Back-ups

[aksticknstring]

44mag

44mag

call me a wimp but I love the security of having SOMETHING resembling a firearm with me, and even short long guns are way too cumbersome heavy and easy to just leave in the truck. I borrowed a 45acp for a few years and it packs very small and light. pulled it on a bownie sow chasing us down the trail on mountian bikes once but she veered off just as I was about to click off safety and let-er-rip. man having those nine shots was comforting when the rest of our party was still coming down the trail and she was still woofing at us in the brush at about 30 yards. once I could afford it I bought a scanduim framed 44 mag S&W.
anyone who says a pistol is just an underpowered waste of time for bear, well I would challenge them to a contained confrontation with a healthy bear with their choice of weapons....bare hands or a pistol. obviously the pistol is a bit more likely to discourage the bear from ripping your guts out than a fishing rod or bow even if it didnt drop it instantly. Although on video, my friend Bill Sims dropped a very large aggressive brownie with one shot to the head from a 45 magnum when it approached him very aggressively while stalking it with a bow. my other experience that I draw on is when my 10 year old and I got charged by a 400 pound boar in CA while bowhunting. at about 7 yards I lost my nerve to just stand there idly and I stuck him in the forehead with a nice heavy 2514 from my 85 pound compound. It by no means dropped him but it did bury the broadhead in its skull and turn him. My point is that if you didnt have time to draw a bow, grabbing the pistol and getting one or two into it most aywhere you could would be so much better than punching and kicking. there is my $.05 worth. I LOVE having a firearm in bear country.....Id rather not have the incovenience of packing but I am a wimp.

 

[wiso_67]

backup

backup

well i dont carry a backup per say. I do however bring a buddy who walks with me while i hunt grizzly. he carrys a 45/70. I own a 45 long colt dont even know if that will hurt a fly, but i do shoot it well. I understand and agree with backups especially when children are involved with hunting I know when me and my too children grouse or moose hunt i always carry a rifle and pistol. Peice of mind.

 

[Matt]

Yup. 454 Casull with 370 grain hard cast bullets. Nothing too potent . . .

 

[DanC]

My backup choices

My backup choices

for a solo bowhunt this fall fell to .500mag S&W revolver, .45/70, .375 H&H mag, or 12ga slugs.

- this is going to get a bit long and I apologize to Dave if this steps on his thread but this seems to be an appropriate place to relate a funny story when I was trying to decide what to carry on a solo bowhunt on Admiralty Island.

On a regular trip to the range I wanted to time myself to see which of the above weapons I could fire accurately and repeatedly in the least amount of time under simulated conditions of a bear encounter.

The setup: I placed paper plates at 20, 10, and 5 yards and with bow in hand and firearm slung or holstered would attempt to drop the bow and bring the firearm into battery and hit all three paper plates in order of distance after a friend yelled "bear" and started the timer.

The results:
-.500mag shooting 400gr hardcast at 1400fps (the best my 4" will do). Five shots, five holes in plates in nine seconds.

-.47/70 shooting 400+gr Buffalo Bore that I had never shot before and the trip to the range was to test fire these rounds. One shot, one dead plate but the round was apparently over pressure. I could not extract without placing the stock against my thigh and straining to pull on the lever. Timer stopped when I declined to fire more of those rounds.

-.375H&H mag shooting factory rounds that the rifle likes better than anything I can reload for it. First shot, dead plate. Second shot, short stroked. I had never tried to rapid fire that weapon before. Timer stopped.

-.12ga Winchester model 1300 shooting Brenneke black magic magnums. First shot, obliterated plate and stunned hunter. Santa mierda! The recoil on that round nearly knocked me on my butt. It knocked my glasses and ear muffs askew and I was confused for several moments. I fired one more round just to be sure I could do it but declined to practice any more. If recoil is an indication of downrange energy am sure those rounds will be effective at stopping anything you hit.

So, my backup choice is the .500mag revolver worn in a chest holster.

Thanks for reading this rather long post...

 

[alaska bush man]

44 Mag S&W

44 Mag S&W

S&W Performance Shop 5" 629 in 44 Mag


You gotta be kidding a single shot pistol for bear protection!

 

[Daveinthebush]

DanC

DanC

DanC: Actually that is a GREAT POST. If you can't shoot it accurately, then what good is it. It is the kind of shooting session you need, to know your abilities rather than shooting from a bench and calling it good.

I do, when in grizz country and baiting for blackies, take the 12 gauge and the Brenneke's. I have shot the 870 for years with 3" mag. geese and turkey loads so the recoil is nothing new. It does, if anything, wake you up and lets the bear know you have some serious intentions in mind with the next round or two. It has been proposed by myself at times and others to use a 3" steel BB round for the first shot and to blind the animal. Looking for volenteers to test the theory but can't find any takers. I have a sling for the 870, carry it muzzle down and can sling over the shoulder when shooting the bow.

Here is a delina though. I have a wrist strap on the bow. Slows one down a bit dropping it.

Remington is now making their new semiauto in .35 Whelen and and the Browning semiauto comes in .338. As long as the rifle functions correctly they would seem to be an alternative.