Handguns 95% effective against bear attacks?

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FoghornLeghorn

New member
When the guide was recently killed by a bear, the news said there was a handgun available, but that the client didn't know how to operate a Glock. I wondered why the guide hadn't taken something more appropriate like maybe, a 45-70 Marlin.

But here's an article about the efficacy of handguns in stopping a bear attack. The primary criteria was that 1) the gun had to be actually fired and 2) the bear no longer attacked. The second criterion could have been because the bear was killed or simply fled the scene.

Anyway, it's an interesting article.

https://www.ammoland.com/2019/03/pi...nd-against-bear-attack-95-effective-63-cases/

I think I'm in the market for a new, stainless double action 44 mag revolver.......

"Redhawk", anyone?
 
When the guide was recently killed by a bear, the news said there was a handgun available, but that the client didn't know how to operate a Glock. I wondered why the guide hadn't taken something more appropriate like maybe, a 45-70 Marlin.
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Probably not. You think the bowhunter would be more familiar with Marlin during a high speed, high stress, short time situation?

The author who wrote on the handguns seems to have done a good job, but should be pointed out that he is very pro-gun and anti-bear spray.

While pistols were used in all the accounts, not all of the people using the pistols were being attacked. On guy had time to shoot and reload with another magazine or reload his magazine (doesn't say) and fire again.

Also, not all of the shooting actually prevented people from getting harmed, some of which were harmed after guns were discharged, which is criteria the author uses elsewhere to indicate failure of pepper spray. In other words, the information is interesting, but the author presents a very biased portrayal. I would not put a lot of stock into the high success rate claimed.

Besides, if you believed the article, you know you don't need a 44 mag redhawk. Apparently .22 lr are 100% effective, right?
 
Double Naught Spy said:
Besides, if you believed the article, you know you don't need a 44 mag redhawk. Apparently .22 lr are 100% effective, right?
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Of course! Even a .22 Short is effective if you use the buddy system. When the bear charges you just shoot your buddy in the knee with the .22, and you can just casually walk away.

#MountainMenKnow
 
Besides, if you believed the article, you know you don't need a 44 mag redhawk.
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Those of us who actually spend time in the woods around bears understand that we DON'T need a 44 magnum. Bears just ain't that big, nor hard to stop. The typical black bear taken by hunters is in the 185 lb range. About the same size as a typical human male. I don't need to carry a 44 magnum when walking down town.

Yes, there are bears that get bigger, but they don't reach 500 lbs by interacting with humans. Those you never see unless you're hunting them, and rarely even then.

In virtually every case of an aggressive bear encounter you are dealing with a yearling weighing well under 200 lbs, many closer to 100 lbs. Those are the ones struggling to make it on their own after mom chases them away. There is no reason to believe that the same firearm and load used to protect us from 2 legged predators wouldn't be effective against most bear.

There are grizzly bear in North America. They are much more aggressive in defense of food or their young. But are only slightly larger than black bear. And are present in very small numbers in only 3-4 states. But even then, there is ample evidence showing that even common handguns in the 9mm and larger category can be very effective.

In fact there are documented cases of humans successfully fighting off bear attacks with their bare hands, sticks, knives or rocks.

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3306263

I read, and posted the original study months ago here where they documented 37 incidents. This is just a continuation and they now have 63 documented cases. I've never seen any data until now, but the study just confirms what I've always observed.
 
Once again...

Practice
Placement
Penetration



147gr 9mm
266049-b81146af64747abec476d9426c61095e.jpg
 
Those of us who actually spend time in the woods around bears understand that we DON'T need a 44 magnum.
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I agree. ...But still feel the need to point out that your environment in Georgia is not the same as what people can experience elsewhere - 'Grizz' country, for example. (Or even Pennsylvania for blackies.)

I am not afraid to walk around here (with wolves, brownies, blackies, cougar, and more) with a 9mm or .32 H&R on me. At times, I've been known to have nothing but a knife.

But I do carry one of the .44 Mags occasionally. It isn't for the predators.
It's for moose!

Moose here are like Hippos in Africa. People think they're dumb, slow, docile creatures; but moose (and elk) kick the crap out of more people each year* than bears.
*(I don't have data to support that as fact. I'm speaking figuratively, based on anecdotal evidence and personal experience.)
 
