Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska 357 magnum enough for bear?

I don't how this line of reasoning supports his need to BUY ANOTHER GUN!

I think it is a bit amusing that people will justify using a "big rifle" for hunting moose during bear "out" months on the one hand, but think a rather puny revolver might be okay for their defense. (Not saying any individual here fits both criteria, but the two lines of reasoning seem to coexist around here.)

But, I should talk, I just took proper "just in case" medicine (358 Norma) with me on a quick rabbit jaunt. Yes, those Speer or Hornady 250 grain SPs kill our local hares just fine (and I wasn't inadequately armed should I have run into old Ursas.)

Wow, you're even more [bleep] up than originally thought. Pretty impressive.

But I weren't asking the original poster.

This topic again..lol

I ain't qualified to tell you a 357 is good/bad..I guess if the bear was on top of you, it beats a knife.

I've wrote the story before, but one time while hunting bear in Idaho, I had a stare down @ about 15 feet with a sow Griz..my rifle was leaning against a tree out of reach, I was [bleep] basically.After a few seconds, she woofed a few times (she had cubs) and took off, thankfully I wasn't between her and her cubs and she just loped off.

Its a bad situation to be in for sure, I'm not confident I could have stopped her with a handgun if she decided to come..but thats just me and my lack of shooting confidence with them.I'd been better off with bear spray..I keep my rifle close now while glassing!

"...I've seen the video...he shot it from above at about three feet..."

I remember that video some years ago. It was in Montana. Some fast shooting, as you said handshake range. Bad idea to lift the door while standing on the culvert trap, it would seem.

That is the precise reason I often keep a large bore revolver available. I like to carry one when the possibility of that happening seems likely.

Bear and culvert trap
If I remember correctly, that warden had trapped a "black bear". He knew it was a black because there were no grizzlies in the area, and he had released many blacks while standing on the trap. When the door opened, the blacks would scurry away. Well, this time, when he opened the trap, the "black bear" had somehow turned into Mr Long Claws and was somewhat less charitable about his brief incarceration, and was going to give the warden a brief course in constitutional law, as interpeted by grizzly bears. I think the episode took place around the ennis area.
If I have screwd up any or all the facts here (which I am apt to do), please feel free to correct me.

Fred

Might be two different incidents.

The one I know of happened in '87 or '88 in or around Glacier Park, and the guy knew it was a big grizzly. The reason it got filmed was that the annual conference of the Outdoor Writers Association of America was being held in Kalispell, and the bear guys asked if any of the writers would like to watch and film a grizzly being released from a trap. Didn't work out quite like they expected.

By the way, the bullet that killed the bear was the last in the 6-round cylinder. The previous five had all hit the bear in various places, but didn't penetrate anything vital. In fact at least a couple hit the skull and then slid off between skull and hide to end up at the back of the head. The 6th went into the bear's mouth and throat, and broke the spine.

I also heard, however, that the bullets were typically soft 158's, not really designed to get inside a big bear's skull. There are .357 bullets today that will do that job, however.

I was fishing in Alaska in 2008 in an area with LOTS of brown bears. The closest encounter was with a big female that came out behind us on a gravel bar and wasn't happy about it, partly because she'd just been chased downstream by a nitwit woman who was trying to take her photo with a point-and-shoot.

Our guide was a very well-known brown bear outfitter from the Alaska Peninsula. The bear was 15-20 feet away and the guide whispered for us to just stand still. Meanwhile he slowly drew both is big can of bear spray and...his .357 Magnum.

Luckily he didn't have to use either. Since we stod still and didn't threaten her, the sow eventually just turned away and left.

Since this guide has seen LOTS of big bears taken over the years, and is a very savvy gun guy, I would guess that whatever load he had in the .357 had been tested on bear skulls.

And the other side of the deal is that with any handgun, at close range the only real chance you have is to put one in the brain.

Had a situation in Ak with a Black that would not let us alone. Tore up our tent while away, then when we came back with Goat meat and hide, he kept messing with us. Hissing and snapping at around 30yards. We would scare him away-he wouldn't go far-and then he would sneak back and start over. Guide finally said I think you should shoot him. I said we are going to have enough of a problem getting off the mountain without a bear hide to carry.

Got late and we crawled into the torn tent with the Goat hide and left the meat outside. During the night he took the meat.

All worked out well for us, but Chris said if he had it to do over we would of shot him, because now it thinks he can bully people out of their meat and the next group may not be as lucky.

Also a rainy night with a wrecked tent can cause its own problems.

So yes DLP can be justified without a charge.

To the original question. Just me, but in a charge situation it would be hard for me not to want a 12Ga. Not much can take a full load of shot in the face at 30yd and under and not say no mais. What say those with experience?

It didn't work that way for a couple of pheasant hunters here in Montana a few years ago. They jumped a mama grizzly in thick cover and when she charged they shot her in the face with birdshot, at less than 30 yards. She beat up one guy and then disappeared in the brush. Game wardens found her later and she was still alive and plenty pissed off. Luckily the wardens weren't carrying bird guns.

Thanks,

Another semi-original thought that failed when faced with reality.

............Well, come on down to So Calif then and FIX me up!!

so basically if you get charged by a bear a head shot is the ONLY option?

If you want the bear to stop or be incapacitated at the shot, you have to take out the central nerous system, i.e. brain or spine. Shots that will be fatal eventually really aren't much good, as a "dead" bear can be very dangerous.

The reason I say the 357 is up to the task, is only a CNS shot will stop a charging bear, and a heavy hardcast from a .357 will reach the brain or spine just as effectively as a 44, 45, 475 or 500. None of those more powerful handgun rounds placed somewhere are going to stop a bear, they also need to hit the cns.

For hunting, you aren't limited to a cns shot, hence the .357 isn't the best choice.

As a conversation with a former co-worker who sought advice about a bear defense handgun went. Him, what type of handgun do you recomend for bear defense? Me, are you an expert shot with a handgun? Him, no. Me, do you plan to put in the practice to become one? Him, no. Then a handgun will be useless to you, get some pepper spray and don't be stupid in the woods.

It would be my focus at close range, even if all I had was an axe.

db

Shoot them under the chin.........

Most Californians seem to have a touch of Little Man Syndrome...

Here is another prime example.

Bet you don't think a .223 can kill a deer do ya?

Mule Deer
Yea, it could be two different stories... Or it could be that I'm just not getting my money's worth outta that dam medication.

fred