Bear-Stopper Pistol/Ammo Question Time . . .

[Cito Pelon]

Getting close to high-country hiking time again. I always carried a .357 six-shot S&W with hollow-points. Last year someone from Wyoming mentioned the hollow points won't penetrate to the vitals, and that made sense. So I'm thinking either keep the .357, and go with full jacket rounds, or maybe get a .45 auto so I have more rounds. Much the same stopping power with the .45, I guess. Thoughts?

[Florida_Bronco]

I'm not an experienced outdoors-man, but will either the 357 or .45 penetrate a bear?

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by Florida_Bronco

I'm not an experienced outdoors-man, but will either the 357 or .45 penetrate a bear?

yes

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by Florida_Bronco

I'm not an experienced outdoors-man, but will either the 357 or .45 penetrate a bear?

I wouldn't know, first-hand. Never shot a bear. Had a cinnamon black bear charge me and a buddy one time, but it stopped on its own, I never even fired a shot from the .357.

However, looking at the ballistics for pistols, .357 and .45 have about the best stopping power.

[Bronx33]

470 grain bullets nothing less..

[STBumpkin]

FMJ or lead semi-wadcutter will be fine. Your friend was right about hollowpoints not stopping a bear right away. My personal fav is the S&W .44 mag dirty harry special.

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by STBumpkin

FMJ or lead semi-wadcutter will be fine. Your friend was right about hollowpoints not stopping a bear right away. My personal fav is the S&W .44 mag dirty harry special.

I've thought about the .44, seeings how my accurate range with the .357 is only about 15 yds anyway. That .357 is heavy, I imagine the .44 is even heavier.

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by STBumpkin

FMJ or lead semi-wadcutter will be fine. Your friend was right about hollowpoints not stopping a bear right away. My personal fav is the S&W .44 mag dirty harry special.

I would stay away from FMJ because they tend to just go right through without much damage a good soft point that mushrooms id the best IMO, and yes i agree on the hollow points not working so good becuase they break up and don't do as much internal damage.

[azbroncfan]

It would work on a black bear okay but not ideal, any bigger bears you will need to save the last bullet for yourself and grind the front site off so it doesn't hurt as bad when they pull the gun out of your arse.

[Bronx33]

http://www.gunblast.com/SW_500.htm

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by Bronx33

I would stay away from FMJ because they tend to just go right through without much damage a good soft point that mushrooms id the best IMO, and yes i agree on the hollow points not working so good becuase they break up and don't do as much internal damage.

What's the difference between soft points and hollow points? Is that somethihg I have to order? Educate me now so I don't have to ask the gunshop guy. I get pissed off when they smirk at the idiot. I don't see a lot of .45's being carried, is there a problem with their stopping ability?

[Vegas_Bronco]

doesn't matter which one, the thing you better be worried about is your reaction time and your aim - any one of these can get the job done, the question is, can you? You can buy mag loads that have a hollow point tip and gel cap with 6-8 mini-pellets's inside the gel - tears the hell out of anything if you hit them in the right spot.

My uncle has a bear skull with 5 slugs and a 6th bullet hole in the cheek. The bear was killed while he was in Alaska and was well alive - my uncle shot him in the chest twice and found the slugs in the skull afterwards. I would carry a 850volt stunn gun before I trusted just one shot in the heat of the moment with my pistol. Check this out:

http://www.sshep.com/stun_gun.htm

[Odysseus]

I would put a .50 cal automatic (Ma Deuce) in your backpack cover yourself with bacon grease and dare any stupid bear to mess with you. Be sure to bring dogs that bark a lot and cook with an open flame. Don't put your food where bears can't see it at night. Screw nature! This is my campsite! While in your campsite double strap .45 with hollowpoints. Carry a big freaking knife. Bears hate knives. Grenades. I know that they are hard to get but it's you against the bears!

[MLB]

.454 Casull, .480 Ruger, .460 S&W or .500 S&W would be my choices. Anything else is just gonna pi$$ off a bear.

[WABronco]

Originally Posted by quiettiger

I would put a .50 cal automatic (Ma Deuce) in your backpack cover yourself with bacon grease and dare any stupid bear to mess with you. Be sure to bring dogs that bark a lot and cook with an open flame. Don't put your food where bears can't see it at night. Screw nature! This is my campsite! While in your campsite double strap .45 with hollowpoints. Carry a big freaking knife. Bears hate knives. Grenades. I know that they are hard to get but it's you against the bears!

Bahahaha...

