Bears? What about......

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Most folks would never believe how fast a gator is until they see it firsthand. Nothing slow about 14' of solid muscle, leathery hide and teeth. No emotion, no hesitation, not a care in the world except its next meal. All powered by a massive and powerful tail.

IMHO, gators are a vastly greater threat to those who live close to their habitat than bears will ever be to Alaskans. Due to sheer numbers if nothing else. If Alaska had as many bears as Florida has gators, you really would have a problem!
 
me said:
However, from short distance, your usual SD handgun will do fine
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rcmodel said:
From a short distance, I don't think a normal human reflex would be fast enough to even start reaching for a gun.
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Then, start reaching before that. :D

I said nothing about beginning to reach for your gun at short distance--presumably after standing there frozen, watching the gator run up to you for several seconds. But sure, if you're surprised by a croc right next to you, you're getting chomped no matter what gun you're using.

I prefer to fire at long distance when possible. But that's not how I understood the "croc attack" scenario; there, I'd expect to be shooting from close distance; because until the croc gets close, you're not out of other options (like retreat).
 
Thanks but no thanks. I will go face to face with a bear any day. Ya can keep those gators down south, along with your snakes. Yes i will admit i am a wimp and hate them.:eek:
 
I have lived in S. Florida (Boca Raton) for the last 20 years. We get gators in swimming pools every year or so, in the subdivision lakes once in awhile and some even live on the golf courses.

Nobody here worries about them. If they show up, call 911 and they send a trapper. The trappers don't shoot them. They use a heavy fishing rod and a big treble hook and snag them and haul them out of the lake. Then the gators get their mouths taped shut and off they go to the processing plant.

If you want to venture into the Everglades, that's a different story. Lot's of people kayak the Glades but not me. Don't like having my arms sticking out of the boat that close to the water. The guys with airboats don't worry about them. I've heard that there are over a million gators in Florida.

There was a woman eaten by a gator in Broward County near Markham Park a couple of years ago. She was out walking and passed out near a canal. Apparently she was loaded up on drugs and probably didn't feel a thing. The gator just dragged her into the canal.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/14/national/main1616650.shtml

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/bl...s-crocodiles-and-you-20110418,0,2457666.story

We get black bears here once in awhile. We had a small bear in Weston in 2009. Freaked everyone out. It was finally trapped and released deep in the Everglades. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-weston-black-bear-042009,0,5846704.story

Gators are not scary. Can we get back to talking about bears now?
 
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LOL... I actually started this thread in response to all the "what ammo/pistol for bears?" threads. Perhaps not quite High Road, but humorous nevertheless.
I've never seen so many threads by guys who are so worried about bears. I grew up in Tennessee. I was really only ever worried about tornadoes and my Mom. I'm 43 now and she still terrifies me. She also likes my wife and they team up on me. Maybe I should go find a bear or a gator?
 
"if you hit the right spot"

ay, there's the rub
the one right spot being the size of a walnut, and if you be in a hurry...
spinal shot, you might get lucky, but I wouldn't count on it
you would need to be real up close with buckshot, that hide ain't ballistic gelatin (or watermelon)

me, I leave ol' Grizz and ol' Gator hunting for others to 'enjoy'
 
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friends don't let friends send their dogs or their kids swimming with gators or sharks
but real deal gator and shark attacks are actually very very rare
(not unlike bear attacks)
which is why they always make the news

Just respect the wildlife and it doesn't get all that wild; give 'em a little space and try not to 'surprise' 'em (and don't feed the bears)
more folks get "eaten" by Chevies and Fords every day of the week

Mom's are tuff, they are.. but it's more bark than bite (if you're lucky) :)
but either way, do feed 'em !
 
more folks get "eaten" by Chevies and Fords every day of the week
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Well then, what's the best ammo/pistol for a Ford or Chevy?
Everybody knows a .22 will take care of a Yugo. LOL
 
"best caliber for mutant half breed cougar/bears riding zombie gators!"
that new zombie Z-max load Hornady is promoting for Halloween, of course ! ;)

"best ammo/pistol for a Ford or Chevy?"
well.. those hefty big bore sixgun loads that Craig C and Prosser shoots would probably qualify as a one-shot-stopper.. just aim for the engine block :D
 
Well, after reading about the Ohio incident involving Big Cats and them running loose along with monkeys and bears. All but three have been accounted for.
Howda pistols anyone?
 
This is odd one for me. No matter how many times I've posted this, I have yet to get one single response about it.
Up here in NW Montana we put together what we call "skull crackers". All the old timer berry pickers and bow hunters know about this and they do it.
Any big bore revolver works. I use a .357 mag, but I do it with my .41 mag too.
Bore a hole in the end of a hard-cast bullet, just a bit smaller than a 3/8" long #12 or 14 steel Panhead screw. Turn the screw down flush with the tip of the bullet. Reload and seat them so the panhead clears the cylinder.
The thickest bear skull won't stand up to a bullet set up that way. Ask anyone still picking berries with their hide still intact.:D
 
So you're basically increasing the weight of the bullet and seating them deeper.

Are you adjusting the powder charge for this?
 
zfk55 said:
This is odd one for me. No matter how many times I've posted this, I have yet to get one single response about it.
Up here in NW Montana we put together what we call "skull crackers". All the old timer berry pickers and bow hunters know about this and they do it.
Any big bore revolver works. I use a .357 mag, but I do it with my .41 mag too.
Bore a hole in the end of a hard-cast bullet, just a bit smaller than a 3/8" long #12 or 14 steel Panhead screw. Turn the screw down flush with the tip of the bullet. Reload and seat them so the panhead clears the cylinder.
The thickest bear skull won't stand up to a bullet set up that way. Ask anyone still picking berries with their hide still intact.:D
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Most of these loads, and I've seen many different ones over the years, qualify as gimmicks. It's the kind of thing you hear about in gun shop or bar room BS. Occasionally, usually after a few drinks, you run across an idea that sounds like it might actually work. You waste a bit of time fooling with these things, figure out that you end up with a bullet that's less effective and flies kinda funny to boot. After a while reality sets in and you realize the bullet makers knew what they were doing all along.
 
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