He shot five times to make sure it was dead. It is not like a movie, where someone shoots once, the shootee falls, and the screen darkens. If it ran at him, he may have had to shoot several times  to make sure it stopped coming. Sometimes adrenaline can make an animal keep going after it has been shot. Better and more humane to make sure, even if it takes several shots. And in the article, it says he has never used it for self-defense in the 25 years he's been carrying a firearm. So this is not a crazy person shooting all and sundry. Context is important. This is Alaska, people. If there is a danger to a kid, there are enough homesteaders around to fix it if the responsible party won't.