380 for Self Defense?
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Buzznrose
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.380 is Probably a lot better than a club, but in the woods, away from help? I’d be more worried about running across a pack of feral dogs, a meth lab, or some other crazy people, and again, the pocket .380 is better than a club, but a Subcompact or pocket 9MM is better...
JMHO...YMMV
JMHO...YMMV
Jeb Stuart
member
Not worried about Meth heads in the area I hunt. Cannot imagine them making it more than a few hundred yards in that mess. More crazy people driving where I live than anything else. What do I worry about, not bears, but GIANT Saquatch Creatures. Like the Picture I posted about the Indian legend of the Creature that died and turned into a tree, only to come out at night or when intruder comes into his area. Found this in the swamp when this section was dry last summer scouting. While marking my trail, I turned around and saw him. Obviously I lived through it. I made peace with him, hope he keeps his word. Not sure my 380 will be able to take him down. (actually at the time I shot this Photo, I was carrying a 9mm revolver)
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That's the bottom line for me. Carry in the woods what you shoot and carry a lot. I just tend to test out the ammo to know what they can do. The only gun my wife actually likes carrying in the woods on her solo hikes is a Shield .380 EZ, so I have ammo tested the heck out if it. (Velocities across the board are 5-10% higher than the Glock 42, with better penetration results.) I guess that many posting on these threads would be surprised that many do not even carry guns when they are dinking around their cabins. I don't see myself going as low as an LCP, but I have been known to pocket the 42 occasionally.
Here are just a couple of recent videos of the front door of our cabin.
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Catpop
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That’s awesome! Glad you were able to get pic!
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Catpop
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Feral dogs, rattlers, and cottonmouths is what I ran into the most often. I was carrying a 38 spc M60 for them prior to 2005. My standard load for that was shot in first cylinder and 4 HPs behind that. I also always had a 22” Collins in my hand.
The LCP is just so much slimmer than the M60
Trey Veston
Member
A guy I know ran across a Muslim terrorist cell while camping in the woods. All he had was a Ruger 10/22 in the tent. I was the middleman between him and the area FBI agent that he reported the incident to back when I was with Department of Homeland Security. Scary stuff. One in a million encounter and no shots fired, obviously. But he now packs an AR-15 when camping, lol.
Jeb Stuart
member
Man, that is one cool video. What a great place to have. Game trail right in front of your cabin. And no, I would not be surprised about your friends not carrying guns while drinking around the cabin. Seems like a great place to just sit back and enjoy Mother Nature. I have been around Black bears which are no threat, so would be more leery of the Moose since I do not know much about them.
brutus51
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That's really scary. Would like to know where those woods are and what became of the terrorist cell?
Trey Veston
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Happened in Latah county, Idaho. White van drove by the campsite up into the mountains on a dead-end road. Since there was snow on the ground, buddy got worried when they didn't come back by an hour or so later, so he drove up in his 4x4 pickup to make sure the van wasn't stuck. He passed by it when it was coming back down and that's when he saw it was full of young Arabic males looking at him like he was a dirty infidel. He drove up to the turn around spot, saw where they got out and walked around and left.
He goes back to his camp and here comes the van driving by his camp spot slowly, the occupants arguing with themselves and staring at him. He grabs the 10/22, they come back again, slower, and stop. He pokes the barrel of the 10/22 out of the tent, and they pause, then take off.
FBI agent escorts him back up to the turn around spot a couple of weeks later, walks around with an electronic device, and mentions that this spot is perfect for satellite communication and opines that it was likely a terrorist cell making contact with their handler.
Never heard a word about it again.
My stepdad was on the JTTF (Joint Terrorist Task Force) for the region and said the average citizen would be shocked at how many cells and attempts have been taken down that never make the news.
buck460XVR
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Growing up in Black bear country, I was always told you did not shoot a blackie in the head when he was facing you due to the slant of the skull. Seems it was common knowledge back when the old venerable 30-30 was the norm, for those bullets to slide/ricochet off, without penetrating. Neighbor had a bear rug on his wall where you could feel where he grazed the bear on the skull with his second shot thinking he would finish it off, after putting it down with a shoulder shot. Didn't do much more than tick the bear off more than it already was.
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Catpop
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I guess buck460 and many previous others have blown a very big big hole in my 380 vs bear thinking thread!
