Woman uses New York Reload on Grizzly in Idaho

Gun Watch ^ | 16 August, 2015 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Some people say the fastest way to continue firing when your gun runs dry is to grab another gun.  It is called a "New York reload".  It happened to a woman protecting her children in northern Idaho, not far from the scene of the famous Ruby Ridge case.

 

The blue arrow points to Moyie Springs, where Barbara Casey shot the grizzly bear.  The Ruby Ridge shootings occurred near the red arrow about 15 miles SouthWest.

Barbara Casey did not want to shoot a grizzly bear.  She wanted to scare it off her property, and she almost succeeded.  She knows that shooting a grizzly can be a life changing experience, because of federal and state law.  She and her children tried banging pots and pans.  Then she emptied a .22 handgun in the air, then grabbed a .45.  After a few more "warning" shots, the .45 jammed.  She grabbed a third gun, a .22 rifle.  From spokesman.com:

She yelled at her kids to go down the hill to a neighboring home. They did. Her .45 jammed. Casey grabbed her other gun, a .22-caliber rifle.

The bear stopped. Casey stopped shooting, and it was quiet, she said.

Then Casey’s dog barked. The bear, who had turned away from Casey, turned around and charged, she said. Casey shot it twice from about 20 feet away, once in the gut. The bear ran down the hill, where a neighbor later shot it in the head.

“I’m still shaking really bad,” Casey said a day later. “It was the most horrible thing.”

The bear was a two year old male.  Males trying to establish new territories are a common source of bear-human encounters.   The bear had been trapped and released three weeks earlier, but was not known as a problem bear.

It is not clear if the rifle were a centerfire or a rimfire, but the most common .22 caliber rifles are rimfires, chambered for the .22 Long Rifle cartridge.  Dogs can chase off bears, and dogs can attract bears. 

An interesting case where backup guns proved useful, warning shots did not have the desired effect, and a .22 that worked was better than the .45 that jammed.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

[marktwain]

Grabbing another loaded gun can be a very fast reload.

[Smokin' Joe]

New York reload? Between the SAFE Act and the alleged difficulties in getting permits, I’m not sure why New York gets the limelight.

[G Larry]

S&W 686, 7 shot, 200 gr. hardpoint.
...and a spare speed loader.

[Zuben Elgenubi]

The bear had been trapped and released three weeks earlier, but was not known as a problem bear.

Must have attended an EPA refresher course.

[exnavy]

Yeah, but a .22 on a bear?! Wow. That is one lucky woman.

[exnavy]

I’m thinking 454 casul, one shot, one kill.

[Secret Agent Man]

Probably tying into the “New York Minute” theme.

[Robert A Cook PE]

.22 is very, very small caliber to go up against a grizzly.

[PROCON]

What a horrifying experience coming face to face with a grizzly, even if you were well-armed.

[tet68]

I was wondering about the Baltimore reload,
where you burn down a pharmacy as a last resort.

[Secret Agent Man]

Sounds more like the Ferguson reload.

[marktwain]

New York Reload:

The act of drawing a second handgun when the first jams or runs out of ammunition, rather than reloading the first, in order to gain a speed advantage.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/New_York_reload

[G Larry]

I carry the 686 because:

I CAN carry it comfortably, in shoulder holster, while fishing in bibs.

I CAN re-set on target, for multiple shots,

There is no consensus on where to place that one shot on a charging Griz.

[Pentagon Leatherneck]

A handgun’s best role is to give you time to get your rifle. I think my rifle would be bigger than a .22 if I lived in Griz country.

TC

[Smokin' Joe]

Okay, with the SAFE act, I can see running dry fast. But with the Sullivan Act, somehow I don’t see New Yorkers bristling with options.

[marktwain]

I am not sure of the etymology of the term, but I recall first learning of it about 20 years ago.

[pleasenotcalifornia]

A friend of mine who lives on Kodiak Island was charged at by a Brown Bear. He had no choice(rather than being killed and eaten)to stop the bear with his 44mag revolver. The bear literally died at his feet. The memory of this experience still shakes him up.

[EternalVigilance]

Could have been me, twenty-five years ago.

I had a little tract of land up in that neck of the woods, and we always had bear signs on the property.

Had a hot little twenty-two, but I wouldn’t have wanted to take on a grizzly with it though.

[joshua c]

Thank God she had an arsenal at hand.

[Smokin' Joe]

Me, either. I figure it must be a TV thing.