Super Sneaky Steve
New member
I loaded up a 200gr cast LSWC hot for bears and critters. I'd trust it to do a fair bit of damage.
45 auto for grizzly?
- Thread starter Lavan
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It worked at least once.
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.co...-denali-national-park-and-preserve5943?page=3
Most people confuse grizzlies with coastal brown bear. Grizzly are not really any bigger than one of the bigger black bear, 400-600 lbs. Coastal Brown bear which are a larger cousin to Grizzly can get up to near 1500 lbs.
With bear attacks there is as much luck as anything else. If you hit the right spot most anything will do. While a 45 wouldn't be my first choice it isn't as far off as a lot of folks think. A 357, or 10mm loaded with heavy bullets would probably be just as good as a 44 mag on griz.
The 1500 lb brown bear are a different story.
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.co...-denali-national-park-and-preserve5943?page=3
Most people confuse grizzlies with coastal brown bear. Grizzly are not really any bigger than one of the bigger black bear, 400-600 lbs. Coastal Brown bear which are a larger cousin to Grizzly can get up to near 1500 lbs.
With bear attacks there is as much luck as anything else. If you hit the right spot most anything will do. While a 45 wouldn't be my first choice it isn't as far off as a lot of folks think. A 357, or 10mm loaded with heavy bullets would probably be just as good as a 44 mag on griz.
The 1500 lb brown bear are a different story.
You know what they say about hunting brown bear with a handgun??
Remove the front sight so when he shoves it up your a** it doesn't hurt as much.
No, don't use a handgun....it won't work and you will only **** him off unless you are very very lucky. Bear spray is MUCH more effective at deterring a bear then a handgun.
It will shoot out to 30ft and when it hits him in the face he'll turn and run. I've been deep in Brown Bear country before and I would only trust my life to a can of bear spray. However, still keep your side arm at your side, but pull the spray first.
Remove the front sight so when he shoves it up your a** it doesn't hurt as much.
No, don't use a handgun....it won't work and you will only **** him off unless you are very very lucky. Bear spray is MUCH more effective at deterring a bear then a handgun.
It will shoot out to 30ft and when it hits him in the face he'll turn and run. I've been deep in Brown Bear country before and I would only trust my life to a can of bear spray. However, still keep your side arm at your side, but pull the spray first.
tony pasley
New member
My first choice would be a .50 BMG but since they are a little hard to go hiking with, a .45 acp would likely be what I have with me. They have been killed with spears, bow and arrows before so they can be stopped.
Example
Pete.
Check this video: how fast can a bear run?
http://youtu.be/-zptCXYxces
And what was the result?
Pete.
Check this video: how fast can a bear run?
http://youtu.be/-zptCXYxces
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ranchito457
New member
If thats all I had-I'd throw the whole gun at him and run like hell-same odds
and when a Brown Bear and a person interact, it's not usually in a wide open area like that in the video. It's usually when both parties accidentally get too close to one another...
So when big momma bear is walking around the corner and you startle her, good luck shooting a handgun as fast and accurately as you can.
Bear Spray is proven to be more effective
So when big momma bear is walking around the corner and you startle her, good luck shooting a handgun as fast and accurately as you can.
Bear Spray is proven to be more effective
454 Casull from a Ruger Alaskan did the job for Greg Bush. He said it was a lucky shot. It seems to me that large dogs would help because they could alert on the bear and the bear may mistake them for a wolf pack. People do this up north for polar bear migrations.
Lost Sheep
New member
SVL76's last line is good to heed.
Greg Brush (linked to by TomRKBA) had a dog with him. The dog did not detect the bear when Greg and the dog passed the bear. And then the dog ran home. Not all dogs are bear-capable.
The successful downing of the bear in Denali park ith a 45 Semi-auto is both unusual and lucky. The luck part is that the bear was not actually stopped in a timely manner. If the bear had wanted to damage the hikers, it had plenty of life left eat their lunch (literally and figuratively) before expiring. If you want a quick stop (and that is the main and the FIRST task of your defensive tool), Bear spray or a bullet with enough momentum to break bone (Bear bone) is what you should have.
http://www.adn.com/bearattacks/story/147318.html
Bear spray stops charging sow
SAVED: Couple hiking Peters Creek Trail used Counter Assault.
