Posted on 01/19/2018 4:31:53 AM PST by marktwain
The odds look pretty good.
Sometimes all you need is a knife and a good dog.
Pretty shocking that a 9mm would take one down. Maybe all that discussion about the “new” 9mm round’s lethal stopping ability really is true after all.
undergoing surgery for the bite, which was so powerful that it broke the leg bone below the knee.
Good grief! That is incredible!
While a rifle or shotgun is a preferable weapon for killing bears, a handgun is certainly better than a knife, or bare hands.
I can tell you one thing, if I am ever attacked by a bear while armed with a handgun, I am certainly not going to toss it aside and tell myself: “Nope, I can’t use this to defend myself because some internet know-it-alls told me it’s useless against a bear”.
It is my understanding that many bear hunters carry some kind of handgun as a back-up in the event an encounter gets up close and personal. 44 magnum and 454 Casull are popular calibers, from what I’ve heard.
I like my Ruger Redhawk 44 mag. Heavy sucker though!
I think it’s 70% gun and 30% individual and 100% accuracy. Don’t panic, don’t pack a 22 LR and depending upon the bear specious, a 9mm might not be enough.
I think it’s 70% gun and 30% individual and 100% accuracy.
Most guns will do the job if the individual is up to the task.
Some bears are more determined, bigger, and tougher than others. Half of all fatal attacks are black bears, and they do not take as much to stop the attack as grizzly bears do.
(mm is more potent than many think - at close range it can go through a couple human bodies and still have enough to kill a 3rd if it isn’t a hollow point. For a bear I would rather have my 357 with hollow points though - penetrate and lacerate....
“Pistols for Defense against Bears? Failures are Rare”
From the headline I assumed this was about the NFL and a new defense other teams used against Chicago.
One common factor: you should keep firing until the attack is stopped. Ammo is cheap — life is priceless.
The whole handguns are not good for bear defense is a concerted effort by the anti-firearms and anti hunting crowd.
If one does not need a firearm for hunting or defense then one does not need a firearm at all.
Bear spray is always good for the bear not always good for the spray user.
It is my understanding that many bear hunters carry some kind of handgun as a back-up in the event an encounter gets up close and personal. 44 magnum and 454 Casull are popular calibers, from what I’ve heard.
Some do I like handguns and have one with no matter what I am hunting. Be it bears or squirrels because I like handguns and I can.
My normal handgun when out bear hunting is a TI. 41 mag or a Ruger 44 red hawk.
Not to mention the #1 item to bring with you when the possibility of meeting a bear in bear country is increased:
A CLEAN PAIR OF SHORTS!
(Or, would that be the #2 item?)
;-)
Can’t go wrong with a Ruger revolver. I have 3 of them - all single action, though.
Surprisingly, plain ol' 9mm fmj, not any exotic newfangled expanding bullet has been effective at least once or twice... who decided to put that to the test? I'm glad it worked out well for him but geez, "I think if I get charged by a bear today I'll be the first guy in known history to stop him with a 9mm" is not the way I would be thinking if I had a choice.
.45 ball, maybe not so much... it took that one guy 9 rounds to take his bear down.
.357 seems to be adequate, if that's what one has... is it true that some people refer to the Ruger SP101 as the "Alaska Derringer"?
But really the standard still seems to be anything in .44 magnum or bigger.
I've also read of a recent case you might have missed where a guy in Alaska shot a charging bear with a 10mm Glock, with effect...
Please check your mail, thanks...
It seems to me that the biggest problem is that you are dealing with a head on target with a thick skull bobbing up and down as it charged. I would want a round capable of doing damage no matter where I hit the bear.
If a bear was chasing me he would never catch me. The trail would be too slippery!
I don’t even go bow hunting without packing a pistol. Never know when or if you’ll run into a rabid four or two legged critter.
Were I in bear country, I think I would be packing my Glock 21 in .460 Rowland or a Glock 20 in 10mm. These things happen so close and so fast that I think I could get more lead into the bear faster than with a .44 magnum revolver of any kind. Looks like 230 grain hardball would be the way to go.
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