PA Revolver Guy
Member
Hi all,
I am relatively new member to The High Road Forums and while I've lurked in the background reading posts for several months this is my first attempt at actually starting a thread. I am an avid hunter and fisherman in Northeast PA and spend as many days in the outdoors as possible. My inquiry comes from two recent (2017 & 2019) encounters with black bears whilst small game hunting for which I use a 410 bore shotgun or 22lr bolt action rifle. On both occassions, the bears did not run in the opposite direction as many have in the past. After much yelling, making lots of racket and making myself appear larger the bears did not back off and were within 15 yards of me. It wasn't until I fired a shot in the opposite direction of the bear (to make more noise that I was capable of) did the bears eventually scamper away on both occassions. Last year's (2019) was particularly troublesome as I did see what I thought was the same bear about a half hour but thankfully he did not approach for a second time. It made me feel extremely uneasy. We have some large black bears up here in PA some of which get over 500lbs. I estimated this bear to be in the 300lb range though I am no field judging expert.
While both hunting and fishing I have carried a ruger flattop 44 special loaded with 200 grain hard cast wadcutter(chono'd at 1,080fps avg) from underwood ammo for self defense from 2 legged predators. I feel comfortable with this load for that purpose should the need arise. However, my last encounter with the black bear has left me wondering if this round is enough or if I should move up to Underwood's 255 grain hard cast 44 special load which I chronographed at 1,065fps from my 4.625 blackhawk. Then I got wondering if the 255 grain load would even be enough assuming my shot placement is accurate? Please note that I do have a S&W 629-6 44 mag but I am still practicing with 44 mag loads (it's been about 1 year) and don't feel comfortable using it for woods carry with the high power ammo without more practice. A man's got to know his limitations right?
I was hoping to get some practical input on these particular loads in 44 special. I dont want to turn this into a grizzly bear attack discussion or a black bear hunting discussion. I am not in grizzly country and I dont plan on hunting black bears. I was simply wondering that if in the off chance I become the rare statistic would the ammo do it's part if I do mine? Your input is appreciated in advance.
I am relatively new member to The High Road Forums and while I've lurked in the background reading posts for several months this is my first attempt at actually starting a thread. I am an avid hunter and fisherman in Northeast PA and spend as many days in the outdoors as possible. My inquiry comes from two recent (2017 & 2019) encounters with black bears whilst small game hunting for which I use a 410 bore shotgun or 22lr bolt action rifle. On both occassions, the bears did not run in the opposite direction as many have in the past. After much yelling, making lots of racket and making myself appear larger the bears did not back off and were within 15 yards of me. It wasn't until I fired a shot in the opposite direction of the bear (to make more noise that I was capable of) did the bears eventually scamper away on both occassions. Last year's (2019) was particularly troublesome as I did see what I thought was the same bear about a half hour but thankfully he did not approach for a second time. It made me feel extremely uneasy. We have some large black bears up here in PA some of which get over 500lbs. I estimated this bear to be in the 300lb range though I am no field judging expert.
While both hunting and fishing I have carried a ruger flattop 44 special loaded with 200 grain hard cast wadcutter(chono'd at 1,080fps avg) from underwood ammo for self defense from 2 legged predators. I feel comfortable with this load for that purpose should the need arise. However, my last encounter with the black bear has left me wondering if this round is enough or if I should move up to Underwood's 255 grain hard cast 44 special load which I chronographed at 1,065fps from my 4.625 blackhawk. Then I got wondering if the 255 grain load would even be enough assuming my shot placement is accurate? Please note that I do have a S&W 629-6 44 mag but I am still practicing with 44 mag loads (it's been about 1 year) and don't feel comfortable using it for woods carry with the high power ammo without more practice. A man's got to know his limitations right?
I was hoping to get some practical input on these particular loads in 44 special. I dont want to turn this into a grizzly bear attack discussion or a black bear hunting discussion. I am not in grizzly country and I dont plan on hunting black bears. I was simply wondering that if in the off chance I become the rare statistic would the ammo do it's part if I do mine? Your input is appreciated in advance.
