.........bear story from wy please share yours....

[bigbuck]

My pastor was an evangelist for 11 years before he took our church , he had a preacher friend from Wyoming that guides hunts on the side . Before I go into the short story I would like to say that I had recently bought a kimber 45 ACP I always thought that a 45 auto would be more than enough power to take care of a bear or worst case just empty the clip into it . Well the story I had been told the other day really got me to thinking so I figured I would share it with you fellas and maybe you could add some more stories to the post . My pastor said that his preacher friend (the guide) told him that they usually hunt in a group while hunting bears and this one time their was a police officer in the group that was carrying a 40 Cal. hand gun . They had a bear charge them as the bear approached the police officer he unloaded 9 rounds into the bear before it stoped the bear raised up and another hunter shot it right below the head with a 30-06 the bullet turned up and hit the bear in the brain killing it . This is the part of the story that got me to thinking . When they had skinned the bear it had 9 welts on it's hide none of the rounds had penetrated . So my big bad 45 doesn't seem so bad anymore .
Question Do you think that the type of officer issued ammo caused this and was the reason for Non penetration? Or is the bears that tough ? Please leave your stories concerning bears if you have some and thanks for looking.

BigBuck

 

[Pdvdh]

That's a tough one to believe. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt since the story was conceived by clergy.

The policeman didn't have rubber bullets in his pistol? That would be more believeable. Wasn't a .40 cal water pistol was it?

It doesn't take to much to penetrate the hide of a black bear. My RWS pellet gun would easily penetrate their hide, although it's only .177 diameter. Their hides are not really very thick or tough. Same with brown bears.

 

[winmag]

Depends on a few things. what distance? were they hollow points, wadcutters,fmj, partial jackett..... the list goes on. Where did he hit the bear when he hit it? was this factory ammo, or light loads to reduce collateral damage,and controll recoil?
Too many what if's here.
I have not yet taken anything with my XD-40, but I did take a deer with my Kimber 1911-10mm. I have little doubts that a 40 would suffice just fine. As alot of folks on here know I love to hunt big bears. So Ive killed a few. theyre no harder than a deer to drop. Some run some dump, Ill see what I can do for ya in August with my XD-40. But if I get a chance for a long range poke on one of the bears I have picked out, youll have to wait another year. I have full confidence in my 40 for the lower 48 as my go to backup gun.

 

[bigbuck]

40 Cal. water pistol LOL I know these men wouldn't lie about it so I thought either the bears are alot tougher than I had ever realized or the ammo has something to do with it. I actually had a retired police officer come into the office today and he said that the ammo that some use is designed to stop humans he went on to say that some ammo want even penetrate wood no further than 1/2 inch deep , I don't know about this though maybe some of the officers we have on this site will chime in and say if the ammo could have been the problem . i am in full agreement that this story could be hard to believe but I know the source . I was hoping that some similar stories would appear .

what was the distance? So close that if it were any closer the officer would have been bear poop in a matter of seconds

BigBuck

 

[Chas1]

I'd be real interested in type of projectile and load...see if you can find out. My 40 S&W has no problem going through 3/4" cabinet grade ply.

 

[matt_3479]

Thats pretty hard to believe but bears can be pretty tough.

I also have a story to share.

In my hunting party we have two guys that are brothers (Tom and Ted) Tom shoots a Browning 7mm rem mag and Ted shoots a Remington 30-06 both semi autos. Ted and tom got stuck sitting at the same bait pile and it was Ted's turn for the shot. An average size 250lbs bear came up and started picking at the doughnuts in the tree at 75 yards. Ted squeezed the trigger and the 180 grain slug nailed the bear right in the boiler room and the bear dropped. Ted unloaded his gun and put it down on the ATV. The bear got up and started growling and charged. Ted reached to reload and Tom squeezed a shot from his 7mm and the bear dropped again. Ted continue to reload in case. The bear got back up and Ted took aim. The bear just sat there and neither shot cause the bear looked as if it were going to drop. Randomly the bear took off at them again and Ted put the last shot in its head and the bear dropped. Within this time the bear closed from 75 yards to 15.

A Black bear can be increadibly tough animals.

