A rabid animal is something you do not even want to touch. Keith and 300 gr. Further.. having been in life threatening situations .. having a myriad of tools to choose from.. Is just not always a benefit. She hid, and downed it with one behind the ear at very close range, and followed up with five more (all the bullets she had) to make sure. It has a 1 7/8-inch barrel and a five-shot cylinder in the classic snub-nosed configuration and wears a set of Pachmayr grips, which feel better than the standard J-Frame grips in my hands. 9MM hollow points will kill anything in Texas short of a feral hog. The Creator has a great plan, and I do not really miss the dodo bird or the carrier pigeon. But so Well there is some in one instance provided no less by the original fellow who created sells Bear Spray Now you find a lot of mumbo jumbo to suggest bear spray is no less effective that a firearms.. then the predictable firearms in parks concerns.. Firearms safety To sum up when you do read the common information .. A couple of quick .25s to the knee of your brother in law ought to make that possible. Or even for butchering livestock. Perry can dispatch a coyote with a Ruger LCP you most certainly could do it with .38 Special +p or not and it will also kill a mountain lion. 400g hornady JHP on a 300lb hog shot from front, while laying prone, went through the shoulder, traveled full length of body and exited hind-quarter over 2.5 feet of thick, dense, penetration. With bears you keep shooting until it stops moving your survival depends on tossing allot of big, heavy lead very fast. Also the .454 C uses a rifle primer to handle the high pressure generated whereas the 45 Colt uses a pistol primer. The 12-year-old in Alaska who just shot the brown with the shotgun is the son of a good friend. There were teams of men racing across Alaska. Im more concerned with the organized gang activity here in Denver than all of the wild animal encounters in the universe. The Inuit hunters would wait at a breathing hole in the ice. Ive never seen too many other rounds do so much damage. within the last 30 years, this doesnt necessarily need to apply to civilians. I would still rather have a 12 gauge though. Hell I wish someone would make a wheel gun for the 416 rem mag. This bit of firsthand experience has made me change my point of view in favor of wheel guns and the calibers they favor. So, no .38s but the only options arent .44s, 454s, 460s 475 linebaugh or 500s. If you put a 6.25 inch barrel on the glock 20 it is very capable of stopping most large animals. The S&W Govnor and the Taurus Judge are not what you would want in bear country. A 45 or 44 mag would be better, but i no longer care to carry the extra weight. Mountain Lions are extremely fast, territorial, and capable of seriously injuring and killing even an adult human. Dogs and coyotes have one indent at the bottom of their pads. He agreed the animal was huge. A grizzly bear is a formidable foe, having no issue whatsoever proving its dominance over human beings. My choice is the 500 S&W. What would make a good companion piece [long gun] regardless of sidearm? Watch on. An old farm fence stopped the bear at 11 yards and gave me the chance to get that cap on. I read with interest the side arms in bear country. Ill stick 4 barrel, all stainless steel, adjustable sights and under 1.5 pounds. Great Man, and he never told a fib while I grew up At 75 I will never know. Found the bullet in the other ear, Weighed 270 grains. A starting load of 3.9 grains was decided on, and the first rounds were loaded up. 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. Penetration and shot placement are king. Handloaded in a Blackhawk as described in my earlier post, the .45 outdoes the .44 mag. Hard cast lead or perhaps some modern all brass penetrators would probably be better. If doing this with very heavy bullets a change in rifleing twist may be more suitable if longer ranges are expected. hard cast bullets the 44 Mag. I have both the Governor and a Public Defender Judge, but no steel framed .45 Long Colt guns. A mountain lion killed some goats about a half mile from us. Its a free country Plinker you are free to engage in Prayer, Ritual and Incantations by the light of the moon. However, should you have the misfortune of getting between a sow and her cubs, or perhaps meet a cantankerous old boar, the black bear certainly has the equipment to rearrange your anatomy, and even possibly render your birth certificate null and void. Bears, wild critters, thats all very nice and fluffy. A mountain lion has slaughtered 27 lambs on a farm in Northern California but did not eat a single one. Its the sick, injured, old one that will risk human