The guys I have known in Alaska were prone to laughing at handguns for bears. Hell, they even laughed at my shotgun, and those 1 3/8 oz Brennke slugs were the hardest kicking rounds I have ever fired. Made a .375 H+H mag seem like a popgun by comparison.
Grizzly kills couple at Alaska campsite
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Cosmoline
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A shotgun loaded with Brennke magnums is the ballistic equivalent of a hot .45-70, with nearly 3,000 ft. lbs. of energy at the muzzle. If they laughed at that, they're idiots. The myth that shotguns are inadequate for bear comes from experiences using weak soft lead slugs and buckshot. Modern European style hardcast magnum slugs are a completely different class of slug--as your shoulder will tell you.
Certainly any long gun is going to be a better bet than a handgun if you have it with you and if you have time to load it and if you have time to aim it. But there's something to be said for a fast, ready-to-shoot revolver in a pinch. It's better than nothing. And it's also better than a rifle with nothing in the chamber slug over your back.
There are guide services up here that tell outsiders you need a minimum of a .375 H&H for bear, and encourage .458 Win Mag!! This is complete bravo sierra. I suspect they spin these yarns because they're worried about their outside customers being crappy shots. I just got through watching the DVD put out by one of these places, and frankly the black and brown coastal bears their clients shot with their howitzers didn't seem to notice the difference between the massive slugs and a .30'06.
Certainly any long gun is going to be a better bet than a handgun if you have it with you and if you have time to load it and if you have time to aim it. But there's something to be said for a fast, ready-to-shoot revolver in a pinch. It's better than nothing. And it's also better than a rifle with nothing in the chamber slug over your back.
There are guide services up here that tell outsiders you need a minimum of a .375 H&H for bear, and encourage .458 Win Mag!! This is complete bravo sierra. I suspect they spin these yarns because they're worried about their outside customers being crappy shots. I just got through watching the DVD put out by one of these places, and frankly the black and brown coastal bears their clients shot with their howitzers didn't seem to notice the difference between the massive slugs and a .30'06.
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waterhouse
Member
This can't be stressed enough.
I posted this in another thread, but it bears (ha, no pun intented) repeating:
I went through a drive through animal park once in Indonesia. This was an animal park where it was quite clear that I was very close to many animals. I had the front window open and was looking through the viewfinder on a camera at something when everyone in the backseat started yelling "bear!" I looked up just in time to see the (relatively small) charging bear and dive for cover in the driver's lap (which turned out to be a bad idea since the car wasn't in gear and I was now covering the gear shift as the bear chewed on my seatbelt.) I screamed like a little girl which was unfortuanetly caught on video tape and now makes an appearance at most family functions. If I had been walking around in the wild with a gun on my hip there is no way I would have had time to get to it. This bear was super quick, and I can only assume that its relatives have similar speed.
I used to be afraid of sharks and being someone's girlfriend if I ever ended up in prison. A couple years ago I added bears to the list.
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Cosmoline
Member
Even the fat coastal brown bears with bellies so big they have to dig holes for their guts in order to lie down can sprint faster than the fastest human alive. They're amazing animals.
Like I said earlier, if the Alaska coastal brown bear wanted to eat people, it would be the most fearsome man eater on the planet. Just contemplate the physics of a creature weighing over 1,000 lbs. moving at 35 MPH, and add to it five inch claws and jaws big enough to grab a human head and crush it like a peanut. An African leopard weighs less than 150 lbs, a large lion 400 lbs., and a large Bengal tiger perhaps 500 lbs. A male Alaska coastal brown bear can weigh up to 1,200 lbs. in the fall. That's three times the size of a typical lion. You're only real hope if facing the business end of such a creature is to get some bullets into the brain or the shoulder joints. A heart/lung shot with anything less than a 30mm cannon will not stop a genuine charge in time. Going with a big boomer because you think the extra ft. lbs. will make that much difference is nuts. An animal of that magnitude won't even notice the difference between an elephant gun and a .30'06. You have to get the bullets in the right place.
