walking in black bear country

[leverite]

Dean Weingarten reports on bear attacks in the truth qbout guns. My take...black bear are unpredictable and seriously dangerous. Like alligators, cougars and felons they are not effectively hunted and killed anymore and have lost their fear of us righteous humans.
Forget bear spray. If attacked you will be lucky to get an aimed shot off.
Carry as much gun as you can handle. Personally I go with a 10mm, 44 mag, 7 shot 357 or occasionally a 44sp...all loaded with honey badger/lehigh bullets. Hardcasts are also good but have heavy recoil and don't always feed well in a semiauto.

 

[3MTA3]

Black bears will pretty much avoid you unless:

• They are old and sick and can't evade you
• They are young and stupid and don't know better
• You stupidly get between a mom and her cubs
• You stupidly wander through wild berry fields in areas know to be black bear dense (Indian Heaven)

Usually a careful retreat while facing them is good enough. If you are forced to exercise the option of shooting one any magnum revolver with the right loads is just fine and as others have said a 10mm will also work. I never go in the wild without a field gun. The 12 gauge will, of course, work but is unnecessary outside of griz and brownie country.

For years I carried a Redhawk in 44 mag with the first two bullets as snake shot and the next four as heavy full metal jackets. Penetration, not expansion, is king against a bear if you want the bear to die quickly enough to not kill you back before it dies. I also carried a speed loader of each type just in case.

Honestly in several decades to tromping through the woods only had a few close calls and bad things were easily avoided.

 

[po18guy]

Never thought about it much. I've heard some neighborhood stories recently, but it was like a thread without pics.

Until two weeks ago, dog started barking. "Deer" I thought. Nope. Black bear - a yearloing or so - ambling down our drivewy.

So...will a 9 blow a bear's lung out?

 

[Stomper]

I'm glad I'm not the only one

Hot diggity, I just realized I met him back in 2015. I don't remember what I sold him though.

Luepold laser range finder…. and I recall you said it was the most exciting day of your life.

 

[Tlock]

One of my best friends is in wildlife control. He has a pack of dogs, and is extremely well acquainted with black bears.

He said there are far more bears out there now than there used to be, but that you have very little to worry about. They typically don't bother people. Obviously there are rare exceptions, especially if a cub is involved.

With a bigger handgun and/or a dog, I don't think you'd have anything to worry about. Personally I think I'd get awful tired of packing a long gun on a daily walk, and I'm not sure I'd care to keep hiking where I felt I needed to carry one.

Your friend is correct

 

[solv3nt]

Luepold laser range finder…. and I recall you said it was the most exciting day of your life.

How is that thing working out? Good memory btw. I guess I'm the one suffering old person memory loss.

 

[Idaho44]

Get a skunk hide hat to throw at the bear, just like Davy did!

 

[Stomper]

How is that thing working out? Good memory btw. I guess I'm the one suffering old person memory loss.

Works great, it's currently buried somewhere out in my workshop in a veritable HEAPING pile of 2A fixin's that's in sore need of organizing….

 

[titsonritz]

Personally I think I'd get awful tired of packing a long gun on a daily walk...

You just need one that is proper length so it can be used while taking breaks.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Thinking about something like the Panzer AR-12:
Since I no longer hunt, I downsized to a Springfield XD9 and a pellet rifle for the pesky racoons.
I do hike my area daily and a jogger only 1/2 mile from here was attacked by a mama black bear day before yesterday. We probably saw that same bear and cub in our yard last Saturday.
Although I'm walking on paved roads, there are plenty of woods and often dense growth near the road, so I ordered a bell for my backpack. Wife says get bear spray -- might do that but I also started looking at semi-auto 12 gauge shotguns ( gas operated, not pump).
Hard to think of something more likely to stop a charging bear, or convince it to turn around anyway. Will it freak out neighbors who see me walking with it? Possibly. I wear the 9mm on my hip ready to go, but obviously not as visible as a shotgun.

PANZER ARMS AR-TWELVE 12 Gauge | Brownells

The AR-12 not only resembles the AR-15 / M16 rifle but the control and function are similar. There have been a couple of variations of these on the market in the past with varying degrees of success but with this latest generation of AR-12 we thin...

www.brownells.com

I would STRONGLY suggest you research reliability on that shotgun before buying. Fe watching YouTube reviews by objective reviewers. I think you will be surprised.

I have had excellent luck with lynx 12 (saiga 12 clone). They are reliable with all types of shells and u can use 5, 8, 10, or 12 shot stick mags or 12, 15, 20, 25, 30 round drum mags. Fire rate is same as AR at about 300 rounds per minute. Muzzle brake is a critical benefit of these shotguns. They reduce felt recoil by up to 80%. After having used these brakes I simply will not consider any shotgun that won't take a brake (except classic side by sides etc).

Having said that though any shotgun is going to be heavy while walking so that's a consideration.

