Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Bear protection: 9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP?

The Bear season in Oregon starts August first. I have been climbing a ridge to a vantage point on a private cattle ranch to look for bears in the wild fruit trees, and the black berries. I am up there until is it's too dark to see and then hike the 45 minutes back the the ATV for the several mile ride to the ranch gate.

On my way down Saturday, I was using the trail the cowboys use for the horses, they keep it limbed and open enough to walk at a good pace with a headlamp. Down the trail I go, when I hear a loud Woof and the unmistakable sound of a bear clicking it's teeth. I carry a .44 mag S&W mountain gun with crimson trace grips. As I looked around toward the sound I could see this bear,... head down ears back,... and ready to rock and roll. I'm at 15 yards, Maybe..... maybe 12?

I froze to see her next move, removing the revolver and putting the red dot on the brain. ( one reason you must always have the holster on the outside of your jacket or coat, no time to fumble with zippers and buttons. It's not as easy to hold steady as you might imagine. She keeps clicking her teeth, and now I am hearing the sounds of bark scraping on the tree behind her. Certainly cubs climbing up. I cannot turn to walk away and take my eyes off of her. I'm in a bit of a bind in the dark having to wait on her to turn and leave. It was not a comfortable situation to turn my back on her for me to walk away.

I reached for my iPhone to use the flash on her. This was the resulting picture. It did nothing by the way, she was just locked on me, in the starting blocks waiting for my next move. Thankfully the cowboys trail was rather nice, except for the sticks and rocks, it was not a bad path. I was able to slowly walk backwards hoping I did not trip and fall. I made it around a bend in the trail and then hauled my butt up the ridge to the ATV. I'm not sure how the rest of the season will go with her and her cubs in this place.

If you are serious about the use of a handgun for bear protection, regardless of what you choose, the crimson trace grips are a priceless addition to the design. It would have been extremely difficult to use open sights in this situation, and I have trijicon night sights on this gun too. However with a head lamp on those night sights are not usable it's too bright without being properly aligned for the sights to be functionally visible in the dark.

Things you should figure out before you are in this situation!