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What's a good caliber for bear?
- Thread starter davemata
- Start date
45collector
NES Member
I think a 20mm Vulcan and a wheel barrow is in order here.
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namedpipes
NES Member
![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
Not nearly the same muzzle blast or concussion.
Why do I keep seeing this thread title and reading it as "What's a good caliber for BEER"!![[grin]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/041.gif "Grin [grin]")
I'm sorry, but I always think of the joke about the Alaskan guide hiking with the client.
Client (seeing the .44 magnum on the hip of the guide): "Is that in case of bears?"
Guide: "Yep."
Client: "...Why did you file down your front sight?"
Guide: " Oh, 'cause if we do have a bad encounter with one and I have to put six rounds into the bear, it won't hurt so much when he takes my gun away and shoves it up my ass."
Back in those days, I cast and loaded all of those loads. Now, I just load 'em. You can actually purchase a load from Buffalo Bore or Cor Bon that are almost identical for 45 colt, now. As a matter of fact, when I go out West now, I mail a box of Buffalo Bore 325 gr. + P 45 colt and my revolver, and I pick it up at a UPS store along with all of my gear and belongings that I'll need for a couple of weeks, and I go straight there when the plane lands. I don't have a source for bullets that heavy, and I don't cast anymore so I don't load them myself. But, now they're readily available to order. Back in those days, no one that I knew was selling anything like that.
I would honestly let you try out a couple of them through one of my revolvers, but I'm not in MA much. And, I don't think I can legally bring this revolver into MA unless I bought the permit or was going to a bonafide shooting competition.
If you like Ruger revolvers, you can find a 45 colt Redhawk that is built like a tank and you can use loads from Buffalo Bore or Cor Bon that are almost as hot as a .454 Casull. They're more powerful than a .44 mag, and more manageable than a 454. I prefer single action revolvers, but I would not under any circumstances recommend one for bear defense (or any kind of defense), unless you shoot them fanatically like I do. Its all I shoot, really. So, muscle memory is going to work in my favor.
If you're not the kind of guy that shoots them all the time and practices with them all the time, are you really going to trust your muscle memory under stress? No. So, the good news is you can also get a Redhawk or an Alaskan, or Super Redhawk.
Don't forget, you can buy any .454 casull and shoot any 45 Colt load out of it. That would also give you the option to shoot the .454 if you could handle it.
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Bullet for bear
Your looking for penetration for larger bruins , hardcast AmmoIn 44 mag . If you want to take the beast off his feet bring the45-70 guide model , take a look at Garrett ammo you'll be Impressed . BTW wear the 44 in a chest holster it keeps the gunVery accessible , for long treks I wear the 45-70 in a back scabbard.Hope that helps , stay safe , Mike
Your looking for penetration for larger bruins , hardcast AmmoIn 44 mag . If you want to take the beast off his feet bring the45-70 guide model , take a look at Garrett ammo you'll be Impressed . BTW wear the 44 in a chest holster it keeps the gunVery accessible , for long treks I wear the 45-70 in a back scabbard.Hope that helps , stay safe , Mike
gerrycaruso
NES Member
The .45acp and the .45gap are so close in performance that it won't matter. Either one is suitable to shoot yourself before the bear eats you. That's the only way a .45 is going to save you from a brown bear.
I can't remember the tv show or movie I saw it on but they said in Alaska the 44 mag is what small women carry as a back up gun.
As I was reading this I was wondering how a brown bear would react to being shot with a flare gun. Most gun shots that aren't immediately fatal don't faze them but that burning flare would be hard to ignore. I don't know if they can be fired accurately enough though.![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
As I was reading this I was wondering how a brown bear would react to being shot with a flare gun. Most gun shots that aren't immediately fatal don't faze them but that burning flare would be hard to ignore. I don't know if they can be fired accurately enough though.
SteelShooter
NES Member
The Smith 329PD is a good compromise between weight and power, at 28ozs unloaded. I want one to go with my 360PD.
