[url=http://www.adn.com/2013/07/29/2997953/section-of-turnagain-arm-trail.html]Bear killed with AK-74.[/url] [quote]A man hiking on a Turnagain Arm trail near the Seward Highway killed a charging brown bear with an assault rifle Sunday, prompting Chugach State Park rangers to close a section of the popular trail. The hiker, who has not been identified by Alaska State Troopers, had set out from the Rainbow trailhead at Milepost 108 of the highway Sunday morning, said Tom Crockett, a park ranger. He was near the first inlet viewpoint, about a half-mile up the trail toward McHugh Creek, when he spotted the bear. It was on the edge of a birch and spruce forest with abundant blueberries and serviceberries. "The bear presented its rear end to him," Crockett said. The man called, "Hey, bear," hoping not to startle the animal, he said. The bear turned and charged, the hiker later told rangers. The man fired the AK-74 assault rifle he was carrying, Crockett said. The bear stopped after the first volley of shots, and then charged again. The man fired once more, Crockett said. That time the bear folded into a ball, rolling and running downhill and thudding to a stop in a clump of birch trees about 100 yards from the trail. "There it expired," Crockett said. The man called 911 and asked for help. Crockett and an Alaska State Trooper who responded found the man in the same spot on the trail where he encountered the bear. He wasn't willing to walk out alone. "He told me he's never been so scared in his life," he said. Crockett estimated the bear weighed 500 to 600 pounds. The animal bore marks of an eventful life: he had a "big hulking" scar running over the top of his head, likely from a tussle with another bear. [/quote] It's not uncommon for someone in Alaska to shoot and kill a bear in self defense but not with a semi-auto rifle chambered for a intermediate rifle cartridge. Normal they use high power rifle cartridges such as .300 win mag or a .44 magnum revolver.