Now with terrorist involved I even question 357 and 44 mag SA. But heck I ain’t got a third hand to carry an AR.
Thanks guys, I’ve learned much here!
Now with terrorist involved I even question 357 and 44 mag SA. But heck I ain’t got a third hand to carry an AR.
Thanks guys, I’ve learned much here!
Pudge
Member
so, there's the face
and here's the skullThe angle of the photo doesn't show it, but the top of the skull is about 1.5" higher than the center of the eye holes, and the whole front of the skull is a very shallow angle. If you want to hit the brain, it basically needs to be a front on shot into the nose. The face photo shows a seemingly reasonable target for a head shot, but the reality is that the brain is between the eyes and behind the nose. Go higher (between the eyes) and the bullet will likely be deflected by the shape of the skull. If you're shooting groups under 1.5" (about the size of the skull's nasal cavity) and can put those groups on a moving target at the distance you want to protect yourself, when the angle's right, it might work.
My opinion is that using a .380 for bear protection is about like using a .22 short for mountain lion protection. If carrying it makes you feel safer, carry it, but avoid those animals like you have no protection.
98s1lightning
Member
380 only serves one purpose for me, summer/dress clothes when you can't conceal anything but a wallet. To me a true last resort, rather take it than nothing but always put my best effort into dressing to NOT have to take a 380 because I would never want to defend myself with 380 or lesser calibers when I could have had something bigger and better.
If I am anywhere there's bears I go 45acp at minimum, but I would rather have a heavy 357 mag load. I almost never take the 45. I consider the 45 auto the "380" of bear defense pistols. Med to potent 44 mag or med to heavy 45 colt is ideal for bears in my opinion.
Maybe I missed it...but why would you want to take a 380?
If I am anywhere there's bears I go 45acp at minimum, but I would rather have a heavy 357 mag load. I almost never take the 45. I consider the 45 auto the "380" of bear defense pistols. Med to potent 44 mag or med to heavy 45 colt is ideal for bears in my opinion.
Maybe I missed it...but why would you want to take a 380?
40-82
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Seriously..? A .380-for-defense thread and a bear thread at once?
Welcome to creative writing 101.
Could you?
Of course.
Should you?
If you try I want first dibs on anything useful on your carcass after the bear's done.
around here eastern black bear are pretty skiddish creatures. they are big enough to be scary, but their temperament is that of a mouse. I've heard if they are spooked they might false charge at you, then stop and turn away, but I've never seen it. Usually, they just scamper off at the first sign of a person.
ApacheCoTodd
member
Hell - what a bunch of doom-sayers and joy-slayers!
There's at least one sure fire way to use a .380 to keep a bear from killing you that seems to have been overlooked.
Todd.
There's at least one sure fire way to use a .380 to keep a bear from killing you that seems to have been overlooked.
Todd.
Pudge
Member
Hell - what a bunch of doom-sayers and joy-slayers!
There's at least one sure fire way to use a .380 to keep a bear from killing you that seems to have been overlooked.
Todd.
Yeah, a .380's no sure thing for that either.
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Catpop
Member
Because it fits in my pocket and doesn’t interfere with my working- lame excuse huh?
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Since I often rely on a .380 (not for bear ) and some of my favorite small pistols are chambered in .380, I read these kind of threads for information on maximizing a marginal caliber. 70 posts on .380 bear defense ended up being somewhat not as useful as I’d hoped. But, it’s all good. Merry Christmas!
Armored farmer
Member
Not in my opinion.
I have spent about 6 weeks in the black bear mecca of central Ontario. Five of those weeks were totally unarmed except for my fillet knife and trusty tomahawk. My wife and kids on trails after dark carrying stringers of fish. Believe me I would have felt better with any kind of gun, even an lcp....but it ain't happening in Canada. I didnt want to try to cross the border with a carbine in the off season either, so nothing but my 'hawk.
The only actual bears we saw was at the dump (now that i think about it, the big ol' boar was sort of a local hero because he had survived being wounded by a city cop who shot him with his 9mm)
Bear tracks at every Portage, bear poop on the trails. Claw marks on fuel cans and chewed up ATV seats.
We survived.
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40-82
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Remind me not to take a walk in the woods with you.
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