Taurus Judge any good for self defense against Grizzly Bears?

[jbr]

thanks for the picture prosser - that really does put it into prespective

Keep the judge - your going to want to shoot yourself with something before the bear gets you - and .410 shot will work best since you will be shaking like a dog passing a bone

 

[Almond27]

I'll suggest a gun other than laugh and crack jokes, because I've already laughed too much. Smith and Wesson Mountain Gun in 44 magnum loaded with 300gr Keith style bullets. I would like to recommend a Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 casull, but my goodness the felt recoil Oh mylanta! I know felt recoil isn't as bad in a high stress situation but I'd at least like to die knowing I at least put a couple rounds on target, because im a goner anyways lol.

 

[rugerman]

Well it beats a "bear Switch" but not by much.

 

[Prosser]

My favorite bear gun was a Ruger single shot, stainless, made in .510 Wells/.500A2. That's the .460 Weatherby case blown out, to take a .510 bullet, full length

I calculated with a full house load, it would recoil at 150 ft-lbs.

It only weighed 7 pounds, and, it had an 18" barrel. It would move a 600 grain bullet at 2400 fps. Heck, why not an 800 grain bullet, maybe a hollow point, or soft nose, at 2200 fps? Anyway, you'd only get one shot, but, it would go end to end, and the bear would have a new one, and a very long, very wide wound channel.

Great thing about it would be if you missed, the hand grenade effect might scare the bear off. Anyway, you'd probably never know, since you'd be on the ground, probably knocked out.

 

[788Ham]

Ought to ask the gal who's husband just got dispatched by a Grizzly, then you be the "Judge". If thats all he's going to bother taking, as far a a defensive handgun, he'll be alright if he doesn't leave the camper.

 

[P5 Guy]

444 Marlin or something in 45-70 GOV. Lever action for faster follow up shots.
.410 shot revolver NFW

 

[JellyJar]

I haven't read all the post here and I am not going to.

To me the only way a Taurus Judge could possibly stop a grizzly bear is if you manage to throw it down its throat just before it bites you and it chokes to death!

 

[gbran]

I had a guide in AK who carried a 12ga pump. 1st shot was buckshot to get the bear' attention, followed by slugs.

Not sure I'd want to try this with a Judge.

 

[Stainz]

I bought an S&W Governor 6/13 - at least it has six rounds. And - it takes moonclipped .45 ACP's, too. I don't know about it's +P capability. At <30 oz, it bounces pretty well with defensive .410's, like the Winnie PDX (Not a bear load!!). It has a 2.5" .410 capability - not a bear protector, even around here (We have had black bear recently seen around Birmingham!). With .45 Colts - even .45 ACP's, it would do well for any 2/4 legged threat in these parts. Brown bear? My 4" 629 with 300gr lead as a minimum. A .500 Magnum would be better!

Stainz

 

[kayak-man]

At the risk of sounding like a parrot, I'm going to say "no" to the judge. I think they are pretty cool guns, but only for a range toy, maybe shooting snakes.

I'd listen to Shadow_7D, his advice on the bear threads tends to be pretty good.

If I was going to carry a gun specifically for bears in Yellowstone, I'd prefer an M14, but I have a feeling that won't work very well for your purposes Taurus and ruger make some .44 Magnums that might work for ya.

Chris "the Kayak-Man" Johnson

 

[Apex29]

It's good only if you're with someone. Shoot that person in the foot and then run like the wind.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

Wonder when someone is gonna post about taking a Judge to Africa for dangerous game hunting.

 

[gdesloge]

John McPhee wrote a book, "Coming Into The Country", about Alaska, its residents, natives, and the federal government's involvement there.

He recounts a story about an Alaska resident in the backcountry who chooses not to carry a gun as protection against bears, because he believes that the bears sense a more hostile intent (my awkward paraphrasing) from a human carrying a weapon.

http://www.johnmcphee.com/comingintocountry.htm

By the way, the book really gives one an appreciation for the lives of those who live in Alaska. A great read, as are all of Mr. McPhee's books.

