Posted on 07/18/2014 5:47:30 AM PDT by marktwain
Many people claim that handguns are useless for protection against bears. Numerous examples have shown that this is a false notion. Handguns may not be ideal as defensive weapons for bears, but they can be effective. In a defensive situation, you have to use what is available. In this case, a homeowner in Alaska used a .45 against a brown bear that was trying to get into his house on July 7th of this year. He and his son were in the home. He had scared off the animal with some warning shots just three hours before. From adn.com:
“I couldn’t believe that it came back,” he said.
Landess grabbed his .45 pistol, stepped out onto his upper deck, took aim and fired seven rounds toward the bear’s vitals. He said the bear “got crazy” and ran about 50 feet before it collapsed and died.
Landess said while he has seen bears around his property, living in close proximity to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, he had never experienced one this aggressive. He said he didn’t have any food around his house that could have attracted the bear but did have an empty cooler on his porch that the bear tossed around along with some chairs. He said this was the first big game he’d ever killed.
“I’m not a hunter; I’m a fisherman,” he said. “It wasn’t something I wanted to do. I wanted to scare him off.”
Yes that was my dad and he shot it with a highpoint 45. Shot at it 7 times but only one shot hit in the directed area. One threw the lung dropped it.This appears to be another case of a bear that became too acclimated to humans. It associated humans with food, and so it became a serious risk to human life. Use of firearms as a defensive tool against animals is fairly common in the United States, though it is more common against an aggressive raccoon or a rattlesnake than against bears. No one knows exactly how many times a year guns are used defensively against animals. My personal observation is that in rural areas, defensive uses against animals, whether to defend life or property, are more common than defensive uses against people.
Proves once again that firearm that works is better then no firearm at all.
I’ve started watching the show called The Hunt, which is about the bear hunters/guides up on Kodiak Island. These bears are amazing creatures and tremendously powerful. You hear that but seeing what they are capable of is entirely different.
I often don my 1943 bone stock Remington Rand 1911A1 with a 8 round mag, when going into the black bear inhabited woods at my deer camp. Though when hunting big game I prefer my old model Ruger Bisley Vaquero in .45 Colt that I hand load up to magnum velocities using 250 or 300 grain bullets. If I lived in big bear Alaska I would keep this at the ready and save the 1911 for 2 legged varmints
That man should invest in a 12 gauge shotgun and some good breneke slugs. He’s very lucky that bear “went crazy” out side of his house rather than coming on in and mauling him before it died.
Dude, you need some range time ... assuming your back deck is not 50 yards long ...
I carry a 45 super conversion for a trail gun. 255 gn at 1100 fps, I still feel unprepared for an encounter with a brown bear.
He probably hit the bear with the first shot. They can go insane with rage when hurt. They run about 35 mph.
My retirement home is up in the woods of Northern Michigan (Lower Peninsula)in a very small village and until I was 17 and joined the Air Force I had only seen two bear in the entire Lower Peninsula. I spent most of my childhood playing in the woods around our house and that tiny village. They now wander through my back yard so whenever I go into the woods, even for a walk, I carry my S&W Model 29, 44 Magnum.
There was also another incident in which an attacking brown bear was killed in Alaska with .45 acp.
It took 18 rounds before the bear dropped. I would probably go with a .454 Casull.
I carry a 1911 .460 Rowland conversion. It can be loaded a bit heavier than the .45 Super. I only load it to 1200 fps with 250 gr bullet since I am usually not in bear country, but it is a great deer load.
If I was going to bear country I would work up a load a bit stronger using a WFN 265 gr hardcast.
There have been incidents were grizzlies were killed with 9mm, .40s, and even .22. I would rather have a .338, but you use what you have with you when it is needed.
Adrenaline wrecks your aim. That is why you need to practice, practice, practice.
“but you use what you have with you when it is needed.”
That is the truth.
7 shots in a row with a Hi-Point, I am impressed.
I shot a Highpoint last year, .40 cal. I liked it as the grip fit my hand which is a problem with most semis. Nice gun.
“Range time” - I think a stationary silhouette target would be a BIT different than a 9 ft tall bear coming at you on your deck...
There is a spare series 70 laying around and I have looked seriously at buying a 460 Rowland conversion kit. How do you like it?
Do have a source for brass and good reloading data?
Well, he could have been slipping on something...
The old joke about a guy telling his buddy about a lion that escaped the zoo and was chasing him. The lion kept slipping going around corners. His buddy said "I'd have crapped myself if a lion was chasing me", the guy replied, "What do you think the lion was slipping on?"
“That man should invest in a 12 gauge shotgun and some good breneke slugs.”
Excellent slugs. Hard as a rock.
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