How a 12-Year-Old Saved His Dad From a Bear Attack

A Wisconsin father and son had quite a harrowing experience near their cabin recently after a bear began mauling the dad, leaving his son to spring into action.

Owen Beierman, 12, recounted the terrifying experience to KARE . He and his dad Ryan were hunting earlier this month when Owen spotted a black bear and shot it from a distance. After it escaped into the woods, the two chased after it and tried tracking it down following a blood trail and using a neighbor's dog to pick up a scent.

Finally, they came face-to-face with the 200-pound bear and it began mauling dad Ryan.

" I had the pistol in my hand and I was hitting him in the head, trying to get him to let go," the 43-year-old said. "I looked down and all I saw was teeth and claws coming at my face and I remember hearing the first bite."

"Before I knew it, I was flat on my back," he told CBS News of the fight. "I started pistol -whipping him and it felt like I was striking a brick wall. I tried hitting him between the ear and mouth with a blunt edge of the pistol."

"I'm punching and kicking and flailing around. That's when I saw a flash from the muzzle of Owen's rifle," he added.

Owen jumped into action and shot the bear with a rifle while it was mauling his dad. The 12-year-old admitted he was thinking fast in the moment.

"I saw [the bear] knock him to the ground and I just saw the black outline and shot over the dog’s back and hit the bear," Owen told KARE . "I just felt like, 'Shoot the bear and save my dad.' It’s all I really remember."

Ryan ended up requiring 23 stitches for a wound on his cheek that left his skin hanging. He suffered seven puncture wounds and a cut on his right arm.

"Owen was a hero," the proud dad said. "He shot that bear and killed it on top of me."