By CRAIG MEDRED
Anchorage Daily News
(04/18/08 16:04:12)
In the blink of an eye, a defensive grizzly bear sow was rolling like a freight train through the willows along Peters Creek.
Then the brush was bathed in an orange-gray mist.
And in that instant, hiker Carl Ramm saw the sow's eye go wide "and it was gone," he said.
Neither Ramm nor his wife, Susan Alexander, clearly saw the bear leave. They heard it crashing through the brush as it beat a retreat with a cub trailing behind.
The story goes on. Check the link.
I have 45 ACP, 44 Mag, 454 Casull and 480 Ruger. My friend has 500 Smith. In bear country, I carry spray all the time and a firearm occassionally. But always the spray.
Good luck.
Greg Brush (linked to by TomRKBA) had a dog with him. The dog did not detect the bear when Greg and the dog passed the bear. And then the dog ran home. Not all dogs are bear-capable.
The successful downing of the bear in Denali park ith a 45 Semi-auto is both unusual and lucky. The luck part is that the bear was not actually stopped in a timely manner. If the bear had wanted to damage the hikers, it had plenty of life left eat their lunch (literally and figuratively) before expiring. If you want a quick stop (and that is the main and the FIRST task of your defensive tool), Bear spray or a bullet with enough momentum to break bone (Bear bone) is what you should have.
http://www.adn.com/bearattacks/story/147318.html
Bear spray stops charging sow
SAVED: Couple hiking Peters Creek Trail used Counter Assault.
By CRAIG MEDRED
Anchorage Daily News
(04/18/08 16:04:12)
In the blink of an eye, a defensive grizzly bear sow was rolling like a freight train through the willows along Peters Creek.
Then the brush was bathed in an orange-gray mist.
And in that instant, hiker Carl Ramm saw the sow's eye go wide "and it was gone," he said.
Neither Ramm nor his wife, Susan Alexander, clearly saw the bear leave. They heard it crashing through the brush as it beat a retreat with a cub trailing behind.
The story goes on. Check the link.
I have 45 ACP, 44 Mag, 454 Casull and 480 Ruger. My friend has 500 Smith. In bear country, I carry spray all the time and a firearm occassionally. But always the spray.
Good luck.
When I ran my Training Business in Toronto, I had a Prof. who worked in the North Woods.
The RCMP would issue a Self Defense Carry Permit.
He had to take his pass Diploma in. The other Company had closed down.
He had never fired his Mod. 29. 6" Brl. "The other guy never asked me to fire my Pistol. he lent me a .38 Revolver".
Now he came to me.
I asked him to bring a box of .44 Mag. But first took him through my standard Security Officer program.
Took me an hour to clear up his shooting! Then I examined his Mod 29.
It had an adjustable rear sight, screwed down tight?
I asked him if he had ever fired it? No he said. Who adjusted the rear sight said I. "It was loose" he said "So I tightened it down" IDPA type target, 20 yards. It shot real low! Really LOW!
Told him were to buy Bear Spray, and who to talk to re woods survival.
We agreed his biggest problem was most likely people!
Adjusted sights, had it dead on at twenty yards. He did not flinch, sent him on his way.
Talked him into buying a 14" 12 gage pump! With a good sling. Took 5 rounds of 12 gage slugs.
He still came for his Diploma, each year. Not sure if he is still wondering the far north. I left Canada 10 years ago.
The RCMP would issue a Self Defense Carry Permit.
He had to take his pass Diploma in. The other Company had closed down.
He had never fired his Mod. 29. 6" Brl. "The other guy never asked me to fire my Pistol. he lent me a .38 Revolver".
Now he came to me.
I asked him to bring a box of .44 Mag. But first took him through my standard Security Officer program.
Took me an hour to clear up his shooting! Then I examined his Mod 29.
It had an adjustable rear sight, screwed down tight?
I asked him if he had ever fired it? No he said. Who adjusted the rear sight said I. "It was loose" he said "So I tightened it down" IDPA type target, 20 yards. It shot real low! Really LOW!
Told him were to buy Bear Spray, and who to talk to re woods survival.
We agreed his biggest problem was most likely people!
Adjusted sights, had it dead on at twenty yards. He did not flinch, sent him on his way.
