Possible bear attack

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PlayboyPenguin

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When I was buying my new Ruger Hunter tonight the salesman told me it could even be used as a defense against bear attack. That made me laugh because the only thing I would do in a bear attack is try to out run at least one person that was with me (always take a big juicy, chubby, short legged friend with you in the woods so you are neither the slowest nor most tasty looking person there) or scream like a little girl and wet myeself as it ate my head. I am no stanger to bears being raised in the middle of the Appalachian mountains but would like to think this would never happen to me. Does this kind of sales pitch atually mean something to some people? I was wondering if it did happen what would be a good weapon capable of bringing down a medium to large sized bear? This Hunter seems like it would be awfully hard to draw quickly. Especially while relieving myself into my shorts.:)
 
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If you go to buy a car and the salesman tells you that "you could even jump a ditch with it". Are you going to point the car at the first ditch you see and hit the gas? Probably not. :neener:
 
PlayboyPenguin said:
Does this kind of sales pitch atually mean something to some people? I was wondering if it did happen what would be a good weapon capable of bringing down a medium to large sized bear? This Hunter seems like it would be awfully hard to draw quickly. Especially while relieving myself into my shorts.:)
Click to expand...

A lot of weapons can be very useful in bear attacks even if the weapons are not capable of killing the bear. Bears, like bad guys, can be persuaded to look elsewhere by you making yourself seem less like easy pickings. Of course, you are still better off with something that will fully stop a bear.

If the quick draw is going to be too hard for you, then apparently just about any gun of any significant size will be too hard. You should not be put in a position where you are amongst bears and don't have ready access to protection. If you end up like that, then your situational awareness is poor.

Relieving yourself in your shorts is NOT a method of self lubrication to make you run faster.
 
Remember the Dillon 'Blue Press' article a year or so ago about those guys in Arizona who had a black bear come into their campsite while they were sleeping. Bear started chewing on them and was dispatched with a Ruger .44 Magnum with reloaded (gasp!) ammo.

What would Ayoob say about reloads?
 
That new Ruger Blackhawk Hunter Bisley will do quite well as a bear defender IF you ever find yourself in the unfortunate position to need one.

You will NOT need the hottest, fastest, lightest hollow point for that role. You will need ENERGY & PENETRATION to break something important in the offending bear. Therefore, load 'er up with a stiff load and a heavy, hard bullet with a large flat point. There are several 300 and 300+ grain hard cast bullets available for reloading and there are several commercial loads for just that purpose.

You will need to shoot a few to get used to them as the recoil is significant. Usually, the accuracy of those long, heavyweight bullets are really good.
 
I have actually alwys thought my first line of defense against a bear would be a high potency mace. I was always told this as a youngster also. Of course where I come from we only have black bears. Biggest one I ever ran into face to face as a child was about 6ft at most.
 
Our ancestors used to kill bears with pointy sticks. Nowadays, people armed with a 44 magnum would prefer to soil themselves and run? You can't outrun a bear. Stand your ground and fight or die.

I think people really underestimate themselves. When your survival instincts kick in you're going to do your durndest to kill that SOB. It's best to have the right tools on hand.
 
middy said:
I think people really underestimate themselves. When your survival instincts kick in you're going to do your durndest to kill that SOB. It's best to have the right tools on hand.
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Oh, I completely agree...I know many guys that always said they would have trouble killing another person but when bullets started flying they had no problem returning fire...myself included. As far as bears go...I have had many non-violent contacts with them (got stuck on a water tower once waiting for a female black bear and her cubs to tire of wandering around and leave). They seldom see us as food if they are well fed. But any wild animal can be dangerous at any time.
 
A .44 can kill a bear. A .22 can kill a bear. A tactical nuclear strike can kill a bear. My mother's curry chicken can kill a bear (and likely has). Why is it that every big-bore handgun on the market "can kill a bear?" What is the big deal with bears?
 
