Dan Wesson Classic .357
Posted on 01/19/2018 4:31:53 AM PST by marktwain
Glock 40 with a red dot would be pretty nice...certainly better than a can of pepper spray and a scowl...
Dan Wesson Classic .357
The one time in the past few years where I was venturing into bear country and doing an overnight tent camping trip I took the biggest handgun I have - a 1911 in .45 ACP. I did load it with FMJ instead of it’s usual JHP defense rounds. My thinking was, against a bear I’m going to want more penetration. Fortunately un-needed. Maybe I should’ve had some bear spray. That might have been useful against the idiots a couple of campsites away that thought staying up all night drinking and being loud was a good idea. Well hey, maybe the noise kept the bears away. (one had been spotted nearby a couple days before our trip)
Also, .41 cal Revolver in Cody, WY in 2009.
Emaciated sow w 3 cubs attacked a guy from behind, knocking him down and ran passed him.
He fired 3 times on second charge and killed the sow.
I was up there 3 days later and heard and read the story several times.
“I like my Ruger Redhawk 44 mag. Heavy sucker though!”
I bought the first one in my area. I’m a machinist so I did my own action job. It’s smooth as silk. Love the gun! Unfortunately I have a badly healed wrist that just can’t take the recoil anymore. The good news is that I have a great son in law who borrowed it for deer hunting and turned out to be a natural pistol shooter. It’s in his safe now.
Thanks, found it!
Here is the .41 magnum defense story:
I love the photo of that guy.
He has the, ‘it is so good to be alive’, full of life look.
My wife lived in AK for 16 years and worked for the Alaskan Native corporation (Hospital). She was a surg/med purchaser and has told me all of the times that she has had to buy bone screws/parts for facial reconstruction/etc as a result of bear attacks.
The really bad ones get patched up and sent to Seattle.
Pretty shocking that a 9mm would take one down. Maybe all that discussion about the “new” 9mm round’s lethal stopping ability really is true after all.
___________________________________________________________
Travon Martin knew instantly that he was dead from one 9mm round.
I know a bear is quite different so maybe 8 shots to deter or kill the animal, still much better than being dead bear food.
I lived in Alaska for four years, was an assistant guide for a while and guided fishermen and a few hunters. I carried a .44 most of the time until two Alaska game wardens showed up at Tommy Ray’s taxidermy shop with a brown bear killed in a self-defense shooting. that bear’s face, but particularly his chest, looked like he’d been in close proximity to a grenade blast. When I asked them, “What the hell did the guy shoot him with?”, they responded, “A shotgun” and proceeded to tell me that a shotgun, at close range is a great defense against bears. I added a stainless Remington 870 Marine to my arsenal and carried it religiously after that.
As an interesting aside, although I saw more than my fair share of browns while guiding or fishing in Alaska, I never had what I would call a dangerous encounter. I can’t, however, say the same thing about black bears. They tended to be very, very curious and got way too close on too many occasions.
My impression is the “Shoot, Shovel, and Shut up” system is used in Alaska for too curious black bears. But no shovel.
Good choice - for now, .357 is biggest I have but am picking up a 40 cal auto in near future - not quite as much speed/energy as .357 but does have more shots available w/o reloading ... and reloading is a tad quicker for auto magazines than with the speed-loader for a revolver...not much but a tad and putting in more extra shots quicker might be a life saver.
Never had to shoot one - in self defense, anyway - but I shot over and close to a couple. The black bears up there are quite a bit smaller than the ones here in PA or I might have made a different decision in one case.
I have black bear in my neck of the woods and I carry either a .357 magnum, Virginian Dragoon in .44 magnum or a Glock 29 .10mm.
I have had a full grown black bear trot out in my yard and go head to head with my dog. I had a .12 gauge shotgun I fired into the ground that got my dog to break off the confrontation and run to the house where my wife kenneled her. The bear just looked at me after the first shot like, yeah what are you going to do now?
I had wracked another round of 00 buck into the chamber and fired into the ground again and he ambled off slowly. Guesstimate on weight was around 400-500 lbs, he was massive. I have seen many smaller one of various sizes but this one was huge. When I am outside working I always carry a pistol of at least .357 caliber, usually the .44 Dragoon.
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+1
5.56mm
On my visits to Alaska I carry a 9mm and figure it will do just fine. Seems to be a pretty typical practice. Besides, I don’t want to be carrying a heavy caliber rifle for hikes. No one in my family has ever had a problem since moving to Alaska in the 70s.
One thing I got from this is that bears are *tough.*
"By then my gun had jammed," Greg says.
I'd like to know more about how a revolver "jammed".
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