How a 12-year-old saved his father's life with a decisive shot during a bear attack

As Ryan Beierman crossed a small forest clearing near his cabin in western Wisconsin, the injured bear he was tracking crouched under an oak tree, staring him in the eyes.

“He was in a position like a cat about to pounce,” Beierman recalled. “The next thing I remember, he was on top of me. He attacked me and knocked me down.”

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be attacked by a black bear – an extremely rare event, even for hunters – Beierman can tell you. Because of the shock and adrenaline, he can't remember how long they wrestled. But he clearly remembers the bear's hot breath as its fangs sank into his forehead.

“The bear was fighting for his life and I was fighting for mine,” he said.

The 43-year-old sales representative for Teamsters Local 120 in Blaine says he probably would not have survived the attack if his 12-year-old son, Owen, had not been with him. While his father lay on the ground beneath the 200-pound boar, Owen grabbed his hunting rifle and fired a shot from the hip that struck the bear in its vital organs.

“I was flat on my back and felt the bullet go through the bear,” Beierman said. “Owen was a hero. He shot the bear and killed it on top of me.”

Dustin Gabrielson, conservation officer for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, confirmed the story. Everything about the father-son hunt on Sept. 6 was legal, he said. DNR officials in eastern Burnett County know Beierman as a generous supporter of the agency's hunting education programs. The official described the location of the bear attack as being amid “super-dense” conifers and thick undergrowth north of the Polk County line.

Beierman, who lives in River Falls, Wisconsin, with his wife Ali and their two sons, gave an exclusive interview to the Minnesota Star Tribune. The incident left him with a gruesome gash on his face, as well as other cuts and fang injuries on his forehead, right arm and leg.