9mm vs bear: now that's a bad day

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Edmund Rowe

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Continuing the 9mm vs bear topic:

If I were only armed with a 9mm against a mad bear, I'd hope I practiced very well to put rounds through the eye-sockets. Not just aim at the face, I'm talking be able to sink several rounds through the actual eye-sockets. Try to nail that brain-thing back there in the skull. I wouldn't count on rounds penetrating the skull anywhere.

If Mr Bar is cooperative enough to open his mouth real wide with the roof visible, that's another potential route to get past the bony skull and into the brain. NO, don't aim for the roof up front, aim further back.

Where's the brain anyhow? I'm not completely sure which is the sweet spot of the brain we're looking for on Mr Bar. Keep in mind that people can be shot in certain parts of the brain and still function. Maybe said wounded man can't spell encyclopedia at that moment but he's still alive and kicking. No reason a bar is different. In simpler words, it may take SEVERAL hits in the brain until you hit the sweet spot and Mr Bar finally decides he's dead.

OK, now you're practicing to shoot through the eyes, right? Good. Now train using one hand. Mr Bar might have mangled one arm already. After you got that down train using the other hand. Now to make it interesting have a target that bobs around. Now make it REAL fun. Do this in the dark.

Does this sound dangerous??? It should!! Any handgun vs a bar is a very losing idea from the start.

I'd seriously consider spending a few hundred on a 12 gauge and slugs if you're going into bar country a lot. But don't think the shotgun is anything magic that automatically puts the bar down. Ya gotta hit the vital spots still. Only now with the shotgun your options are better: heart, shoulder, etc. Also, bringing some like-minded/trained/equipped friends isn't a bad idea, either.

Hope that helps.

Edmund
 
I disagree. I think a 9mm *could* be very effective against even a large bear. Say a Sig P226 propeled at 1300fps. That ought to be a pretty good bear stopper. Course I`m not sure what you`d use to propel it that fast (railgun of some kind?). I sure wouldn`t wanna have to try stopping an angry bear using just the bullets from a 9mm though. :D :D :D Marcus
 
Marcus, I don't think we would have to worry about stopping that bear with our 9mm bullets alone. Don't forget we were instructed by a previous contributor in part one of this thread that we could also depend upon our trusty knife and loyal dog!!!!



[This message has been edited by Randy Garrett (edited March 25, 2000).]
 
My .02
End result of a 9mm vs a bear would be.
1.) Not enough hits to stop the bear.
2.) PO'd bear.
3.) Mauled shooter.
4.) Some poor ba$tard has to track down a wounded and very po'd bear.
 
What about a 9mm submachine gun against a bear? I think it would be effective. :D

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I AM NOT A NUMBER! I AM A FREE MAN!
 
Well, if a 9mm Sten gun could take on a Rhino... but I'd rather not be the one to find out. Nor would I want to rely on a dog (poor critter will buy you time at the expense of his/her life) or a knife.
 
As far as the dogs go, not far from where I live a guy was hurt by a black bear.
In the newspaper he said something like it was a mean bear we had to kill it.
Fact is he was out with his buddies training his does when they went after the bear.
When the brave hunters caught up with the dogs and bear it wasn’t a pretty sight.
The bear was cornered. Dead and dying dogs were on the ground. The dog owner tried
to rescue one or them, when he got close enough to get bitten. Then they shot the bear
several times with 30 cal or larger rifles.------- ( I wonder why bears are so mean.)
 
Hmmmmm....how to stop an angry bear with a 9mm....thats easy throw the damned thing at him and run like hell. :eek:

Just mt .02




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Compromise is not an option

"Semper Fidelis"
 
Marcus...You mean to say "the rounds you fire at the bear through your P226 would fly at 1300 fps," right? It sounds like you are saying the gun itself, being a SIG, is what's going to stop the hairy beast.

JJC
 
JJCook,nope I meant what I said (tongue planted firmly in cheek of course!). I figure a 30oz. Sig traveling at 1300fps. should have pretty darn good stopping power! :eek: It`s the only way I`d care to use a 9mm on a bear. The bullets alone are just too darn tiny. :D Marcus
 
It was near the end of the prev thread, but Moe could consider using a .40 in same size format. 180 or 200-grn shoulder-stabilized (deeply penetrating) .40 bullets should be considerably more effective at stopping heavy, dangerous game, though still not my first choice.

Personally, I'd use my EDMF knife if the chips were down, but it would be last resort (1895G and 415-grn Garrett .45-70 first choice, 12 GA 3" Mag Remington slug 2nd choice).
 
Marcus...

I apologize if I sounded a bit prude. No offense intended. I see what you're getting at.....and fully agree!! I think my HK USPc at 1325fps would do better than the Cor-bon's I use!!

JJC
 
Nerve toxin? you don't want that leaking in your ammo pouch. If it were toxic enough to handle while battleing bears you wouldn't be able to load enough in a hollow point to make a bear sneeze. How about some non existant 9mm ap.? Could a jacketed hardened steal post get the penetration?

How about those dragons breath rounds for a twelve gauge? Burning his whiskers of could be a pretty good deterent followed by a few slugs to the face. He may not die, but sure as hell is gonna go crawl off into a whole some where. But I'll admit I don't know a damn thing about bears other than lots of people chase them out of thier yards and garages with brooms and a few shouts every day all across America and
Canada, and mean dangerous bad old aggresive bears are more often than not the result of stupid people doing stupid things in all the wrong places at all the wrong times. The danger to life and limb in the wilderness is much less the in the urban core as the statisics prove. What I want to know is how do you stop a drunken, aggresive, speeding, out of control semi truck with a 9mm :D ? -ddt
 
Its a terrible choice in weapons, but a 9mm could stop even the largest bear. Its even been tested by the Alaska state troopers. They tested all the standard police carry guns on bear heads to see if and how police sidearms could be used against bears - a hazard they encounter with some frequency. All the standard handguns penetrated to the brain when the hits were perfect.

If you hit a bear on the nose from the front, theres very little tissue or bone to stop a bullet from going into the brain - an "Achilles nose" so to speak.
If you shoot a brown/grizzly in the "forehead" you'll just make him mad because theres no brain behind there. The brain lies low in the skull, below the level of the eyes. The softest target is through the nose.

I'm not advocating a 9mm as a bear gun, I think its a terrible idea. You'd have to be very lucky or very good to pull off a shot like that.



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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
Hmmm...were I to try and shoot anything with a full auto 9mm, I suspect that the first round might hit the target, and the rest of the mag be over it.

Keith is right about the nose aiming point. Not that I would want to try it. Unless it would be from the firing slit of a Bradley. ;) Walt
 
Moe Stated; "you had to carry a 9mm","remember "Black Bears" were talking", "has to be a 9mm round". I'm still not convinced a high-power with 13 rounds of 124gr. +P flat points would not be to some degree effective against a 150 to 200 lb. blackie. :) :) j.s.
 
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