Shot a Ruger Alaskan .454 today

Status
Not open for further replies.

lionking

Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2006
Messages
3,107
Was at the range, suddenly started hearing a BOOM! BOOM! , and like everyone else turned and said what thee heck is that?:what: lol

Went over to see, the owner asked if I wanted to try, well ugh YES! But I said only two shots please I know it's expensive ammo.

It's loud,....real loud, it shoots a nice flame:cool:, but actually the recoil with the rubber grip isn't bad at all, just some more that my .44 magnum that has a wood grip. With wood grips it would have been a different story.

Owner let me take a couple pics.

Yeah just what I need, temptation for another gun that shoots expensive ammo, yeah I want one;)
IMG_7469.JPG
 
Oh Boy, that looks like fun! Well, for a few shots anyway. ;)

You know, you can shoot .45 Colt out of one of those...:cool:
If you reload that would save you money...:D

Just trying to help :evil:

I know but .45 Colt wouldn't shock people at the range like the .454 does out of that shorty, then next to the guy another guy says to me "remember me?, last time I was the guy with a 8 inch barrel 12 gauge shooting next to you" I said "oh yeah how ya doing?" Almost said "yeah I remember the muzzle blast that made my shot go high trying to score the best 10 shots out of my K31....thanks:scrutiny:" But I just thought that, didn't say it.
 
I’d be interested to know what kind of velocity a 300gr 454 loaded warmly would hit out of that barrel.
 
Mine is loud wiith Double Tap bear medicine. But when a bear is trying to eat you I am sure you don't hear it. Just like a rifle doesn't kick when shooting at a deer.

Statistically, you're better off with bear spray. Flamesuit on......
 
But when a bear is trying to eat you I am sure you don't hear it.
Yes...……. and depending on the load you will be able to enjoy the pleasant sound of ringing for the rest of your life. Free music! ;)

Bears...…………………… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
454 Casull in that short of a gun. No thanks too much! If I owned that gun it would be know as a 45 Colt . I think a 480 Ruger with a 400 gr. bullet is more than enough for whatever you are trying to kill with a lot less recoil.
 
Here's the other side:

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/comment/25999

Bear spray comes out in a much bigger diameter than a .454 cal. bullet, meaning you're more likely to stop the bear, and you don't kill the bear.

Bigger diameter and it may or may not work, plus you can’t change the way the wind is blowing. I want something more decisive- a bullet is more decisive. Oh, and try using bear spray in your tent - no thanks! :)

JMHO
 
Let me jump in on the bear argument. I always hear people say, bears charge so fast you’ll never have a chance to get off a shot, and if you do you’ll likely miss. Thats fine and maybe somewhat true. But once the bear is on you the fight is not over. A big revolver is my last line of defense, and at that point it will be quite hard to miss. I really like the Alaskan, and it was a very hard choice between it and my Toklat, it came down to the fit/finish between the two specimens on hand. I have to say the Alaskan is the more handsome of the two. Make sure and put the heaviest crimp you can on your defensive loads, as the Alaskan (due to its light weight) is prone to cause crimp jump, which would lock up your gun. Keep your spray, Ive been fooled by more than one fire extinguishers that went “poof” and nothing came out, and its generally quite windy everywhere I frequent in the outdoors.
 
From your link:

"The bear-spray study looked at 14 close encounters with aggressive brown bears. Of those, the spray was successful at stopping the bear’s aggressive behavior in 12 incidents. The firearms study found that 31 of 37 handgun users were successful at defending themselves from an aggressive bear attack. That’s an 85 percent success rate for bear spray, and 84 percent for handguns."

And this:

"But user competency is the largest determining factor in the successful use of a firearm. “When a person is competent with firearms—and I mean competent under pressure—it is an effective deterrent I highly recommend,” he says. “Conversely, those with little to no firearm experience shouldn’t rely on a firearm to save them from a close encounter with a bear.”

So people who aren't 'gun guys' (the majority of people in the outdoors) are clearly better off with spray. I know we all like excuses to buy a new gun, but I don't think the answer is that clear cut in this case.
 
From your link:

"The bear-spray study looked at 14 close encounters with aggressive brown bears. Of those, the spray was successful at stopping the bear’s aggressive behavior in 12 incidents. The firearms study found that 31 of 37 handgun users were successful at defending themselves from an aggressive bear attack. That’s an 85 percent success rate for bear spray, and 84 percent for handguns."

And this:

"But user competency is the largest determining factor in the successful use of a firearm. “When a person is competent with firearms—and I mean competent under pressure—it is an effective deterrent I highly recommend,” he says. “Conversely, those with little to no firearm experience shouldn’t rely on a firearm to save them from a close encounter with a bear.”

