load for bear

Mathematics... Numbers...

Find a picture of a bear in "charging mode" and enlarge it to full size, with particular attention to the face on that picture, with particular attention to the nose on that face. Set this target at 30 yards.

I am told that a bear can lunge as fast as 40 m.p.h. (58.1 f/s) for short distances. I don't really know if 60 feet is a short distance for a bear, but I would bet that it is. This gives you 1.033 seconds to draw and fire at least one shot into the bear's nose (but let's say anywhere in the face within a 2 inch radius of the nose.

But not just ANY shot. It must be a shot powerful enough to smash through bear snout and bear skull and lodge deep enough into its brain to turn off the electricity (thus motor nerve impulses) almost instantly.

Let's say, no less than 200 grains, hard cast, at no less than 1000 f/s from the muzzle.

This means a hot .357, a warm .44 Special, a warm .45 Colt or .45 A.C.P. +P, and certainly any .41, .44, or .454 Mag load worthy of the name.

Try this exercise, 50 shots worth, with every qualified caliber to which you have access. If you can do it 45 out of 50 times, you can probably defend yourself from a bear with a pistol. If not, it's probably Mossberg (and bear spray) time.
 
You're assuming the situation goes from total woodland peacefulness with no recognized bear presence to a full speed charging bear from out of nowhere as the standard. So far this hasn't proven to be the case and isn't a reasonable standard. Pretty much nothing you suggested would work in the no win (and rare) example you presented.
 
You're assuming the situation goes from total woodland peacefulness with no recognized bear presence to a full speed charging bear from out of nowhere as the standard.
Click to expand...

I think it just means one hopes for the best but prepares for the worst.

We HOPE we have notice of the bears intentions, but we prepare on the assumption we will have no or little warning.

Deaf
 
Start celebrating:

Causes of bear attacks

Almost all recorded bear attacks in the wild have resulted from the human surprising the bear. Hunters are the people most at risk of bear attacks because, as Tom Smith, a U.S. Geographical Survey research biologist, describes, "Hunters typically aren't making any noise, and they sleuth around while wearing camo."[47] Hunters try to be silent and, though many hunters wear reflective clothing so as not to become targets for other hunters, they try to hide their movements so as not to startle game. Most bear attacks result from hunters suddenly appearing in front of them, startling a bear into an instinctive act of aggression.

However, a bear's first reaction upon detecting a human is to run away
 
However, a bear's first reaction upon detecting a human is to run away
Click to expand...

Did they poll the bears on that? Was it a questionnaire?

And mother bears with cubs?

When confronted with wild animals there is no reliable way you can predict what they will do.

Even deer have attacked and killed humans.

Deaf
 
I figure if a bear comes after me he'll be so busy slippin' & slidin' in my feces he'll never catch me!:D

On a serious note, my nephew just got chased by a black bear in the mountains here and that had me researching also. What I found is that black bears aren't very prone to attacking and will likely run at the sound of a gun going off, but to take one down if you have to, a .357 mag with a barrel over 4" or longer barrel (to get full use of the magnum round) loaded with Buffalo Bore 180 grain fmj makes a good choice. I'm looking at getting a Ruger GP100 because it chambers six and is built like a tank for the most powerful loads.
 
Last edited:
+1, GaryL43! ANYone who thinks humans are not equipped with chemical defense has not been around me after being chased by a ferocious animal, intent on turning me into dinner.
 
Last edited:
I carry my 4 5/8" Blackhawk in .45 Colt whenever I am in the woods. A 270 grain Leadhead hard cast Keith SWC sitting on top of 10.5 grains of Unique is trucking fast enough to ventilate just about any critter that you come across. Several extra large hogs and a deer or two have proved that.

 
Last edited:
I see articles about someone being attacked by a bear . Often they are walking their dog but little mention is made of the dog.
Is the dog the problem ?? Dog sees the bear, bear charges the dog , owner wants to save the dog , owner gets mauled !
In such instances dog should be treated as expendable .Let the dog go, don't try to protect the dog or get between dog and bear !
 
Women tend to be attacked when they are hiking or camping on their period. I guess you could hang them up off a tree branch with your other foodstuffs to keep them out of a bears reach?
 
Is the dog the problem ?? Dog sees the bear, bear charges the dog , owner wants to save the dog , owner gets mauled !
Click to expand...

Dog sees bear. dog barks and chases bear, bear gets upset, turns and chases dog. dog runs back to, and hides behind OWNER.


That's how it happened to a friend of someone who was posting on another forum. She had told the woman for years she should be carrying a gun, but the woman refused.

After the bear mauled her, she had to crawl nearly 2 miles to get back to her vehicle.

She now carries a 44 mag when walking her dogs

This was a Grizzly in Alaska, though
 
When out of the night, which was 50 below, and into the din and glare, there stumbled a miner straight from the creeks dog dirty and loaded for bear...I wonder what that was in Dawson in 1900.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top