Posted on 07/08/2016 8:33:02 AM PDT by w1n1
Many hunters have talked about what to carry for bear defense while out in the woods. Here are some conversations on 1911forum and Reddit.
BPHORSEGUY: There have been increasing small bear sightings in my and my dogs hiking area. I am considering carry a .45ACP instead of my 9mm and solids instead of HP.
magazineman: I'd guess .44 mag or better. + running shoes. But for your purposes I'd see what handgun bear hunters use. I'd be surprised if 9mm or .45 were on the menu for that job. Big revolvers are probably the preferred item.
AtheistInfantry: As a life long Alaskan that has seen these animals up close on numerous occasions I would rather have bear spray or a Mossberg 500 with Brenneke Black Magic Magnums. Unless you get lucky and make a CNS hit it's going to run off or eat you(or both) before it bleeds out. Oh, and there's a whole bunch of hide, muscle and fat between your bullet and the spine. Read the rest of conversation here, what are you all carrying for bear defense?
25 auto. To pop you in the leg so I can run.
My cell phone, so that I can call 911.
I am prepared to use harsh language.
My buddy takes a 454 casull in bear country when not hunting.
What kind of bears are you talking about - little suburban ones, big ones, huge ones?
44 Mag???? Might as well be a BB gun. Guides in Alaska carry 375 H&H as backup for their clients who carry something less. I hunt moose with 338 Win Magnum, about the smallest firearm one would want to carry with a bear charging. You can carry less but bears have a habit of thrashing the shooter pretty good (like in dead) before the bear falls.
Don't feed the bears...especially if YOU are the main course.
nunya bidnit ...
I was once at a range where a guy a few stalls down was shooting one of those.
“Loud” doesn’t even come close to describing the report from that gun. Yes, with full plugs & ‘phones. It was like a huge thunderclap compressed into a millisecond. I mean twist your head loud.
Something shooting a solid non expanding type with a magnum level of power. Unless of course, you happen to be Bella Twin, the Canadian indian lady who in 1953 brained the world record grizzly with a Stevens 22 single shot bolt rifle.
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/11/24/1953-bella-twin-debate-22-long-power/
My next door neighbor’s bratty kid.
“My buddy takes a 454 casull in bear country when not hunting.”
454 is a fine choice.
In the East a high cap 10mm as a minimum. In Grizzly country, a S&W 460. These are back up weapons. If a bear encounter is likely I would sling a more appropriate weapon such as a 45-70, Model 94 with a very solid cartridge designed for bear. i.e., very heavy solid core loads.
Failing that I carry CounterAssault spray and an 870 defense shotgun with the Brenneke 600 gr. slugs.
We're overrun with grizzlies thanks to the feds and even when I'm up high wade-fishing I have a short-barreled .44 mag in a chest holster.
Wife and I frequently hike in black bear territory. I usually carry my S&W Performance Center 629 but sometimes carry my Glock 20 in 10 mm. It’s really a trade off between brute force or firepower. Most 10 mm loads are watered down and I’m not a big fan of Glock triggers so the .44 magnum is my preferred carry.
Before I get deluged by Glock fans, I love the Glock, especially for felt recoil. Being older, my main fear is a premature discharge in a pressure situation. I just feel the double action trigger is safer for a non- professional.
A boom box with a DVD of Hillary laughing.
Boom box with CD of Hillary laughing.
Even black bears are big in Alaska. Urban bears exist, and are a problem in Anchorage,and they are NOT little. They are brown bears, and they infest Anchorage city parks. Beware!
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