Need advice: Bear revolver

[J-FRAME]

I have lived in Alaska 23 years now. About half that time in the bush. If you come here for a fishing trip you do not need a gun at all.Maybe GOOD bear spray and a head net for bugs and common sense. Make noise when it is brushy and you will be fine. There is not a bear behind every bush and in all likely hood you will not even see a bear and if you do it will be running away.If you really need a gun it needs to be shotgun with proper slugs or a rifle with the right ammo.A hand gun is a very last ditch effort at best and most likely the bear will kill you and then die later.COMMON sense with food and proper conduct in bear country is what will keep you from a bad bear encounter. That being said a handgun does work good as a noise maker and I have used mine a couple of times to scare bears away from camp but I would hate to actually have to shoot one with it. I do carry a 329 with Bowen package and 310 Garrets but a 870 is my true go to gun if needed.Common sense is your best weapon.

 

[Arthury]

Seem like the ideal set up would be to carry these together:

1. big bore lever action scout/guide rifle
2. .44 mag revolver (as a back up)

The only issue is the weight since I do not travel on horseback.

 

[Arthury]

Because most didn't answer your question:

I haven't heard about QC problems with new 629s -- but maybe there are some issues I'm not aware of.
[...]

Thank you, Larry, for sharing your thots.

All S&W current revolvers (except a couple of models) have the new internal locks that have, reportedly, activated itself during range shooting (thank God, it wasn't during a bear encounter but even it did, no one will live to tell us about it). There is a report saying that S&W is in the process of phasing out the locks but, like every large corporation, this kind of thing will take time to filter thru the layers of bureaucracies.

 

[David LaPell]

Why buy a new 629? Is there something wrong with the older ones prior to the lock and MIM? What about a simple 29-2? Must the gun be stainless? Another question is, have you ever shot a .44 Magnum, are you familiar with it? Because I can tell you if you have never shot one, they are not the wristbreaker some claim but it isn't a beginner's gun. If it were me and it didn't matter what I was carrying it would be a 12 gauge loaded with slugs, more up front power than a .45-70 especially out to 100 yards. Get something like an 870 Express or an Ithaca Deerslayer with the rifle sights and an older smooth bore version in a 20 inch barrel and you can't go wrong. For a handgun, that's different, to me it would be whatever you shoot the best, but the minimum would be a .357 Magnum loaded heavy with good cast bullets like a 170 grain #358429 at the least. But a .45 Colt with a good cast bullet will work and won't have the heavy recoil of a stout .44 Mag. You want to be able to get that first shot out but if you miss you want to be able to get a follow up too.

http://www.guns.com/loaded-for-bear-handgun-self-defense-for-bears-1294.html

 

[David LaPell]

What ever happened to real men carrying Winchester model 92's that shot 44X40's with side arms to match?

We picked up the 92's after the bears ate the guys carrying them.

 

[shortdog]

Seem like the ideal set up would be to carry these together:

1. big bore lever action scout/guide rifle
2. .44 mag revolver (as a back up)

The only issue is the weight since I do not travel on horseback.

I think you need to keep things in perspective. A Marlin Guide gun makes a great camp rifle in bear country. A 500 mag. works for me on horseback. I wouldn't and don't carry either when hiking or backpacking. Too cumbersome. As J Frame correctly points out, bear encounters are rare and almost all bears leave in a hurry when they become aware of you. Get some bear spray and an adequate gun convenient enough to carry and become proficient with it, then go enjoy the outdoors.

 

[team sidewinder]

We know the handgun is a poor weapon for large bears and the old saying about filing off the front so it doesn't hurt so much has some merit as far as removing the front sight goes. You may get one shot off using the sights but you better know how to shoot instinctively in close at 10yds or less if the first shot doesn't put the charging bear down. There will be no time to use the sights again or ever even if you are suprised by a bear at close range. I was taught how to shoot instinctively at close range while taking tactical pistol training courses and it works as well with a revolver as it does a semi-auto pistol.

It is no wonder that it is hard to stop any bear as their skull has a angle to it when running straight at you where a bullet can ricochet off pretty easily. Even bears mortally wounded can do a lot of damage even from a heart shot if close enough to you.
Just my 2cents worth.

 

[358156hp]

I have lived in Alaska 23 years now. About half that time in the bush. If you come here for a fishing trip you do not need a gun at all.Maybe GOOD bear spray and a head net for bugs and common sense. Make noise when it is brushy and you will be fine. There is not a bear behind every bush and in all likely hood you will not even see a bear and if you do it will be running away.If you really need a gun it needs to be shotgun with proper slugs or a rifle with the right ammo.A hand gun is a very last ditch effort at best and most likely the bear will kill you and then die later.COMMON sense with food and proper conduct in bear country is what will keep you from a bad bear encounter. That being said a handgun does work good as a noise maker and I have used mine a couple of times to scare bears away from camp but I would hate to actually have to shoot one with it. I do carry a 329 with Bowen package and 310 Garrets but a 870 is my true go to gun if needed.Common sense is your best weapon.

There you go, being practical... We're supposed to be arguing, er... discussing revolvers for bear country.

 

[WFR]

Seem like the ideal set up would be to carry these together:

1. big bore lever action scout/guide rifle
2. .44 mag revolver (as a back up)

The only issue is the weight since I do not travel on horseback.

