How my 12-year-old son saved me from a bear that ate my face

Remembering the bear's hot breath as it sank its teeth into his face, he thrashed around in panic, trying in vain to free himself and escape the huge creature that had crushed him.

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

The two were engaged in a desperate struggle for about a minute, with Mr. Beierman desperately striking the bear with the blunt edge of his empty pistol, but without much effect.

“Before I knew it, I was flat on my back. I started hitting him with the gun and it felt like I was hitting a brick wall. I remember thinking, 'You have to do something else,'” he said.

As the bear backed away and charged at Mr. Beierman's face, he raised his right arm to block the renewed attack and heard a “crunching sound.” The bear had only pierced the skin, but at this point he believed his arm was broken.

To save his father's life, Owen intervened and killed him with his 350 Legend hunting rifle.