically altering a serene greeting arsenic nan 2 hunters from Rexburg and Menan faced 1 of nan fiercest predators successful North America.

The men shared their heroic communicative of relationship and endurance successful an exclusive question and reply pinch EastIdahoNews.com.

The onslaught

On Sunday, Hill and Meyers were archery hunting for elk successful nan Caribou-Targhee National Forest, westbound of Henrys Lake successful Island Park.

“We were really excited to get up location and spell research nan country, spot immoderate wildlife and immoderate elk,” Hill said. “… We’ve had a batch of elk connected our way cams up there. So we were excited, like, this is going to beryllium specified a bully year.”

At 7 a.m., they dropped disconnected 18-year-old Boone Meyers, Braxton’s brother, and a 17-year-old friend connected Schoolhouse Ridge, located astir 30 minutes up nan Continental Divide Trail from U.S. Highway 20.

The 2 backtracked down nan trail, arriving astatine a small canyon astir a mile away.

They parked their Razor connected a elevation and began hiking down until they came to a clearing wherever they paused and searched nan area.

“We don’t want to spook anything,” Hill said.

At astir 7:20 a.m., he stepped guardant astir 10 feet erstwhile he heard a “loud thud.”

Turning to look astatine Braxton Meyers, he saw his friend outcry out.

“I conscionable spot him looking successful nan trees and he goes, ‘Oh crap, that’s a bear!’” Hill said.

Meyers said he looked down and saw nan grizzly charging towards him connected each fours.

“I could person reached retired and grabbed his head,” he said. “… The only point that I could deliberation was, ‘take disconnected connected a sprint truthful that Riley tin get his weapon out.’”

Hill dropped his archery bow, pulled a 10mm Springfield from nan holster connected his hip, and changeable nan carnivore erstwhile successful nan correct side.

“Grizzly bears don’t usually get disconnected their target, but this 1 did,” Riley said. “This 1 turned looked correct astatine me, and he’s charging, charging fast.”

The 2 friends were only astir 12 feet isolated from each other, and Meyers tripped and fell connected nan ground.

Hill had clip to sprout nan carnivore pinch 3 much bullets successful nan look and enarthrosis region earlier its robust jaws clamped down connected his arm.

Immediately, nan grizzly began to fling Hill around.

Meyers stood up and saw nan carnivore attacking Hill.

He “fumbled around,” pulled retired his Taurus 1911 .45 ACP pistol and fired 4 to 5 shots astatine nan carnivore earlier nan weapon jammed.

The carnivore continued to flail Hill from side-to-side arsenic Meyers cleared nan feed.

“I was having to prime my shots careful,” Meyers said. “… By then, nan bear’s connected apical of Riley, and Riley’s shoulders are betwixt his beforehand feet and his legs are benignant of kicked retired from its stomach. … I couldn’t spot thing Riley was doing. I conscionable could spot nan carnivore connected him.”

Meyers ran up correct adjacent to nan bear, continuing to shoot.

“When Braxton deed it, I could consciousness nan bullets hitting nan carnivore done my arm,” Hill said. “(It) wasn’t hitting my arm, but I could conscionable consciousness nan repercussion from nan bullets hitting nan bear.”

One of nan rounds came wrong 2 to 3 inches of his head, he reported.

“(The bear) conscionable benignant of looked up astatine me, and I saw its eyes, and I conscionable started (shooting). It put its caput backmost down, and I changeable immoderate much (in nan spine), and (that) did nan trick,” Meyers said.

During 1 changeable successful nan barrage, Hill felt nan bear’s grip connected his limb loosen slightly.

With his 1 free hand, Hill said he “ripped unfastened that jaw, ripped my limb out, and past I retrieve I stood up, and I was freaking out. I didn’t cognize if nan carnivore was coming aft maine again.”

He grabbed his weapon disconnected nan crushed and fired 3 much rounds astatine nan grizzly’s head.

In total, nan hunters changeable 24 carnivore bullets astatine nan grizzly to bring it down.

The rescue

Hill said he didn’t cognize astatine nan clip that he was injured.

At Meyer’s request, he pulled disconnected his overgarment and shirt.

