What Handgun Used in Bear Attack

[redlevel]

I guess it does happen.
Anyone have any info on what handgun was used?
Caliber? Revolver or Semi Auto?

Man shoots and kills grizzly bear after it attacks him in Montana

 

[robertrwalsh]

If I recall correctly guides in Alaska are required by law to pack at a minimum a .44 mag weapon to protect the people they are guiding for from bear attacks.

 

[UncleEd]

The Lucky Gunner site currently has a general feature on this.

 

[Kinman]

This guy is a moron ... sorry but who goes in the woods .. alone .. in grizzly country in early summer picking berries that are a food source for a major predator who may also have cubs to guard. This guy should be kicked in the balls .. repeatedly.

Berry picking is an obsession among some folks, I grew up picking huckleberries with a little coffee can around my neck. My grandma knew where I was in the patch because the bottom of the can never got covered, she kept hearing the occasional plunk of a berry hitting the bottom. A friend of mine's family went to the same patch year after year, grandma would climb up on a lookout rock and call to all her grandkids, etc. to look up and smile. I went to his grandma's house once and along the hallway were a series of pictures with dates above them 1942, 1943, 1944, etc. My buddy said look real close at 1943, I looked and could pick him out. He said do you see anything out of order? I said no everything looks about the same, kids are taller, etc. He said look at the little kid in the upper left hand corner. I looked real close, is that a bear? He said "yeah, grandma called out, we all looked up and so did this little bear, perfect timing." I've picked berries in thickets so thick with bears you have to step over and around piles of bear scat that look like you took a bucket and filled it with berries and twigs, stomped around in it and then dumped it on the ground.
We were always respectful of bears and someone always had a gun around to scare off any that were threatening. Even in a small group we were encouraged to sing, talk, or just rattle a beer can with stones in it. To stay out of the woods during peak berry picking time in order to avoid bears is nonsense, if you live among them just show respect when you can and force only when absolutely necessary.

 

[Aggie1906]

Yup, old family story when Grandpa Aggie was picking huckleberries in the swampy end of their retirement lake In SW Michigan, early 50s. Face to face on one bush. Whoa, and the bear ran one way and Gramdpa the other.

 

[Skeet 028]

When in Alaska... The ladies around the village/town all got together and went berry picking. 25 or so. They all carried a rifle...at least half had 30 carbines. They saw bears a lot but never had to shoot one. They actually made 'nuff noise the bears left. The only thing this fellow did wrong was going berry picking alone. And to let you know...bears can be very quiet in the wild. Are you all calling him an idiot because he went berry picking??...that's wrong?? sheesh!... I guess there are some here like their berries from the store...More people get hurt going to the store than berry picking. Gotta be an idiot to drive to the store

 

[kraynky]

I think the man had as much right to the berries as the bear did. I also think he's suffered enough. The man is in the hospital!

Why kick him in the balls for gathering berries? Would you kick Euell Gibbons in the balls for eating pine nuts?

First come first served is the rule of the universe..........

 

[keith44spl]

I don’t know the facts surrounding that particular incident.

Although, I do carry a sidearm in the wilds… A handgun
is just handy to have on your person.

The last bear that I had a tangle with was a mid-sized blackie.
It was trying to run up my britches leg, at about 15 feet.
a 250 gr silvertip 348 settled it and that was all she wrote

Ya don’t have to be pick in’ berries
to have a run in with a bear, large or small.

I’ve pulled pack strings in bear country alone.
If’n I come across fresh sign, I might lay my
45-70 ‘86 short rifle across my saddle swells.

I like bears…I always give them the right of way
if they will allow me too

///

 

[HardToHandle]

Every gun sites has numerous bear defense threads.

Relatively recently, this site put together a bear attack database.
Handgun Defenses Against Bear Attacks - 170 Documented Incidents, 98% Effective

Here’s their key take away:

We discovered handgun failures in defense against bears are rare. Successful uses of handguns to defend against bears are about 50 times as common. Handguns have been shown to be an effective tool to use against bears 98% of the time.

 

[Oldengineer]

This guy is a moron ... sorry but who goes in the woods .. alone .. in grizzly country in early summer picking berries that are a food source for a major predator who may also have cubs to guard. This guy should be kicked in the balls .. repeatedly.

One that’s wife told him to go pick berries.

