Dangling from the jaws of a 530-pound grizzly, 20-year-old Riley Hill’s body flung from side-to-side as his hunting buddy Braxton Meyers fired round after round into the bear’s hulking frame. The grizzly’s ferocious teeth sunk deep into his arm, puncturing the skin to the bone, as he screamed and fought back during the longest 30 seconds of his life.

“It was lifting me off the ground and then slamming me back on the ground,” Hill said. “… It was like playing tug of war with your dog, but he was playing it with my arm and ripping it apart.”

Moments earlier, the bear had charged out of nowhere, dramatically altering a peaceful morning as the two hunters from Rexburg and Menan faced one of the fiercest predators in North America.

The men shared their heroic story of friendship and survival in an exclusive interview with EastIdahoNews.com.