“I looked astatine his arm, I was like, you know, this is bad,” Meyers said.

Using first assistance skills he remembered from Boy Scouts, he wrapped Hill’s garment astir his limb and applied 2 tourniquet, utilizing their belts to support unit connected nan wound.

Meyers dialed 911 and requested an ambulance aliases a helicopter.

Meanwhile, his relative Boone Meyers and a friend had heard nan gunshots and screams a mile away. Braxton Meyers sent them a pin pinch their location and Boone took disconnected sprinting, arriving astatine nan tract of nan onslaught successful 7 minutes.

“All I saw was conscionable this monolithic carnivore lying connected nan ground. It was a wild, chaotic site, to beryllium honest,” Boone Meyers said. “They were up, some still live luckily.”

The 3 hiked backmost to nan Razor, hoping to spot themselves successful scope of their rescuers.

“It was 1 of nan hardest climbs of my life. It was a achy 1 too,” Riley said, arsenic humor spurted retired of his wounds astir each 15 steps.

Arriving astatine nan Razor, they barreled crossed a boulder field, scouting for a location for nan chopper to land.

“I cognize group person felt worse pain, but I’d still rated an 8 retired of 10,” Hill said.

He was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Hospital wherever he received 40 staples and galore stitches.

Miraculously, nan grizzly grounded to puncture immoderate arteries.

Hill tin still move his arm, and he was released from nan infirmary connected Monday. Doctors estimate it will return astatine slightest 2 months for his limb to recover.

‘King of nan Hill’

The grizzly onslaught was nan first quality brushwood successful nan region this year, said Idaho Fish and Game Regional Director Matt Pieron.

The bears are protected nether nan Endangered Species Act, and it is forbidden to harm a carnivore unless successful self-defense.

Idaho Fish and Game officers conducted a thorough investigation and wished that Hill and Braxton Meyer’s actions were justified.

The 2 friends learned later that section ranchers had agelong called that carnivore nan “King of nan Hill.”

“This carnivore has ever been a problem up location of cattle, and there’s a batch of farmers that … (are) beautiful happy pinch america because we took retired nan carnivore that was eating their cattle,” Hill said.

The carnivore was 20-years-old, an extraordinarily agelong life for a grizzly successful nan wild.

“It was a fighting bear,” Braxton Meyers said. “Another carnivore aliases immoderate animal had torn 1 of its ears off. That was nan receptor that was facing up nan hill, and truthful it didn’t perceive america coming down until we were connected nan broadside that had nan bully ear, and that’s erstwhile it sewage up and travel astatine us.”

The carnivore had been amazed while it was burrowing successful a time bed.

“They’ll excavation a hole, and they’ll propulsion brushes and scrub and whenever to hide them,” Riley said. “So we spooked it, and we weren’t trying to.”

An estimated 1,000 grizzly bears reside successful nan Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem successful Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

While nan 2 hunters are gladsome they survived, they are sad nan grizzly was killed.

“Sad it had to happen,” Hill said. “I’m gladsome I’m still present to beryllium capable to show this story. My mom says she’s gladsome she doesn’t person to spell to a ceremonial this week.”

They in installments 1 different for redeeming some their lives.

“It makes your full assemblage conscionable shiver reasoning astir — it was 2 friends that saved each other,” said Monica Hill, Riley’s mother. “Riley saw Braxton almost to beryllium carnivore nutrient and shot, and had Braxton not killed nan bear, Riley would not beryllium present – 100% he would not.”

His begetter Brian Hill considers nan Meyers brothers arsenic sons.

“I’m conscionable truthful eternally grateful that he’s present pinch us, that they kept their composure, that they were smart capable to do what they needed to do to get disconnected that upland and support him safe,” Brian Hill said.

Meanwhile, nan 2 friends still person awesome milestones connected nan horizon.

Braxton Meyers’s wedding pinch his fiance Macey Steers is group for Oct. 12, and he’s asked Riley Hill to beryllium his champion man.

“A batch of group opportunity they’ll return a slug for a friend. Well, I sewage mauled by a carnivore from mine,” Riley Hill said.