What does it feel like to survive a grizzly attack? For Braxton Meyers, utter relief and an understanding that he’s got a friend for life. 

Why’s that? “A lot of people say they’ll take a bullet for a friend. Well, I got mauled by a bear for mine,” said Riley Hill.

Meyers and Hill were bowhunting elk in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, west of Henrys Lake in Island Park, Idaho. 

“We were really excited to get up there and go explore the country, see some wildlife and some elk,” said Hill. “… We’ve had a lot of elk on our trail cams up there. So we were excited, like, this is going to be such a good year.”

But before either one could arrow an elk, they came face-to-face with a 530-pound grizzly bear, according to East Idaho News. The bear charged, and both 20-year-olds immediately reacted by dropping their bows and reaching for their sidearms.

Hill was able to pull his 10mm Springfield from his hip holster and shoot the bear in both the face and shoulder before the bear “clamped down on his arm…and began to fling Hill around.”

Meyers “fumbled around,” able to pull out his Taurus 1911 .45 ACP pistol. He fired about five shots before the gun jammed. 

“I was having to pick my shots careful,” said Meyers. “By then, the bear’s on top of Riley, and Riley’s shoulders are between (its) front feet, and his legs are kind of kicked out from its stomach…I couldn’t see anything Riley was doing. I just could see the bear on him.”

It took 24 bullets to kill the grizzly bear, and Hill said he felt “the repercussion from the bullets hitting the bear” as he was being attacked.

Hill was badly wounded in his arm and shoulder area, and Meyers wrapped his friend’s arm, using first aid training he learned in Boy Scouts. With the bear dead, Meyers was able to drop a pin to his brother, Boone, and another friend, who scrambled their way in about seven minutes, according to East Idaho News. 

“All I saw was just this massive bear lying on the ground. It was a wild, wild site, to be honest,” said Boone Meyers. “They were up, both still alive, luckily.”

Hill was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Hospital. He was fortunate to escape the attack without any puncture wounds to his arteries. He received 40 staples and a lot of stitches but is able to move his arm. He was released from the hospital with doctors estimating it will take about two months for his arm to fully recover.

The grizzly bear, which was dubbed “King of the Hill” by local ranchers, was one of the first bear-human encounters in that region this year, according to Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) Director Matt Pieron. 

Because it’s illegal to shoot a grizzly bear as they’re protected under the Endangered Species Act unless it is in self-defense, IDFG conducted a complete investigation, concluding that Hill and Meyers did not break any law. 

GOHUNT wishes Riley Hill a speedy recovery.

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