Marlin Guide Guns in .45/70
S&W 629 no-dash 4". I would also feel comfortable carrying my 625 Mtn Gun with stout . 45 Colt loads as a backup.
I also like the idea of a beater 870 slug gun.
I really like bears, think they're magnificent creatures but know that I am on their turf.

 

[J-FRAME]

Yep your right. I love my 329 PD with the Bowen package- rough country sights- action job-extended firing pin- 5oo Hogue grips and Garrett 310 gr - 1000 plus fps .Nice and light but kicks like a bugger with that load but shots POA Great woods carry gun. Maybe the best in my opinion.But a little pricey. Wish I `would have had it years ago.Forget about the bears.Just warm fuzzy big and cuddly.Good luck fishing.

 

[JOE MACK]

I've encountered two grizz at handshake distance. One, in the Bob in Montana got a creel full of fish as I backed away slowly with a S&W M57 4 inch .41Magnum packing 250grLFNGCs at roughly 1200fps was pointed at him. The second was just outside Wapiti, Wyoming. Friend and I were dressing an elk I'd shot when he showed up. He got the meal. I tagged a pair of nice antlers after reporting the incident to G&F. This time I didn't feel quite as nekkid. I was packing a FA in .475LB while my buddy had a Winchester M70 in .338Winchester Magnum loaded with 250s.

If I know I'll be in big bear habitat now, I pack my favorite handgun but also take my Steyr Pro hunter in .376Steyr. One up the pipe and four in the mag comfort me. Excellent on big hogs and elk also.

Firing a friend's Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull DA wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'd rather have a 4 inch heavy barrel and port it for muzzle rise. Either hot and heavy ..45Colts or .454 Casulls would work for SD. Hmmm. Maybe a short barrelled Ruger .480?

 

[STCM(SW)]

I know an "X" AK trooper who has killed several bears with eather a .45 ACP or a .45 Colt.
What that tells me is shot placement is more importent then power of the weapon.

 

[Frank46]

If I was ever faced with a similar situation my choice would be a remington 870 with 20" bbl loaded with breneke slugs. Frank

 

[BearBio]

LOL..........

 

[batmann]

While I:

A-Don't live where there are big Bears.

B-If I did I would do as many othes have suggested, carry a shotgun or
big bore rifle and my 629 Mountain Gun as a back up.

C-IF I could only carry a pistol, I would be my MG with either Garrett,
Buffalo Bore or Double Tap with a 250-320 gr HC Keith style SWC.

I do hike a lot in areas where there are a lot of wild Dogs and many are very large and I do carry my MG stroked with .44 Spl 200 gr HP made by Georgia Arms.
That is why I love the .44M, I can use the heavy .44M or .44 Spl depending on how I want to use it.

 

[murf205]

Arthury, if you decide to buy a 629(they are a lot more controllable than a 329), try the green hi-viz front sight. It really stands out against a dark bear hide. I fish in Ak every yr and thanks be I've never had to use mine, but like the previous poster said, common sense will keep you out of trouble. Use cast bullets as they penetrate like a bandit(275gr LBT's @1200fps shoot 1"@25yds out of mine and it's a bone stock 4"er ) My friends who live in the bush tell me that buckshot will get your *** eat up. 870's are fine but if you are going to carry a pump gun, I'd let it be a 7600 carbine 30/06 with 200gr Noslers and NO scope. If you choose the 45/70, buy the toughest bullet you can find(not Remington 405gr). I've been bumming around Ak since 1976 and never had to use a gun on any wild critter I was'nt hunting. While j-frame and I do'nt necessarily agree on the 870 part, he is spot-on with the common sense part. There is not a bear behind every tree, they just get a lot of press when some idiot goes walking alond the river bank with a pocket full of squaw candy!!

 

[VAdoublegunner]

A Rem 870 Marine Magnum shotgun with sabot slugs.
All shiny like those little tinkling bells that are supposed to scare them away, but with a louder tinkle. They may not like its flashiness.

But for a handgun, if you handload, the Ruger Redhawk in 45 Colt is good. You can load the old Redhawk up to some impressive 50K psi load levels with heavy bullets in 45 Colt. Either a 4", or the preferable older 5.5" version, will do.

 

[PALADIN85020]

A forest ranger I know told me that they recommend wearing bells and carrying pepper spray.

He also told me that you can distinguish grizzly bear scat from that of brown and black bears -

it has bells in it and smells like pepper spray.

John

 

[J-FRAME]

I also think the Ruger 454 Alaskan would be a fine on your body woods carry around gun .Its built like a tank-has lots of power- the big rubber Hogue grips are good and you can use 45 Colt for practice. i would have Bowen put some white sights on it(my preference) and a good holster/ belt carry rig and I would be happy.It is a heavy little bugger .Very popular carry piece for bow hunters here in Alaska as a crawl thru the sticks gun.It was almost my first pick but I have a 29-2/629-4 so a 329 PD just seemed to fit. I have tons of .44 brass/ammo /powder etc.Besides I,m a Smith and Wesson guy.

 

[J-FRAME]

Ruger 454 Alaskan with 2.5 inch barrel weighs in at 45 ounces empty-quite a hunk of iron to carry all day ??It does you no good in the truck or at home.