Thankfully, they don't have much of a taste for manflesh and generally keep to themselves.
Like I said earlier, if the Alaska coastal brown bear wanted to eat people, it would be the most fearsome man eater on the planet. Just contemplate the physics of a creature weighing over 1,000 lbs. moving at 35 MPH, and add to it five inch claws and jaws big enough to grab a human head and crush it like a peanut. An African leopard weighs less than 150 lbs, a large lion 400 lbs., and a large Bengal tiger perhaps 500 lbs. A male Alaska coastal brown bear can weigh up to 1,200 lbs. in the fall. That's three times the size of a typical lion. You're only real hope if facing the business end of such a creature is to get some bullets into the brain or the shoulder joints. A heart/lung shot with anything less than a 30mm cannon will not stop a genuine charge in time. Going with a big boomer because you think the extra ft. lbs. will make that much difference is nuts. An animal of that magnitude won't even notice the difference between an elephant gun and a .30'06. You have to get the bullets in the right place.
Thankfully, they don't have much of a taste for manflesh and generally keep to themselves.
DonNikmare
Member
Well, almost all of the lessons I learned from "The Edge" movie (Alec Bouldwin & Anthony Hopkins) have gone to hell as a result of this thread. 
I appriciated the detailed tips and posts.
Nik
I appriciated the detailed tips and posts.
Nik
black bear
Member
Don Nickmare,
I also saw the movie, Bart (the Bear) was 1400 pounds (according to my review book) when he acted in the movie.
He died from cancer not long ago.
Here is a picture of him and Doug the trainer that raised him.
black bear
I also saw the movie, Bart (the Bear) was 1400 pounds (according to my review book) when he acted in the movie.
He died from cancer not long ago.
Here is a picture of him and Doug the trainer that raised him.
black bear
Hey, Bart (the Bear) has an entry on www.imdb.com!
It would appear he suffered from terrible type-casting
Hmmmmmmmmm.......................... he's also to be found on www.findagrave.com
Ooooookay
They have another picture of him-
Holy carp!
We don't got no (wild) bears here in Ireland, but we do have cattle, and that bear's head looks to me to be about the same size as a Hereford/Charalois bull's!
(again!)
His claws are longer and thicker than the man's fingers!!!
The biggest wild carnivore we've got is the badger, and he prefers slugs and such. Perhaps boring old Ireland isn't so bad after all
It would appear he suffered from terrible type-casting
Hmmmmmmmmm.......................... he's also to be found on www.findagrave.com
Ooooookay
They have another picture of him-
Holy carp!
We don't got no (wild) bears here in Ireland, but we do have cattle, and that bear's head looks to me to be about the same size as a Hereford/Charalois bull's!
(again!)His claws are longer and thicker than the man's fingers!!!
The biggest wild carnivore we've got is the badger, and he prefers slugs and such. Perhaps boring old Ireland isn't so bad after all
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carebear
Member
I thought the biggest wild carnivore you had was Irishmen.
Cosmoline
Member
LOL
IIRC she bagged some really big game in "The Quiet Man"
As far as blinding bear--I've never heard of that as a defense. It might be useful to startle them, but a bear's eyesight is at best equal to our own. They hunt with their noses, which are among the most sensitive in nature. They can smell a human many miles away, and can even smell if a person has merely walked through an area within the past few weeks. That's why it's so silly to think that a bear nosing into a person's tent is just trying to figure out what the tent is. Its nose has already told it, miles back, that there were humans in the area. I knows perfectly well that there are humans in the tent. It can probably tell what the humans ate for the past week and if they have cancer or other disease. It just doesn't care.
