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I find it funny when people from the east say that anything less than 10mm will get you killed in the woods
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I always carried .357 mag with some Buffalo Bore since I don't own 10mm or 44 mag.
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I don't know shit about bears, but if I planned to encounter them I'd be carrying a 10mm.
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Let’s say you are hiking in an area that has black bear, mountain lions and other shady animals and possibly shady people. What pistol caliber do you go with. 9mm HST? View Quote |
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My Dad would have said ".22" if you asked him.
"I'll put one round in your knee, and I should get away fine." My mom would look askance at him, and he'd get all pissy. "Oh, I wouldn't shoot you, dear. Just one of the kids." |
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Pistols suck for defense, but any of them should work fine on a much larger animal.
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I only carry my g17.
Two legged critters can be more of a threat and yotes/snakes imho. We deal with bears weekly ... shame our state hippies love them so. Fart near one and the FWC will arrest you. |
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Are you being serious or is this a troll thread? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Let's say you are hiking in an area that has black bear, mountain lions and other shady animals and possibly shady people. What pistol caliber do you go with. 9mm HST? Black bears kill about a person a year, Attacks aren't common, but that's little consolation for people mailed. I've encountered bears backpacking. In one case, reasonably certain I saw the same bear a number of times over a two day period. Or I different bears 4 or 5 times, Wasn't this dramatic or close http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3472784/If-woods-today-Walker-spots-giant-black-bear-trekking-forest-realises-s-HUNTED.html but I was solo and didn't sleep comfortably either night. I was eating, then hiking until I lost the sun, hanging food and had a Smith 65 with me. The Ammoland analysis is limited in size, but we have a collection of encounters. He makes a good point about selection bias and he includes another collection of incidents that gives a similar conclusion. Made hot. https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/defense-against-bears-with-pistols-97-success-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz5DvxztB4y Wouldn't feel at a disadvantage with a 9mm in bear country, but I tend to carry .357 with 158 XTPs. |
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There was a good article on bear attacks posted here somewhere. Guy researched bear attacks going back to 1900 or something. Dude noted that the only firearm vs bear that resulted in death was a poor soul that was carrying a 22 vs a grizzly or polar bear. But basically everyone else that was armed survived.
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For me, all depends on the trail or area we're hiking.
Something well traveled? A small 9mm. Out in the middle of nowhere? I'll probably have either a USPC .40 or a HK45C. Just because the rounds are a little bigger and that makes me feel better, even if it doesn't matter ballistically |
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Every black bear I've ran across, ran away in fear of me or my dog. I've seen this to be the case for many people, dogs and even house cats. I'll be concerned about "caliber choice" when they are large enough and brown bear/grizzly enough to be a concern.
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Start with a 10mm or .357 and trend upwards from there. I love 9mm for a CCW cartridge but when I hit the woods, the 9mm stays home.
Cats are not that hard to kill and both of the above calibers will work with decent ammo. My personal preference is 44M. Not necessarily the be all end all of the bear vs. caliber argument but that is my choice. If I had grizzlies or browns in my AO I think 44M would be a starting point with 480R, 475 Linebaugh, or something bigger would be my preference. |
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10mm or 44 mag would be my first choices, but .357 hard cast would likely work fine too. View Quote |
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The caliber you have with you.
Ya'll are slow. Garbage bears leave when I yell at them. |
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Same as always. G19 & 135G Critical D. Get some Underwood/LeHigh Extreme Defenders/Penetrators - if you want a Bear specific load. https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/defense-against-bears-with-pistols-97-success-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz5DvxztB4y View Quote |
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You're all wrong, 5.56x45 Fusion MSR or TBBC...AR pistol is a great woods gun.
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Quoted:
There was a good article on bear attacks posted here somewhere. Guy researched bear attacks going back to 1900 or something. Dude noted that the only firearm vs bear that resulted in death was a poor soul that was carrying a 22 vs a grizzly or polar bear. But basically everyone else that was armed survived. View Quote |
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Years ago I carried a .44mag when in bear country. Eventually, after a few encounters, I stopped worrying about the caliber. Situational awareness and knowledge are going to keep someone pretty safe in areas with black bear.