Talked him into buying a 14" 12 gage pump! With a good sling. Took 5 rounds of 12 gage slugs.
He still came for his Diploma, each year. Not sure if he is still wondering the far north. I left Canada 10 years ago.
Willie Lowman
New member
Aguila Blanca
Staff
The original question here was NOT "What gun would you choose for grizzley?" The question was:
My answer is, "Maybe ... if you get lucky."
jglsprings
New member
Best bear thread answer ever!
To get the most out of what you got, put .45 Supers in it and make sure you can place the shots accurately. Of course we all know it wouldn't be the best option, but it's better than having nothing at all.
I run .45 Super from my G21 that will get a 250gr hardcast to near 1300 fps, or a 275gr hardcast at around 1200fps, or even heavier still a 300gr hardcast at around 1150 fps, all from a 5" barrel with 14rds capacity.
No handgun is optimal for a grizzly bear, but you can make the most of what you have, and big heavy hardcasts will penetrate deep, simple as that.
I run .45 Super from my G21 that will get a 250gr hardcast to near 1300 fps, or a 275gr hardcast at around 1200fps, or even heavier still a 300gr hardcast at around 1150 fps, all from a 5" barrel with 14rds capacity.
No handgun is optimal for a grizzly bear, but you can make the most of what you have, and big heavy hardcasts will penetrate deep, simple as that.
Really... Here is what the news reported in MO. I know of one other bear dropped in a homeowner's yard by a .22. Not the best choice of arms for the job - but animals are not bullet proof. It's still about shot placement.
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=3359026&nav=8H3xa0ov
By SCOTT MOYERS ~ SEMO News Service
MARQUAND -- A 400-pound black bear was found dead Monday morning near Marquand, a day after it was shot three times by a resident who said he was afraid the bear was going to attack his dog.
Though it is illegal to kill black bears in Missouri, the man who shot the bear will not be charged because he was protecting his property, said Ken West, regional supervisor with the Missouri Department of Conservation in Cape Girardeau. The name of the man who killed the bear was unavailable Monday night.
The bear first showed up at the man's house, 3 miles south of Marquand near the Bollinger-Madison county line, on Saturday night, West said. The man ran the bear off Saturday night after it ripped boards off his shed to get to some animal feed.
Uncharacteristically, the bear returned Sunday night.
"Normally, once you run a bear off, he doesn't come back," West said. "But he came back. The guy tried to run it off again, but the bear apparently stood his ground."
The man said the bear stood up on its hind legs as the man's dog advanced. Standing up, the bear was 6 feet tall.
"He was afraid the bear was going to tear up his dog," West said. "So apparently he shot the bear three times."
The man used a .22-caliber rifle. The wounded bear ran into the woods, West said, and the man called the Bollinger County Sheriff's Department, which contacted the Department of Conservation.
The bear couldn't be located that night. The next morning, the man called the agency and said he'd found the bear dead 150 yards from the shed.
Monday morning, conservation agents retrieved the bear, a male, and stored the carcass in the walk-in freezer of a Fredericktown, Mo., taxidermist.
On Wednesday a member of the department's wildlife staff will transport the bear to Columbia, Mo., to be analyzed. The department will study stomach contents to see what it had eaten recently, take DNA samples and determine its age.
West said it's unusual for a bear sighting to end in a killing.
"He had damage to his property," he said. "We're confident this wasn't a case where the bear was just ambling by and he shot it."
West said agents had received reports of two black bears in that area during the past two or three weeks.
The black bear is the smallest bear in North America and the only one native to Missouri. Adult males generally weigh 200 to 600 pounds, and adult females weigh 100 to 300 pounds. Although most bears in Missouri are black, color varies from brown to blond.
West said multiple sightings of two bears had been made in Madison and Bollinger counties in the last few weeks. While sightings in Cape Girardeau County aren't impossible, West said, bears don't usually go into areas with high concentrations of people or traffic.
Double Naught Spy
New member
Right. Sure a .45 acp will kill a grizzly and emptying a magazine into one might kill it. But this brings up several issues.
