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One of the maintenance guys was in my office tonight painting and we were talking about hunting and guns. He's going way deep into the Idaho woods into Grizzly country to set up a bear bait barrel. So the talk turned to defense against bears.

He said whatever you do, don't pick a .45 acp for bear defense.

Seems last year, he was set up over a bait barrel and a nice black bear came in and he shot it once with his old 8mm Mauser and dropped it. It was a nice bear, so he took it to a taxidermist to have a bear rug made.

When he went to pick it up, the taxidermist informed him that he found a .45 acp slug splattered against the skull, under the skin.

Apparently, somebody shot the bear in the head once with a .45 acp and the round failed to penetrate, but apparently stopped the attack, or whatever, since no more wounds were found. The guy said the bullet was completely mushroomed out and about the size of a quarter. I asked him what type of bullet it was and he didn't know. He said he still has it and will bring it in next week for me to inspect.

That's a pretty amazing story and I would love to know the circumstances of what led to a bear being shot once in the head. No local stories of bear attacks for years, and the bear was only a few years old, so who knows.

I'll get pics of the bullet as soon as he brings it in.

I know I witnessed a deputy attempt to dispatch a wounded deer hit by a car years ago. He used a 1911 and shot the deer in the head. The bullet bounced off the skull and dazed the poor animal. A second deputy used his Beretta 9mm and the bullet penetrated the skull and ended the deer's suffering.
 
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I knew I had read a similar story like this. Perhaps he is correct in not using a .45 vs a bear.

.
 
Yeabut it's the best unicorn caliber because of the rainbow trajectory.


Proof that .45ACP is most effective against meth-head Smurfs, and Munchkins!

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My question is:

What was the distance between the 45acp shooter and the bear when the bear was shot?

I wonder how long that bullet was in the bear before it was eventually shot by another man using a CF rifle too.

Cate
 
We used to shoot cinderblocks with my dad's 1911 & FMJ so we could recover the mushroomed projectiles. The blocks would break and the rounds would be in the dirt behind. I'll stick with 10mm in bur country.
 
I'm putting this post at, or near this range,




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I don't like being called a liar. I hit a deer, two deputies arrived to write a report. The first tried to shoot it with a .45 acp and it failed to penetrate the deer's skull. The second attempted with a 9mm and was successful.

If you know anything about bullet shape and size and how that affects a bullet's performance on barriers such as metal, windshields, and bone, then perhaps you wouldn't be so quick to call me a liar.
 
I don't like being called a liar. I hit a deer, two deputies arrived to write a report. The first tried to shoot it with a .45 acp and it failed to penetrate the deer's skull. The second attempted with a 9mm and was successful.

If you know anything about bullet shape and size and how that affects a bullet's performance on barriers such as metal, windshields, and bone, then perhaps you wouldn't be so quick to call me a liar.
I used to shoot old junk cars with the .45acp loaded with ball/fmj.. it'd bounce off the glass and panels like crazy. The 9mm would hole them both sides.
 
I used to shoot old junk cars with the .45acp loaded with ball/fmj.. it'd bounce off the glass and panels like crazy. The 9mm would hole them both sides.
Yeah, not sure why someone would think it surprising that a .45 acp would react similarly when used against an animal's skull, and then go so far as to insinuate anyone claiming such was lying about it. :s0153:
 
Yeah, not sure why someone would think it surprising that a .45 acp would react similarly when used against an animal's skull, and then go so far as to insinuate anyone claiming such was lying about it. :s0153:
When I lived up in Alaska, we were always told to never shoot at the head if a bear attacked.:s0155:
 
I know I witnessed a deputy attempt to dispatch a wounded deer hit by a car years ago. He used a 1911 and shot the deer in the head. The bullet bounced off the skull and dazed the poor animal. A second deputy used his Beretta 9mm and the bullet penetrated the skull and ended the deer's suffering.
I've seen that as well. My dad tried to put down a deer with his .45 Glock using HP ammo. I have that deer's skull plate with a .45" dent in it. :s0140:
 

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