Bear Gun, short barrel, video!

I know how much this forum loves talking about their favorite bear handgun.

The bullets used are all FMJ and hardcast for maximum penetration.

 

@mcb thanks for posting this video!!!!

Love those Snubbies

 

The interesting part to me was how straight the FMJ flat-point round-shoulder bullet in the 10mm and the truncated cone from the 44 tracked through the gel. I had always heard that these bullet shapes were notorious for not tracking straight and at least those two data points showed otherwise.

 

It would have been interesting if they were all hardcast or FMJ'S.
Guess it really doesn't matter. It was fun to watch.

 

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/close-range-bear-defense.903543/

Yeh!

Mor ber!

 

Thanks for that. Always love a bear gun thread. Funny vid. Love the giant old school three wheeler

 

OMG, that was annoying, even skipping ahead 2-3 minutes at a time. How much penetration do you need to stop a charge? How much penetration do you need to cause a traumatic brain injury inside the critter’s head after punching the skull? How much penetration do you need to puncture the spine? How much do you need to crack ribs and put rounds beyond the heart/lung area or break front legs? I doubt that penetrating the entire length of the stomach and intestines and exiting out the back is going to bring all that much more to the table after you hit those other things. On the flip side, I doubt that dude would get very good shot-to-shot split times using a timer with any degree of accuracy. He might get a couple of shots off quickly with the Glock 29, but I wouldn’t bet on much with the others. It’s cool to carry monster guns that theoretically offer maximum critter stopping ability, but the overwhelming majority of people will never shoot them enough to be really good with them under the time constraints of a real-life charge by a maneater. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer here.

 

I agree annoying. But the results were interesting.

 

Okay Glock guys. What is the velocity difference between the G29 & G20?

 

If any one can get several rounds of 460 S&W or 500 S&W off on a charging bear it would be Scott (the dude in the video in the OP) he holds at least one world record for shooting those big X-frames fast. I believe his record is 5 shots of 500 S&W in a hair under 1 second.

As for the rest of us very few of us are ever going to need to fast draw on a bear. And those few that might I suspect have picked a weapon appropriate and practiced. More and more evidence points to the fact that within reasonable limits that gun is not nearly as important as being proficient and mentally prepared to defend yourself. But that is true for more than bears.

Me and the unarmored opossums have gone round and round many a time and me and my Model 10 have always come home with my anatomy intact.

 

I smoked a ‘possum once in my back yard with a 22 air rifle. Had him on the grill minutes later. He stank to high heaven, but tasted delicious. They’re just fatty enough not to dry out easily.

 

Well, I stand corrected concerning Scott. Thanks for pointing that out. He knows what he is doing and he probably puts a lot of rounds downrange with those cannons to stay proficient. He can carry anything he wants. But it doesn't change my general perception that most people carrying specific "bear guns" or "woods guns" are not putting thousands of rounds through them per year. Judging by what I see at the ranges I frequent, most people in my area really don't shoot too well, including the guys blamming away at oversized silhouette targets with their 10mms at 7 yards. I also can't recall the last time I have heard anyone shooting magnum revolver cartridges.

I just carry my 9mm carry guns loaded with 147 grain +P hard cast or Lehigh Xtreme Penetrators when I'm in the woods. I've been carrying them bow hunting all month. We don't have grizzlies, but we have just about everything else you can find in the mountain west. The critters we stumble upon the most on a regular basis are moose. We've also been having a problem black bear running around the cabin lately.

 

How many of those you see at the local range are wandering in bear country? I would venture a very small fraction. It's up to each person to be prepared and I don't worry much about those that choose not to.

Personally I would rather see someone competent with the 9mm in bear country than not competent with more gun.

Here in middle Tennessee I have yet to tangled with anything that my trusty old 38 Special could not handle. But in bear country I don't think my 44 Mag is going to slow me down that much given I competed in USPSA for years shooting an identically configure revolver in 10mm/40S&W. Having shot the big boys 460 & 500 they were fun but not for me. My wrists tolerate 44 Mag just fine but that about my effective limit.

 

I would say that a very large fraction of the people I see at the ranges are wandering in bear country for at least some times during the year. I live in a largely rural state with a small population and a lot of outdoor land and recreational opportunities. Without considering big game hunting where people are carrying long guns, camping is an extremely popular past time. It is rare to see anyone wearing a large handgun. Mostly I see ordinary carry guns, if any. (No chest rigs, either.) I think that people over worry about bear guns for most places.

 

If you haven't seen this video before it is worth the time.


It makes the argument about shots in target very valid. Now I will probably not run out and buy a 9mm for bear protection. It does make me ask myself if my 357mag or 45acp may be a better choice??? Than my newly purchased 44mag. Don't get me wrong I like the 44mag but before I carry it for defense I will be testing, testing, & testing.

 

Here in rifle bullets, the concept of straight path through media of flat point bullets explained

http://www.gsgroup.co.za/articlepvdw.html


Edit to add: Black Hills shows the path of .45 Auto 200 gr semi-wadcutter and 230gr ball ammo through gel. Note how straight the 200 gr semi-wadcutter's path is. The fmj round yaws at the end of the path.

http://www.black-hills.com/shop/new-pistol-ammo/45-acp/#

 

My wife and i are camping and hiking in bear country right now in the White Mountains. We carry bear spray and if for some reason that doesn't work then my 686+ should help some. I use Buffalo Bore loads. As far as practicing, I've been reloading and shooting the 357 for 45 years. Many years ago I deer hunted with it. I have no qualms about that load, gun or myself performing when we need it.
-mike

 

I’m thinking follow up shots would be a bit more manageable with the 10MM over the .500 S&W…..lol