Man kills charging bear with 1911

[CW-NH-HUNTER]

I always carry my .45 kimber on my side cocked and locked when I go out scouting preseason for deer. The black bear can be very dangerous, most will turn and run before we ever know they were there, but theres always the chance of coming in contact with one that doesn't. The black bear has the abilty to process thought like you and I. They can analize a situation and come up with a game plan on how, where and when to attack you, they are much smarter than a brown/grizzly bear and should never be taken lightly.

There is one instance that sticks out in my mind. A rancher out west would get on his horse every morning and go check on his herd around his property. One morning he went out a never returned, his wife called the fish and game and a search was started. She told them the route he would take every morning, when they went out to look for him they came upon his horse, a short distance down the trail they came upon his body that was half eaten. Upon further investigation they concluded that he had been attacked by a black bear. Heres where it gets interesting, while they were going over the scene they realized that the bear had accutually stalked the rancher for awhile then moved ahead of him and ambushed him where he knew the ranchers path would lead him though some thick cover where the bear could then pounce on him from the bushes. This bear learned the route the rancher took and knew when and where to move to ambush him. This is a 100% true story and certainly opened my eyes to intellegence and danger of a black bear.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

The story no longer comes up through the link.

that bear could have been rabid

Strange roar and agression are pretty odd clues.

Not really. The bear could have been protecting a kill. It issued a challenge and McKim's reaction wasn't appreciated.

As for being rabid, that is pretty low on the list of worries in a bear attack. Rabies can be treated and really only presents a distant threat, life threatening days in the future as opposed to the threat posed immediately by an attack.

 

[cchardwick]

I've been stalked by a huge mountain lion before, good thing I had my Glock 21 at the time. Also, there was a guy at church who had a mountain lion pounce on him while he was elk hunting and luckily survived with just scratches and shot and killed the lion. Neither incident has been reported. I'd say not many people want to deal with reporting an incident like this, especially with the legal system and how it aims to blame you for illegal kills of game animals, which risks your hunting privileges for life. Just look at the story and how they 'set the guy free' from liability based on the shot placement and his story. It makes me sad that they discarded the hide even though he reported it and even wanted it.

I've found living in the mountain wilderness that your ears are your best friend. Usually you can hear an animal way before you can see it, in fact that has saved me from a surprise encounter on several occasions. The most dangerous situation is a very windy day when neither you nor the bear/lion can hear each other and suddenly are within just a few feet of each other. Walking around on windy days in the mountains up here makes me jumpy.

 

[Sixer]

As for being rabid, that is pretty low on the list of worries in a bear attack.

Lol, that's an understatement

First thought that runs through my mind when getting attacked by a bear: "Man I hope this thing aint got rabies..."

 

[eastbank]

elmer keith wrote about a friend who killed a big black bear with a heavy loaded 44 spl., from horse back in the 20,s or 30,s. i watched a big black bear tear a large plastic dumpester to pieces at a friends trailer park and i would not want to tackle him with out a rifle. eastbank.

 

[GunBugBit]

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-SRHAlaskan454.htm

Read on for a recent real world application of this gun!!! It's not a 1911, but it's "forty-five-ish"
_______

ORIGINAL TEXT OF STORY, EDITED FOR READABILTY


Friends,

Have I got a story for you guys!

King season is over, and since I had a day off before silvers start, I
thought I would go for a walk! this occurred at 11:16 am this morning
(Sunday), just 2/10 of a mile from my house, ON OUR ROAD while walking
my dogs (trying to get in shape for hunting season, ironically!) For
the record, this is in a residential area-not back in the woods, no
bowhunting, no stealth occurring...

I heard a twig snap, and looked back...full on charge-a huge brownie,
ears back, head low and motorin' full speed! Came with zero warning --
no woof, no popping of the teeth, no standing up, nothing like what
you think or see on TV! It charged from less than 20 yards and was on
me in about one-second! Totally surreal -- I just started shooting in
the general direction, and praise God that my second shot (or was it
my third?) Rolled him at 5 feet and he skidded to a stop 10 feet
BEYOND where I was shooting from -- I actually sidestepped him and
fell over backwards on the last shot, and his momentum carried him to
a stop past where I fired my first shot!

It was a prehistoric old boar-no teeth, no fat -- weighed between
900-1000 lbs and took five men to DRAG it onto a tilt-bed trailer! Big
bear -- its paw measured out at about a 9-1/2 footer!

