A B.C. hunter has a newfound respect for grizzly bears after being attacked by a protective sow over the weekend.

Jake Blackmore, son of convicted polygamist Winston Blackmore, was out hunting elk with his sons near Fernie Saturday morning when the mother grizzly caught him off guard. 

"She football tackled into the side of me and then carried me forward about 30 feet," Blackmore told CTV News from his office in Cranbrook. "I was like a ragdoll." 

The grizzly then started sinking her teeth, which are built to feed on moose and caribou, into Blackmore's leg. The bites left gaping wounds on his thigh, but fortunately missed his artery. 

"I could see my blood on her teeth," Blackmore said. 

The hunter realized the bear was with a cub, and when the grizzly turned around to tend to its offspring Blackmore decided to fight back. 

"I tried to shoot into her open mouth, and I grazed the side of her face and spun her sideways," he said.

After the grizzly finally retreated, Blackmore's 16-year-old son Jeron called for help. The wounded outdoorsman was taken to hospital, where he was sewn up with 28 stitches. 

Blackmore admits they didn't have bear spray with them, but he intends to pack it next time they head into the wilderness, in case his family ever comes face-to-face with another grizzly. 

"I just have a whole new respect and appreciation for their speed, their stealth, their power," Blackmore said. 

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service investigated the attack and decided not to destroy the animal. Deputy Chief Chris Doyle said the incident was determined to be "defensive in nature." 

"The sow was protecting a food source and a cub," Doyle said. 

Blackmore was the fifth person to be injured by a grizzly in this province this year alone. Fortunately, none of those incidents were fatal. 

There have been six deadly attacks in B.C. since 1986, however, an average of about one every five years. 

Many people have heard that you're supposed to play dead if attacked by a grizzly, but experts warn that's actually only true in a situation similar to Blackmore's, where the bear is acting defensively. 

"You'd only play dead with a defensive bear… and you don't play dead until it makes contact," said Tom Rivest of Great Bear Nature Tours in Port Hardy. 

People who are being attacked in a predatory fashion – by a grizzly that appears to be stalking them as opposed to trying to scare them off – should always fight for their lives. 

With files from CTV Vancouver's David Molko