The few I've wandered upon took off running the other way at top speed. And those encounters happened so fast that drawing a weapon and getting off an aimed shot was unlikely. Over time I paid more attention to my surroundings and stay clear of them. I still carry my XDm .40 with a 17 rounds in it. If push comes to shove, that will have to do. For the average weekend warrior type in the woods, it's more likely that they will not have the time to react to a bear before it's too close to deal with unholstering and aiming a sidearm. Not saying it doesn't make a difference, but I kinda see the gun as the very last line of defense in this situation. Lot of other mitigation techniques to get good at before worrying about caliber. |
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If I'm hiking around home, where bears are extremely rare to see, and my bigger concerns would be a two-legged critter or an angry groundhog, I'll carry a smaller .357 (typically a Smith 66 or Ruger SP101). If I'm farther south in the state, where bear sightings are slightly more common, I tote the 586 in my avatar. If I'm going somewhere where bear encounters are very common, or somewhere that mountain lions might be stalking about, I carry a Smith 629 (.44 Magnum). I probably don't need ANY of these while I'm hiking, but I like revolvers a lot.
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Quoted: Mountain lions are here mail and kill people pretty often compared to other places, but I hear you. I do need an excuse for at least one pistol that isn’t 9mm. Yes mail View Quote |
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I think conversations like this prove a revolver still has its place today other than something nice to look at.
a 686 with full power ammo is more than enough for a black bear as long as you actually hit what you are shooting at. Then this time of the year I always carry a speed loader or moonclip of snake shot. Since my 686 is cut for moon clips I can pop out the full power ammo and drop in snake shot in 2-3 seconds - and you dont have to hand cycle any slides or crap. That being said I was eyeballing a new 4 inch 44 mag last weekend that would carry nice and have a little more umph just in case. |
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All just MO, but we live in the Appalachians and hike year round. We also share our mountain with lots of bears. Carry the largest caliber you can draw and shoot accurately - and quickly. A cannon won't help if you flinch (actually, it might...noise does run off garbage bears, but I'm a lot more confident of that standing in my doorway. You might be that one in million guy that encounters a predacious bear on his turf. He'll probably turn tail, but he'll be back...)
The problem with "all blacks will run" is the day you hike between a sow and her cubs. If you don't like yelling "ha bear!" every five minutes, a couple of bear bells really isn't a bad idea, the bear bell and pepper spray smelling scat joke aside. No experience with Browns, but from what we've seen and the hardcore through-hikers we've talked to a Black will hustle her kids away if she hears you coming. I would not carry any personal protection load...hardcast is the ticket. 200 pounds may be average, but they do get significantly larger, and that's solid bone, muscle, teeth and claws. I carry 180gr Buffalo Bore in a 4" SW 686. |
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Black bears aren't really much of a worry. 9mm is fine and is what I carry hiking in the mountains around here. Mountain lions are harder to kill but AFAIK never attack groups of 2 or more people, and I always hike with a buddy or two.
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i remember reading in a gd thread some time ago, there was a guy in alaska that was walking his dog not to far from his house, which was in a pretty big town. Dude and dog got charged by the grizzly. He put 6 rounds of 44mag in the bear before it dropped a couple feet away. The bear was male and had something wrong and was starving. The cops said it was definitely an instance where the bear was going to eat the guy for dinner
Anybody else remember that one? I realize grizzlies aren't black bears, but my takeaway from that episode is when in bear country, bring enough gun |
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Why wouldn't you carry an AR pistol if you're going hiking in an area you know there's bear, cougar, Bob cats etc?
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Well, according to Bud, the crotchety old hunt club guy I'd run into out in the woods, .38 Spl is fine.
"Shit, Fred, just stick it in his ear and yank that trigger!!!" |
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Quoted: Mountain lions are here mail and kill people pretty often compared to other places, but I hear you. I do need an excuse for at least one pistol that isn’t 9mm. Yes mail View Quote |
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There are videos where cops have to shoot a man 6 times with 9mm to stop him.
9mm is marginal at stopping psycho men. A bear is probably tougher than a psycho man. Most power and capacity desirable for SD. Most capacity and power = 10mm |
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