 

[Mule Packer]

Like Dave (keith44spl), I led pack strings alone into heavily populated black bear country for almost 30 years. It was a rarity when I didn't see a black bear on a pack trip. And like Dave, I always carry a handgun when I'm in the back country...usually my Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt, normally loaded with 240-grain jacketed hollow points going 1450 f.p.s.

Again like Dave, I will also frequently pack along a short-barreled model 92 in .45 Colt that I had bead-blasted. I usually have it loaded with 360-grain wide flat-nosed gas checked hardcast bullets going about 1200 feet per second. Not quite as powerful as a .45-70 with that particular load, but I've never felt under-gunned in black bear country.

One thing I do know about bears...they're unpredictable. It pays to be safe whether you're picking berries or leading a bunch of mules into the high country.

 

[Oldengineer]

Every gun sites has numerous bear defense threads.

Relatively recently, this site put together a bear attack database.
Handgun Defenses Against Bear Attacks - 170 Documented Incidents, 98% Effective

Here’s their key take away:

We discovered handgun failures in defense against bears are rare. Successful uses of handguns to defend against bears are about 50 times as common. Handguns have been shown to be an effective tool to use against bears 98% of the time.

What about the 2%? Oh well….

 

[Model 19 6"]

I would carry two 45 colts one for each hand!!

 

[30-30remchester]

The Alaskan bear guide of great fame used a 9mm loaded with Buffalo Bore 147 grain hard cast to kill a Kodiak bear that was standing on a client. Range was mere feet away and he shot it 6 or 7 times before it died. His entire career as well as his family, live next to Kodiak bears. He did an excellent interview with a gun writer and told his experiences. He and his family uses 357 Magnums.

 

[oldbrownhat]

The Alaskan bear guide of great fame used a 9mm loaded with Buffalo Bore 147 grain hard cast to kill a Kodiak bear that was standing on a client. Range was mere feet away and he shot it 6 or 7 times before it died. His entire career as well as his family, live next to Kodiak bears. He did an excellent interview with a gun writer and told his experiences. He and his family uses 357 Magnums.

Phil also has a pretty good stable of heavier artiilery, including a Model 1886 in 45-70 and "Old Ugly", his .458 Win Mag. with a heavily-fiberglassed stock that fits him like a glove.

"458 Win" is his handle on 24-Hr Campfire and he had (has?) a licence plate with that on it.

 

[sw282]

ln Africa they call it ''FOUR -FIVE-EIGHT''.

I have a Winchester Model 70 in 4 5 8.

l prefer shooting home cast 350gr boolits.

Mild 45-70 loads are fun and very accurate.

l may take it on my next prairie dog shoot.

282

 

[wood714]

I've only seen one bear around here, and it was walking down the street in front of my house a few years ago.

Since then, I'm always prepared for a potential bear attack.

 

[oldbrownhat]

I've only seen one bear around here, and it was walking down the street in front of my house a few years ago.

Since then, I'm always prepared for a potential bear attack.

Well, a .22 was good enough for Bella Twin to take a world-record grizzly at Slave Lake in Alberta in 1953.

 

[Skeet 028]

I had a 3 7 5...it were enough... so was the M-57...but then Interior grizzlies are usually a lot smaller than a Kodiak

 

[30-30remchester]

Beela Twin always comes up as an excellent example of being unprepared yet survived. A rancher on Kodiak Island strapped on a 4" Colt Woodsman every day. He would practice hip shooting as the front sight had been broken off years ago. One day he rounded the corner of his barn and was charged by a Kodiak bear. One shot from the little 22 and the bear was dead. Does not mean a 22 handgun is optimal. Since handguns was the subject of this thread, I will try to keep my replies as such. Few have more experience with big bears than Phil Shoemaker. While he uses "OLD UGLY" when guiding, his walk around gun in case of bear attack is most often a 357. His daughter, a bear guide herself, also uses a 357. He stated there is enough penetration for any bear as long as the correct bullet is used. His feelings are that it is far easier to make repeated hits with a 357 than with a 44. I have only had a up close and personal experience with a bear I needed to kill at only inches away. I used what I had, a Ruger Security Six and 173 grain hard cast bullets. The bear was wounded, and I had to crawl into a den to cure the situation. Five shots as fast as I could at inches away. I walked away and the bear skin is on the wall.