Weapon recommendations for use in the Bush (Anchorage: work, home)

[Rance]

There was some discussion on this a while back. Somebody brought up practicing shooting a charging bear, by dragging a 55 gallon drum behind a pick-up or something. Try to hit it as it dances around and bouncing into the air. Preferably on an abandonded logging road not your local neighborhood street!

[Marty Van Diest]

Originally Posted by karibear

Forget about the hand gun. I've seen and heard a lot of Coasties from the deep south who were just "sure" they were the best hunters in the world - maybe they were, with raccoons - and their .44 would take anything down. I heard all this over and over because I was a civilian employee on the base for a couple years. I always told them to PUH-LEEZE talk to some of the locals with real, actual, experience with bears, because a Kodiak can take a heart shot and still run a hundred or more feet and kill you before it drops. The only way to keep one off is to break a shoulder, then they tend to run in a curve, they can't track straight on 3 legs with all that rage and adrenaline pumping. And it gives you a chance for another shot.

Of course, they'd all roll their eyes and give me that "she's just a woman, she don't know nothin" look - until they finally hooked up with one of the locals who'd tell them the same thing. And I always said the same thing, that just because I didn't hunt didn't mean I was deaf or stupid, and when the same kinds of people said the same things year after year, I tended to believe them. Some of them even came back and apologized, and asked if I had any recommendations for hunting. I always said no, none of those critters ever bothered me, I wasn't interested in doing anything that would bother them, and that included guide recommendations. What I didn't tell them was that most of the guides were friends and acquaintences, and no way was I going to recommend one over the rest.

And don't ever trust blackies to run. If they don't run, and a lot of them don't. they are the ones that would be more than happy to make a meal of you.

I am one of the locals. Been in Alaska for 53 years and a lot of that time in bear country. I don't hunt brownies, just don't have the urge, but I've been very close to a lot of them. A couple times about 2 arm lengths away.

As Icarian said, talk about bear protection in Alaska will spark a lively debate and can go on ad-nauseum.

Each person just has to make a decision that they can live with, (or die with as the case may be), and then go with it. I have pretty much decided that I won't shoot a bear unless I'm defending someone else or unless the bear is absolutely about to make contact with me. That means I will likely get hurt, but hopefully escape with my life. That's why I want a handgun on my person...a long gun is useless at that point.

That said, I have never had to shoot although I have come pretty close a couple times. My brother did shoot in the air once to chase a sow away that was trying to climb into our boat. She was after the fish.

And the bottom line is, this isn't something to worry about. It is very, very rare that someone gets hurt by a bear. It does happen every year, but it's still rare. Lots of people have bearmania. I think it's the fact that we aren't the top of the food chain in Alaska.

[Glitch]

I agree with Marty Van Diest. For bear protection, nothing beats a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with .65 cal. Brenneke slugs. I also carry a handgun as backup, only because it is difficult to fish while holding a 12-gauge shotgun.

[snowpuppy]

Originally Posted by travelmate38

An expert to ask on this subject is Timothy Treadwell. He will tell you how to protect yourself during a wild life encounter.

Wow- not very helpful since the guy was eaten!

Everyone else...thanks so much for the advice and recommendations. We just want to be prepared. So many of our friends were shocked that we didn't carry any guns when we hit the trails, and have warned us that we need to start carrying. You guys have been most helpful!

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by snowpuppy

Wow- not very helpful since the guy was eaten!

That's pretty much the point... !

Originally Posted by snowpuppy

Everyone else...thanks so much for the advice and recommendations. We just want to be prepared. So many of our friends were shocked that we didn't carry any guns when we hit the trails, and have warned us that we need to start carrying. You guys have been most helpful!

All you really need is one friend and a little .22 pistol hidden in your
pocket. It's called the "Buddy System".

If a bear attacks, you pull out the .22, shoot your buddy in the knee cap, and then run like Hell.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by Marty Van Diest

I am one of the locals. Been in Alaska for 53 years and a lot of that time in bear country. I don't hunt brownies, just don't have the urge, but I've been very close to a lot of them. A couple times about 2 arm lengths away.

As Icarian said, talk about bear protection in Alaska will spark a lively debate and can go on ad-nauseum.

