Would you feel safe with an m1 garand in grizzly country?

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FlyinBryan

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i might get a chance to do something that for me will surely be a once in a lifetime experience. a 5 day salmon fishing trip in alaska.

i have been told that one possible area we could be taken to has a healthy population of brown bears, and that bear sprays at the very least should be taken, and protection in the form of firearms are suggested. (ive been looking at the ten rules of safety when fishing around grizzly bears.)

the most powerful handgun i own is a 1911 pistol which i can load with federal +p hydrashocks in 185 grain, or hydrashocks in 230 grain.

of course we also have m1 garands that i can load pretty much any bullet i want for. maybe some 168g tripleshock x bullets @ around 2700fps.

planning for this trip is in its infancy stage as it is almost a year away, and tonight has been our first conversations about it, so im nipping this little detail in the bud so to speak :D
 
I absolutely would. I would also have a handgun in case the rifle jams up.
 
If it were me, I'd load the 1911 up with a 10rd mag of some hot FMJ and load a 180gr jacketed soft point as fast as you can safely get it (no idea on the loading limits for the Garand).

I'm trying to work up a plan for a bear hunt hopefully in the next couple years, and I doubt I'll take anything less than a .308, though probably a 30-06 or a 7.62x54r (PSL or Mosin), and will of course have my 1911 with me if I haven't got a .44mag by then.
 
M1 would do the just fine with some heayweight partitions, but not my first choice for the job. M1 is kind of a heavy rifle to be carrying around, the original models weighed as much as 11.6 lbs. I would rather carry a 44 or 454 lever action carbine or revolver. Those large caliber ultra heavy bullets do alot more damage then you would think at those speeds. The carbines weigh in just over 6 lbs and the revolvers weigh in at almost 5lbs.
 
Damnit Dale you beat me to it
I would also suggest some seal oil, it doesn't freeze and will help it slide right in

Any large caliber rifle is going to beat a hand gun, esp. semi's (rifle)
but, I would suggest a shotgun, something with a shorter barrel for ease of use in the brush.
 
Correct ammo is very important for the M1 Garand

FlyinBrian, believe me when i say the good ol' M1 Garand is plenty good for where you heading (hope you have a great time and catch lots of sammies).

But PLEASE be advised that you should consider loading your M1 with the propper 30-06 ammunition for it to function well and as intended. Some modern ammunition loads can seriously mess up the operating rod on your M1. My buddy only shoots 30-06 surplus outta his Garand and it hasn't missed a beat yet. A big part of the problem with most modern loads of 06 is that they're using faster burning powder. The original 150 grain M2 ball cartridges used a medium burning powder and therefore did not bend/warp the operating rod. Today's high pressure loads aren't ideal for the Garand. Your Garand may not have a problem with modern loads but it would really suck if your Garand had an operating problem when you need it most.

I know that Hornady makes a load that is specifically suited for the M1 Garand, and there is plenty of surplus M2 ball ammo out there. FYI, the original load data for the Garand was a 150 grain bullet and a cartridge loaded with 48 grains of 4895.

Again, i hope you have an awesome time on your trip, and i'll pray that you don't have to use your firearms (except for responsible fun of course) lol.
 
M1, yes. 1911, leave it home. Take a .44 magnum or larger. They say a 12 gauge with the hottest sabot slugs you can find is ideal.
 
I'd PREFER a 12 gauge and some very heavy slugs, but if M1 is all I've got, then I won't feel too undergunned. The 1911 is another story, though.
 
If your only going to do a 5 day fishing trip. Not a bear hunt. I would leave both the M1 and the 1911 home or in the camper. I would carry a 12ga. I.E. 870 pump or Mossberg pump. Stoked with good slugs. No buck shot or bird shot. I have never had any problems in the past 14 years. Al tho i have had one close friend get mauled during hunting season. It only lasted less than a minute. He spent 2 months in ICU.
He never even got a shot off with either his 44 Mag or his 338 Bolt action. Every time the buddy he was with tried to shoot @ 10 yards away all he could see was John in his scope with brown hair all around him. He figured he had to do something fast. One shot missing John by just inches. Bear ran off and died 75 yards down the trail. If push comes to shove the M1 will do the job. But being gas operated it COULD JAM in a stressful time.
 