1. What makes you think you will be able to empty a mag into it successfully?
2. How much time do you have anyway?
3. Are you actually aiming for particular spots on the bear to shoot or just shooting at the bear?
There have been people that have survived lots of rounds of various calibers being pumped into them in gun battles. If you don't hit anything vital and critical, then don't expect much to happen very quickly and even then it may still take a little time unless you make a solid CNS shot.
"And what was the result?" [darkgael]
Bear was hit several times and retreated, Park Rangers found it later, close by. Dead.
Recall a gent who tangled with a smaller bear (any of you that have fought a smaller wild animal: coyote, cat, or bear, know it can be worse than a large animal). The gent went toe to toe with a 200 lb black bear, the bear was in a fighting mood, and winning. Tho the gent was ambushed he managed to get his .357 revovler out (Smith/Ruger?) and emptied 6 shots into the bear, fight ended when the man's son shoved a rifle in the bears ear.
Recall a 69 year old gent killed a 850 lb Alaska bear with a pocket knife, and has some huge ugly scars and the bear rug to prove it. There was also another 45 ACP stop in Alaska. If you Google it you should find the news reports.
The worst case, IIRC occurred in the Old West (Wyoming Territory ?) where a bear marauded for over 20 years... it got so bad that there was a reward posted, something like $5,000 which was a lot of hay back then. Bear was finally killed, not by a Walker Colt, but a Krag rifle, 220 gr slug. When they cut the bear open, they found over 100 bullets in it, including 5 in its head. It had healed up from all of the hits, except for the last one. Damn tough bear.
Bear spray? Thought this was a Handgun Board. With my luck I'd probably spray myself the face.
"45 auto for grizzly? Okay, it's all ya got. You KNOW you'd empty it into the critter! Think it would do any good?" [Lavan]
45 ACP out of a 5" 1911 loaded hot with 230gr FP hardball (no HPs thank you) shot at the same spot is what I would do. And if the Bear was still feelin frisky then try my luck with the Bowie.
Bear was hit several times and retreated, Park Rangers found it later, close by. Dead.
Recall a gent who tangled with a smaller bear (any of you that have fought a smaller wild animal: coyote, cat, or bear, know it can be worse than a large animal). The gent went toe to toe with a 200 lb black bear, the bear was in a fighting mood, and winning. Tho the gent was ambushed he managed to get his .357 revovler out (Smith/Ruger?) and emptied 6 shots into the bear, fight ended when the man's son shoved a rifle in the bears ear.
Recall a 69 year old gent killed a 850 lb Alaska bear with a pocket knife, and has some huge ugly scars and the bear rug to prove it. There was also another 45 ACP stop in Alaska. If you Google it you should find the news reports.
The worst case, IIRC occurred in the Old West (Wyoming Territory ?) where a bear marauded for over 20 years... it got so bad that there was a reward posted, something like $5,000 which was a lot of hay back then. Bear was finally killed, not by a Walker Colt, but a Krag rifle, 220 gr slug. When they cut the bear open, they found over 100 bullets in it, including 5 in its head. It had healed up from all of the hits, except for the last one. Damn tough bear.
Bear spray? Thought this was a Handgun Board. With my luck I'd probably spray myself the face.
"45 auto for grizzly? Okay, it's all ya got. You KNOW you'd empty it into the critter! Think it would do any good?" [Lavan]
45 ACP out of a 5" 1911 loaded hot with 230gr FP hardball (no HPs thank you) shot at the same spot is what I would do. And if the Bear was still feelin frisky then try my luck with the Bowie.
My bear story is when I was a kid, my father and I went deep into the woods to scout for the up coming deer season and to shoot his AR15. We walked up on a bear (about 250-300 lbs) about 45 yards away. It stood up and started to smell. We started yelling "hey bear" "go on!" And backed away slowly. It dropped to all 4s and started walking at us. Then it started to kinda "skip" at us. My dad fired his AR until it stopped. It got 15 yards from us and took 12 rounds of .223 fmj to the upper body and neck. It was still breathing for a couple minutes after. We called the game warden and explained. I don't hunt bears because they are my favorite animal. I would not ever trust my life to a hand gun in bear country. They move very fast and it happens so fast. If that bear took 12 .223 that says a lot.
Mike Irwin
Staff
OK, this one started out kind of silly, and it hasn't climbed much.
I think we can put the bear back in the den.
Closed.
I think we can put the bear back in the den.
Closed.
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