Yet more bear-gun questions -- sorry everyone

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I haven't been around much lately and I won't be around again for another week or so - I'm off to Iditarod to cover the event for a paper here in Alaska (never trust a reporter!)

Thanks to the gentlemen who posted the link to the bear maulings web site! Its been recently upgraded and theres a lot of new info if you haven't been there for a while.

Shotguns - they don't have the power or accuracy of the .45/70 lever gun and they are heavier to boot. They'll work, and if thats all you have, you'll be fine. If you're buying a bear defense gun, get a Marlin and use Garrett ammo.

.375 - great, it'll work, but its heavy, long, and you've probably got a high power variable on it that makes it useless at close range - bear attacks are close range events. If you're in bear country with a 3X9 scope on your rifle (of whatever caliber) then you are for all intents and purposes, unarmed.

Pepper spray - I really like pepper spray for the very simple reason that MOST negative bear encounters leave you in an "iffy" legal situation. The bear may be ripping your tent up or eating the food you'll need for the next week and theres not a damned thing you can do about it unless you have pepper spray - pepper is employable in many situations where you can't use a gun. and it WILL repel an actual attack. Its slower to use however and its useless on a windy day or if the wind is in your face. Pepper spray is an adjunct to a good rifle.

As for actual attacks, speed is everything - somebody mentioned that they could get a rifle up and shooting in 1.5 seconds.. bear attacks happend within ten yards or so and a bear can do 35 mph in a sprint.... I believe that equate to 30 yards in 1 second!
I had my rifle in my hands and "ready" - I was stalking a deer. The bear was on me from a dead stop to a sprint from about 10 yards before the rifle reached my shoulder - and thats typical of brown/grizzly attacks.

That doesn't leave much margin for error. get a short, heavy caliber rifle or shotgun and use the heaviest slugs you can buy.

More important than all of this is to use good judgement - don't shoot a bear just because it within a "danger radius" - that happens all the time. You'll go to jail. Run the scenario through your mind - you'll know its an attack just like you'll know when a dog is friendly or just about to bite your rear. common sense is everything.




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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
Randy, I mentioned the use of a .22 or starter's pistol in comparison to using pepper spray, If a bear really wanted you neither would do much good, & either would put off a bear that didn't have his heart in it.

I mentioned shooting snakes because dz & Hueco allready had. Personally, I do not believe in recreational hunting let alone destroying an animal simply because it's there. I was trying to point out that 12ga birdshot might fill the role of the .22 that Hueco is planing on packing.

The likelyhood of being attacked by a bear should be taken into consideration. If you're backing up a bear hunter, or if you're fishing in certain arears at certain times of the year, one of your 45/70/530 loads would be the obvious choice. However that's a pretty big sledge hammer if all you'll be hitting is tacks. :) Among other things I keep 20 rnds of 12ga in my jeep. In any given car, cabin, house, or store out in the middle of nowhere there is a fairly good chance of finding 12 ga shells. Standardization is a beautiful thing. The choice comes down to the difference between specialized & generalized tools.

P.S. I really like what you do, It's growing increasingly rare in this day & age for someone to decide to simply make somthing as good as it can be; & too let our other more modern concerns come second. Is there any chance of your making hard cast shotgun slugs? If not can you make any reccomendiations?
 
Personally, I have yet to go hunting or shoot an animal at all. No, I wouldn't shoot a snake simply because I saw one near the trail/path/whatever. The only reason I would carry something for them is to kill them after they have bitten me (should I be stupid and step on one or something). I have always heard it is best if you can bring in the snake or critter that bit ya if you can actually get to a hosptial -- helps them to know which antivenon to use. And yes, I know the difference between a rattler and a copperhead...but that is NOW -- would I be calm enough after I was bitten to identify it? No...if I can walk around peacefully I will. If I can't -- then I don't go that way. But if the animal comes after me, be it a bear or snake -- I'll shoot to kill. To some very real extent, there is a balanced eco-system on every level -- from the entire world, to just a single acre of forest. I want to do my best to keep it balanced. (Some animals are excluded from my mercy though: coyotes happen to be one of them. But that is not to say I would kill everyone if I could...we need SOME! Besides, they will never go extinct or under-populated no matter how hunter-pressured they are.)


Hueco
 
i remember one fine March day i was out boldering about on the side of a small PA mountain ridge

as i descended back down a bolder field, i spotted a curled snake on a sunny rock

cool! looked like a common water or a copperhead. He was just grabbing some rays.

Then i glanced to the right...
another
and another
and another
hummm
early spring
it was dehiberation time
i carefully worked my way out of that sunlit
serpentine minefield.
Snakes are nifty, but it's amazing what the monkey part of yer brain has to say about them!

dZ
 
As I sat here and waited, waited, waited for this topic to load I realized it was time to close it and start anew.

Click here to go to new topic thread

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Schmit
GySgt, USMC(Ret)
NRA Life, Lodge 1201-UOSSS
"Si vis Pacem Para Bellum"

[This message has been edited by Schmit (edited March 11, 2000).]
 
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