2low said:
But PLEASE be advised that you should consider loading your M1 with the propper 30-06 ammunition for it to function well and as intended. . . . A big part of the problem with most modern loads of 06 is that they're using faster burning powder.
Typo here - modern loads use powder that's too slow. This moves the pressure curve up the barrel and results in high port pressure. Conventional wisdom is that one should not use any powder slower than IMR4320.

I'd handload that M1 with a 165-180 grain bullet (no heavier) - something tough that will penetrate like a Nosler Partition - and stick to medium burning powders, rather than try to hotrod it.

The 1911? I'd stick to hardball for penetration, but of course I don't consider .45 ACP in any load to be good "bear medicine."
 
45 acp is too light. Take a Remington 870 with magazine extention and stuff it full of rifled slugs, the kind that are full bore diameter. You can get the whole setup (shotgun from wally world, and mag extention from cabelas) for under $350, add a sturdy sling, throw the whole show over your back, and you're in.
 
I think I may have posted about this before, but my parents and their friends spend a lot of time in the woods during berry picking season. When they're on horseback in the woods or hunting they all carry what they call "skull crackers" in their revolvers.

In my Dad's case its a .41 magnum with a 220gr hardcast bullet that's been center drilled. He then uses a steel panhead screw and turns it down flush against he bullet. Seat depth is set to allow for the panhead and for the cylinder to rotate freely.

His business partner rembers his grandfather and their neighbors all doing the same thing as long ago as the 20's. Not much in the way of angry "critters" stand up to it, including bears.
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A properly loaded 30-06 is fine. The Garand would be near the bottom of my list of rifles however. Forget about the 45, carrying a brick in your holster would be about as useful.

I'd buy pepper spray first. If I was carrying a gun I'd buy or borrow a short barreled 870 and load it with good slugs if I were making that trip. Leave the Garand and 45 at home.
 
As 2low and Hank have wisely mentioned, the limitation on cartridge loading for a stock M1 would be my only reservation. I love my M1 but I would have to agree that the standard 150gr load might not be enough for an animal up to five times the mass of a human.

I agree that 12ga slugs might be a better choice. You don't need the range of .30-06 for defensive purposes. You could have a qualified gunsmith modify your M1 with a larger gas port and/or valved gas plug in order to handle up to 220gr loads, but that would probably be pretty expensive.
 
With stout loads, and an adjustable gas plug to go along with them, I would feel fine - but I am not in grizzly country, nor do I hunt them - so my opinion ain't worth much.
 
45 acp is too light. Take a Remington 870 with magazine extention and stuff it full of rifled slugs, the kind that are full bore diameter. You can get the whole setup (shotgun from wally world, and mag extention from cabelas) for under $350, add a sturdy sling, throw the whole show over your back, and you're in.
this
 
If i had the time to do so , and i was dead set on the garand, i'd load up some 220-240 grain bullets and get a mccann vented gas plug, set the proper vent size, and loctite the vent in.
 
I recall seeing a photo some thirty or forty years back that had TWO Garands mounted in tandem on the wings of a light aircraft, fired with a device similar to the crank fire ones currently sold.

As I recall the purpose stated was to kill Kodiak bears that were destroying cattle on that island........Hulluva setup, and if you coulden't kill one with either eight or 16 rounds you ought not be there to begin with!
 
All my friends in alaska carry either a 12ga w/ slugs or .45-70/450 marlin lever guns, when not hunting specific animals like elk when they would have something like a 300 win mag.

The alternative is the biggest caliber revolver you can handle. 454 casull/44 mag/etc. to keep your hands free for fishing. Practice quickly drawing/firing it, as attacks, as others have said, usually come very quickly.

Personally I'd rather have a longgun slung over a shoulder for a couple reasons:

- If the attack is quick, nothing is going to make much difference - handgun or longgun
- If I DO have a chance to respond, I'd much rather have a stout shotgun/levergun in my hands then a handgun.
- I'm a pretty big dude, I doubt I'd be bothered by 7-8 extra lbs.
 
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For .30'06 a 200 or larger grain SP would be a better choice than the ball ammo the M1 runs on. But it would probably do in a pinch. Judge Folta the bear hunter took many with his after WWII.

The bigger issue is going to be the weight and bulk of the beasty, especially while you're fishing. You'd be better off with a basic Mossberg or Remington with hardcast slugs. They're about half as heavy as a Garand and much easier to tote.
 
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