If all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.

gd

 

[GEM]

Saw a show about bear attacks in Norway. Three women go to a park with dangerous bears. At the park entrance, you can rent a rifle (wonder why?). They refuse as they want to be one with nature. The other Norwegians look at them askance. They feel the bears will sense their karma.

As you can probably guess, two get eaten - one escapes by jumping off a cliff and being shredded by the scree at the bottom - but lives.

Another incident - tourists go in a boat to an island with bears. One gets ornery. The boat captain shoots it with a 22 revolver and gets eaten. The tourists flee and live.

Now I can't really Judge the outcomes, not being there but I Gauge there are better ways to be prepared. I'd rather be Pumped up.

 

[gdesloge]

Hi, GEM -

I do think that it is an interesting, thoughtful, and counterintuitive approach to refuse to carry a weapon because it might, in some way, provoke an incident.

By the way, the subject in the story actually lived and worked in the Alaska wilderness and was not merely a tourist who wanted to be "one" with the animals.

Although not a perfect analogue, one might consider that a person who conceal-carries and uses good judgement to withdraw from a situation rather than "engage" to be similar to how a prudent hiker/outdoorsperson might view bear encounters.

As an aside, our neighbor called us yesterday to inform us that "the bear is back." What this means is that a black bear which frequents our neighborhood in the Fall prior to hibernation has returned, albeit a bit early.

So we will secure our trash, hang the hummingbird feeder outside the yard, keep the doors closed so that he doesn't see the need to amble into our kitchen, and pay attention before we let the doggies or our 5 year-old son out into the yard to play.

I frankly am more concerned about mountain lions than black bear, but Ursus arctos horribilis is certainly a different breed than Ursus americanus.

Best -

gd

 

[Carl N. Brown]

It is my understanding that the state of Alaska does not recommend any handgun as protection against grizzly bears.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Why would anyone carry a handgun when there are bears around?

 

[Panzercat]

Everything I learned about grizzly defense, I learned from my mentor John West.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

They refuse as they want to be one with nature.

Two of them got their wish...

 

[Waywatcher]

Judge would be better than nothing, but I would pick a .357 magnum before it, without a doubt.

I like the shotty with slugs idea best though.

 

[baylorattorney]

A judge versus a bear? No way. Need at least 10mm or some other magnum load to knock down a bear.

 

[CMUnderWoody]

Roflmfao

Epic doesn't begin to sum up this thread. I like that the OP kept a very open mindset and sense of humor for this one...It helps that he was asking on behalf of his in law's safety.

Since we determined from pretty much right off the bat that a Judge is no match for Big Teddy the Horrible, is there really anything that gun IS good for? Other than marketing? Carrying a gun that does one job well, is better than a gun that does multiple jobs poorly. Piss poorly in the Judges case.

I've been carrying a Ruger SRH 'Alaskan" up on our property in N. Idaho but even that is a back up to my 870mag and mostly for people not bears. Recently my Godfather bought a S&W V460, and if I HAD to shoot a bear with a pistol I would pick that bad boy. Otherwise, Mikhail and I are defending my picnic basket with 100, very rapid, FMJ's... Perfect scenario is of course the bear and I share my picnic basket and I save my bullets for something I'd rather shoot..

 

[baylorattorney]

I've had a change if heart on the judge. Now I prefer the Governor. I wouldnt take either tho against a bear.

 

[jmresistance]

"It is not +P rated, and would probably come apart if you fired that load in it"

Really I killed a hog and a deer with that load on my Judge.
It is not like I am going to fire thousands of round of plus p thru it.
That would wear on any handgun +p rated or not.

I've fired +P .45 LC and the +P .410 marked "for ATI AT-14 only!" through my Judge, just to show some S&W and Ruger guys that it could handle it. I have to admit, I was a little worried when I squeezed the trigger, but it took them both in stride. I doubt I'll do it again, but the Judge can handle it. I know, because I've actually done it.

I wonder how many of the Judge's critics own one... or have even fired one.

 

[fletchbutt152]

+1 for the 10mm

Not because I would carry it as my first choice for bear, but because I have one and do carry it for bear (lil' blackie that hangs around my house). Still waiting to get shipped to Alaska so I can justifiy a brace of .460s and a Marlin SBL.