Didn't know how to operate a Glock?
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Apparently, the guide didn't keep the Glock with a round in the chamber. The client had already been injured by the bear and was in a state of panic. Said client was looking for the safety and dropped the mag.

if you believed the article, you know you don't need a 44 mag redhawk
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I believe the article. But I need a Redhawk 44 to go with my other 44s (S&W 29-2: 4 inch and 6 1/2 inch barrels; 3 screw Ruger Super Blackhawk; Henry lever).

I'll never see a Kodiak, but I want to assure my wife that should a Kodiak ever wander into the Oklahoma suburbs that the Redhawk can surely protect us.
 
More bear hysteria.

In an average year in the U.S. more people are killed by Bee/Wasp attacks than bear attacks.

Leave the bear alone and he'll leave you alone.
 
Semi auto pistols have a slight disadvantage over revolvers in bear defense. That being...a tendency to failure to fire if you press a semi auto pistol's muzzle against the bear's hide --- Which just might have it fail to go fully into battery.
 
No gun is going to be 100% perfect in an unpredictable situation. I don't care if it's a bear or a human. A gun is a tool that can be helpful in correcting and otherwise dangerous situation but just like any tool, you need to know how to use it or it's just a paperweight which, ironically is also a tool that some have no clue how to use.

Choosing the right tool for the job is just as important as knowing how to use it. The gun you choose for bear protection needs to be able to stop a bear as long as you can actually hit the bear in a panic situation.

Finally, if you're going into bear country and the risk of a confrontation is high then you darn sure had better understand a bears anatomy. Shooting one in the heart and lungs might seem to be the right choice but with a slow heart rate like a bear has it may take a few minutes for the bear to even realize it's technically dead.

I hope that if the time ever comes where I have to defend myself against a bear, I have the presence of mind to try to shoot the wheels of it and then go for the heart and head if it's still coming. If it's got ahold of me, I'm going to hope my bear spray can goes off on it's own and say a few prayers.
 
From 1997 to 2017 there were 25 bear attacks that resulted in fatalities in North America. That is 1.25 killings per year. This does not account for all attacks or maulings where the person survived. Here is that list and the stories.

https://www.wideopenspaces.com/list-fatal-black-bear-attacks-north-america-last-20-years/

Bear attack fatalities are rare and about the same rate as for alligators.

If we rule out insects, snakes and birds and stick to mammals we get a different picture. Let's leave out deer about 200 people on average die each year from deer. Mostly they get on the road and cause accidents. So leave them out.

Farm animals, cows, hogs, steer, horses, etc. kill about 20 people a year. Most by being crushed in accidents. An unknown few stomped.

The main culprit is dogs. Both tame and feral. Average of 28 people a year die of dog bites. No count of the maimed.

https://roaring.earth/which-animal/

tipoc
 
Sometimes a bear attack fatality victim is never recovered, because the bear hides it in a log cache.

I heard that black bears have killed more human victims than grizzlies, it's just that the victims are never recovered.
 
The author who wrote on the handguns seems to have done a good job, but should be pointed out that he is very pro-gun and anti-bear spray.
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Bear spray is highly effective in normal conditions. Is it effective on wounded bears?
 
Sometimes a bear attack fatality victim is never recovered, because the bear hides it in a log cache.

I heard that black bears have killed more human victims than grizzlies, it's just that the victims are never recovered.
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Well that could be. Could be as likely that a person dies in the woods from a fall, heart attack, etc. and is eaten by coyote, raccoons, zopilote, and hogs. But we don't know and so it can't be counted one way or the other.

Alot of folks disappear in the forest. We can't count them dead. They may be or maybe they ran off to Butt, Montana.

tipoc
 
I read recently that black bears account for far more attacks on humans than grizzlies in the US (not necessarily killed, just injured), in large part due to the fact that there are nearly 500,000 black bears thought to be inhabiting the lower 48, as opposed to about 2,000 grizzlies, which are mostly confined to WA, OR, ID, WY, and MT.

So the idea that black bears aren't going to give people trouble is not factually correct, though most of the time black bears aren't aggressive towards humans.

Which is a good thing, because I seem to run into a black bear about once a year. They usually skeedaddle once they see me, but there's a couple places I wouldn't walk around in without my GP-100.
 
FoghornLeghorn
I believe the article. But I need a Redhawk 44 to go with my other 44s (S&W 29-2: 4 inch and 6 1/2 inch barrels; 3 screw Ruger Super Blackhawk; Henry lever).

I'll never see a Kodiak, but I want to assure my wife that should a Kodiak ever wander into the Oklahoma suburbs that the Redhawk can surely protect us.
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I see what you did there. Well played, sir! Well played!
 
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