So people who aren't 'gun guys' (the majority of people in the outdoors) are clearly better off with spray. I know we all like excuses to buy a new gun, but I don't think the answer is that clear cut in this case.

Also from my link:

"It analyzed 66 field uses of bear spray between 1984 and 1994 and found that, in 15 of 16 close encounters with aggressive brown bears, bear spray was effective in stopping the bear’s unwanted behavior—a 94 percent success rate. But read closer, and it’s apparent that in six of those cases, the bear hung around and continued to act aggressively. In three of those 16 close encounters, the bear attacked the human after being sprayed, despite receiving what the study refers to as, “a substantial dose of spray to the face.” Interpret this data differently, and in a worst-case scenario, the demonstrated effectiveness occurs in seven of the 16 incidents—a 44 percent success rate."

"Alaska’s DLP reports (which primarily involve firearms) from 1986 to 1996 include data on 218 brown bear charges. Those same reports put total human injuries caused by brown bears in DLP incidents at eight, plus two human deaths. If we assume that all ten of those injuries or deaths were a part of those 218 charges (an unlikely but worst-case scenario), then the success rate it finds for firearms in brown bear charges is over 95 percent."

We can both cherry pick. The point is that the much touted 'spray is more effective than a gun' fallacy, is based on two separate sets of data. They were not created to be compared. The spray is based on bear "encounters", and the firearms data is based on bear "attacks".

“Comparing the two studies is like comparing the injury rate for people picking up apples to the injury rate for people picking up live hand grenades,” says Dave Smith

 
Also from my link:

"It analyzed 66 field uses of bear spray between 1984 and 1994 and found that, in 15 of 16 close encounters with aggressive brown bears, bear spray was effective in stopping the bear’s unwanted behavior—a 94 percent success rate. But read closer, and it’s apparent that in six of those cases, the bear hung around and continued to act aggressively. In three of those 16 close encounters, the bear attacked the human after being sprayed, despite receiving what the study refers to as, “a substantial dose of spray to the face.” Interpret this data differently, and in a worst-case scenario, the demonstrated effectiveness occurs in seven of the 16 incidents—a 44 percent success rate."

"Alaska’s DLP reports (which primarily involve firearms) from 1986 to 1996 include data on 218 brown bear charges. Those same reports put total human injuries caused by brown bears in DLP incidents at eight, plus two human deaths. If we assume that all ten of those injuries or deaths were a part of those 218 charges (an unlikely but worst-case scenario), then the success rate it finds for firearms in brown bear charges is over 95 percent."

We can both cherry pick. The point is that the much touted 'spray is more effective than a gun' fallacy, is based on two separate sets of data. They were not created to be compared. The spray is based on bear "encounters", and the firearms data is based on bear "attacks".

“Comparing the two studies is like comparing the injury rate for people picking up apples to the injury rate for people picking up live hand grenades,” says Dave Smith

In those cases were spray was used against aggressive brown bears, the effectiveness rate was slightly higher than for firearms.
 
I suggest you present your spray data on a spray forum. This is a firearms forum, you may encounter some bias. The Ruger Alaskan was one of the few firearms purpose built specifically for bear protection, that is what this thread concerns.
 
In those cases were spray was used against aggressive brown bears, the effectiveness rate was slightly higher than for firearms.

Did you even read the quotes from the article I posted? Those show the opposite.

The whole point of the article is to disprove the myth that spray is more effective than firearms. And the basis for that myth came from two separate studies done using different data, and different criteria for that data.

I read the article in its entirety. Twice. I know what's in there. I know there's conflicting percentages and different language used to go along with those percentages. It even goes into some details about how throwing rocks at black bears is a more consistent way to deter them than using spray.

The point is, the article I posted from 2019 well and truly debunks the article you posted from 2008. Don't misunderstand me, this is not a personal attack. I'm just calling attention to the reality of these studies.
 
I suggest you present your spray data on a spray forum. This is a firearms forum, you may encounter some bias. The Ruger Alaskan was one of the few firearms purpose built specifically for bear protection, that is what this thread concerns.

You've got a good point.

@Paul7 , I'm going to start a new thread in 'non-firearms weapons'. If you want to discuss the article, let's do it over there.

Sorry to everyone for the thread derail.
 
The bear spray proponents often talk about the lack of shooting prowess of those who carry handguns for bear protection. No matter what you choose, it is YOUR obligation to get to a level of competency. If anyone wants to compete with any skill on a high level, they need to practice, practice, practice and then practice some more. I would think defending life and limb would be motivation enough, but that’s just me...

Also apologize for the thread drift.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top