Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Grizzly Defense With A Handgun: Doable?

Toad, I have never carried both the several times I have hunted or fished in Grizzly country because I was never alone and was never the only person armed. I always carry on my place because there are quite a few nasties around here and because I am usually alone.

A recent fishing guide carried a LARS 1911 in .45 Win Mag. The other guides in camp carried .460, .454, and .500 Limbaugh revolvers.

I doubt I would carry the extra weight of a large revolver if I were doing serious climbing. A few extra pounds would make a big difference to an old fat man in the mountains but are not much of a problem here in the flat swamps of NC.

carrying a handgun without the rifle is a different situation. i see lotsa people that are not hunting so without rifle but with handgun or handgun/bear spray. the rifle/handgun combo is rare to see here. the most common exception is outfitters on horseback with their rifles in the saddle scabbard. (horse could likely dump the rider when spooked by whatever and run off with the rifle)

but when you are on foot and carrying rifle/pack/binos, the handgun becomes much more of a burden than the weight suggests it should be.

for instance, how do you carry it? waist belt will be in the way of your pack belt. if you put it on your pack belt, it will come off of you with the pack. shoulder holster? i've not seen one that works with pack.

I'm not going to bother reading through the 9+ pages of posts on this topic which has to be one of THE most popular topics on any hunting/outdoors forum, i.e. self defense against the griz, blah, blah, blah ad nauseum....

But, I can't help but wonder that any poster (i.e. the OP) who has in excess of 39,000 posts must surely have developed a great deal of this information for himself ALREADY way prior to having to START another such topic all over AGAIN!

I have a Lawrence shoulder holster and it works ok with a pack, though I don't use the pack chest straps when using it. I rarely carry a rifle anymore...might if I lived in MT, 'cause every time I get close to those darned g bears I wish I had a bigger gun. dvnv

Kifaru KU Koala:

http://www.kifaru.net/KU_koala.html

I'll never understand, if a topic doesn't appeal to a poster, why that poster feels compelled to not only open it up but then to comment that he thinks the topic is a waste of time. Don't see the logic. Ninety-nine plus percent of the topics I come across here don't interest me enough to open, let alone comment in that thread that it holds no interest for me.

Hard to have a rifle ready when you are in a place like this quartering a bull. There are Grizzly tracks in the snow just out of the frame. He ate the gut pile in the night and was around somewhere. My head was on a swivel. 329 PD in a MS 200 AW



The Ringler Wyoming Combination is a great way to carry when you are also carrying a pack. No need to remove when you take off the pack.



Funny how we are all victims of our experience but I thought it was pretty standard to carry a decently powerful pistol or revolver everywhere. Heck I have a pistol on in the supermarket; no way will I leave it home when on the mountain.

I use a drop leg so I can buckle my ruck's waist belt. Easy to get to with the added benefit of offending the green and PETA types met on the trails these days

I always carry a handgun while hunting, regardless of what I'm hunting. The Glock 20-10mm with 16 rounds in it, goes for the ride as I like the speed of a semi auto. Always in a hip holster.

SPot on. Could not agree more, perfect example with pictures

"Life Insurance" That is what I tell my CC students. If you had a One Million Dollar Life Insurance Policy but it was only in force at the time of death if a copy of the policy was on you, would you ever leave home without it knowing that your family would loose the house and your kids would never go to school...

A handgun carried for PP against two-legged or four-legged Kritters is a Life Insurance Policy that will do you no good if left at home regardless of the excuse...

There is a fine line between Preparedness and Paranoia. Paranoia is preparing for something that has never happened and probably never will. Preparing for events in the future that have happened in the past and will likely happen again in the future is just being prudent. To not do so is somewhere between foolish and negligent.

The "locals" who never carry a handgun in Griz territory because they have a rifle...maybe they are the same ones who don't have life insurance for their families either.... And yes one can go overboard preparing, but better "overboard" than "underground"....

Bob

Or the ones who see a griz 9 times out of 10 while hunting and over the years have become complacent because nothing happened the ast ten times they saw one so nothing ever will.


And to answer the original question, YES it is possible to defend yourself from a griz with a handgun, just like it's possible to fly a helicopter or to drive 250mph round a race track or ride a bucking bull, it's been proven that all those are possible BUT just because it's possible doesn't mean you can do it.
Out of everyone here only you know your skill levels but remember just because you can stand on the range and put 10 shots in the ten ring doesn't mean you'll be able to hit that bears melon coming at you at 35mph from 15 yards at 10,000 feet altitude after walking five miles and while the adrenaline is pumping.

Well said, RJM.

Maarty, couldn't the same be said for the person with a scoped rifle in their hands?

Yep, and for many other things in life.
My point is that the OP needs to be aware of his own limitations, he's the only one who can honestly judge his abilities (the key word being honestly)
I'm not suggesting he doesn't take a pistol on this hunt, I'm more inclined after reading his other comments related to this hunt to suggest he doesn't go at all, at least not this year. I personally think he needs to prepare more for the trip than he has been able to do.
I'm reasonably fit and active, have been hunting solo for about 27 years and know I can hold up my end when it comes to hunting and traveling in the back country and I'm not sure I'd accept the invite he's been given considering the lack of planning and preparation time. The OP has admitted he has very limited hunting experience, very little time off the beaten track, is not in very good physical shape and is planning to fly into a high elevation area one day before the hunt. My opinion is that he'd be better off to stay home and go next year after doing some serious preparation, including fitness training.

My question didn't involve personal ability differences, but simply asked about the physical capabilities of a handgun cartridge vs a close range charging grizzly. The ground you covered falls into the category of "needless to say."

Take the pistol if you are up to going in the 1st place & up to carrying the extra weight of pistol in the 2nd place.

It's strictly a backup/emergency piece as you have a rifle as your primary.

Grizzlies have also moved into our hunting area in SW Montana, as have LOTS of wolves & a fair amount of lions & black bears.........we hunt in pairs for the most part which is probably your best defense, but be very alert & careful if alone.

My BIL was charged by a big black last year while bow hunting.......fortunately it broke off & no damage was done.

I even have some concern for tying up & leaving horses alone.

MM

Boy, I can agree with that one. I was hunting with my 1911, took a shot head on on a standing Muley at around 20 yards maybe a little less and missed. How many times have I shoot off hand at a standing 25 yard target and hit the target and I missed the Muley? I still can't believe it today. A charging bear is another whole kettle of fish.

For everyone's edification - we're not talking about packing extra weight at alpine elevations here. I've hunted and taken elk around 8000', but this panhandle area tops out around 5000', I think, and is mostly in the 3000'-4000' range. Recognizing that TRH lives closer to sea level, it may be an issue. But I generally don't see any problem with altitude and hypoxia until crossing a gain of about 4000', and then it is mild until after about another couple thousand - and that from a starting point of 2500'. The shape your heart and lungs are in does make a difference, of course.

Given that - and the proximity of the noted area to known griz populations, and the fact that the area has some pretty dense vegetation that would hide an approaching predator until it was very close; I would opt for carrying the handgun - and I would want one in which I am capable of running with some pretty heavy loads.

TRH - bring some aspirin (assuming it's okay for you). Start taking one a day as soon as you get into higher elevation than you are acclimated to. We do this all the time to avoid the hypoxia headache (it works). For more extreme elevations, a day of rest also helps the body acclimate.

Yeah - well...at least in that case, every time you miss, the target gets closer and bigger. You'll hit it eventually.

Or it will hit me !!!!