Posted on 05/17/2024 7:23:59 AM PDT by marktwain
Many readers are interested in how various handgun calibers have performed in defense against bears. This is a complicated subject. Sometimes, any caliber will do. Sometimes a level of power may be required. Sometimes, a level of accuracy or speed may be required. Many permutations exist. The most important aspect, if a confrontation occurs, is to have a firearm available, easily and quickly accessible. The specific caliber is less important. These updates include all the incidents we have been able to document to the date of the update, after several years of intense searches. We have always asked for examples of failures. We appreciate readers who help us document more cases.
Here are all the cases that have been documented where .380, 9.3×18 handguns, and .38 caliber revolvers were fired in defense against bears. There exists a fairly wide variation from standard .380 (9mm Corto or Kurtz) loads and hot .38 Special loads. This grouping is a way to include calibers with only one incident while including enough incidents to be illuminating. These cases do not include incidents where handguns were used with other lethal means or a mix of handgun calibers were used.
There is 1 incident with a .380 caliber handgun (black bear), 1 incident with a 9.3×18 Makarov (brown bear), and five incidents with .38 caliber revolvers (three black, two brown). There was one failure with a .38 caliber revolver, which resulted in minor injuries. The incidents are listed by caliber, chronologically within caliber.
14 April 2006, Tennessee: From ljworld.com .380 defense against 350 lb+ black bear. The bear had killed a six-year-old girl and mauled her mother and brother.
The bear bit the boy’s head, then went after the child’s mother after she tried to fend off the attack with rocks
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
A grizzly bear was killed by a .22 caliber rifle in 1953. The bear, which was the largest on record at the time, was shot by Bella Twin, a small game hunter from Canada. She used a single shot from her .22 caliber rifle to kill the bear, which weighed over 1,100 pounds.
I practice by running around the parking lot with my Ruger in a chest rig until I'm winded, run up to the firing line, spin in place three times until I'm dizzy, and shoot at six 7" targets at 25 yards. I've practiced enough that I can now hit 4 out of 6 rounds. Good enough for Mr. Bear!
Blow your brains out before you get eaten
Here is the best account of Bella Twin and her shooting of the 1953 world record grizzly bear near the village of Slave Lake, Alberta.
One thinks that one would be more interested in topping the bear, one's own self.
Thanks again though.
Yes. As a young boy deer hunting with my dad, walking up a trail in South Texas I met a Javelina Sow and some nearby baby pigs. I was carrying a K98 8mm Mauser rifle, my attempt to shoo her away was failing, she charged me and my father shouted to me to shoot her (more than once). She was about 15 feet from me when I decided I had to. Hit her square between the eyes, looked like I took a cleaver and opened her skull.
Needless to say, we just left her where she fell.
Both boar and sow hogs have tusks, they can really cut you up if they manage to get close and they are very quick.
For many years we trapped Feral hogs here on a pasture on one of our farms. They were fixed traps and designed to not catch one at a time. When we caught them we put them in a special trailer to move them. At times we killed and butchered them quickly. Other times we fed them waste grain from our seed cleaner and then killed and butchered them. ‘
They made really good whole hog sausage. We have a meat house at the farm. Don’t do it commercially, but lots of wild game has been processed there. Walk-in box and Hobart commercial equipment for processing them.
I shoot a similar pistol. It is a 5-1/2” Uberti 357 mag revolver, with the reduced throw hammer.
Looked for a Ruger Blackhawk for quite a few years (never found one) and finally stumbled across my Uberti. It is absolutely beautiful and shoots same. Only thing I would change is the sight.
A lot of people complain about the recoil from the 357 mag, but mine is very heavy and I don’t load it to max specs. Really enjoy shooting it.
Your Buffalo Bore ammo is max + . But the Ruger can handle anything, built way beyond normal specs.
My standard load is with Hornady 158 gr XTP bullets and 8.6 gr of Accurate no. 5. And Starline brass like your illustration.
“could have been a Nagant revolver”
Good point.
“I practice by running around the parking lot with my Ruger in a chest rig until I’m winded, run up to the firing line, spin in place three times until I’m dizzy, and shoot at six 7” targets at 25 yards. I’ve practiced enough that I can now hit 4 out of 6 rounds.”
And with a Ruger Blackhawk, stoked with Buffalo Bore? I think you have it pretty well covered and are in the top .01% of all shooters.
Go forth in peace...
Either .38 Special or .357 mag. Haven’t shot the Buffalo bore. I don’t find an accuracy difference between 38 and 357, so I don’t expect the buffalo bore to throw me off my game.
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