.
.
Posted on 12/01/2011 9:29:16 PM PST by Stonewall Jackson
I have a friend and colleague who is moving to Fairbanks next week and he is looking for a pistol to carry in grizzly country. He is an avid outdoorsman and will be hunting up there on a regular basis, but the only pistol he currently owns is a Browning 9mm.
He'd thought about getting a 1911A1, but I've pretty much convinced him that a .45ACP is okay against black bears, but is too slow hitting for effective use against grizzlies.
When I lived in Fairbanks, I settled for a stainless steel .44 mag. because I always carried it with me while salmon fishing. That was back in the 80s. I bought a book up there called Alaskan Bear Tales (I think. I lent it to a guy and never got it back). The author talks about encounters with grizzlies and talks about one being taken out with one round from a .22 while another attacked a hunting camp and five hunters literally shot the bear’s heart out with their rifles. The bear still tore their camp up. It all depends on the bear. I don’t know whether he was serious or not but at the end of the book, he recommended “the best gun” as being a 40mm flare gun. Hit the bear in the chest with a flare and he’ll be busy for a while. LOL!
A longer barreled S&W .44 mag will work...but that is a side arm to take with you when bow hunting or hiking just in case.
If you are up rifle hunting a 30.06. 7mm MAg or even .308 are all good weapons.
I also carry a saddle gun, .44 mag...the Ruger. LEver action, ten round tubular mag.
.
.
That’s a constant debate up here. Most carry at least a .44 mag. Of course shot placement and luck has a lot to do with it. Shotguns and rifles are superior but you can’t always have one on you.
I’ve only had to pull mine once, and luckily it was a bluff charge, the Bear stopped just short of me. I was in the process of cocking my single action Ruger when he stopped, if he’d a kept coming I might of been able to get 1 shot before he would have been on me. Now, I carry a double action revolver. Bears move fast, real fast.
Some bears are smarter than others.....
That .44 mag Ruger Super Blackhawk is the pistol I carried with me up there. I never had to try it out on a grizzly though. I always just left the area when they showed up.
LOL
Oly and Sven spot a bear headed toward them..
Oly says “I hope we can out run dat bear”.
Sven says “I ain’t worried, I’ve always been able to out run you”.
Whoa! a saturday night Nagant?
I carry a 1911A1 when I go out in the woods here in KY, but I only have to deal with black bears and rabid skunks.
Charlton Heston’s gun room?
Adolescent male bears are the worst.
Magnum Research Desert Eagle in .50AE
“talks about one being taken out with one round from a .22”
cool headed shot thru the upper palate into the brain when the bear had his mouth wide open and about to have the shooter for a snack.
Indeed!
Hint:
If a Griz is comin your way....you won’t need the scope.....
“Adolescent male bears are the worst.”
No. They only have a chip on their shoulders. Old bears who have broken their teeth - which have abscessed and causing a 24/7 tooth ache are the worst. There is absolutely no reasoning with them.
Thats insane! LoL
From what he was saying, I think Ryan is going to usually have a heavy-caliber rifle or shotgun when he goes out in the woods but this is going to be his emergency backup.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.