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Outdoor Life has published an account from hunter Clint Adams, who says he used an ice axe to strike a charging brown bear during a mountain goat hunt on Alaska’s Baranof Island. The bear later ran off after the guide and another hunter fired, but the group does not know whether it was hit or survived.
Hunter 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 bear ran past him and attacked the group’s guide. The bear eventually left the area following rifle and handgun fire, but the hunters do not know whether it was wounded or died, according to Adams’s account published by Outdoor Life on October 2, 2026.
Adams was hiking with his friend Matt Ericksen, his girlfriend Melody Orozco and their guide on the first morning of the hunt, the report says. The group was climbing a steep, brush-covered ridge, about 400 yards from camp, when the guide shouted for them to run. Adams said his rifle was strapped to his pack, leaving him with the ice axe he had been using to climb.
Adams told Outdoor Life that the bear passed within about a foot of him while focused on the guide. He swung the axe with both hands and said its point struck the bear’s head behind the ear. “I felt it sink in all the way to the handle,” Adams recalled. He then saw the bear knock the guide down and roll with him down the slope; the axe remained lodged in the bear’s head during part of the encounter.
The guide fired a shot into the air as the bear reared over him, Adams said. 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. The group could not tell whether any bullets hit the animal. Adams said the bear later moved away and ran off, dropping the axe as it went. The guide reported the incident, but the bear was not seen again.
An Encounter With No Certain Outcome
The account describes how quickly a bear encounter can become a physical emergency when a firearm is not immediately accessible. Adams says his rifle was secured to his pack, while the climbing tool in his hands became the only means he had to strike the animal as it passed. The sequence also involved the guide’s rifle and Ericksen’s handgun, but the report does not establish whether gunfire wounded the bear.
For readers, the distinction between the reported actions and the unknown outcome matters: the axe strike and gunfire did not produce a confirmed account of the bear’s condition. The incident is also a reminder that outdoor accounts involving firearms and wildlife can include incomplete evidence, especially when the animal leaves the scene and is not recovered.
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How the Hunt Reached the Ridge
The party had traveled from Sitka by boat and inflatable raft to reach the hunting area, then hiked roughly a mile and a half up the mountain the evening before the attack, according to Outdoor Life. They camped in rainy conditions. After the weather cleared, they set out early and used ice axes to help climb the steep ridge.
Adams told the magazine that he had hunted in Alaska before but had not previously experienced a bear encounter. Orozco was on her first hunting trip, he said. The report places the attack on October 15, the first day of the hunt; its publication date is October 2, 2026. It describes the event as occurring “last month,” a timing description that does not align with the stated October 15 date, so the exact year of the attack is unclear from the supplied report.
““I felt it sink in all the way to the handle.””
— Clint Adams, speaking to Outdoor Life
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The Bear’s Fate Is Unknown
Neither Adams nor the group could confirm whether the guide’s shots or Ericksen’s handgun rounds hit the bear. The animal was not seen again, and the report does not say that it was tracked, recovered or identified. Adams said he did not know whether it died. The supplied account also does not name the guide or provide an official wildlife-agency finding about the encounter.
The chronology needs clarification: the report says the hunt began on October 15 but also describes the event as happening “last month” in a story published October 2, 2026. Those details do not fit the same calendar year. The source material does not resolve the discrepancy.
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No Follow-Up Is Reported
The supplied report gives no indication of a further search for the bear or a later official determination about its condition. It says the guide reported the incident and that Adams recovered his ice axe after it fell from the bear. Unless the guide, hunters or wildlife authorities provide additional information, the bear’s fate and the outcome of any investigation remain unknown.
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Key Questions
Where did the bear attack happen?
It happened on Alaska’s Baranof Island during a mountain goat hunt, according to Outdoor Life.
Why did Adams use an ice axe?
Adams said his rifle was strapped to his pack and the ice axe was the only weapon in his hands when the bear ran past him.
Was the bear killed?
That is not known. The group could not confirm whether the shots hit, and the bear ran off and was not seen again.
When did the attack occur?
The report gives the date as October 15, but its “last month” wording conflicts with its October 2, 2026, publication date. The year of the attack is unclear from the supplied material.
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