I'll have one for sale when I get back from Alaska , I'm sure I can give you a great deal on it. I got the Garrett .44 mag Defender hammerhead , hard cast.
329PD airlite, Magna ported. Really makes a difference in the recoil.
Bill Nance
Banned
Brown ear. Please define.
Are you meaning Grizzlies? If so, .44 Mag +p+ or SW .500 for a handgun. And figure multiple rounds. These are 800 pound aggressive animals for God's Sakes, not a deer.
For the most part in bear country out west, where I've done a LOT of backpacking, all you need is some kind of audible warning device, like a cowbell. Truly, that 800 pound Grizzly is for the most part, a lot more afraid of you than you are of it. If you let it know you're coming, absent cubs or waking it out of hibernation, it will run away when it knows you are coming.
By all means have the means of defense at your disposal as Grizzlies can be very unpredictable. But I woudn't lose a lot of sleep over it.
-Bill
Are you meaning Grizzlies? If so, .44 Mag +p+ or SW .500 for a handgun. And figure multiple rounds. These are 800 pound aggressive animals for God's Sakes, not a deer.
For the most part in bear country out west, where I've done a LOT of backpacking, all you need is some kind of audible warning device, like a cowbell. Truly, that 800 pound Grizzly is for the most part, a lot more afraid of you than you are of it. If you let it know you're coming, absent cubs or waking it out of hibernation, it will run away when it knows you are coming.
By all means have the means of defense at your disposal as Grizzlies can be very unpredictable. But I woudn't lose a lot of sleep over it.
-Bill
namedpipes
NES Member
This seems like a perfect thread to post this:
In India, I understand, field workers tie little glass bells to their feet to create more noise when they walk round. Snakes sense the vibrations and slither away.
In India, I understand, field workers tie little glass bells to their feet to create more noise when they walk round. Snakes sense the vibrations and slither away.
OfficerObie59
NES Member
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Just remember to yell "It's coming right for us".
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/149674/its-coming-right-for-us
It took ten years, but the question has finally been answered; .40 S&W for the win!
Just make sure you have a mag that holds more than nine rounds.
www.9news.com
Just make sure you have a mag that holds more than nine rounds.
Steamboat Springs man fatally shoots bear that broke into home
The homeowner shot the 400-pound bear multiple times after he found it rummaging through some dog food.
www.9news.com
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SteelShooter
NES Member
It took ten years, but the question has finally been answered; .40 S&W for the win!
Just make sure you have a mag that holds more than nine rounds.
Steamboat Springs man fatally shoots bear that broke into home
The homeowner shot the 400-pound bear multiple times after he found it rummaging through some dog food.
40, not just for drinking anymore
StevieP
NES Member
I know this is a thread about hunting bears, but in a self-defense situation, you don't need anything that big.
Rule 1 is always go out in the woods with a friend, but not a "good" friend.
If attacked by a bear, all you need is a .25ACP pocket pistol. Shoot the other guy in the knee with it, and run like Hell. You'll survive the bear attack.
(warning -- repeating the above attempt at satire on Facebook in a Gun Magazine's FB post about the relative merits of .25ACP, will get you three days in the FB SHU.)
Rule 1 is always go out in the woods with a friend, but not a "good" friend.
If attacked by a bear, all you need is a .25ACP pocket pistol. Shoot the other guy in the knee with it, and run like Hell. You'll survive the bear attack.
(warning -- repeating the above attempt at satire on Facebook in a Gun Magazine's FB post about the relative merits of .25ACP, will get you three days in the FB SHU.)
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It took ten years, but the question has finally been answered; .40 S&W for the win!
Just make sure you have a mag that holds more than nine rounds.
Steamboat Springs man fatally shoots bear that broke into home
The homeowner shot the 400-pound bear multiple times after he found it rummaging through some dog food.
40 owners: 1
everyone else: 3.141592*10^9000
