This Alaskan Guide has a true tall tale to tell you.Phil Shoemaker, an experienced Alaskan hunting and fishing guide, was guiding a couple of clients on a salmon fishing trip in the Becharof National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Alaska.
Posted on 06/20/2018 5:07:12 AM PDT by w1n1
This Alaskan Guide has a true tall tale to tell you.
Phil Shoemaker, an experienced Alaskan hunting and fishing guide, was guiding a couple of clients on a salmon fishing trip in the Becharof National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Alaska.
While there they encountered at close range with an angry bear.
Thank goodness nobody got hurt just the bear.
Whats amazing and you don't hear too often is that Phil stopped this raging bear with a 9mm pistol at close range.
Phil and his clients were lucky enough to walk away without a scratch.
Seasoned outdoorsman who pack hand cannons will chastised Phil to kingdom come. Phil was packing a S&W 3954 in 9mm, whats odd is he also owns S&W 629 chambered in 44 Magnum but chose to carry the 9mm on this day. I think the moral of the story isn't all about carrying a hand howitzer but you can carry a 9mm but supplement that with good quality ammunition, good shot placement and luck if you’re ever in an encounter with a bear.
Anyone that knows cartridges will understand that 9mm Luger does not have penetration compared to a more powerful cartridges such as .454 Casull or .500 S&W. In this instances, Phil the guide was packing a 9mm with 147 grain hard cast bullets made by Buffalo Bore. This was design for deep penetration. Read the rest of the 9mm handgun puts down bear story here.
Yep, that was definitely a Hail Mary....
I wonder what he will carry with him the next time he goes into bear country?
Bears are people too!
Sorry, but I prefer my calibers a little bit larger ...
4-6 foot penetration into bone and flesh from a 9mm +p?
Crushing is so much more graphically entertaining than slipping and sliding but call me very skeptical.
1911 45 proven in 2 World Wars
If a bear is charging, you’ll empty all the rounds you have in a revolver, too.
Agreed.
That would work but I think the bazooka would be sufficient as well. Who worries about penetration when you have explosive rounds?
There have been four successful, documented uses of 9 mm handguns to stop bear attacks. One was a black bear in Colorado, two grizzlys in Alaska (the Phil Shoemaker account is one of these) and one grizzly in Montana.
http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2018/02/defense-against-bears-with-pistols-97_25.html
True, but not when you're aiming at the bear two counties away ...
There is this rumor about punctuation..
I was recently watching a documentary about a survivor of a polar bear mauling returning to the site of the attack. The Canadian government requires armed guides to accompany visitors in this area. The video showed the guide loading the rifle: a .243 Winchester. I was astounded. Personally, I'd want a mid-.30 caliber magnum (probably a .358 Norma or a .338 Lapua as the Scandinavians apparently know how to deal with big bears) or a .45-70 with high-pressure bear loads.
Lacked penetration? Buffalo Bore 9mm hardcast gives 4 to 6 FEET of penetration depending on the bone vs soft tissue combo.
He shot it in the vitals because that was the shot he had. A brain shot didn’t present itself. But that round could have easily brained him through a bear skull.
“I’d have thought that all a 9mm would do is make the bear angry.”
That’s true. Just ask anybody. Also a .25 acp can’t penetrate a leather jacket and can’t kill anyone.
yes, the description’s 4-6 feet seems optimistic...
But for the reference: NATO spec. 9mm 124 FMJ can penetrate in excess of 32 inches of calibrated ordnance gelatin as a “general rule”.
P.S. as further reference, for extrapolation...:
9mm 115 FMJ penetrates about 24 in of calibrated ordnance gelatin
Buffalo Bore is pretty meticulous in their claims. For example, they do not list ridiculous velocities from test barrels like most manufacturers. They list actual chrono results from specific pistols of varying barrel lengths.
IE.. they tell you from a 1911, a glock 19, and a subcompact of some kind.
If they say 4 to 6 feet, you can take it to the bank. It HAS been proven. And the variance probably depends on how much bone it has to break through.
Optimistic synonyms: auspicious, bright, encouraging, fair, golden, heartening, hopeful, likely, promising, propitious, rose-colored, roseate, rosy, upbeat;
None of us were there but I'm glad it worked out for these folks.
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