06/14/2026
🐻 Montana History: The Day an 800-Pound Grizzly Treed a Man for Seven Hours
Most people think bear stories get exaggerated over time.
This one was documented by the man who lived it.
In the fall of 1948, western Montana guide Howard Copenhaver rode into the mountains above Danaher Creek to retrieve a client’s elk. What he found instead was an enormous grizzly bear that had stolen the carcass and dragged it hundreds of yards uphill.
Thinking he was tracking a black bear, Copenhaver followed the trail into thick timber carrying a .25/35 rifle. Then the bear stood up.
It wasn’t a black bear.
It was an estimated 800-pound Montana silvertip.
After initially letting him back away, the grizzly silently circled through the snow, tracked him around the mountain, and suddenly appeared only a few yards behind him.
With seconds to react, Copenhaver made a desperate sprint for the only climbable tree nearby.
For the next seven hours, he remained trapped in the branches while the grizzly guarded the elk below.
Every time he tried to climb down, the bear charged.
Every time he descended toward the ground, the grizzly drove him back into the tree.
Eventually he recovered his rifle but made a decision that likely saved lives. He knew the rifle was too small to reliably stop a bear of that size. A wounded grizzly in the dark would be even more dangerous for the men who would come searching for him.
So he didn’t shoot.
Instead, he escaped by running from tree to tree up the mountainside, climbing each one as the grizzly charged and then sprinting to the next when the bear returned to the carcass.
The following morning, Copenhaver returned with eight other men.
They never made it to the elk.
The grizzly spotted them first and charged all nine hunters uphill.
The bear absorbed multiple rifle hits before finally going down. Its hide measured roughly nine feet and was estimated to weigh more than 800 pounds.
The elk was still underneath him.
Stories like this are a reminder that Montana has always been wild country.
Have you, a family member, or someone you know ever had a close encounter with a bear in Montana? Share your story below.
📍 Danaher Creek, Blackfoot Country, Western Montana
📖 Source: Howard Copenhaver’s first-person account published in Outdoor Life, May 1955.
📷 Image for illustration purposes only.
