A 12-year-old boy killed a 200-pound bear to save his father’s life during a family outing that went completely out of hand.
Owen Beierman, 12, shot the black bear before it could fatally wound his father, Ryan. Ryan was pinned under the monstrous beast when shots fired at him missed.
“My left cheek was cut open and there was blood oozing from the flap. There were two fangs in my forehead and my face was covered in blood,” Ryan told the Star tribune.
“The bear was fighting for his life, and I was fighting for mine,” he continued.
The father-son duo from River Falls, Wisconsin, left school and work early for a hunting trip — something the two often did together — when Owen made the heroic rescue.
The 43-year-old businessman said he probably wouldn’t have survived the attack if it weren’t for his son. The near-death experience left him with a horrific gash on his face and incisors in his forehead, right arm and leg.
Owen Beierman, 12, shot and killed the black bear before it could fatally wound his father, Ryan Beierman
The two were deep in the woods of western Wisconsin, near the family’s vacation home, when Owen first spotted the woodland beast. Pictured: Owen on the hunt in November 2022
Owen, a regular hunter, was prepared for an event like this, firing his rifle and killing the bear that would eventually roll off his father. Pictured: Owen carries hunted birds around his neck during a hunting trip in October 2023
The two were deep in the woods of western Wisconsin, near the family’s vacation home, when Owen first spotted the forest beast.
Armed with a 350 Legend hunting rifle, he shot the bear, but missed the ideal spot to kill it, causing the bear to flee.
The pair continued to follow the then-wounded bear, hoping for blood or other evidence. Not long after their failed search, a neighbor who heard the first gunshots offered his sniffer dog to help with the search.
As darkness fell, the chocolate labrador spotted the bear. Ryan grabbed his gun and fired eight rounds from a distance of six feet.
The bear couldn’t get the gun high enough to use the scope and missed all eight shots, then charged Ryan and pinned him on his back.
“I started pistol-whipping him and it felt like I was hitting a brick wall. I remember thinking, ‘You’ve got to do something else.’ I tried to hit him between the ear and the mouth with the blunt end of the pistol,” Ryan recalled.
Faced with the monstrous claws and teeth, Ryan wedged his arm between his face and the bear’s attack. He heard a cracking sound and was convinced the bear had broken his arm.
“The whole thing probably lasted 45 seconds or more, I can’t really remember it. But it was like he was attacking in slow motion,” Ryan said.
Dustin Gabrielson, a conservation officer with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, confirmed the event, noting, “Everything about the father-son hunt on September 6th was legal.” Pictured: Owen and his brother Landon with a hunted turkey from April 2022
Ryan, 43, received 23 stitches in his cheek, along with seven stab wounds in his arm and another cut that required stitches after the near-fatal bear attack. Pictured: Ryan with a hunted turkey from a hunting trip in April 2022
Owen, an avid hunter, was prepared for an event like this. He fired his gun and killed the bear when it finally rolled off his father.
The 43-year-old man called his son to alert their family and emergency services before the two went to hospital with the help of a neighbor.
“Thank you to all the neighbors who helped me tonight in my time of need! Derek Jaskolka, Randy Thomas, Jeff Stager, Joel Schollmeier, Dillon Mattson and everyone who helped!” Ryan posted on Facebook a few days after the attack.
Dustin Gabrielson, conservation officer with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, confirmed the incident, saying, “Everything about the father-son hunt on September 6 was legal.”
Officials with the Department of Natural Resources recognized Beierman as a “generous supporter of the agency’s learn-to-hunt programs.”
“I was flat on my back and felt the bullet go through the bear. Owen was a hero. He shot that bear and killed it on top of me,” the father said of his son.
Ryan received 23 stitches in his cheek, seven stab wounds in his arm and another cut that required stitches.
When the duo finally got home, Ryan told his wife he was “done with bear hunting.”
“I am officially done with bear hunting! Yes, I was attacked by a bear tonight, and yes, I survived!” Ryan’s Facebook post continued.