Bear country pistol

[comfisherman]

At some point it does get comical the mental image of the advice put to practice. Where my cabin is, where we recreate and where job is Has me in proximity to all manner of bears. Outside of the subject on this forum I give bear saftey maybe only ten minutes of thought per year. Just doesn't seem like outside of a sensational topic the threat is that great. Considering how many folks I know who have bear scars, it still doesn't seem like it warrants the play time it gets.

But hey the winter has been long and it beats hearing another Forrest and Jenny story...

 

[Airedale56]

I wonder how many bear pistol threads there are ?
Last Oct. a griz was on my deer carcass from week before. Buddy and I watched him cover it from 240 yds. where we were sitting. About half hour later he walked off and went down canyon out of sight. About half hour later he's walking down the ridge towards us. I was videoing and taking pics on phone. When he was 24 yds. I set phone down. I had my Springfield XDM 10mm in right hand and bear spray in left. Buddy had his pistol out and video on phone going so we had proof if we had to shoot. I usually carry a Glock 20 10mm. I duct take the grip safety down on the XDM. I only carry one 15 rd. mag in pistol and one in the pipe. I use Grizzly 220 Hard cast FN. A before pic of buck and week later watched him cover carcass.
the other buck I shot 11/22 200 yds. from where did buck in 10/23.View attachment 543371View attachment 543372View attachment 543373View attachment 543374View attachment 543376

Great pics, Don.

 

[Donneric]

Just wait until one takes the fish attached to your rod. It will get exciting then!

When I was in Katmai that's exactly what the looked for

 

[Donneric]

I'm just laughing picturing some of you guys toting around a .375 HH on one shoulder, a pump shotgun on the other shoulder, a .500 magnum strapped to your chest, a rape whistle dangling from your neck, a can of bear spray on your left hip, and a 10mm on your right hip…all of that just to go hiking. . This is great!

Mac

No that's you dudes in Alaska

 

[WYO300RUM]

Great pics, Don.

Thank you Airdale56 nieghbor.

Wish you were with me. I didn't have my Chesapeake, Whiskey with me that day with Griz last Oct.. My buddy thankfully looked behind us and saw him when was covering carcass. I had a new knee in 2023. Was a lot better packing out deer than in 2022. I don't like cutting up deer and elk while having to look around every few minutes. Both cow elk were at Bobcat Hulahand where high school wrestlers got tore up. 2022 young cow and 2022 whitetail .

 

[Airedale56]

Knew where you were from the backdrop mountains, grin.
Good job on filling your tags.

That was a good size grizzly.

PS: I wish G&F would put whitetails on the Predator list for a couple of years. Shoot them as nuisance critters.
This is a Mule Deer state and they need help.

 

[WYO300RUM]

Knew where you were from the backdrop mountains, grin.
Good job on filling your tags.

That was a good size grizzly.

Thank you. Somewhere in the North Fork with deer. You got me on elk Goodnight brother.

 

[mackgee]

No that's you dudes in Alaska

Well articulated…the facts don't show that based off of our posts…but yeah, that's us!!

Mac

 

[Airedale56]

Thank you. Somewhere in the North Fork with deer. You got me on elk Goodnight brother.

I would have never mentioned it and ratted out your hunting spot!

 

[Tactical45]

Easy answer, my Glock 10mm.

 

[nksmfamjp]

search up the long running thread on this topic from a few years back. I made the same suggestion back then and got absolutely crucified lol
There's a lot of pistoleros on this forum that can easily lay 6 in the head of a bear with a 454 casull or 500 s&w in quick succession

I would love to see what those folks look like on a timer. Time matters.

 

[frogman43]

I told this story in another thread about my brother who was a fishing guide in Alaska. He and a friend awoke with a brown bear at fart smelling range. It was taking bites out of his buddies sleeping bag, with his buddy inside it. I'll cut the story short here. Mike, my brother shot the bear from eight feet away with a twelve gauge shotgun using slugs. Center punch into the chest. It ran off with him shooting at it. Had to shot it again as it charged them from twenty feet away. He admitted that he was lucky and hit it between the eyes. KO, end of match. Now if a 12 gauge slug wasn't impressive enough for the brown bear, plus the buckshot pellets. How will your great a wonderful hand gun skills going to work out? It ran about150 yards into a willow patch and waited for them. Hears the center claw from a front paw. I'll add that its nothing like what you have trained for. You're doing your normal stuff, fishing, hunting, just walking along. Boom, crap, here comes a bear! You must drop what you are doing after the shock of seeing the bear coming at you like a freight train.you have just used up half of the very few seconds of this CF letting your brain decide what you need to do. God help you.

This story brings up a very important aspect to these threads. A Grizzer bear attack is probably a lot like Sex and Snow. you won't know when you'll get it, how much you'll get, or how long it will last! So, being prepared for the unexpected is the key factor. I own and carry a Marlin 45/70 Guide Gun loaded with my hard cast loads in Bear country, BUT I also wear a handgun in a chest holster being that eventually you will set that rifle down and walk away from it, like in camp. Having that handgun on you at all times is an important aspect of surviving an incident. Another issue is that yes, better spray can be a deterrent, however it may not stop the attack, and more importantly, if used in the wrong circumstances it can incapacitate you as well. Touching off a can of spray into the wind or inside of a small space, ie. Tent, camper, etc. is a bad idea and will not help the situation like a hard cast bullet from a handgun. Not saying it can't be PART of your defense, but better be sure of your surroundings. As usual, this advice is worth exactly what you paid for it and YMMV......

 

[Will.284]

I run a Kimber 10 mm 1 in the pipe and 8 in the mag and 2 extra mags , I've 1 encounter in sw Mt a would rather not have another

 

[frogman43]

I run a Kimber 10 mm 1 in the pipe and 8 in the mag and 2 extra mags , I've 1 encounter in sw Mt a would rather not have another

For years I've worn a big bore revolver in the Mountains, either an S&W Mountain Gun in 44 Mag or 45 Colt with my handloads. As I get older, I've found that I can stay on target with rapid hits using a semi-auto over the revolvers. For that reason I've decided to graduate to a Kimber Camp Guard 10 and it is scheduled to arrive today my dealer!