Pistol for bear protection

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I used to go berry picking with my kids in black bear country. I carried a Marlin lever action in cal .35 Remington (cartridge looks like a 30/30 on steroids) and felt quite secure. IMHO a pistol is backup only but I would trust a 1911 before I'd spend the money on one of those big .451s. :D
 
Hey, guys, this is serious...Every morning, Godzilla walks out of the woods near my home. He eats a house every day, and I can hear the people inside screaming. I'ts horrible. I know that one day I
ll be the next house on his smorgasboard-o-houses and tasty people treats. I'm wondering, what caliber handgun would same my home and family?
 
Assuming these are black bears, I would think a .44 would be sufficient. Use the tip of the nose as your aiming point.

Theres some largely anecdotal information around that pepper spray is less effective on black than brown/grizzlie bears. Blacks have been known to run off when hit with spray and then return a few minutes later...mad. Nothing substantive there, just as I said, anecdotes from people who have used spray on both types of bear. Its still pretty effective.

A good dog might be a worthwhile investment in black bear country. I said a GOOD dog, not one that will run from a bear and bring it to you, rather, a dog that will bristle up and bark at bears. A dog that will make a bear take a stand and give you an opportunity to react.




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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Erich:
I live in black bear country, and they've been coming down into our subdivision (right by the mountain in Albuquerque)[/quote]

Erich - I'm from Albuquerque! I haven't lived there since '91; we had the same bear problem in '89 (particularly dry summer). Were you there then?

Can you be more specific about where you are? My parents still live there; they're at the east end of Comanche.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Hey, guys, this is serious...Every morning, Godzilla walks out of the woods near my home. He eats a house every day, and I can hear the people inside screaming. I'ts horrible. I know that one day I
ll be the next house on his smorgasboard-o-houses and tasty people treats. I'm wondering, what caliber handgun would same my home and family?[/quote]

Frontsight, My neighbor once killed a godzilla using a .22LR. He's a pretty good shot; got the lizard in its left shoulder. Not sure if it was the shock that did it in or if the massive bleeding did the trick.

By the way, godzilla meat tastes like chicken.

pax
"Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams." -- Mary Ellen Kelly
 
I'd say a 44 Magnum or if he can afford it, a 454 Casull.
 
Frontsight,

You might want to mount a phalanx gun at all four cornes of the house. You will then have a combined firepower of 18,000 rounds per minute of 20mm ammo. You and the neighbors can then decide if there's enough of Godzilla left to pick up to see if he really does taste like chicken. ;)

Good luck,
Evan
 
I was on my property line road walking up hill when I encountered a large black bear. I looked at it for a long time and it looked at me. Finnally it turned and went into the woods. I called downhill to me brother [I was scared] He came running up the hill and picked up the trail and went in after it wiht a 22 six gun. I yelled at him that the bear was too big for that gun. He never found the bear.
 
The best pistol for bear protection is a .22Mag derringer, loaded with one round. When the bear attacks, place the muzzle in your mouth and pull the trigger. Saves a lot of time and pain (for you.) :) ;) :) ;)

If you must rely on a pistol, get the most powerful one available. I'd advise a .454 Casull over a .50 AE simply because the guns chambered for .454 are generally a bit smaller than a Desert Eagle. (Are there any other guns smaller than a DE chambered for .50 AE? I don't know.)

Better yet, I'd advise a short-barreled 12 ga. w/pistol grip stock loaded with 5 Brenneke slugs.

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Shoot straight & make big holes, regards, Richard at The Shottist's Center

[This message has been edited by 45King (edited August 06, 2000).]
 
Rich,

You're employing that .22 pistol incorrectly.
A .22 "bear gun" is used to kneecap the person standing nearest you just before you begin running. Wild animals tend to cull the weakest, so the guy hobbling and screaming foul language in the rear of the "herd" is the only one in danger.



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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
Yes, that is commonly known as the Harding defense. It not only works well for bear defense but also works well in most sports that requires any footwork at all. ;)
 
Sorry, guys, I just get a little tired of the "best pistol for bear defense" thread resurrecting itself every other month. Dagum! There's that darned giant lizard again! He's using power line to floss his teeth!

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AKA "Ol' Slewfoot"
Frontsight! has changed, and when the time is right, Ol' Slewfoot will emerge.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Dagum! There's that darned giant lizard again! He's using power line to floss his teeth![/quote]

How shocking. ;)

pax
 
Actually, I rather enjoy reading and participating in "best pistol for bear defense" posts. I frequent the woods alot and I find it "nice to know info" and very entertaining at times. Just my thoughts, J. Parker
 
Keith Rogan's page is highly enlightening.

His reports of the cop tests on roadkill bear heads was especially interesting. Basically, what looks like a bear's "forehead" is really a solid bone anchor for the jaw muscles. And it's the first place everybody shoots for, basing quick decisions on human anatomy.

But with a bear, you want to shoot lower, driving something in through the sinus cavities to the fairly low-slung brain, or hitting the eye sockets to either side at around that height.

So even with the biggest bears, a hardcast HOT loaded 158grain .357 might be all you need, especially if you can bring the gun to bear (pun!) quickly and send several accurate shots into that small target.

If so, that same gun could shoot .38 target wadcutters with good accuracy and wouldn't cause the meat in something rabbit-sized to get spread all over the landscape?

There's more to a wilderness survival gun than just bear defense. IF the .357 can do that job, it's worth considering because it can do lots of other jobs too.

Jim
 
Jim; There was a time when I roamed all over the Sierra Nevada's with a S&W mod 19 snubbie. It was packable and powerful. I always carried 158gr. magnum softpoints. Your comment about .38 wadcutters makes sense. But finally I thought it was to light for bears so I started packing a S&W mod 629 .44 mag with 240gr. softpoints. There weren't any fancy factory hardcast stuff back then. If the black bears are up to 250lbs. or so I think a .357 maggie is feasible. Grizzlies? Browns? Kodiaks? I think maybe a 454 Casull....Good Shooting, J. Parker
 
Look at Rogan's site.

The only real advantage with .454 versus .357 is that if you miss the head altogether, you can hope the .454 will smash a shoulder all to hell and slow the dang thing down.

But that ain't a sure bet, not with .454 if we're dealing with a full-size Griz! If you really make the REAL headshot versus bouncing something off that upper armor, a .357 will be identical to a .454 in terms of results.

So...with .357, you'll get faster follow-ups to try and make that "true brain shot stopper".

So I've got a 1,500lbs monster charging at me. In .357, I've maybe got TWO chances at a full stopper shot, versus I can get one .454 round off due to the difference in recoil recovery time. If the .454 misses, it MIGHT slow the dang thing down...or it might not.

See why the .357 starts looking good?

Point two: in a strong gun like the Blackhawk, Redhawk or N-Frame with a 5" or so barrel, you can load .357 158 hardcast out to 1,500fps. That's on the low side of .44Mag factory energy levels. Given it's smaller bore, that's gonna be a deep-driving load, capable of making that long run up the snout and into the brain even on the biggest "teddies". Won't penetrate the "forehead" but for reasons of weird Ursine biology, 7mm Mag rifle is iffy too on that shot.

And then you're also carrying a nice general hunting/survival/defense gun.

If you're fishing/backpacking/motorcycling in the back country and want to pack light with a single do-all gun, methinks a good .357 has merit.

Jim
 
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