Is it a powerhouse, as a bear cartridge? think of anything better to own, carry, keep, and have instantly accessible than a good That said, I wish someone would come up with a good ballistic gel/trauma plate simulated bear and test out everything from .22 LR to all the Dirty Harry stuff, .44 Mag and up. Also the .454 C uses a rifle primer to handle the high pressure generated whereas the 45 Colt uses a pistol primer. A study done by US Fish and Wildlife produced the following results. With the exception of Mr. Shoemaker who has more experience than I will ever even hope to have bigger seems to be better. I have two dogs and they said that might provoke the bears. Ill try 180s on my next cat. If we had a true list of every cartridge throughout history that killed a bear we would surely be suprised by dozens of them! You could get pretty close to a semi-auto .454 Casull if you had a .440 Cor-Bon Desert Eagle. That is your choice. Unless you are an expert hand-gunner with tons of real world experience.. carry a rifle and have the pistol as backup. Carry to fit your states wild life? I recently read the account of a man in Oregon who survived a black bear attack. Brian M.- I also did the same thing with my Glock 21 accept I started with the 45 Super cartridge. Go to any gunshop youll find plenty of all those calibers for sale, used with very low round counts, wonder why? But, I still have the Marlin. I read with interest the side arms in bear country. Big bears do not get big being stupid around people. Its a free country Plinker you are free to engage in Prayer, Ritual and Incantations by the light of the moon. Then when we were at Cabelas, I compared the photo on my phone to all the cougar mounts and none came anywhere close. A 10-year-old boy was killed by a mountain lion while hiking near Grand Lake in 1997, and an adult runner was killed in Idaho Springs in 1991. In Alaska, we not only have to deal with the common two-legged variety of vermin found in every place in the world, but also the large, four-legged beasts that can either kill and trample you with their hooves, or rip you apart with their claws and teeth; its the latter which draw hunters to the Last Frontier with high-power, large caliber rifles. It seems to be a matter of carrying largest caliber you can for the situation, with the proviso that you be able to deliver sufficient rounds on target. Just aim above the front tire, through the fender taking out the engine block. Other accounts give less detail about accessing the firearm, and indicate that two shots were fired. So, perhaps .45 colt is NOT the best choice for a bear. Yes I admit this was a freak happening. Lmaoand excellent thought below about the 454 brass trimmed down. Good article. The only grizzly I ever saw that was dead right there.. Those who think they can empty their Glock into a charging bear are fools. However, if you're going to deploy bear spray against a mountain lion, then you need to make sure of a few things. There are some real men out there who have seen a bear in a zoo and have shot their 500 SW 4 times 6 years ago. After all bears are quite well armed are they not? A mountain lion would win a fight against a wolf. Not to be the asshole of the crowd, but a Grizzly is an Ursus arctos horribilis as opposed to just the Ursus arctos, or Brown Bear. The first was many years ago when I was in Alaska. But, he says, for now, money is tight and he likes his old service size S . His cousin, the brown bear, is an entirely different story; when a brown bear means business you need to stop the threat and stop it fast, by any means necessary. My Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt with handloads, 300-grains, 1,200 fps (1,192 to be exact) goes with me on a lot of black bear hunts with hounds. Please reply. DRT. The cougar chased Kyle Burgess, 26 . Something I doubt the 500 or 460 blunderbuss allows. I have killed over 140 head of big game in Australia, waterbuffalo, moose, elk, deer, antelope, hogs, exotics, many black bear, and one charging brown bear in Alaska at 5 feet with a hand gun. The key is putting the projectile in the right spot. I am also, by trade, a Professional Land Surveyor, so my work hours are often spent in the remote wilderness areas. There was also a guy who used the Air Force M6 .22 LR/.410 GA over/under rifle/shotgun. Your .357 magnum should be fine and easier to get off a second shot on target. A 45 Long Colt? They only work if you have them with you. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This is all interesting to a curious 75 yo ..better for me to stay out of bear country. The second shot went CLICK. He said while the animal tried to bite Pauls head, it didnt actually do it, only slightly clawing the boys back. As a retired, longtime USMC colonel buddy of mine reminded me a few weeks ago, you should be carrying, always.. Oct. 14, 2020 6:15 PM PT. Curious if anyone has evaluated any of the older Cold War Warsaw Pact pistols. And its usually charging you in a self-defense situation where youre trying to penetrate all that meat, gristle and bone in the way of its vital organs. There are too many variables involved to deliberatly under gun yourself on a planned trip in bear country. Despite the firepower, these guys all tried to avoid brown bear encounters. With 158-grain bullets moving at nearly 800 fps, this probably represents along with the 9mm Luger the lower end of the spectrum, as far as a defensive bear gun goes. Hard cast lead or perhaps some modern all brass penetrators would probably be better. At 50yds not much will walk away from a hit with that bullet. Thousands of empty Ancient Churches that have been converted into libraries and or apartment buildings are testament to that. Its jackass. The Casull is an updated and slightly elongated version of the .45 Colt, fully capable of firing .45 Colt ammunition. BTW the 2nd encounter was by a friend who was carrying that old M572 shots on a wounded grizzly same load did him in. A single bite around the throat from a mountain lion can be fatal to prey . Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the man, identified on Thursday as 31-year-old Travis Kauffman, is "recovering well" after the self-defense attack on Feb. 4. Worse is the comment on using a .38 Spl in bear country is better then no gun: BS, if your not prepared, dont go! a Ruger Blackhawk, chambered in .45 Colt, stainless finish with a 7 -inch barrel. is excellent. Personally, I'd feel the best with a .44 mag, .45LC, or 45-70 in a Marlin carbine. Best of luck, fortunately it sounds like you really wont be relying on luck.. Penetration and shot placement are king. If not, always nice to have to many guns.. After wearing out a few S&W frames in 44mag, I switched to the short barreled Ruger Alaskan in 44mag. I shoot a 44 mag Ruger Redhawk 4 in ss I love it. He has spent more than a bit of time in pursuit of bears, hogs, and other game animals with a handgun, in addition to time spent in the Alaskan game fields. What part of the state? Always do your homework before entering any unfamiliar land, especially bear infested areas so you will be acquainted with these and other survival techniques including escape routes should you encounter an emergency situation. No HPs! Derek Wolfe told Tucker Carlson he plans to eat the mountain lion he hunted. What I really love I the light weight of the Blackhawk, its great in a shoulder rig. My advice: If youre standing, attempt to avoid a confrontation; and mentally prepare yourself for the greater likelihood that youll be on your back being chewed on. From the Noatak to Frazier Lake, Kodiak, Ive seen a lot of bears. A revolver is a one threat gun so unless you are Jerry Miculek you will run out of ammo with a revolver. Jim Farmer Mountain lions dont have a reputation for requiring powerful firearms to put them down. Ill take the capacity of an auto loader in 45 Super, 10mm or Rowland any day. Practice with light loads and carry it with one of Pearces 22k psi heavy loads. CCIs classic .38 Special shot or snake Carrying a .38 snubbie in bear country is roughly akin to wearing a sandwich board that reads FREE LUNCH! Its light and easy to carry.. This is perfect mountain lion habitat. At the same time, we're trying to be as supportive and helpful to property owners as possible.". As an Army veteran, I had no problem with my shot placement just my faith in loads. I hope those guides told you that if you fire a round, bears start coming from all directions to eat the free gut pile. Cork Graham (corkgraham.com) , a fellow writer, hunter, and Alaska resident not to mention an actor on the Discovery Channel had a bit of a different perspective. This attack from 2008 shows the utility of a handgun for defense against predators in the wild. He has 158 grain, cast SWC and SJSP flat point, +P ammuntion that are showing 890 FPS muzzle velocity on the boxes. 1988 a Montana Fish and Game Officer utilized same handgun to dispatch a Grizzly In most cases, a 22 caliber rifle will not be able to kill a mountain lion. Lets stop trying to impress each other with useless specifications and gobbly-gooky BS. shop reading and start thinking. You dont need a laboratory test to confirm that it was behaving strangely. My handloads push a 300-grain hard-cast bullet to 1,614 fps. thank you kindly for sharing your extensive knowlege and guidance.I would be interested in your opinion of Underwood extreme penetrator cartridge 44 mag or 45 lc as to changing the attitude of a not well intentioned any bear . Been involved in 2 grizz encounters. What would make a good companion piece [long gun] regardless of sidearm? Disease is a greater concern when lions are genetically isolated as in the Santa Ana Mountains, and could potentially contribute to future decline in that population. cougars can of bear spray is your best defense, for within 50 feet. Do you have a rare 5-shot model, or just down to your last five cartridges for the photo shoot? Though it is illegal under state law to kill a mountain lion to protect a pet, CPW has decided not to press charges. He put his mouth directly on top of his head, and I think if the head had been smaller, hed have been picked up.. That wont be possible until my kids are out of college, though. I load them to just over 1,200 fps. The 12-year-old in Alaska who just shot the brown with the shotgun is the son of a good friend. Mountain lions are a protected species in California. He agreed the animal was huge. You need to be able to kill a bear in a moments notice, most times a bear is just doing what they do , when suddenly a stupid hiker startles the wild animal and It sees you as a threat ! After watching a grizzly tear apart a moose calf in the Tetons I took my s&w .40 to a pawn shop and traded it for a .41 magnum Taurus tracker with a 4 ported barrel, The S&W .500 was too heavy to carry while hiking. 10 mm. thanx again. 44 mag power in a high cap auto loader. I bought Bear Loads in .45 LC and .357 MAG, but they were both hollow points (300 & 180 grains, respectively). If you can't gain proficiency and carry something of reasonable power level, then go with spray. Not only is a 45 Colt that is hand loaded right there with the 44 magnum, or even out performing the 44 magnum. My 10mm load is right at 700. If there is any wind at all, the fog will only travel about 3 feet before it turns and drifts in the direction of the wind. Sun, Jan 29, 2023. . Not handloading right now, so that obvious solution is not available; only factory ammo. He is a hard-core gun guy and he agrees with me on cartridges, guns and bullets. God Bless old Friend. @1,3000+ FPS, a 255 gr. I have seen that cartridge fail horribly on black bears and hogs. When it comes to the coastal brown bear, thats a whole different animal. May 12, 2018. Good luck It is not as if that information is widely out there ..This is part of a Strategy. That wouldnt do it for me. He said not really. coyotes They are most active between dusk and dawn, and generally avoid contact with humans. A 22 may kill a mountain lion, but a 44 magnum will kill their soul as well. I have had experience with all of them and know he is right on target. I would recomend holding off until the bear is so close that he would be hard to miss and then not shooting any higher than nostril level. I heard that some hikers on Mt. Which one are you going to use first? Most sheep hunts have included bear encounters. In this case, fortunately, the uncle had time to retrieve the handgun from a vehicle. Once you get over 300gr. The +P shoots a bit higher than the standard 44mag rounds. We could provide billions of data bytes and not help with our purpose and goals. My wife carries an old Model 60. Great article. Just no big name in the periodicals. He makes a grizzly look like a cub. I know there are some folks out there that carry handguns in the bush, but in a dozen years I didnt meet many, either agency folks or sportsmen. We hadnt thought of that. I have been carrying my 1911 or my Taurus PT-92 for years and know what each round can do as a former US Army medic. 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