Posted on 04/19/2010 6:44:07 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
One area of weapons development that has seen a lot of new, but generally unnoticed, developments in the past decade is the PDW (Personal Defense Weapon, or pistol replacement). One recent example is the Rock River Arms PPS (Performance Piston System) Pistol. This is a 5.56mm weapon that uses a new internal design. It has a short gas piston, with the recoil spring and guide rod over the 21cm (8 inch) barrel. The entire weapon (which does not have a stock) is 44.5cm (17.5 inches) long and weighs 2.2 kg (5 pounds). There are single shot and full automatic versions, each costing $1,335. If you want a smaller PDW, you often have to go with smaller ammunition. Thus a recent Chinese PDW design uses a 4.6x30mm round. The new weapon is a variant of the Type 79 PFW (which uses the old Russian 7.62x25mm round). The new weapon weighs 1.6 kg (3.6 pounds) and has a 30 round, dual stack, magazine. Rate of fire is single, 400 or 600 rounds per minute. It has a Picatinny rail on top for scopes and sights. With the telescopic stock closed, the weapon is 34cm (13.4 inches) long, and 54cm (21.2 inches) with the stock extended. The weapon is gas operated with a closed bolt.
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
Yes, but without full-auto it’s kinda anemic. It makes up for the paltry punch (tiny rounds penetrate soft armor better than big hard-hitting stuff) per shot by providing volume (hence the 50-round mags).
You might consider a revolver chambered in something like .454 Casull or .500 magnum although I know you said that wouldn't be your first choice. It does seem to fit your criteria, however.
The other thing you might consider is a pump action 12 gauge shotgun loaded with a combination of 000 buck and Federal Copper Solid slugs.
Mossberg makes a nice one with an 18 inch barrel (500A) that I like a lot. It comes with ghost ring sights for rapid target acquisition and holds 6 rounds in the tube and one in the chamber.
I don't think there's a critter in North America that could take 7 12 gauge rounds and still be too keen on doing you harm. They also run less than $350 or so. I prefer them over the Remington 870 for a number of reasons I won't detail here. I think that's something you should strongly consider given your circumstances.
I hope you find my advice useful.
My thanks for the responce. Yes, I had already determined that .30 cal and higher was the way to go. A .357 can kill a bear but at ten yards and full charge it is extremely difficult to hit the sweet spot. Not to mention the thickness of a bear skull and the steep angle when head-on makes a glancing shot extremely possible when going for the brain, and the layers of fat over muscle makes penetration difficult when going for the heart. Even a .45 is not a guaranteed stopper. I am for the most part trying to stay away from the revolver category for the simple reason that, generally speaking, the higher the calibre the greater the recoil, making follow-on shots much more difficult.
I have been looking at the Mossberg 500A recently, thank you for the suggestion, and might just go that route. Pellet spread is something I am still cogitating upon but yes the Solid Slug / 000 buck combination sounds good. I would still prefer a semi-auto carbine for the occasional longer shot and as a good trade-off between shotgun and long rifle, but you make an excellent point in your suggestion and I do indeed find your advice useful.
Spring is here and the bears are coming out of hibernation. I must needs spend even more time outdoors this year, and considering how dry it has been for the last few years and how bold and hungry the predators are becoming I am trying to prepare as best I can before we come across each other yet again.
I've done some tests on the Federal Copper Solids and the penetration is quite impressive. I've fired them from both rifled and unrifled barrels. Accuracy is MUCH improved at longer ranges with a rifled barrel of course, but inside 50 yards or so there really isn't much difference in my experience.
As far as pellet spread goes, you might be interested to learn that inside about 15 yards or so there really isn't very much 'spread' at all. Almost every pellet will end up in an area the size of a dinner plate.
In my never to be humble opinion a properly loaded and used 12 gauge can solve a wide range of problems both social and wild life related.
It looks like a piston version of an OA-93. I have one of the first OA93’s that was produced after the AWB sunset and I love it.
Reallisticly, aren’t you more likely to run into pot farmers than bears or cougars? Make enough noise and smell like a human and they tend to get out of your way.
Actually, no. I live in a very tiny town far away from any major metropolitan areas, and I can be in dense forest with about a ten minute walk. The area where I normally spend My time is a short distance out of town and I know there are no pot farmers in that general area. The wildlife does indeed for the most part stay away from humans but I know of some 'problem' bears that have been hanging about, and one cougar in particular that did not seem to be in a hurry to leave when it was spotted. Also, an acquaintance made a point to tell of a bear that put a scare into him: he was fishing one day eating a sandwich and popped open a beer can to take a sip. He put down the beer next to him and took a bite from his sandwich, and the next thing he knew there was a sudden sound close behind him causing him to jump -and turned around to see a bear running off with his beer.
Figuring it might decide to come back for the sandwich or other edibles, he quickly packed it in and left.
Bears frequently wander in at night at My work-site looking for whatever -EVERY night, unless they are hibernating.
Shootin's too good for that bear. Sounds like he may have been staking out that fishing hole for awhile.
Personally, I just troop around with a dog and a .22. Damn near step on the occassional bear, but they're not interested in people.
That used to be the case here some years ago as well, but they seem to be getting bolder and bolder in recent years. Dunno if it is because I am spending most of My time in one particular area or perhaps because there are more and more people in that general area, but they do not seem to be as wary of people of late. I find fresh tracks every morning and of different sizes and sometimes droppings as well, so I know there are more than one coming by. I always eat over a paper towel so no crumbs or bits of food are left behind, and always pack everything out when I leave including paper and plastics, but spring is here and pretty soon there are going to be some hungry bears coming out of hibernation and I need to prepare.
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