contact. The .454 Casull is my usual choice as it provides a good balance of power with manageability. @ 1,100+ FPS!! Hunters must contact a CPW office within 48 hours of a lion . Its getting to be real world, daily and wont get better until folks like us step up and step forward. .357, .44 mag, 10mm. Expert trackers look for the following to identify mountain lion tracks: Three lobes at the bottom of the pad. @1,200+ FPS and a 300gr. I recently read the account of a man in Oregon who survived a black bear attack. Yes it is a bit heavy, but as said earlier.with a charging bear 8.5lbs of 458 SOCOM feels like a down pillow . The cougar chased Kyle Burgess, 26 . Stupidity has no limits ! Bye the way thats 6 rounds of death spitting out of the end of that gun ! First you start off by saying a Judge or Governor is not what you want for bear country, then end by saying you carry a Redhawk in .45 Colt for bear. When the smoke cleared the bear knew where I was (on the ground) and headed my way. My new Ruger Super Blackhawk can handle hot + P 45 colt loads. A mountain lion was mauling her 5-year-old son in front of her. My buddy Marty Groppi who enjoys the famous trout streams of Upstate New York carries a Smith & Wesson Model 29 in the classic .44 Magnum, a combination that will most definitely save your bacon. The authors well-worn, and well-loved Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt is a perfect handgun for bear country. Capable yet not-overpowered, accurate and easy-to-control except in aluminum framed 2" snubnose versions, it remains a solid choice for discrete carry and pleasure shooting days at the local target range. Remember one thing in Bear country. If you are confronted by a bear, leave the deer or food and do not run as this triggers the predators instinct to charge after you as prey. You could see he was definitely sizing [P.J] up, Smith said. A few years back I went to Alaska, rented a 44 pickup camper,& spent 6 weeks in the boondocks, with only my wife. I started reloading and when the bear got to about 12 yards, I dropped my percussion cap in the leaves. A friend who guided in Alaska and the northwest, that experienced a number of charges over the years, told me that at 300 yds, a well placed 06 round would do the job, at 200 yds a 300 Win. 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. I have several 44 mags a .41, .45 Colt and 8 different .357s in various types and the 329PD is lightweight and with the 225s is heavy medicine for bears. 2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included. Next This attack from 2008 shows the utility of a handgun for defense against predators in the wild. Hard cast is king. Shoot, shovel, and shut up. Regarding your story about the two men from California who discharged bear spray in their hotel room in their haste to try it out forcing the hotel to gut and refinish the room entirely, of course after evicting the two Californians. 6. I have used the Casull to take a lot of game including several black bears so I understand the terminal ballistics of this cartridge pretty well. If you get to take a shot while standing, you should be making an effort to evade an attack while at the ready. heat treated WFN LBT now for these situations. Ive reached out for three gentlemen all of whom I call a friend for advice and a few experiences regarding their encounters. During the same period, persons defending themselves with pepper spray escaped injury most of the time, and those that were injured experienced shorter duration attacks and less severe injuries. So far, Ive never seen anything bigger than a hare, but it never hurts to be careful. Understanding that a grizz is top oh the list for a bad and aggressive attitude, a grizz cant kill you more then any other bear could. Then you could shoot them from a distance and up close and personal, and I dont care if it is heavy, power is knowing your prepared ! 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 ! This is no problem as we are talking about a custom pistol anyway. 4 5/8 inch barrelpretty comfortable to carry . Great article. Mace or a .45 Colt? An attack by a pack of feral dogs is not anything like an encounter with a single individual or a shooting competition. Mountain lions are apex predators with the ability to kill elk, mule deer, and coyotes with ease - but they aren't usually aggressive toward hikers and their dogs. But, he says, for now, money is tight and he likes his old service size S . There is no doubt that bigger and more powerful handguns are preferable for hunting but self protection at close range differs greatly from hunting as it requires quick, often multiple hits, from close range while under extreme stress. 