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Reminds me of an old log truck driver, he was on the last run of the day and hauling azz to make the mill before quitting time, he hit a bear right square in the grill of his Kenworth! He was squeaking all over the radio how he hit a BAR and it was trying to Kill him! Every one thought he had hit a Cop or Scale Master, and there was all sorts of chatter about kill in a cop! Poor driver is squakin about this Bear he hit trying to Kill him! We drive by a line of trucks and Sheriff deputies and here is this blue and white Kenworth with a big Bear stick in outta the grill and it's mad as hell and clawing the hell out of the front of the truck! We decided it was prolly a good idea to keep on truck in down the road and leave them to figure it all out! Imagine sitting there in the cab with a pizzed off bear stuck in your grill! :eek:
 
I would be more confident with a .44 Mag revolver, 45-70 lever action or pump shotgun. There would be very little time, if any, to clear a jam on a semi-auto depending on distance. I have never had a jam with my good, broken in, defensive pistols, auto rifles or shotguns, but that wouldn't be the time to have the first. The exception would be if there were more than a couple of armed hunters with you.

I realize that military, forest service, wildlife management and law enforcement depend on semi-autos, or autos every day, but they usually have others as backup. I am also sure that many members have complete confidence in their semi-autos, but why do we do tap, rack, clear drills?

Yea, our military puts their lives on the line every day using semi-autos and autos too. If you personally don't trust semi-auto weapons, that is fine. But don't try to convince the rest of us that your concerns are in any way at all reasonable in nature.

I've always been way more confident with a semi-auto, as all I have to do is focus on aiming and pulling the trigger. Human error is much more likely to be a person's downfall, than their gun failing them. If I am in a stressful situation, even if it was just hunting, I've always wanted to keep things simple for me.
 
Semi Auto...
Bolt Action...
Lever , pump , even dare I say single shot or muzzleloader...

At the end of the day:
Use what you shoot and carry the best...
Choose the appropriate projectile for the game at hand...
Stick within your limits as a hunter and shooter...
Do the above and you will get your game and be a better hunter.

As for stopping a Grizzly Bear...I'd say use the biggest gun you can shoot accurately.
Andy
 
That was an anomaly.
I wouldn't use it as a standard to form any conclusions.

Nope. . But at least he was smart enough to not be using typical HP ammo. I was reading a rifle review that some guy posted about his 357 (pistol caliber) rifle. he was using it to hunt hogs and said something like: (paraphrasing)

"A lot of people said the .357 was great for hogs. But it's a piece of garbage. I shot a hog 5 time and he ran off. I sold it and bought a 44 mag rifle"

Somewhere near the end of his review he slips up and mentions that he was using some cheap hollow point ammo instead of a good quality soft point or hard cast round. And he blamed the gun for his stupidity.

Rule 1: Have a gun
Rule 2: Have the right gun
Rule 3" HAVE THE RIGHT AMMO!
 
Nope. . But at least he was smart enough to not be using typical HP ammo. I was reading a rifle review that some guy posted about his 357 (pistol caliber) rifle. he was using it to hunt hogs and said something like: (paraphrasing)

"A lot of people said the .357 was great for hogs. But it's a piece of garbage. I shot a hog 5 time and he ran off. I sold it and bought a 44 mag rifle"

Somewhere near the end of his review he slips up and mentions that he was using some cheap hollow point ammo instead of a good quality soft point or hard cast round. And he blamed the gun for his stupidity.

Rule 1: Have a gun
Rule 2: Have the right gun
Rule 3" HAVE THE RIGHT AMMO!

He was a guide for over 30 years in Alaska. And felt confident with his 9. I believe he shot 8 tmes and only had one shot left. He was very experienced. I would at least have one with 15 rounds and a spare mag if that was my choice. I'm not saying it's the best choice but it's also not the first time a 9 has taken a grizzly either.
 
I think it was a sheep hunter in AK that was on a narrow rock shelf rounding a corner when he came face to face with a grizz. No time for rifle on his pack so he swung his ice axe as hard as he could burying it into grizz's skull killing it. Doesn't mean I think an ice axe is good enough bear protection. I did have an ice axe when I went sheep hunting up there though. A very handy tool.
 
He was a guide for over 30 years in Alaska. And felt confident with his 9. I believe he shot 8 tmes and only had one shot left. He was very experienced. I would at least have one with 15 rounds and a spare mag if that was my choice. I'm not saying it's the best choice but it's also not the first time a 9 has taken a grizzly either.
We were bangin' a target at 75-80 yards pretty consistently over this past weekend with a G19.
I don't know what my "shake factor" would be facing a big brownie, but I know I would want more power.
Carry what you feel comfortable with and if the time ever comes, hopefully you and your weapon perform adequately.
 
We were bangin' a target at 75-80 yards pretty consistently over this past weekend with a G19.
I don't know what my "shake factor" would be facing a big brownie, but I know I would want more power.
Carry what you feel comfortable with and if the time ever comes, hopefully you and your weapon perform adequately.


I agree and proper ammo for what you choose.

39998.jpg
 
Yea, our military puts their lives on the line every day using semi-autos and autos too. If you personally don't trust semi-auto weapons, that is fine. But don't try to convince the rest of us that your concerns are in any way at all reasonable in nature.

I've always been way more confident with a semi-auto, as all I have to do is focus on aiming and pulling the trigger. Human error is much more likely to be a person's downfall, than their gun failing them. If I am in a stressful situation, even if it was just hunting, I've always wanted to keep things simple for me.
It is kind of ironic that I completely trust my semi-autos as a defensive weapon against two legged adversaries, but want something simpler for grizzly bears. I think it has something to do with being able to take cover or increase distance with two legged critters if my gun has a failure and not having the chance to do that with a charging grizzly. Maybe it is not logical, but it is the way I roll.
 
I wasn't there obviously, but seems like this just brings a even more bright light on Apex animals.
When you have animals that see you as a snack, there has to be lawful ways to lesson the exposure on humans.

I find it interesting, how many people would say, oh poor bears. But would not want a Tyrannosaurus Rex loose running around
if they were here. News flash you do not need a 20ft high animals to kill you, bears do it very well.
I think Nature needs to be kept intact, I also know we need to always see our selves as the Apex Predator, and never let any animal hold that title, we earned that title as the smartest and most adaptable species.

Yes we are "capable" of being apex but damn have we ever bred that out of a lot of the population. Decades back there was a story about a couple who had a summer cabin in AK. They were attacked by a Black who was determined to get into the cabin. They tried making noise and such and the bear was only smelling food. Husband ran out to get help from some neighbor who had a gun. By the time he got back bear had made it in and killed Wife. They did not "believe" they needed a gun. Any simple shotgun would have saved their life against a bear that weighed less than they did. Instead they chose to be food.
 
Holy thread revival batman! This is exactly where I elk hunt during rifle season. I think if I were bow hunting for elk I would stay the phuck away from the Gravelly range as it happens almost yearly now during bow season on the Gravelly side of the Ruby Valley. Active bears before hibernation, animal carcasses and pointy sticks flung from strings don't mix well. Last elk I shot there was about 5-6 miles as the crow flies from this spot.


 
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