"Will a .44 mag kill a Siberian Tiger?"

[pangris]

bad man!

 

[MTS Cop]

Originally posted by Gearhead Jim:
Time has made the details a little hazy, but I remember about 30 years ago some moron in NYC intentionally got into the enclosure with a polar bear. The bear, of course, did what bears do; it started munching on the guy. Killed him, I believe. The first police officer on the scene killed the polar bear with one round of .38 Special round RNL. Probably some luck involved, but obviously a well placed shot.

IIRC, the cop understood how things really are, he was more upset about having to kill the bear than he was about what happened to the moron.

Knowing NYC cops fairly well, he probably was more upset about the bear than the idiot. The longer I do this job the more I like animals and hate people.

 

[Rob96]

I think these just found out what happens when you bring a sling shot to a tiger fight. There would have been no need to dispatch the tiger had the kids not done anything. But that is just my humble opinion. Rant off.

 

[Sgt BB]

Is it even legal to pack a gun to that zoo?
What is the chance of someone having been suitablly armed and responding in time to make a difference.
Check the LION Video: see how long it took an armed policeman to respond to the "man mauled by lion" call!

 

[pangris]

Originally posted by MTS Cop:
Knowing NYC cops fairly well, he probably was more upset about the bear than the idiot. The longer I do this job the more I like animals and hate people.

MTS, that isn't specific to your profession.

 

[Rob96]

Is it even legal to pack a gun to that zoo?

I packed when I went to the Philly Zoo. I didn't see any signs that stated no concealed weapons.

 

[marvin knox]

Depends on how lucky he is!

Did you already fire 5 shots or 6?

"Do you feel lucky? Well......Do you *****?"

 

[budrichard]

Originally posted by Spotteddog:
My Dad while stationed for a time on the outer islands in the Aleutian chain during WWII, told of the locals elsewhere doing in Polar Bear with a .22 in the ear from a kayak, at only an oars distance. Steely nerves and being a great shooter (along with being damned lucky!) would indicate that quite likely a .44 Magnum would, with several .44's being better!? Hardly any load is "enough" when poorly placed. Even a .50 BMG won't stop him/her if it only hits them in the lip?

A polar bear in the water can't really move that fast and with the natives being practical as well as economical, a 22lr would be fine.
Bob Peterson of Peterson Publishing took up the 44 Magnum/Polar Bear challenge many years ago. A S&W 6&1/2" Nickel 44 Magnum was used. It took 5 rounds to kill the bear. Since he was shooting the bear on the ice, he had a 375H&H with a guide as backup. Bob was not dumb. http://www.gunsandammomag.com/cs/Satellite/IMO_GA/Story...ecid%3D1198098376868
If you think that a 44 Magnum will protect you from any dangerous animal(homo sapiens sapiens excepted) think again and take out a large life insurance policy!-Dick

 

[rburg]

Originally posted by budrichard:
and with the natives being practical as well as economical, a 22lr would be fine.

I thought in my reading the Alaskan native preferred .219 Zippers or .22 Hornets over rimfires. I know they did a lot of reloading. Any one got any insight? What did Sarah P use? OK, so she's not a native.

 

[conchmariner]

Originally posted by HHank:
I'm sure that most of you have heard the terrible story about the attack of the Siberian Tiger on the three unfortunate young people at the San Francisco Zoo a few days ago.

NRA Member

From what I read of this story the only unfortunate one was the tiger that had to be put down.

 

[n4zov]

Yep, it sure can, but so can a .375 H&H and it does it a lot faster in the event your aim isn't perfect and kitty isn't too thrilled about being shot!

 

[mc5aw]

A I grew up in NYC during the '60s and '70s, I recall two hi-profile episodes where zoo polar bears were destroyed because of idiots putting their limbs through cage bars and getting mauled. If memory serves, both attacks came roughly 35 years ago, and I believe each ended with NYPD shooting the bears with service/duty revolvers.

 

[Texas Star]

For what it's worth, I have a book by a Swedish girl who shot some Bengal tigers in India in the 1960's. She used a rifle, I think a Husqvarna .30/06, with a S&W K-38 for a sidearm. Thankfully, she never had to use the .38.

I know of one grizzly put down by a game warden whom it was attacking. He used an S&W M-66, with 158 grain .357 ammo of unspecified brand and type.

The polar bear in the NYC zoo was shot by a cop with a heavy barrel M-10 and lead HP ammo, according to Massad Ayoob. I asked him if he was sure that the ammo was HP, which wasn't allowed in New York cop duty then, and he assured me that it was. He's a member here, and may see this and expand on it.

Be aware that a frontal head shot on a big cat may cause the bullet to glance off of the rounded skull. A number of men were killed by lions in Africa for that reason. The mane also caused some to think that there was more forehead than there was.

 

[J. Galt]

From what I read of this story the only unfortunate one was the tiger that had to be put down.

+1

A wolf had to be shot at my zoo a couple of years ago. If anyone is wondering, it was with a .45 ACP. Everyone was more upset about the wolf than the idiot woman who put her arm through the fence so she could pet it.

It's not hard to kill a tiger, it's just hard to do before it gets to you!

 

[marvin knox]

Jim Corbett killed quite a few tigers in India with a regular 7mm Mauser. A famous ivory hunter (Bell) of the early 20th century killed dozens of African elephants with the same kind of rifle.

Lots of folks have killed lots of things with less than ideal weapons just to say that it can be done. But those weapons are less than ideal and leave no margin for error.

Shot placement is king and you'd better have a back up in case your shooting isn't perfect that day.

 

[SuperTroll]

I'm surprised at the comparisons of cougars to tigers. There is really no comparison.

Average Cougar 175 pounds.

Average Tiger 700 pounds.

Next, when Peterson shot the Polar bear...

Polar bear had not seen him.

At about 25 yards, Peterson was able to put five .44 Magnum rounds into the heart/lungs in about seven seconds with the Polar bear still unaware of his location....and the bear just happened to be positioned for perfect shot placement so none of the rounds had to penetrate the shoulder of the bear.

It was dangerous and risky business and it went well because conditions were perfect.

Yes, you can kill a tiger with the .44 Magnum.

Yes, if it was after you, you would be lucky to survive.

Your survival would probably be because you put one in his ear as he chewed your other arm, and you'd probably be scarred for life.