Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Have you ever "gone fer your gun" in self defense?

Yep!

Gal told me once..."Ya got a pistol in your pocket there buddy or are ya just proud to see me?"

That's....been a while!!

Yes, four times:

1) Grizzly attack in Montana in 1960. I was treed and needed to get back to the road to be picked up (7 mile hike) or I'd be left for the night.

2) A locksmith I was helping in 1962 pulled a 45 on a guy who was entering the basement of a goldsmith who the burglar had tried to burgle the night before - I didn't pull but was saved by the locksmith who did.

3) I pulled on a group of 3 who were blocking my route on a USFS forest and threatening me with a shovel. This was in 1983. I reported it to a ranger who said they had problems with marijuana growers and he'd report it to the county sheriff.

4) I was living in an apartment (1997) in Northern VA (just across Key Bridge from DC) and a car pulled up and I heard someone trying to break into cars in the parking lot. I stuffed a 45 into my waistband and went onto the porch. They threatened me and I pulled and said "Get going"; they did and that was the end of it.

The only time I fired was to kill the grizzly, but I'm glad I was carrying the other times.

I believe that is the story where he was 20 feet up a tree in Glacier, and the bear's claws were inches below his feet. He shot the bear dead and walked out.

If I've confused you with another poster, I apologize djs.

I second that motion, Big Buck.

Then he surely would have been sent to the electric chair for about six months for even packin a rod in GNP.

Then he surely would have been sent to the electric chair for about six months for even packin a rod in GNP. And then to kill a grizz with it??

Sure would like to read the story. You just might be right, BGG.

People just don�t realize how fast, dangerous and nimble a grizzly can be.

I worked in Glacier National Park (trail crew) for two summers in 1960/�61. We had a bad attack (a ranger, another ranger�s 12 year-old son and a tourist from Sweden). They were badly mauled and had to lay there for 12 hours (10AM to 10PM) before our rescue crew got there; the bear would just keep attacking if they moved. To put it mildly, I was impressed with the power and danger of a big bear.

As part of my job, I hiked solo each Monday to Grinnell Glacier (12 miles round trip) clearing the trail of any fallen rocks and would occasionally see grizzlies (each of our 5-man crew took a different day). I�d just stop and watch the bear until it moved off. Following the attack, I hitch-hiked into Kalispell and bought the last 44 Magnum the shop had. I carried it in a small backpack with my lunch.

About 2 weeks after the attack, I was hiking solo up to Piegan Pass to check out a fire trail. I was at the timberline and saw a griz about 100 yards away; it started walking toward me and I climbed a tree that (at the timberline) was not too tall. I could only get about 3-4 feet above the bear when it stood and tried to paw me. I took the pistol from the pack and emptied it into the bear, reloaded and did it again. Climbing down, I rolled the bear down he mountain and took off. In 2004 (following a Smokejumper Reunion in Missoula), I visited the Park and told a ranger about this (statute of limitations for both felonies � carrying a firearm and killing an animal in National park had expired after 44 years). I�ve since learned that two other bears were killed in 1960 by trail crewmen just like me. I was 18 at the time, but still have vivid memories of this.

You�ve really got to be on your guard when in grizzly country.

In 1960, I worked the summer in Glacier National Park on trails. Following a horrific grizzly attack on 3 hikers (one 12 years old), I went into a Kalispell (MT) gun shop seeking an S&W 29 in 44 Magnum. The shop owner said he�d just sold the last one, and all he had left was a Ruger (flat-top) in 44 Mag. � I bought it. The next week I was working solo on a seldom used fire trail. I saw a grizzly about 100 yards ahead just at the timber line; I stopped and watched. The bear looked in my direction and then started a slow run toward me.

I climbed a tree and could only get about 15-18� up the trunk of the small tree before it was too small to climb higher. The bear stood and tried to paw me; she was probably about 3� feet below me, but it seemed like 3 inches. I pulled the Ruger from my back pack and put 5 shots into her, reloaded and put 5 more. I quickly descended and (after ensuring she was dead), rolled her down the mountain into the timber, covered the body and high-tailed it the 7 miles back to my pick-up point. At this time, carrying a firearm in a national park was a felony, as was killing any animal. I kept my silence about this for 50 years.

Did the 44 Magnum work? Yes, but I had some real advantages. One, it was a close-range shot. Two, the bear was not charging me full of adrenalin. Three, I had a clear shot into her neck, just behind the head. Four, I had the time to aim.

Is a 44 Magnum a good defensive round against a grizzly? It was the most powerful round at the time, but there are much better cartridges now, such as the 454 Casull, 460 S&W or the 500 S&W. Get one of these.