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Black bears are pretty timid as a rule....I'm in Colorado...no grizzlies yet. The problem is that I know my dogs would chase and harass a cub. You know the rest of the story. There are also a lot of packs of large coyotes.
I have really great cattle dogs and they need a *great* deal of exercise to be happy. Sold some land and wanting a good handgun to protect my dogs and I with daily hikes in the woods. Currently thinking of, maybe, a .243 chambered in a pistol? Being able to hunt deer with a pistol has long intrigued me.
Handguns in larger than .44Mag size sure are expensive. Guess I'll have to bite the bullet here.
Don't care too much about prestige. Looking for "bang for the buck." Kind of know rifles, pistols not so much.
Thanks in advance for help!
Bear spray will work just fine except on windy days, but honestly, cougars and 2 legged critters are a much bigger threat than bears statistically speaking.
In grizzly country, the gold standard is a 44 mag or bigger, but in your neck of the woods a high cap 9mm with woods ammo like buffalo bore or double tap would be fine. If you're a revolver guy, a cheap 4" 357 mag like a charter arms can be picked up for under $300.
This thread is loaded with BS. All these people telling you that you need a high powered rifle to put down a black bear are completely clueless. As someone that's killed a LOT of animals, I can tell you straight up that a wild pig is harder to kill than your typical black bear, and we used to kill pigs with 22's all the time when I was a kid. While I would never recommend shooting a large animal with a 22, I can tell you that a 357 with good ammo will dispose a decent size wild pig 10/10 times with decent shot placement. Your average mama black bear protecting her cubs weighs less than 200lbs. If I were going black bear hunting, I would use a high powered rifle like a 270 or bigger to humanly kill the animal, but to be honest, I wouldn't be scared to defend myself from an average size black bear or cougar with a 9mm and good ammo.
I've been told by much more experienced folks (luckily I haven't had to test what I've been trained to do....and hopefully I never will) that head shots on large bears will only **** them off (ok, exaggeration, but head shots aren't a sure thing). After having seen what a head shot does on large brownies, or grizz, I agree with them. The only place to start trying to nail a charging bear is the chest/shoulder girdle. You have to mechanically break them down, destroy the bone or joints. The skull...well, I've actually seen well aimed .300 winmag not penetrate a dead center shot on a grizzly skull. Bear went from "what's that" to "kill everything in sight, starting with those guys" in about 0.03 seconds.
They can move fast, lol. Oh, boy, can they ever.
Anyway, normal walkabout is G20. Actually bush walking, 12g slugs, or the .45-70. Friends with the same are a good idea too, that way at least one of you can walk out to get help while the other ones are trying to staple missing pieces of their bodies back on.
That's complete horse****.
A 2000lb cow has a thicker scull than most brown bears or any black bear. When they used to actually shoot cows in the head to put them down before they were butchered, the most common pistol used was the lowly .32 caliber.
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I'll take your word for that, but a cows had is shaped different. The grizzly is thick and sloped and more likely to cause a deflection of a lower power bullet.
Like I've said several times. Take the biggest freakin gun you have or can carry and hope you don't have to use it.
I'll take your word for that, but a cows had is shaped different. The grizzly is thick and sloped and more likely to cause a deflection of a lower power bullet.
Like I've said several times. Take the biggest freakin gun you have or can carry and hope you don't have to use it.
According to those who have killed bears during a charge, that bear's head would be moving pretty fast toward you. Just like on a human, it's advised to shoot the center of mass...if you are lucky enough to have enough time to take a shot or two.
According to those who have killed bears during a charge, that bear's head would be moving pretty fast toward you. Just like on a human, it's advised to shoot the center of mass...if you are lucky enough to have enough time to take a shot or two.
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RayinAK
According to those who have killed bears during a charge, that bear's head would be moving pretty fast toward you. Just like on a human, it's advised to shoot the center of mass...if you are lucky enough to have enough time to take a shot or two.
Again, that's why I say have something that will penetrate and break bones no matter what it hits. I'm certainly no expert at shooting bears, but I also agree that trying specifically for a headshot on a charging bear is the stuff of fiction.
I would shoot at the big black or brown blob racing toward me at 35mph - and there is no telling where I'd hit. Hopefully something near the middle. So whatever I hit, IF anything... I'd want to hit with a pretty darn hard hitting, heavy bullet with a lot of power behind it.
I still wonder what a mag dump from an AK47 would do. 40 rounds of 7.62 ought to have some sort of effect even if they didn't go very deep. Question is how many can you get off before the bear uses the gun on you?
And this is exactly why we need full auto gun rights restored.
And carrying a fully loaded AK in the field? Approx 11lbs- maybe more with all the gizmos and stuff people slap on them these days. In comparison-
12ga Mossberg pump, loaded- 7.75lbs
Marlin Guide Gun loaded- 7.5 lbs
Ruger Super Redhawk, 5.5" and 6 rounds- 3lbs
I'm not lugging 11lbs of gun and ammo in the back country with all the other crap I take. I own a Super Blackhawk 5.5" and a Marlin Guide Gun.
And the Marlin Guide Gun is the fastest handling 'on target' rifle I own for close quarters.
Typically when I am in griz country I'm engaged in some other activity, especially bird hunting. I've either got my spray on my belt or the .44 holstered in a chest harness. Even though I am pretty damned good with that 12ga- bird shot is utterly useless unless I want to wake a griz up.
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^^^ LOL Good points. I keep my AK's simple. They are not designed to hang stuff on.
I have one tacticool AR - I don't carry it around, I can barely lift it. That's why it has a tripod. And a flashlight, and a red dot, and laser and 3X optic, and a vert foregrip, cause, well, you know... rails!
My "real" AR is a stock Colt 6920LE with a 2 point web sling. A stock M-16 worked for me in the Army. I can hit what I shoot at with irons out to 300 meters. I leave the sharpshooting stuff to those with younger eyes.
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