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. While out horseback riding, I cant tell you how many rattlers Ive killed rattlers with my 9mm. My handloads push a 200gr hardcast bullet to just under 1300fps. Rifle first if at all possible. I found it on the Internet in a read only document. The +P shoots a bit higher than the standard 44mag rounds. 1st Bullet passed completely through the animal head to rump. Attacks continued and now a lion is dead. Surprisingly, I had to shoot it THREE times in the head, from INCHES away before it died. I carry my Glock G20 SF 10mm when I walk our dogs. Wolves are more of a threat. The local police department and/or county sheriffs office can also respond to mountain lion-public safety calls to a 911 operator. great chose but as always ,, we forget the 41 magnum.. 454=1 44=2 and that family on that show Alaska running around with them 10mm auto are waiting to be eating by a Big Brown bear. Mountain lions dont have a reputation for requiring powerful firearms to put them down.. I have had to kill a couple Grizzlies, and have had numerous Mexican stand offs, over moose or caribou kills. For more information about Hornady ammunition, click here. Its often with me in bear country and has made several trips to Alaska. You'd be much, much better off with bear spray. 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. May 24, 2022 Alexis. Brian M.- I also did the same thing with my Glock 21 accept I started with the 45 Super cartridge. These people were lucky they didnt get rabies. Im still skeered o rabbies. Im sure that by now youve all heard about famous Alaskan bear guide Phil Shoemaker (grizzlyskinsofalaska.com) , who thwarted a grizzly attack with a Smith & Wesson 9mm automatic, loaded with Buffalo Bore hard cast ammunition. Why are you people just bubbling so much is it because you need to say something that means nothen in the real world. You should first attempt to fire a warning shot to scare off the lion before it attacks. Certain poisons meant to kill rodents, called anti-coagulant rodenticides, end up in the tissues of mountain lions. The black bears have been stopped with pistols, rifles, shotguns and once with an ax. Use a handgun. Two young men from SoCal (where else?) His eyes were as wide as saucers, and he was taking strides twice as long as his normal gait would produce. Reply. False economy at that point. white-tailed deer Nine for the bear and the 10th for me if the nine didnt work. She attacked the 65-pound animal, striking . My advice would be take the largest caliber you can comfortably handle. This I know from personal experience! 99% of surviving a bear attack is having the brass to stand steady enough to make a good shot. I simply killed her with kindness, responding: for the same reason you dont buy bathroom tissue, one sheet at a time, MAMM. Bullets dont tend to divert in the wind at the necessary defensive distances. I rather be over gun then under gun. Fortunately I was about 80 yds. Trained dogs can be used to capture or kill depredating lions. Keith by Buffalo Bore . Adult weight: Males range from 116-160 pounds and females, 75-110 pounds Its light and easy to carry.. Ive literally seen .38 spl ricochet of the skulls of hogs, later being found somewhere between the hide and muscle upon skinning. Folks need to realize that most .45 Colt cases are not strong enough to handle those high pressure loads even if the gun could. (altho I make and sell them) I want straight line complete penetration best offered by a hard LBT. I probably keep the fine folks at Magpul in business with my 50, 40 and 30 mag purchases. The early anthropologists visiting Alaska, brought back numerous polar bear skulls with a 22 rimfire hole in the top. Not a chance will I ever take those with me here in Alaska, other than around town where bear issues are far more unlikely. They are thin skinned and with a broadside shot would drop it like a rock, with one shot. Though perhaps semi-obsolete, if not obsolete for law enforcement That is your choice. Shot 3 whitetail doe in the noodle with that rifle, and it wasn,t graphic. Ill take the capacity of an auto loader in 45 Super, 10mm or Rowland any day. He said none. First round 00 buckshot then slugs. Penetration is what is needed, no hollow points. With a 5 inch un-ported barrel, 300 grain hard cast solids, cut an X on the point with a fine hack saw about 1/8 of an inch deep. Powerful but lower recoil than a .454 Casull, .460 or a .500 S&W. Been involved in 2 grizz encounters. Very interesting. He lives every day with brown bears and has guided to dozens if not hundreds of them. At least .40 caliber, 300 grains and 1,000 fps. 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