Posted on 10/24/2019 6:11:19 AM PDT by marktwain
Details of .22 Pistol Defense Failure against Polar Bear in Norway; iStock-940461304
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- While searching for cases where pistols were used to defend against bears, three failures have been found. In the last published results, of 73 cases, that was a 4% failure rate. The very small sample size means a few cases can change the percentages of success or failure significantly. It is useful to know what happened in each case to determine how the failures and successes occurred.
The three failures involved the three species of North American bears. One case involving a polar bear and a .22 pistol in 1995, one case involving a grizzly bear and a .357 magnum in 2010, and one case involving a black bear and a .38 revolver in 2015.
Reasonably detailed accounts of the failures for the 2010 and 2015 attacks have been given in the last update, where 73 cases were examined.
The failure of the .22 pistol defense against a polar bear had little information.
On 1 September, 1995, two male tourists were attacked by an adult male bear on a remote island in eastern Svalbard. The two tourists defended themselves with a .22 calibre pistol which proved ineffective. One man was killed, the other injured. Police later shot the bear.
After considerable research, a more
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
I have read that also.
I think it is mostly a myth, based on missing the brain.
It is possible, if aiming directly between the eyes, to hit a tiny bit high, and miss the brain.
Bullets that hit on a very oblique angle can be deflected by bone.
There have been several cases where .45 ACP pistol bullets have been deflected by human skulls. Sometimes the bullet goes under the skin, travels part way around the skull, and exits.
The bone between the eyes of a large bear slopes at a very oblique angle. It is tough and strong.
The nose channel runs directly to the brain.
Darwin was wrong.
It's not the survival of the fittest...
...it's the culling of the weakest!
< golf clap>
What you do is shoot your buddy in the knee with the .22 and escape while the bear takes interest in your buddy.
“If the bear is looking at you, you can shoot it in the eye and miss the brain.”
True, but you’ve given his uninjured brain something else to worry about besides eating you, in addition to making it [insert math here]% more difficult for him to see you.
Notice the location of the eye sockets. The side view does not show it well, but the brain is between the eyes, and does not extend out to the side behind the eyes.
Consider the slope of the bone between the eyes. Now put a couple of inches of muscle, fat, and hide above the bone.
That is one record I would not try to break!...........................
Good info.
Moral: Take your .357 magnum instead of the .22.
Where is that exactly, and if you are stuck with a low-caliber weapon where is the best place to aim?
Definitely NOT his testicles.
In an older bigger bear the skull grows much wider.
Oh, of course that is the answer. 8>)
Does the brain get bigger?
In Humans, the brain case does not change much. Six year old humans have 90% of the brain size of adults.
The brain, like other parts of our body, there is shrinkage as we get older!
Bear hair is a big impediment to penetration.
"Dumb" is right! Just about anything would be more effective than a .22 rimfire (probably including a "super soaker" filled with ammonia, and maybe even a laser pointer "cat toy" for distracting the critter ;^)...
Place pistol in the bear’s mouth and and direct fire upward?
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