IIRC she bagged some really big game in "The Quiet Man"
As far as blinding bear--I've never heard of that as a defense. It might be useful to startle them, but a bear's eyesight is at best equal to our own. They hunt with their noses, which are among the most sensitive in nature. They can smell a human many miles away, and can even smell if a person has merely walked through an area within the past few weeks. That's why it's so silly to think that a bear nosing into a person's tent is just trying to figure out what the tent is. Its nose has already told it, miles back, that there were humans in the area. I knows perfectly well that there are humans in the tent. It can probably tell what the humans ate for the past week and if they have cancer or other disease. It just doesn't care.
black bear
Member
Cosmoline,
When you are talking about a massive output of lumens into dark adapted eyes, it will work on bears as well as they do on humans.
It is the same as when you approach a deer in the road in your car, and they stay put and don't move, it is because they are blinded and because they can not see they don't move.
It is the same technique than the poachers use, to blind them with a spotlight so they can shoot at leisure.
I have spotlighted a lot of black bears when the dumps of Minerva and Newcomb in the Adirondacks were open at night (years ago) I was doing research and observing trends. I knew they could not see even when appeared that they were looking at the light, because my assistant could move close to then by flanking.
If the wind was proper my assistant could get close to them, two senses were negated to them, one the sight and another was the scent, (as the wind didn't help them) of course we had to be careful as they could still hear very well.
So a very strong light will help to blind them and for you to see your sights and your target.
It will not help you during the day
black bear
When you are talking about a massive output of lumens into dark adapted eyes, it will work on bears as well as they do on humans.
It is the same as when you approach a deer in the road in your car, and they stay put and don't move, it is because they are blinded and because they can not see they don't move.
It is the same technique than the poachers use, to blind them with a spotlight so they can shoot at leisure.
I have spotlighted a lot of black bears when the dumps of Minerva and Newcomb in the Adirondacks were open at night (years ago) I was doing research and observing trends. I knew they could not see even when appeared that they were looking at the light, because my assistant could move close to then by flanking.
If the wind was proper my assistant could get close to them, two senses were negated to them, one the sight and another was the scent, (as the wind didn't help them) of course we had to be careful as they could still hear very well.
So a very strong light will help to blind them and for you to see your sights and your target.
It will not help you during the day
black bear
snowtigger
Member
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The only person I know who has been attacked by a Grizzly was asleep with his now ex-wife in a double sleeping bag. The first sign of the bear was when she grabbed his wife by her face and dragged her out of the bag.
He jumped up, half asleep and attacked the bear, not realizing it WAS a bear. It managed to rip his scalp off and fracture his skull. before turning her attention to another camper and with one swipe, lacerating his leg to the bone with all four claws.
She then grabbed my friend in her mouth and his wife with one paw and RANOFF wwith them both. As she ran down a trail, she jumped over a log, dropped them both, and kept going.
I have always said "the only thing you can say for sure about bears is you can't say anything sure about bears". They do what they do.
I know I never go very far in the woods without a good .44 mag. There are bigger guns, but I can hit with this one.
If circumstances permit, the 45/70 is right there too.
Try reading "Alaska Bear Tales", both volums. Most of these stories are from the time I have lived in Alaska.
The particular story about my friend didn't make the book because it happened in Canada.
He jumped up, half asleep and attacked the bear, not realizing it WAS a bear. It managed to rip his scalp off and fracture his skull. before turning her attention to another camper and with one swipe, lacerating his leg to the bone with all four claws.
She then grabbed my friend in her mouth and his wife with one paw and RANOFF wwith them both. As she ran down a trail, she jumped over a log, dropped them both, and kept going.
I have always said "the only thing you can say for sure about bears is you can't say anything sure about bears". They do what they do.
I know I never go very far in the woods without a good .44 mag. There are bigger guns, but I can hit with this one.
If circumstances permit, the 45/70 is right there too.
Try reading "Alaska Bear Tales", both volums. Most of these stories are from the time I have lived in Alaska.
The particular story about my friend didn't make the book because it happened in Canada.
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