[thefitzvh]

If all you had for wilderness stuff (bear, mountain cats, etc) while hiking and fishing was a .44 magnum with a longish barrel (about 7 inches), what kinds of loads would you keep in it? or would you get another gun for the bigguns

See, I hate bears. If I go fishing somewhere they live, I don't wanna be undergunned. But, I also don't have money to be buying a buncha revolvers, and this particular .44 is coming to me as inheritance..


thanks guys

[Jim March]

Go here:

http://www.garrettcartridges.com/products.asp

If you have a Ruger (Redhawk/SRH) or Dan Wesson (large frame), get the +P version (330grain) otherwise the 310 is fine.

BB's hardcast is good stuff too:

http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#44

Or Cor-Bon's 305 and 320 hardcast:

http://mysite.elixirlabs.com/index.php?uid=12665&page=1605

http://mysite.elixirlabs.com/index.php?uid=12665&page=1624

You also need knowledge of bear anatomy to know where to shoot 'em. It's not obvious. As one example, the "forehead" is a bony lump used to anchor the jaw muscles. You can't crack it with a 44, and even if you did the brain is lower and rearward. Examine some bear skulls. It's surprisingly narrow - the "fat cheeks" are jaw muscle(!) and you can blow holes in those and send rounds past the brain. Which won't do a damned bit of good.

Torso shots are complex too. Talk to bear hunt guides for more clear info!

A guy armed with the most potent hardcast heavy 357Mags available AND a good understanding of a bear's weak points (and good aim) is in better shape than a guy with an S&W500 who is otherwise clueless.

[thefitzvh]

thanks jim... i'll pick some stuff up :-D


always a wealth of knowledge. Hopefully I'll never need to test any of em :what: im SOOO scared of bears.



especially the zombie ones:D


Off to bed.

[Jim March]

Minor addition:

The *majority* school of thought seems to support hardcasts as linked above, as heavy and fast as possible. The Garrett 330 is the ultimate expression of this in 44Maggie.

There's also a minority school that says use 44Mag JHPs and rely on expansion wounding. And most of THESE guys talk glowingly of the Hornady XTP slug in weights of 240 and above loaded as hot as possible...with a lot of support for the 300grain XTP as long as you have enough barrel to punch it out fast (which at 7" you DO).

The XTP expands, but not as "fat" as other designs like the Gold Dot, etc. XTPs have a thicker, tougher brass jacket and hold together better after bone shots, etc.

Based PURELY on reading, zero practical experience whatsoever:

I can see using XTPs on black bears...in 44Mag they should still penetrate enough.

On a Griz...I don't think so. Basically, you need to try for a headshot on a charging bear. If you miss wide, you then want the round to accomplish "plan B" and nail a shoulder, slowing it down for follow-up shots. But that means the round may have gone through a lot of cheek muscle, ear canal, neck fat, God only knows...a JHP will have expanded on that stuff and may not have enough speed left to break a shoulder or other bone. Some of the better hardcasts might, even in 44Mag.

But anyways. Point is, there are two major solutions proposed by two different camps. You should know this going in to further study.

[Dr.Rob]

Or you can split the expansion/penetration argument and use a 240 gr Winchester soft point

[Ankeny]

The grizzly bear management team in my state carries the harder than Hades lead stuff from Randy Garrett.