Each person just has to make a decision that they can live with, (or die with as the case may be), and then go with it. I have pretty much decided that I won't shoot a bear unless I'm defending someone else or unless the bear is absolutely about to make contact with me. That means I will likely get hurt, but hopefully escape with my life. That's why I want a handgun on my person...a long gun is useless at that point.

That said, I have never had to shoot although I have come pretty close a couple times. My brother did shoot in the air once to chase a sow away that was trying to climb into our boat. She was after the fish.

And the bottom line is, this isn't something to worry about. It is very, very rare that someone gets hurt by a bear. It does happen every year, but it's still rare. Lots of people have bearmania. I think it's the fact that we aren't the top of the food chain in Alaska.

To each his own. At least you know the possibilities. The guys I was talking to mostly, for some unknown reason, equated being successful at coon hunting with being successful at bear hunting. For the most part, I found them more annoying than not, but no one should die because of simple ignorance. One of the more enjoyable pastimes downtown was watching a bunch of those 'great white hunters' get on a float plane with all the stuff they thought was absolutely essential, then have the pilot tell them to get back off and get rid of most of it. There were always huge piles of those humongous 12 cell flashlights, plus other equally heavy and useless things.

As for bear encounters, a friend of mine was walking up a driveway from a beach to where he'd parked his truck one night after a beach bash, and a sow knocked him flat on his face and stood on him while her cubs all crossed the drive in front of him. All he got out of it was a couple cracked ribs and a few scars from where her claws dug in to keep her balance while standing on his back. He was extremely appreciative that she was a people-wise old bear and wasn't automatically inclined to see him as a threat. Another time my son was walking home late one night, and ended up spending most of the rest of the night under a pickup keeping just out of reach of an all too curious [and maybe hungry] bear. None of this was in 'bear country' either, it was all around the Kodiak road system. Once they fenced the dump, the bears came into town all over the place, and NO one ever went to a dumpster after dark. In fact, some of the most visited ones were the ones behind Safeway, KFC, and the pizza place. They even showed up downtown, breaking into people's porches looking for dog food that hadn't been properly stored. I've had them run through my yard, totally unconcerned by ADF&G and the state troopers firing shotguns in the air, throwing fireworks and seal bombs at them. None of that was as interesting as the smoker that was going on someone else's lot near us.

[bigjim]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

Oh! Me! Me! Pick Me!!!!!

If it were me, I'd go with a 45-70! It's not fast, but it's a freight train. I've heard it referred to as a brush-gun.

I shot one a while back. It's got a kick for sure. But whatever you hit will feel it more.

There is an old joke that says "do not get into a fight with a buffalo hunter, because there's no such thing as cover".

[bigjim]

Originally Posted by alaskaboy

With Treadwell, even State Troopers begged him to keep a firearm. He refused and everyone knew it was only a matter of time. I'm truly surpised he got away with living among those bears for as long as he did. Even he himself seemed to know eventually his luck would run out. Bears are generally respectful of human, but once they cross that line, they don't go back.

The cops begged him to carry a gun. Now that's AMERICA, by God. It's nice to know at least a small part of our nation has not gone crazy.

I live in the Detroit area and carry a gun (for two-legged predators, not four), and the police I've encountered have been cool with it, but nobody's ever begged me. I can see it now: "You're heading into Southwest Detroit, better take at least a 45-70, PLEASE sir".

[bigjim]

Originally Posted by Rance

There was some discussion on this a while back. Somebody brought up practicing shooting a charging bear, by dragging a 55 gallon drum behind a pick-up or something. Try to hit it as it dances around and bouncing into the air. Preferably on an abandonded logging road not your local neighborhood street!

That's like they say if you want realistic self-defense training, practice shooting a moving target while running backward and pooping your pants!

[Xa'at]

Nobody's mentioned this, but how about some tips about how to avoid bears in the first place?
I refuse to carry a weapon beyond pepper spray (let that be a warning to any creepy guy... or bear... who tries to follow me into a dark alley) and I'm honestly not afraid of bears. I have a healthy respect for them and I always take precautions before I go out into the wilderness. I don't go alone unless it's just a little nature hike, I make lots of noise, on and on.
I am, however, afraid of moose. Thankfully, that's not a problem here in Juneau. But I've had some run-ins with moose down south that I don't care to think about.
Peace-!