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by Vegas_Bronco

doesn't matter which one, the thing you better be worried about is your reaction time and your aim - any one of these can get the job done, the question is, can you? You can buy mag loads that have a hollow point tip and gel cap with 6-8 mini-pellets's inside the gel - tears the hell out of anything if you hit them in the right spot.

My uncle has a bear skull with 5 slugs and a 6th bullet hole in the cheek. The bear was killed while he was in Alaska and was well alive - my uncle shot him in the chest twice and found the slugs in the skull afterwards. I would carry a 850volt stunn gun before I trusted just one shot in the heat of the moment with my pistol. Check this out:

http://www.sshep.com/stun_gun.htm

The stun gun I guess is an option, where do I get one? If it's light weight with a range beyond my .357's - about 15 yds - I'm all for it. But then what do you do? The bear is paralyzed for a few minutes? I guess you move on, and thinking about it a bit, I guess tha'ts the smart move

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by quiettiger

I would put a .50 cal automatic (Ma Deuce) in your backpack cover yourself with bacon grease and dare any stupid bear to mess with you. Be sure to bring dogs that bark a lot and cook with an open flame. Don't put your food where bears can't see it at night. Screw nature! This is my campsite! While in your campsite double strap .45 with hollowpoints. Carry a big freaking knife. Bears hate knives. Grenades. I know that they are hard to get but it's you against the bears!

I'm thinking if I ran into somebody in the high country with something like that to say, I'd hog-tie him. Maybe you'd hog-tie me, but we would certainly find out who could hog-tie who.

[Odysseus]

Originally Posted by Cito Pelon

I'm thinking if I ran into somebody in the high country with something like that to say, I'd hog-tie him. Maybe you'd hog-tie me, but we would certainly find out who could hog-tie who.

FYI: Hog tying? Do you hear the sound of banjos?

I bet there are only three people on this whole board who can properly hog tie anything. Besides how are you going to get past the trip wires and scary explosives made from common household items? Grenades are for sissies.

[Vegas_Bronco]

Anyone have dualing banjos on their Ipod

....didn't think so, I'll check the KC board.

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by quiettiger

FYI: Hog tying? Do you hear the sound of banjos?

I bet there are only three people on this whole board who can properly hog tie anything. Besides how are you going to get past the trip wires and scary explosives made from common household items? Grenades are for sissies.

I don't have any idea what you're talking about. And neither do you. I do know about hog-tieing, though. Never heard a banjo while we were hog-tieing. See, you grab the little fellas, and there are special ready-made doo-dads that keep all four hooves up in the air so you can castrate them cleanly. There's all kinds of different makes. Some keep the head down, thereby keeping the object parts, the testicles, on the topside. Other brands, you have to stuff the little fella down by his haunches, and lock his head in some other way. In the old days, before those doo-dads, they just tackled the little fellas, then wrapped a rope around all them hooves, then took that rope and tied the little fella up so he's hanging where they can castrate him. There isn't some other guy playing a banjo. So there ya go, punk. You stick to what you know, like fellatio, leave the rest of it to us men.

Just kidding, good to hear from you.

[Odysseus]

Originally Posted by Cito Pelon

I don't have any idea what you're talking about. And neither do you. I do know about hog-tieing, though. Never heard a banjo while we were hog-tieing. See, you grab the little fellas, and there are special ready-made doo-dads that keep all four hooves up in the air so you can castrate them cleanly. There's all kinds of different makes. Some keep the head down, thereby keeping the object parts, the testicles, on the topside. Other brands, you have to stuff the little fella down by his haunches, and lock his head in some other way. In the old days, before those doo-dads, they just tackled the little fellas, then wrapped a rope around all them hooves, then took that rope and tied the little fella up so he's hanging where they can castrate him. There isn't some other guy playing a banjo. So there ya go, punk. You stick to what you know, like fellatio, leave the rest of it to us men.

Just kidding, good to hear from you.

I don't understand how you mix Italian food with castrating that poor pig? Man! You must really hate banjo music. I imagine the pig never played that banjo again. Probably just sat around staring a lot. I wonder what you would do if he took up harmonica and played the blues? Poor pig!

[broncosteven]

Do like that guy on the Discovery Channel who lived with the Bears in the wild, learn to protect, love & live with them. It worked sooo well for him!

[scorpio]

bears fear KARATE

[DBroncos4life]

I always go with people Im faster then. One of the guys I go camping with always had a .357, Im not sure what bullets he had it in though. We always had that beer spray too.

[ICON]

Originally Posted by MLB

.454 Casull, .480 Ruger, .460 S&W or .500 S&W would be my choices. Anything else is just gonna pi$$ off a bear.