.44 Mag too Weak for Black Bear in Oregon?

I just read "American Rifleman" armed citizen column. It told of a guy and his "female companion" hiking in Denali. She was charged by a grizzly and he dispatched it with 9 shots from his 45. I have no doubt that the 44 would suffice, especially after reading through this thread. A gun is better than no gun. A large gun is better than a smaller gun, a rifle is better than a handgun, ...
Have a great trip.

Good Laugh

I had a good Laugh at this post. Point and case, your friend is wrong. Is it possible that a charging Black bear may take two or three poorly placed shots and keep on trucking? mabey...mabey. But if you practice and do your job I highly doubt you'll need more than one shot. I have killed a Blacky with a single well placed 125gr to the skull from a .357 at a full charge.

Heres a drill that can really help you and has probably saved my life more than once.

1. find a sturdy tree

2. get some good rope and an old tire

3 make a card board cut out roughly the size of a bears head and spray paint it black

4 make a tire swing with the cut-out placed squarely in the center

5 have a friend hold the rope far enough back to where he can safetly release the tire at a full swing mimicing a charge.

6 practice placing a controlled pair into the cut out as the tire rapidly decends on you.

7 dont forget to dodge that tire!

8 Wash,rinse, repeate

Timely post. This comes not from Oregon but Lake Tahoe.

Apparently a .44 magnum bounced off Bubba's scull.

In case you missed the article today in the paper.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...5425670167473634.html?mod=WSJ_article_related

I guess my .380 would have just irritated him off enough to have gotten me killed.

Maybe the bullet bounced off or just maybe the homeowner was amped up on adrenaline and grazed the bear or he missed entirely. I have been there with a bear running in on me and it was a rush. When it happened to me I wasn't even thinking about the bear attacking me I was worried that it would turn and high tail it out of there before I could get a good shot and whether to use my bow or my Colt. I opted for the Colt because I didn't want to take a chance of him getting away. I'll definitely take the .44 mag as my side arm of choice on this Continent even though it weighs a ton when hiking.

FROM THE WSJ ARTICLE - "Some of Bubba's exploits and escapes are the stuff of legend. In one incident in mid-2009, a bear matching Bubba's description confronted a frightened homeowner, who told officials that he shot the bear between the eyes with a .44 Magnum. The bullet apparently bounced off the bear's skull, leaving him wounded but still alive, ..."

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I have some serious doubts that the "frightened homeowner" actually put a .44 Mag. bullet "between the eyes" of a large Black bear and it just "bounced off."

I'm guessing the homeowner fired a round and missed, but the report of the revolver scared the bear away.

I've killed a couple of Black bears, one a 400 pounder, with a S&W 57 .41 Magnum, and I know darned well a round "between the eyes" with a .41 Mag., .44 Mag., .45 Colt, etc., is going to mean one dead bear.

I'd have to see the bear in question with a gigantic "skid" mark from the center of his eyes on up his head, before I'd believe that story.

Just my take on it.

L.W.



Just my tak

I have some serious doubts that the "frightened homeowner" actually put a .44 Mag. bullet "between the eyes" of a large Black bear and it just "bounced off."

I'm guessing the homeowner fired a round and missed, but the report of the revolver scared the bear away.

I've killed a couple of Black bears, one a 400 pounder, with a S&W 57 .41 Magnum, and I know darned well a round "between the eyes" with a .41 Mag., .44 Mag., .45 Colt, etc., is going to mean one dead bear.

I'd have to see the bear in question with a gigantic "skid" mark from the center of his eyes on up his head, before I'd believe that story.

Just my take on it.

L.W.

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I'm afraid I am forced to agree with you! I just dont exactly see that happening. I guess its possible for it to skirt around the skull, but not if struck exactly between the eyes.

Then again, I am from central/southen IL. What the heck do I know about bears?

I don't know about hunting bear, but I do know a .44 Magnum is loud.

Evergreen,

I live in SW Oregon and have lived in the Alaskan Interior. Both places I have a an old Ruger Bisley Vaquero converted to .475 Linebaugh on my hip. It will stop one of the big Browns.

That said, I would not hesitate to tote one of my .44s in Oregon with Black Bear as a concern if the Ruger was in the shop. But the Ruger would still be my choice.

Here's a link to the Thornily Stopping Power calculator. Plug your numbers in. http://www.beartoothbullets.com/rescources/calculators/php/thornily.htm?v1=300&v3=.44&v2=1400

The .44 will do the job.

If your friend continues to insist that the .44 won't do. Get a Remington 870/12ga with iron sights loaded with Brenneke rifled slugs and have him lug it around when you're out. It'll make him feel better...

Of course nothing is absolute - not even a 12 gauge loaded with slugs. That's where your friend is wrong IMO. I personally feel quite safe with a .44 mag here in Oregon's bear country, I have also carried .45 colt and even .357 with heavy hard casts when it's what I had to carry.

My brother shot a bear in the head with a .45 colt, one of my handloads in fact - a standard pressure 250gr LRNFP - and it was DRT. Of course it was not charging him - but the bullet smashed and penetrated the skull and didn't bounce off. That doesn't mean it would always work either.