As far as scaring people imo any visible gun will be scary to some folks. With the lynx 12 you can put on standard wood AK furniture if you want that makes them look a bit less scary. Here is a cheap stock and handguard combo (not ak so doesn't fit without modification) I got the other day and only rough fit so far as an example.


Examples of fast firing with saiga 12/clones

FullSizeRender.mov

• ilikegunspdx
• Jun 13, 2022

Siaga drum.mov

• ilikegunspdx
• Feb 14, 2022

 

[40Garand]

The only black bears that tend to be a problem are the ones that've been fed by humans one to many times. I was raised at the foothills of the largest black bear population in North America where I hiked and road bikes daily as a kid and I've logged more hours in the central Oregon coast range than I can count. Never once have I felt a need to carry for black bears. I have dash cam footage from my truck and they're on the run by the time they hear the crunching of the gravel. If I stumble across one on foot I can't pull my camera phone out fast enough.

 

[ma96782]

Use what you have and whatever works for you.

Rock Climber Fights Bear on Mountain, Wild Video

A rock climber in Japan fights off an attacking bear on video.

www.tmz.com

Aloha, Mark

 

[MTpockets]

When you need to kick frisky bears in their faces, make sure your Chuck's have tight laces...............


I don't know what is more impressive... Scaling a rocky hillside in Converse Tennie-Runners, or the Bare-fisted Black Bear Battle.

 

[Burnhaven]

Being situationally aware of your surroundings will do more to protect yourself than anything else. Running a wooded trail with head down and headphones in, what could go wrong? And never answer the door for Landsharks!

I've switched to playing audio books on my phone via the loudspeaker from shirt pocket, instead of any kind of earbuds. I don't run, just walk and it's mostly on country asphalt roads as opposed to forest trails.

 

[The Heretic]

I live in "black bear country"; black bears have been seen nearby (within 500 yards) and I've seen their scat within 50 yards of my house. Ditto with cougars.

I spend time in the woods on my property. Neither bear nor cougar have bothered me and I usually do not carry a gun on my person unless I am going to do some target shooting or I am investigating a noise or I think someone may be trespassing. Most of the time I have a decent folding knife in a sheath on my belt and that is it.

While bears and cougars are formidable, the risk is low and attacks are relatively rare.

 

[aflineman]

Only time I really worry about bear or mtn lion is when I am hunting them. Or when I am using a predator which might attract them. I do carry a firearm out in the woods (and most other places). If I am going to an area where I know there are bear or cats, I MIGHT take a dedicated handgun. But, by and large, I just carry my everyday CCW.

 

[The Heretic]

Only time I really worry about bear or mtn lion is when I am hunting them. Or when I am using a predator (call?) which might attract them. I do carry a firearm out in the woods (and most other places). If I am going to an area where I know there are bear or cats, I MIGHT take a dedicated handgun. But, by and large, I just carry my everyday CCW.

 

[OldBroad44]

Currently I have the

Hornady Critical Defense

loaded.

If that's a HP designed for SD against people, no. And as for 9mm, also no. You want a bear load in .357 mag, 41mag, .44 mag, or 10 mm. Even 44 special or .45 colt with the right bullet styles. Bear loads have hard cast bullets with flat tips and sharp edges designed to go through a bear's skull without deflecting. The skull is heavy bone and is sloped as the bear charges, meaning round nose bullets including HPs deflect off the skull or splat and fail to penetrate or both. Manufacturers mostly don't even make bear loads in 9mm.

Yes, you can kill a bear...sometimes...with even a 22 ...especially if it is treed and you are shooting it in the head from the side. Don't think you can shoot a bear in the chest and stop it instantly. Animals can survive several seconds with their hearts blown out with high powered rifle bullets. Black bears, unlike grizzlies, will usually break off an attack and run if injured, but not always. They may, like grizzlies often, but not always do, instead tear you apart while dying. To stop them for sure you need to hit them in the brain.

Bear spray may help if the wind isn't too strong against you. Not my first choice. Nor do I like bells. Part of why I go for walks is to see wild critters and enjoy natural noises. Whether you carry a handgun or long gun is a matter of personal preference. If I carried a long gun when strolling around my neighborhood, people would think I was some kind of nutcase. Its a residential area, even though it has a neighborhood cougar, and I had to shoo a persistent black bear out of my yard one night when he to decided to try a duck dinner. He kept coming even though I spotlighted him. Only fled after I put a shot in the ground next to him with my trusty 686 EDC.

 

[Lazyfaire]

With the family on vacation in Yellowstone NP some 20+ years ago. Self, wife 12 yo daughter and a young Ridgeback pup. You have to keep your dogs on a leash and on the trail, no exceptions. We discussed it all and I told my wife that if a bear appeared and threatened us that she was to immediately drop the leash and we all head for the car calling the dog. She wanted to hold onto the leash to save the dog.......I asked her to consider how it would feel to be considered bait. Obviously she is a nicer person than me.

 

[Z-PDX]

- nevermind -