83864rick: Like you, I've got a lot of wildlife moving across my property (including right up to the house). Had a lion take down a mule deer between my neighbor's house and my porch. I have a solitary large male bear that patrols the neighborhood looking for forage and unsecured trash. His footprints in the snow were up to my porch a few nights ago.
I'll echo what many have already posted as far as recommended defensive choices. In order:
1. Bear Spray. (with a sling carrier / holster). If you have to fumble for it, it's probably too late. You'll tire of carrying it in your hand at all times. After considerable research on-line and a few phone calls to subject matter experts (folks who work with or around bears), I settled on Counter Assault brand:
http://www.bing.com/search?setmkt=en-US&q=counter+assault+bear+spray
2. Shotgun & Slugs. Firearm choice would be your 870 loaded with any brand of slug. I would not advocate using 00 Buck and here's why:
Although a full charge of pellets at close range will do more damage than anything you can load into your 1911 or Model 19, as the range opens up, you are likely to only wound the bear with a few of the pellets, and those pellets are unlikely to drive deep enough to stop or dissuade an aggressive bear. At close range, the entire charge of 9 pellets is going to make the usual awesome close pattern or rat-hole, but at that range (inside about 10 paces) you are only going to get one shot (at most) if the bear is charging. And the load may not go deep enough to penetrate to the vitals.
Slugs give you good penetration at any likely encounter range and allow you to deliver lethal engagement at the start of the bear's charge instead of at the inside of that charge.
There is also the real consideration of whether or not you feel like carrying a shotgun with you while walking your property. I honestly don't feel like standing out in my yard at night with a Mossberg while I'm waiting for my very old dog to do her business. So I just hold a small tactical flashlight in one hand and bear spray in the other. Which leads to the handgun...
3. Handgun: Like you, I favor a .357 (S&W 686) that I keep for HD. I've come to realize that any HD round (for humans) is not really designed for best effect on a 350-400 pound boar bear.
Either caliber can kill a bear. The question becomes one of whether either caliber is optimum for a fast shot against a heavy, thick, fast moving target where deep penetration is vital. You may only have time for one or two shots. Black bears can hit up to 40mph in a charge. Faster than the fastest human sprinter. Whatever you use must penetrate deeply and be something you can use accurately and quickly.
Of your two handgun choices, I'd carry the .357 with 180 grain hard cast bullets (such as the Buffalo Bore load already mentioned).
If I were to carry one of my 1911s...I'd stoke it with the "hottest" factory 230 gr FMJ I could find. An extra 50fps or so might make a difference in penetration.
What do I use when I'm actually out in the dark waiting for a close range chance encounter? Tucked into my back pocket...a Model 58 .41 Magnum w/ 210 gr Remington JSPs.
Caliber considerations for bear hunting are not the same as for bear defense. You can plink a treed or unwary bear with a much lesser caliber, but you need some power in a defensive load. I'm thinking of going to a heavier .41 bullet weight after recently seeing my local bear.
I'll echo what many have already posted as far as recommended defensive choices. In order:
1. Bear Spray. (with a sling carrier / holster). If you have to fumble for it, it's probably too late. You'll tire of carrying it in your hand at all times. After considerable research on-line and a few phone calls to subject matter experts (folks who work with or around bears), I settled on Counter Assault brand:
http://www.bing.com/search?setmkt=en-US&q=counter+assault+bear+spray
2. Shotgun & Slugs. Firearm choice would be your 870 loaded with any brand of slug. I would not advocate using 00 Buck and here's why:
Although a full charge of pellets at close range will do more damage than anything you can load into your 1911 or Model 19, as the range opens up, you are likely to only wound the bear with a few of the pellets, and those pellets are unlikely to drive deep enough to stop or dissuade an aggressive bear. At close range, the entire charge of 9 pellets is going to make the usual awesome close pattern or rat-hole, but at that range (inside about 10 paces) you are only going to get one shot (at most) if the bear is charging. And the load may not go deep enough to penetrate to the vitals.
Slugs give you good penetration at any likely encounter range and allow you to deliver lethal engagement at the start of the bear's charge instead of at the inside of that charge.
There is also the real consideration of whether or not you feel like carrying a shotgun with you while walking your property. I honestly don't feel like standing out in my yard at night with a Mossberg while I'm waiting for my very old dog to do her business. So I just hold a small tactical flashlight in one hand and bear spray in the other. Which leads to the handgun...
3. Handgun: Like you, I favor a .357 (S&W 686) that I keep for HD. I've come to realize that any HD round (for humans) is not really designed for best effect on a 350-400 pound boar bear.
Either caliber can kill a bear. The question becomes one of whether either caliber is optimum for a fast shot against a heavy, thick, fast moving target where deep penetration is vital. You may only have time for one or two shots. Black bears can hit up to 40mph in a charge. Faster than the fastest human sprinter. Whatever you use must penetrate deeply and be something you can use accurately and quickly.
Of your two handgun choices, I'd carry the .357 with 180 grain hard cast bullets (such as the Buffalo Bore load already mentioned).
If I were to carry one of my 1911s...I'd stoke it with the "hottest" factory 230 gr FMJ I could find. An extra 50fps or so might make a difference in penetration.
What do I use when I'm actually out in the dark waiting for a close range chance encounter? Tucked into my back pocket...a Model 58 .41 Magnum w/ 210 gr Remington JSPs.
Caliber considerations for bear hunting are not the same as for bear defense. You can plink a treed or unwary bear with a much lesser caliber, but you need some power in a defensive load. I'm thinking of going to a heavier .41 bullet weight after recently seeing my local bear.
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