Never-ever-thought "it" would happen to me! It's always some other
smuck, right? Well, no bull -- I am still high on adrenaline, with my
gut in a knot. Feels like I did 10,000 crunches without stopping!
Almost puked for an hour after, had the burps and couldn't even stand
up as the troopers conducted their investigation! Totally wiped me out
-- can't even put that feeling into words, by far the most emotion I
have ever felt at once!

No doubt that God was with me, as I brought my Ruger .454 Casull (and
some "hot" 350 grain solids) just for the heck of it, and managed to
draw and snap shoot (pointed, never even aimed!) from the hip! Total
luck shot!

All I can say is Praise God for my safety and for choosing to leave
the wife and kids at home on this walk! Got a charter tomorrow, so
gonna TRY to get some sleep now!

Talk to ya soon, - [name omitted]

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Yeah, it is .45ish like a .45-70 is .45ish. There really isn't any comparison between .45 acp and .454 Casull or .45-70. You may be talking about roughly the same diameter, but way different velocity, energy, etc.

Of course, Gunbugbit is just posting a well passed around email. It has not been edited so that nobody can determine the validity of the story because the guy's name isn't there, town, state, or country. It happened on Soldotna, AK and was discussed heavily here...
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=468068&highlight=bear

 

[GunBugBit]

OF COURSE that's what I did...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.454_Casull

Anyway, a good urban legend is as good as a real story any day!

 

[GunBugBit]

The .454 Casull is way more powerful than the .45 ACP.

250 to 350 grains propelled at 1,600 to 1,900 feet per second versus 180 to 230 grains propelled at 800 to 900 feet per second.

I don't doubt that a bear that size could be dropped with the Ruger .454 Casull, but I also don't know of any good verification of this story.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Wow, so you posted a story you didn't know to be true as true?

So then I post all the verification information of the story and you still state you don't know of any validation of the story you posted? Holy cow. The incident was investigated by the State of Alaska and found to be valid. What more verification do you need??

 

[bdturner]

I had a bad experience when working for the sheriff's office. I was called to an animal complaint where a rott had attacked and killed a small dog and was being agressive toward people in the neighborhood not letting them out of cars or the house. Our issue weapon was an H&K USP .45 loaded with 185gr hollow points. When I got out of the car the dog came after me at a dead run. I hit him four times, chest shoulders and snout. That dog soaked up bullets like it was nothing. My partner jumped out of his car about the time I opened fire and as the dog was within about four feet of me hit him broadside through the shoulders spinning him around and causing him to retreat. This dog weighed about 98 to 100 lbs. After this experience the department decided that the ammunition we were using was not doing its job and they switched to a 230gr +p. Would I go into bear country with a .45 ACP? No.

 

[30-30remchester]

Great story "GunBugBit" finally some real experence. So many of us on here have limited or no experence, you trump us all. I have studied terminal ballistics for years and also real life close call experences. Yours gives good examples as to why, as great as they are for hunting, single action revolvers are poor defense firearms. From the acounts I have researched, your tale of a bear attack is typical. Just a second is all the time you have to react. Alot of mauled people couldnt get their firearm into action before they were hit. I like other would like to know more about the bear attack that started this thread. What ammo did he use? Where did the bullets impact? What damage was done? Was the bear found dead? Was the bear found? Please more details.

 

[AmmoSphere]

This guy is lucky to be alive

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I like other would like to know more about the bear attack that started this thread. What ammo did he use? Where did the bullets impact? What damage was done? Was the bear found dead? Was the bear found? Please more details.

Like he said, he doesn't even know if the story he posted is true or not, so I am pretty sure he doesn't have any more details. He is just posting a late generation edited email he received. Note that the original emails had all the salient information as to who and where. However, if you follow the link I provided above, you can read a lot more about it including multiple news articles, links, and discussion.

 

[oldcspsarge]

............and the lesson learned:

carry what you will..but add SPARE Magazines !

It's along hike back to get ammo to reload.....Mr. Murphy always shows up !

 

[AmmoSphere]

Is it just me or did anyone else notice that there is something wrong with the bears mouth. It looks like it's kinda hanging out there.

 

[W. C. Quantrill]

bdturner,

I have had 2 experiences with Rotts, with the .45, and both died, but not easily and not with a first shot. The first, I was coming in through an alley to serve warrants on a FTA, and he loosed his Rott on me, I shot the dog twice in the chest with Remington Golden Sabre 230's and he went into a crouch to spring and I shot him again in the head, and he sort of melted down, still growling and eyeing me. The second one, I just shot twice in the head and he melted down, both were big heavy dogs. Neither showed any sign of impact from the .230 grain HP's.

Oh, yes, the FTA came out hands up.