Agreed that a .22 or a .44 can kill a bear, but can they do it before the bear kills you? If I had to shoot a grizz with a hand gun, I could only hope that the bear would bleed out before it finished mauling me to death.
Biker
 
The best bear defense: pour the whiskey down the sink, now!!!

Play, the make believe stories about bears and pumas is part of the Peter Pan Syndrome. Men who do not wish to grow up and become adults want to believe that there are still monsters "out there" left to slay.

Instead of having homemade wooden swords and wearing their mother's pans on their heads, they go to gun shoppes. I wish they had wooden swords, we would all be safer!:)
 
Well ET, the day I grow up will be the day they plant me. 'Till then, I have a better use for that Jim Beam.:)
Biker
 
El Tejon said:
The best bear defense: pour the whiskey down the sink, now!!!

Play, the make believe stories about bears and pumas is part of the Peter Pan Syndrome. Men who do not wish to grow up and become adults want to believe that there are still monsters "out there" left to slay.

Instead of having homemade wooden swords and wearing their mother's pans on their heads, they go to gun shoppes. I wish they had wooden swords, we would all be safer!:)
Click to expand...

I am actually more of a towel for a cape and a cardboard "S" on my chest jumping off the roof kind of guy. :)
and I haven't drank alcohol in 15 yrs.
 
Biker, my sentiments exactly. I don't know how many on this thread have been out amongst(within 100 ft) of a bear. They do not usually give time for you to prepare. They are very quiet for their size and a Black bear can run about as fast as a horse! Though I have not been touched by one I was run into my vehicle once with it right on our A:cuss: . It actualy jumped up on the hood of our car and scraped its paws across the windshield. It was after another family teasing it with food then changed direction toward us.

A bear attack is rare but if one happens depending on the terrain you may actually have one on you prior to realizing it. I think the most important thing would be to try to hold onto your weapon long enough to do some damage prior to it doing onto you. Playboy I'll have a Margaritta for you so don't feel so bad. Biker I second that!
Jim
 
Rifle or shotgun on a quick release with a handgun of at least .357 power on backup. The rifle should be loaded with high SD RN bullets, the shotgun with hardcast brenneke-style slugs and the handgun loaded with heavy hardcast.
 
I'll tell ya, Jim. Last year, I worked at our local zoo for a few months as a handyman/zoo keeper. I took care of the carnivores which included two grizz.
One, Stripes, is a ten year old female, probably about 700 lb.
She had a thing for me (the other zookeepers couldn't figure out if she wanted to 'F' me or fight me), I always had to be on my toes. Just to mess with me, when I had to do some work close to the bars, she would reach through the bars and, with her long claws, jiggle the padlocks up and down to make sure that they were locked. Sometimes, she would charge me out of pure meaness and stop an inch away from the bars. On a number of times, I saw her cross 30 feet or so in less than a second, and almost silently.
Once, when she managed to pull a hose into the cage, we were forced to give her a face full of pepper spray. It did nothing but make her mad. That was truly a sight. Scared me half to death, I don't mind sayin'.
Strong, fierce and intelligent creatures they are and I never, *never* want to see one in the wild.
Biker
 
About ten years ago 4 of us were walking a trail from one lake to another in the Boundry Waters on the Canadian side. A black bear about 300 lb zoomed across the trail about 15 ft infront of us. We didn't hear a thing. It proceeded to cover about 75 yards in the time it would take you to clap your hands twice. We all were stunned. We had just walked this trail about 4 hours prior. Oh yeah I had a stringer of fish in my hand when we saw it. Needless to say my last trip into Canada. I'll fish on this side and carry a sidearm if for nothing else than piece of mind.
Jim,
 
chick walks into the gunshop last weekend, with two guys in tow, she proceeds to ask 'Do you have any double-action Smith & Wessons in .357? i need some bear protection."

boy did that one question make my heart go pitter-patter. but we didnt have one, and she kind of liked the .44mag but decided to shop around some more.

just is so exhilirating to meet a woman that knows guns and doesnt need to have a man act as her mouthpiece.
 
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