Evergreen
Member
Hi, me and a more experienced, former marine, friend of mine have been going shooting with each other for the last few months. The guy has a considerable knowledge about guns and has also experienced combat. I, myself have had a few run-ins wiht black bear, which he has not had. I spent a lot of money and have purchased the best ammo possible for my S&W 629-4 .44 magnum. From doing a lot of research, I know that the .44 mag seems to be quite an effective round for small game.
Well, my friend and I had a short discussion where he told me that a handgun is completely useless on a black bear. I said, "WHAT? You mean a brown bear, right?" He said "No, A black bear." He told me that a .44 magnum is not powerful enough to penetrate a bear's skull and would have a hard time penetrating the fur and cause enough damage to the bear to kill it quickly. In Oregon, we do have some really big black bears on the coast, some weighing in around 400lbs. The ones in the valley are more around 200-300lbs for the males. He also made the point that bears do not respond to pain like humans. His point was that, a human when hit will panic and stop trying to attack you based on the fact they are hurt, whereas an animal will not understand to the degree it is hurt and will keep trying to attack.
I guess I was always under the impression that a .44 magnum could take care or seriously injure a black bear to the point where it is immobilized. I understand that no handgun, save for the 500 S&W is effective for a grizzly/brown bear. And also, I understand that shot placement is always key. If I am going to shoot a black bear, he will be very close to me.
Is my friend wrong? Partly wrong? right? He claims the only gun that could kill a black bear in enough time to prevent injury is a shotgun loaded with a slug. He even claimed rifle rounds would be ineffective. I suppose against a grizzly bear this may be sound advice, but against an Oregon black bear, I really am skeptical.
I am interested to hear people's view about my friend's claims. He said pepper spray is the only way to save yourself from a bear attack. Yet, I have heard of cases where pepper spray failed to deter a wildly angry sow with cubs.
In the woods I carry 44magnum 320gr Corbon hard cast rounds. My friend claims this is not enough power to stop a black bear. He says their bone and fur would probably minimize its damage. I was under the impression, that this round could even lay a grizzly bear on its back, if I manage to score a decent enoug shot. However, I was hoping that with a black bear, I would have even an easier time stopping them with this round.
Oh before you reply, please don't tell me stories of a .380ACP or .22LR killing a black bear. I understand any round can kill almost any animal on earth. I am talking about probablity and what is practical to use. Not special cases or miracles.
P.S.
FYI, I will be carrying a .44 mag on my chest for the 4-legged predators and a .45ACP on my hip for the 2-legged pedators and the oversized kitty cats.
Well, my friend and I had a short discussion where he told me that a handgun is completely useless on a black bear. I said, "WHAT? You mean a brown bear, right?" He said "No, A black bear." He told me that a .44 magnum is not powerful enough to penetrate a bear's skull and would have a hard time penetrating the fur and cause enough damage to the bear to kill it quickly. In Oregon, we do have some really big black bears on the coast, some weighing in around 400lbs. The ones in the valley are more around 200-300lbs for the males. He also made the point that bears do not respond to pain like humans. His point was that, a human when hit will panic and stop trying to attack you based on the fact they are hurt, whereas an animal will not understand to the degree it is hurt and will keep trying to attack.
I guess I was always under the impression that a .44 magnum could take care or seriously injure a black bear to the point where it is immobilized. I understand that no handgun, save for the 500 S&W is effective for a grizzly/brown bear. And also, I understand that shot placement is always key. If I am going to shoot a black bear, he will be very close to me.
Is my friend wrong? Partly wrong? right? He claims the only gun that could kill a black bear in enough time to prevent injury is a shotgun loaded with a slug. He even claimed rifle rounds would be ineffective. I suppose against a grizzly bear this may be sound advice, but against an Oregon black bear, I really am skeptical.
I am interested to hear people's view about my friend's claims. He said pepper spray is the only way to save yourself from a bear attack. Yet, I have heard of cases where pepper spray failed to deter a wildly angry sow with cubs.
In the woods I carry 44magnum 320gr Corbon hard cast rounds. My friend claims this is not enough power to stop a black bear. He says their bone and fur would probably minimize its damage. I was under the impression, that this round could even lay a grizzly bear on its back, if I manage to score a decent enoug shot. However, I was hoping that with a black bear, I would have even an easier time stopping them with this round.
Oh before you reply, please don't tell me stories of a .380ACP or .22LR killing a black bear. I understand any round can kill almost any animal on earth. I am talking about probablity and what is practical to use. Not special cases or miracles.
P.S.
FYI, I will be carrying a .44 mag on my chest for the 4-legged predators and a .45ACP on my hip for the 2-legged pedators and the oversized kitty cats.
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