 

[winmag]

Maybe they were too close. Bullets and speed at short range can at times be a bad thing. Sometimes strange things happen. Ive only had one bear that was hard to die. We were runnin and gunnin with pistols, and Im certain the only reason he didnt just lay down and die was because I was not thinking clearly and kept walking towards it every time I hit it. All I did was push it further by walking up on it. If Id have just let it alone it probably wouldve just laid down and died. Nothing in the world can survive that many hits from a 44mag and a 357 mag and not die.
But I have made a shot or two on an animal that I was so sure would drop it to the ground, and then wach it walk away, I was just stunned, before I thought to thump it again. I am sure most everyone on here has a story or two like that on an elk or deer , bear, etc. That doesnt mean that someone couldnt drop one drt with wahtever cal. How could 9 rounds from a 40 not penetrate? How could multiple rounds from proven calibers(7mag and -06) with well placed shots not smoke one? Just that sometimes strange things happen. Bears arent any harder to kill than anything else. But when you take that for granted you can get a rude wake up call from a bear. Wich leads some folks think you need a .375 for blackbear and it makes me laugh. Bears are legal to hunt in Oregon with any22cal centerfire and up. Is a 22cal centerfire a good idea? you decide. Ill just stick with my deer and elk guns for bear and be plenty comfy in my choice. And Ill keep my 40 for my uhh oh gun

 

[Chas1]

It would be interesting to hear from those on LRH that have hunted alot of deer sized game and larger as far as a rough % of times they have had an animal after it's been hit get up and keep going where a second or more shots were required. I think a second shot can happen more often than we think even when it's a well placed first shot so not always is a second shot an indication of a less than favorable placement of the first shot.

 

[bigbuck]

I'd be real interested in type of projectile and load...see if you can find out. My 40 S&W has no problem going through 3/4" cabinet grade ply.

I'll try to find out what ammo was used but I think this happened a long time ago . The retired officer that I talked to yesterday didn't give the exact brand of ammo neither did he give detailed Info. maybe some active member/officers on this site will say if such ammo is available.

BigBuck

 

[bigbuck]

It would be interesting to hear from those on LRH that have hunted alot of deer sized game and larger as far as a rough % of times they have had an animal after it's been hit get up and keep going where a second or more shots were required. I think a second shot can happen more often than we think even when it's a well placed first shot so not always is a second shot an indication of a less than favorable placement of the first shot.

I shot a 4x4 mule deer in Colorado at about 40 yrds with a 300 Mag. 155 grain AMAX right in the boiler room he was at a fast walk when he came by but I hit him perfectly He didn't even drop I tracked him about 65 yards from were he was their was big pools of blood on the trail were he had bled out of his nose. I also killed an elk very close to this same place 2 years later same gun same bullet this time the 5x5 elk was standing still at 50 yards I pulled the trigger and the Elk slid down the MTN . Sometimes odd things happen that's what makes hunting exciting you never know for sure what the outcome will be.

BigBuck

 

[edwaj002]

I have shot several deer with buckshot (being from south ms.) and i have seen the shot glance off the side of deer if the angle is right but you could tell by the strip of hair that would be missing.

 

[Russ Hatch]

As a retired LEO I can say my department issued full strength 40 caliber ammo. Reloads were a no-no because of the law suits that were sure to be filed. No sub power loads allowed. I have shot these issued rounds into dried fire wood and gotten 3 inch + penatration, shooting from the side not with the grain.

 

[Pdvdh]

No disrespect intended - to anyone - but the only way I can fathom that 8 rounds would bounce off a black bear at close range from a 40 S&W is if the loads were completely defective (under-powered) or the bullets were designed to splat like bread dough on impact. And even the under-powered possibility is a brain teaser because the action on the semi-auto wouldn't operate if the loads were that under-powered. And revolvers don't hold 8 rounds so it had to have been a semi-auto.

I personally wouldn't spend a lot of time trying to sort this one out, because you won't find anyone else that ever experienced this. It would be like lightening striking in the same location twice in the flatlands with no trees or structures extending above ground being present. It makes for good reading, but it may have never even struck in the first place.

Even a 22 short would penetrate a bear's hide at close range - from any position on a perpendicular-to-the-bear hit. Any bullet that will penetrate the side of a 55-gallon drum will at least penetrate the hide of a bear at close range. Maybe not much more than that - but they will get through the hide.

PS: Maybe the story has changed over the years and the bear was never even skinned? Stories do have a way of evolving over the years, even without any intentions.

 

[Chas1]

phorwath makes a good point. Sometimes when a incident is recanted 3, 4 or more times it changes slightly each time so by the time you hear it...well you know.