I just want to know how many of you know of a documented incident where someone with a handgun was killed by a bear. I keep hearing the crap about how you can't kill a bear with a handgun but have yet to see anything to back it up. I may not be the best shot around but I think if old mister bear comes after me and I have my .454 or .44 Mag he is gonna be the one that pays the ultimate price. Also does anyone know of a documented incident where someone defended themself from a bear attack with a handgun? Personally I thing this is an old wives tale that just keeps getting repeated and people believe it. I don't. Go ahead and prove me wrong.
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Bear Stories
- Thread starter M16
- Start date
M16, see my post on the "10mm/.41Mag" thread, re killing a bear with a handgun.
About a person being charged by a bear, in my post on the same thread, one of the professional guides claimed he killed a bear with a .41 Mag. S&W 57, that was chewing on him, several years before I booked my hunt with him and his partner.
It's a long buildup to how he got in trouble, but he said that as the bear had him down, the only thing he could remember was that .41 going "click, click, click" as he'd emptied the gun into the bear.
Of course, I did not see the attack, so it's anecdotal, but I DID SEE the backs of his upper arms, which had huge scars on them which looked as if some giant holding hay hooks had gouged very ugly, deep wounds in his arms. I can't imagine how he could have got those scars, except from a bear attack.
Years ago, an older friend of mine, now deceased, lived in the boonies in Alaska for ten years. He told me that one morning, he went outside his cabin to get some firewood. As he approached the stack, a small grizzly stepped around the stack and charged him. He always wore a Colt Govt. 45ACP. He pulled it and started shooting. He said the bear finally fell dead at his feet as he emptied the pistol.
Again, anecdotal, but he had some Kodak shots of a dead grizzly, with a stack of firewood in the background, and he's holding a Colt .45 ACP in his hand by the bear. I asked him why he carried the .45 auto and he said, "Because that's all I had."
He had been a paratrooper with the 101 Airborne Div., and had jumped at Normandy. He was as salty as they come, and I believed him. FWIW. J.B.
About a person being charged by a bear, in my post on the same thread, one of the professional guides claimed he killed a bear with a .41 Mag. S&W 57, that was chewing on him, several years before I booked my hunt with him and his partner.
It's a long buildup to how he got in trouble, but he said that as the bear had him down, the only thing he could remember was that .41 going "click, click, click" as he'd emptied the gun into the bear.
Of course, I did not see the attack, so it's anecdotal, but I DID SEE the backs of his upper arms, which had huge scars on them which looked as if some giant holding hay hooks had gouged very ugly, deep wounds in his arms. I can't imagine how he could have got those scars, except from a bear attack.
Years ago, an older friend of mine, now deceased, lived in the boonies in Alaska for ten years. He told me that one morning, he went outside his cabin to get some firewood. As he approached the stack, a small grizzly stepped around the stack and charged him. He always wore a Colt Govt. 45ACP. He pulled it and started shooting. He said the bear finally fell dead at his feet as he emptied the pistol.
Again, anecdotal, but he had some Kodak shots of a dead grizzly, with a stack of firewood in the background, and he's holding a Colt .45 ACP in his hand by the bear. I asked him why he carried the .45 auto and he said, "Because that's all I had."
He had been a paratrooper with the 101 Airborne Div., and had jumped at Normandy. He was as salty as they come, and I believed him. FWIW. J.B.
MountainMan
New member
you can find a "44 mag revolver stops grizzly" story here: http://www.garrettcartridges.com/reviews1.htm
A good friend is a Maine bear guide, and has shot or been present at the demise of dozens of mature blacks (maybe up in the 100-plus range by now.) He always carries a handgun to back his rifle-armed 'sports', and on dog hunts, he lets the sport take just one shot before he steps in to finish the job and preserve the lives of the very valuable dogs. These Maine bears run from 200 to over 450 lbs. He has had some dogs cut up and a couple killed, but never been scratched or let a sport be hurt. He has shot bears on the ground with everything from a 2-3/4" Security Six .357 with hard cast bullets (took six shots through and through to put the beast down, and he only used that gun once) and with .41 and .44 Magnums. While taking pics of a tracked bear he was charged, and stopped bruin with a .44 Sierra in the brain at contact range. That made an interesting photo sequence. Black bears, according to our shared experience, can be taken or defended against with a handgun if you are a quick, cool shot. It also helps to know the anatomy of the critters. --slabsides
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If they take our guns, I intend to let my hair grow long and acquire the jawbone of an ass.
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If they take our guns, I intend to let my hair grow long and acquire the jawbone of an ass.